Today is Easter Sunday - the day on which we commemorate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. As I have said previously, I think that the resurrection of Jesus is the best place to look for evidence that the God of Christianity is real.
If Jesus really died and rose again, it becomes very difficult (or even impossible) to argue against the existence of God. Before Jesus died, he made some outrageous claims about who he was, and that he would die and rise from the dead. He spoke authoritively about God, life, and death. If he then did rise from the dead, this would back up his claim.
So did he rise from the dead?
One of the arguments that he did rise from the dead focuses on the empty tomb.
Jesus' burial place was well known. He was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arithmathea, a rich and well known Jew. We very safely say that Jesus' body was not in the tomb when his resurrection was proclaimed by his disciples.
Why?
Because the disciples starting proclaiming his resurrection in Jerusalem. The Jewish leaders tried to suppress this - the easiest and most effective way to stop it, and prevent Christianity from starting would be just to produce the body. If Jesus' body was still in the tomb, the Jewish leaders would have produced it. They would have organised tours of the tomb, to show that Jesus was in fact dead.
But they did none of this. Instead they tried to intimidate the disciples to keep quiet about it. They didn't produce the body, because it was no longer in the tomb.
This is where you get the four standard excuses that try to explain how the tomb could have been empty. They are:
The tomb was guarded after Jesus' body had been placed inside.
Jesus' body was missing.
Jesus was definitely dead before being buried. The soldiers executing him were professional executors, whose own lives were on the line if they failed to kill a condemned person.
It was not in the interests of either the Pharisees or the Romans to steal the body - both groups would have wanted to produce it if a claim of resurrection arose.
Robbers wouldn't have stolen the body, as the only valuable items in the tomb (the burial clothes) were left behind.
The disciples were scared, dejected people, who had denied Jesus. They thought that it was all over - they didn't understand Jesus promise that he would rise from the dead. Some immediately fled Jerusalem - even if the tomb were not guarded, they wouldn't have stolen the body.
Yet the body was still missing.
Once the natural explanations have been exhausted, it makes sense to explore a supernatural explanation, particularly where the event in question is surrounded by a highly charged reglio-historical context.
The most plausible solution is that Jesus really rose from the dead.
The tomb was empty, because Jesus was no longer dead.
Jesus is alive today.
If Jesus really died and rose again, it becomes very difficult (or even impossible) to argue against the existence of God. Before Jesus died, he made some outrageous claims about who he was, and that he would die and rise from the dead. He spoke authoritively about God, life, and death. If he then did rise from the dead, this would back up his claim.
So did he rise from the dead?
One of the arguments that he did rise from the dead focuses on the empty tomb.
Jesus' burial place was well known. He was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arithmathea, a rich and well known Jew. We very safely say that Jesus' body was not in the tomb when his resurrection was proclaimed by his disciples.
Why?
Because the disciples starting proclaiming his resurrection in Jerusalem. The Jewish leaders tried to suppress this - the easiest and most effective way to stop it, and prevent Christianity from starting would be just to produce the body. If Jesus' body was still in the tomb, the Jewish leaders would have produced it. They would have organised tours of the tomb, to show that Jesus was in fact dead.
But they did none of this. Instead they tried to intimidate the disciples to keep quiet about it. They didn't produce the body, because it was no longer in the tomb.
This is where you get the four standard excuses that try to explain how the tomb could have been empty. They are:
- Jesus didn't die on the cross, and walked out of the tomb subsequently.
- The disciples stole the body.
- The Pharisees stole the body.
- The Romans stole the body.
- Robbers stole the body.
The tomb was guarded after Jesus' body had been placed inside.
Jesus' body was missing.
Jesus was definitely dead before being buried. The soldiers executing him were professional executors, whose own lives were on the line if they failed to kill a condemned person.
It was not in the interests of either the Pharisees or the Romans to steal the body - both groups would have wanted to produce it if a claim of resurrection arose.
Robbers wouldn't have stolen the body, as the only valuable items in the tomb (the burial clothes) were left behind.
The disciples were scared, dejected people, who had denied Jesus. They thought that it was all over - they didn't understand Jesus promise that he would rise from the dead. Some immediately fled Jerusalem - even if the tomb were not guarded, they wouldn't have stolen the body.
Yet the body was still missing.
Once the natural explanations have been exhausted, it makes sense to explore a supernatural explanation, particularly where the event in question is surrounded by a highly charged reglio-historical context.
The most plausible solution is that Jesus really rose from the dead.
The tomb was empty, because Jesus was no longer dead.
Jesus is alive today.
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