The Case of the Empty Tomb
“What’s
this?!” Kaylene exclaimed, pointing at a dirty cake pan. Returning from ice
skating with our family, she found a “smoking gun” of sorts. You see, we
have a history of surprising each other on our birthdays, going back to before
we were married. Tony had arranged for two students to come over to prepare the
surprise cake while we were skating. Unfortunately, in their haste to not get
caught in the act, they forgot about the dirty cake pan! We tried to brush it
off, to come up with another explanation, but nothing would convince her that
we weren’t up to something. She expected it, and there was a dirty cake pan to
prove it.
People run into the same problem when they try
to deny the resurrection of Christ. It was always God’s plan to atone for our
sins by the death of Jesus Christ, and it was always His plan to raise Him from
the dead, to show His victory over death, the promise of eternal life. The prophets
told us what to expect!!
When He rose He left behind clear evidence:
The empty tomb, many witnesses and transformed lives. Big smoking guns.
Although many have offered alternate explanations for the resurrection, those scenarios
aren’t believable. The following are a few of the most popular yet feeble explanations.
The Substitution Theory. This theory is
advanced by Islam, which rejects the idea that Jesus died for our sins to make
peace with God and trust instead in their own good deeds. In their holy book,
the Koran, we read,
They
said, “We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Apostle of God,” but they
killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and
those who differ therein are full of doubts with no certain knowledge, but only
conjecture to follow. For surety they killed him not: Nay, God raised him up
unto Himself, and God is Exalted in Power, Wise. (Sura 4:157-158)
But this is not believable. First,
is God deceitful? Would He trick people into thinking Jesus was crucified? Why,
when the prophets foretold the event, would God trick us this way?
Secondly, could anyone really
impersonate Jesus successfully? How could anyone follow the script and take the
punishment? For what motive? Wouldn’t the interrogators, the high priests,
Pilate and Herod know if they were talking to the right man? His answers made
it clear who He was. Also, Jesus’ mother and disciple were at the foot of the
cross as he was dying. Wouldn’t they have recognized Him? This would be like us
trying to convince Kaylene that we made the cake for someone else. Secretly. We
tried that and she saw right through it. The story just doesn’t fit the facts!
The Theft Theory. This explanation
was first advanced by the Jews. In Matthew’s gospel we read, “the chief priests…gave the soldiers a large sum
of money, telling them, ‘You are to say, “His disciples came during the night
and stole him away while we were asleep.”’”
The story that the disciples stole the body of
Jesus is not believable either. Remember two facts: First the disciples had
fled Jesus. They were afraid and disillusioned, depressed and cowering. Second,
armed Roman soldiers guarded the tomb. They were under threat of death if the
body of Jesus was missing from the tomb. So, how could the disillusioned
disciples have found the courage and strength to steal the body from the
guarded tomb? If the soldiers were asleep, how did they know the body was
stolen by the disciples? What would have motivated them to steal the body? What
did they have to gain? Most were later killed for their testimony of the
resurrection. Why would they die for a lie? It makes no sense.
The Swoon Theory. This explanation says that Jesus was only
wounded by the crucifixion. But this can’t be right. The Jews knew He was dead.
That’s why they spread the lie that the disciples had stolen the body. Besides,
the Romans knew how to kill people. They crucified hundreds of thousands, and
they normally broke their legs to insure they would die quickly. But when the
soldiers saw Jesus, he appeared dead, so instead, they thrust a spear into his
side just to be sure. So, how could Jesus have recovered, escaped from the
graves clothes and tomb, overpowered the guards, then journey seven miles on mangled
feet and convince the Apostles of His Lordship? Again, it’s not believable.
The Hallucination Theory. This explanation claims the eyewitnesses only
hallucinated that Jesus had risen from the dead. All of them. At the same time.
On multiple occasions. This would be like trying to convince Kaylene that she
only thought she saw a dirty cake pan. Good luck with that!
None of these theories explain the empty tomb
and the transformed lives as well the resurrection does. Jesus paid the penalty
for our sins and concurred death, just as foretold by the prophets!
Christ is Risen!!
