They finally got a hold of him, arrested him and sentenced him to the most shameful death in human history. He died after some hours on the tree, and was carried away to be buried in one of the most expensive tomb.
But this was where the story started from:
In advance of his death, He told his disciples that he would be betrayed, arrested, and crucified and that he would come back to life three days later.
That's a strange plan! What was behind it? Jesus was no entertainer willing to perform for others on demand; instead, he promised that his death and resurrection would prove to people ( if their minds were open) that he was indeed the Messiah.
When he said that he himself would rise again from the dead, the third day after he was crucified, He said something that only a fool would dare say, if he expected longer the devotion of any disciples, unless he was sure he was going to rise from the dead.
No founder of any world religion known to mankind ever dared say a thing like this; in other words, since Jesus had clearly told his disciples that he would rise again after his death, failure to keep that promise would expose him as a fraud.
Historian Paul Johnson, in history of the Jews wrote, " what mattered was not the circumstances of his death but the fact that he was widely and obstinately believed by an expanding circle of people, to have risen again."
The tomb was indeed empty, but it wasn't the mere absence of a body that could have galvanized Jesus' followers (especially if they had been the ones that had stolen it). Something extraordinary must have happened, for the followers of Jesus ceased mourning, ceased hiding, and began fearlessly proclaiming that they had seen Jesus alive.
Each eye witness accounts reports that Jesus suddenly appeared bodily to his followers, the women first. >Morrison wondered why conspirators would make women central to its plot. In the first century, the women had virtually no rights, personhood , or status. If the plot was to succeed, Morrison reasoned, the conspirators would have portrayed men, not women, as the first to see Jesus alive. And yet we hear that women touched him, spoke with him, and were the first to find the empty tomb.
Perhaps it was from the story of women finding the empty tomb first that the famous tomb raider got it's idea from featuring Lara Croft who was presented to be an independent and fearless woman invading artifacts in ancient tombs
Legal Scholar John Warwick Montgomery stated, " In 56 A. D. Apostle Paul wrote that over 500 people had seen the risen Jesus and that most of them were still alive, I cor 15:6..It passes the bounds of credibility that the early Christians could have manufactured such a tale and then preached it among those who might easily have refuted it simply by producing the body of Jesus." Bible scholars Geisler and Turek agree. " If the resurrection had not occurred, why would the Apostle Paul give such a list of supposed eyewitnesses? He would immediately lose all credibility with his Corinthian readers by telling a lie so blatantly. British scholar Michael Green remarked, " The appearances of Jesus are as well authenticated as anything in antiquity ...there can be no rational doubt that they occurred."
No human being has adequately explained why the disciples would have been willing to die for a known lie. But even if they all conspired to lie about Jesus' resurrection, how could they have kept the conspiracy going for decades without at least one of them selling out for money or position?
Moreland wrote, " Those who lie for personal gain do not stick together very long, especially when hardship decreases."
So, Jesus rose from the grave. He kept to his promise. Now see this:
Acts 2:24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Bless your hearts.
Chris Valentine, bringing Gospel vibes to you on this blockchain
