How would you respond were you asked: what is the single most important fact in all of human history?
Rome fell? Roland died so Charlemagne could defeat the Saracens? The printing press? The U.S. Constitution? America beat the Nazis to the atomic bomb?
Those and many more facts have each arguably changed the course of history and could thus be cited with equal assurance of their relevance. However, there is one fact that not only fundamentally altered human history but defined reality for every person who ever has or ever will live.
That fact is the empty tomb of Jesus Christ.
Why the empty tomb? Because on Easter morning and for 40 days thereafter, Jesus was seen, touched, heard, and spoke to His disciples, then to other individuals in and around Jerusalem, and ultimately to more than 500 individuals.
The tomb was empty because Jesus was literally resurrected from the dead, thus validating everything He claimed about Himself, including "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father but through Me." (John 14:6).
In his “Evidence That Demands A Verdict,” Christian apologist Josh McDowell quotes Professor J.N.D. Anderson of the University of London, saying:
Have you noticed that the references to the empty tomb all come in the Gospels, which were written to give the Christian community the facts they wanted to know? In the public preaching to those who were not believers, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, there is an enormous emphasis on the fact of the Resurrection but not a single reference to the empty tomb.
Now, why? To me, there is only one answer: There was no point in arguing about the empty tomb. Every one, friend and opponent, knew that it was empty. The only questions worth talking about were why it was and what its emptiness proved.
But wait a minute, you may be thinking: what if somebody stole the dead body of Jesus and then falsely claimed that He had been resurrected? Well, let's examine that possibility.
There are only three candidate groups who logically might have had a motive for stealing the body of Jesus. First, there are the disciples themselves. Critics have long claimed the disciples stole the body and then invented the Resurrection myth.
Here's why that claim is preposterous: the disciples scattered when Jesus was arrested. They were terrified that they would be next. Peter's thrice denial of even knowing Jesus is indicative of the group's cowardice.
Why is that significant? None of the disciples is known to have had any military training, yet we are to believe that this scattered crew of cowards somehow found the courage to overcome a crack unit of the Roman Legion that was guarding the tomb, or buy them off, then hide Jesus' body where it would never be found, and afterwards go out and tell everybody that Jesus was God?
To appreciate just how ludicrous this claim truly is, check out this hilarious skit by Babylon Bee.
The second candidate group would be Jesus' enemies, chiefly, the Pharisees and Sadducees who were the religious leaders of Israel. Throughout His three-year ministry, Jesus had tangled with these religious leaders who accused Him of blasphemy for claiming to be God-become-man. That's why they demanded that Pilate order Jesus crucified.
But let's say they did steal Jesus' dead body because they were quite aware that He had said He would "rise again." (Mark 9:31). Weeks after Jesus' crucifixion and burial Peter spoke to thousands of people on the Day of Pentecost, explicitly claiming Jesus was alive. Three thousand people became Jesus's followers that day and the Christian church was born.
But if they had stolen His body from the tomb, as soon as Peter began claiming the Resurrection, Jesus's enemies would have rolled his stinking, rotting corpse down Jerusalem's Main Street to prove He was dead, not alive.
Then they would likely have arrested Peter and any of the rest of the disciples they could lay their hands on and crucified them. Instead of the day it was born, Pentecost would have been the day the Christian church died.
And the third candidate group for stealing Jesus' dead body? Grave robbers had been around for centuries and robbing the tombs of famous people was not uncommon. After all, as with the Pharaohs, who loaded up their tombs with valuables for the next world, robbers could make one big hit and be set for life.
But here's the problem: Nobody ever accused Jesus of being rich, so they had no reason whatsoever to think His tomb would be stuffed with gold, silver and precious jewels. Remember: He was so poor, He had to be buried in somebody else's tomb!
That tomb was owned by Joseph of Arimathea, who, being a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, might well have been wealthy. So maybe the local robbers figured it was at least worth a shot?
But how likely was it that a band of grave robbers that would have been made up of only two or three men could have overcome the Roman Kustodian guarding Jesus's tomb?
Ok, so theft is not a logical explanation for the empty tomb. What about the claims of liberal skeptics and Muslims that Jesus either was not actually crucified or that He was mistakenly thought dead, buried while still alive but unconscious?
According to this school of thought, Jesus "revived" in the coolness of the tomb and was somehow able, despite His severe injuries and loss of blood, to move a heavy stone aside, overcome that Kustodian, slink away without being spotted by anybody, and lived happily ever after in anonymous solitude in India or Japan.
If, after thinking about that one for a few seconds, you still think it's a reasonable possibility, check out this video from Lee Strobel, the former investigative journalist who wrote "The Case for Christ."
I could go on because there are mountains more evidence that points to a literal resurrection of Jesus as the most logical explanation for the empty tomb. And, if you would like a free copy of Josh McDowell's "More Than Carpenter" — a concise, highly readable and credible summary of the evidence, send me your name and snail mail address at [email protected]. I'll get it out to you ASAP.
Happy Easter. He is Risen Indeed!
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