Series: Apologetics
Category: Core Seminars, Apologetics, Evidence for Faith, False Teaching
Detail:
Resurrection
Why do you believe a dead man walked out of a tomb?
Good morning and welcome to the Apologetics Core Seminar. As it relates to the Christian faith, apologetics has to do with defending, or making a case for, the truth of the Christian faith. It is rational argument for the purposes of proof and defense of Christianity, and for a critique of unbelief. It is the intersection between faith and reason. My hope is that you will leave this class bolstered in your faith and better equipped to give a reason for the hope that we have to your non-Christian family members, friends, co-workers, yourself and others. Let me pray before we can begin. Pray
Why do you believe that a dead man walked out of a tomb?
Intro
Today’s class is, at the end of the day, THE fundamental question of Christianity. What someone believes about Jesus determines how they will answer so many other questions that we deal with. If Jesus truly is God incarnate, then one will also believe in God. If God could raise Jesus from the dead, then it seems like he could also ordain the contents of the Bible.
As we consider this question today, my hope is to make the argument eminently practical so that you can use it in your conversations with those who doubt their faith or with non-Christians who don’t claim to have faith.
So – let me give you the eight points that I will make today re: Jesus:
1) Jesus is a big deal
2) Jesus was an historical person
3) Jesus is the point of the History of Israel
4) Jesus is spoken about by the prophets of Israel
5) Jesus’ Claims to be Divine are corroborated by his life, teaching and miracles
6) Jesus death and resurrection can not be explained away
7) Jesus’ disciples’ lives and the world dramatically changed after his life
8) Jesus has changed lives throughout history and He is still changing them!
These are the 8 arguments I’d like you to remember.
DRAW PICTURE ON THE BOARD.
1) Jesus is a big deal: all of Christianity rests upon the life, death and resurrection of Christ
You all know that Christians make a big deal about Jesus. You know this from John 3:16 signs at football games; from people on the Mall who hold signs and tell of his impending return; I even saw a “Jesus for Cowboys” bible once.
So - why do we Christians make such a big deal about Jesus?
It’s because we believe that our fundamental problem is not lack of information. That is – we don’t simply need to be pointed in the right direction to change our lives. No, what we need is a Transformation – what the Bible calls a New Life. Our fundamental problem is SIN or rebellion against God which results in us running up a serious debt to God – and because our condition is serious the treatment must also be serious.
And this is why Christians are always talking so much about Jesus. Because only Jesus can forgive our sins and cancel the debt that we owe. Only Jesus can cover our sins. Only He can wash them away and only Jesus can restore you to a relationship with God.[i]
Theologically – these are the underpinnings of Christianity – and they rest on Christ. If this is true, it has tremendous implications for Christians.
“And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” (I Cor. 15:12-19) [ii]
Theologically, if true, it has tremendous implications on non-Christians: “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:6)
So Jesus is either alive or not. He either conquered sin or he didn’t. we can either have new, transformed lives, or we are living a lie. This is how high the stakes are – for both Christians and non-Christians.
The big question is: is it True ?[iii]
The philosopher Kierkegaard said: "the central question of humanity is whether or not Jesus rose again on Easter morning. How we understand that question determines how we will answer every other question."
Well, as I mentioned – Christians believe that Jesus is rooted in history – not philosophy or ideas – so that leads me to my second point:
2) Jesus was an historical person
What do we know about Jesus?
The Hollywood movie trailer for the historical Jesus is very dramatic. Imagine:
From a small minority, despised people group, in the Roman Empire came a peasant carpenter. For 3 years he was an itinerant preacher and teacher. He lived to only 33, never held elected office, had a position of power, wrote anything down or left any heirs. This man was killed at the hands of the authorities and his few, largely uneducated, poor disciples scattered throughout Jerusalem. But, out of this has come the church today![iv]
Extra-biblical References
There are approximately 20 other extra-Biblical references to the Historical Jesus. While I thought it worth mentioning, almost no serious scholar would deny that a Jesus of Nazareth was a real person.
Perhaps the most influential of the accounts we have is from a Jewish historian names Flavius Josephus who was born in AD 37 and became a Pharisee at age 19. In AD 66 he was the commander of the Jewish forces in Galilee. After being captured, he was attached to the Roman headquarters.[v]
We also know that Roman historians noted on the activity of Christians. Conelius Tacitus – a Roman historian writing about 50 years after Josephus wrote:
“Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius: but the pernicious superstition, repressed for a time, broke out again, not only in Judea, where the mischief originated, but through the city of Rome also.”[vi]
Jesus was undeniably a historical figure.
But Christians go one step further than simply saying that Jesus was merely an historical figure: we also believe that the History of Jesus and the words of the Prophets serve as a “show and tell” – and that 4,000 years of history were to prepare us for Jesus.
3) Jesus is the point of the History of Israel
God started making His argument about who Jesus was at the beginning of time:
God was working throughout the history of the Israelites to point them toward a Messiah. Their history – was His Story….
God took elaborate lengths in the Israelites to create the ultimate analogy – a word-picture on the grandest scale. Not just a parable or an analogy – rooted HIS analogy in History – through the lives of the Israelites and their history.
Someone is Coming -> this is Why -> this is what he will look like
Let's look at a few examples of how God worked in the people of Israel.
a) The FALL – a supernatural deliverer will come
In the Fall in Genesis 3:15 – God tells Adam and Eve to look for a deliverer, a human, supernatural -> Satan, Satan would wound
b) Abraham and Isaac – God will provide the substitute
In the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22:11-14 – when Abraham is about to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, we see more of how God will deliver his people. We see that
No higher test of loyalty than to give up one’s only son for another
God will preserve the seed of the promise
Substitutionary Offering is Necessary
God provides for people’s needs -> Greatest need is forgiveness
c) Egyptian captivity and Passover: God demands a sacrifice – which can only be provided by the death of a perfect lamb
In delivering the Israelites form their Egyptian captivity in Exodus 12-15, we see that:
God demands a sacrifice
firstborn son represents the family taking on himself the fate of the family
Apart from sacrifice – everyone – even the chosen people – deserve death
Only substitutionary blood can avert death
blood must be displayed publicly
d) The Scapegoat : In Leviticus 16, God declares that one day a year will be the Day of Atonement. And, on that day the people are reminded that:
Sins of the people must be forgiven annually – people are always sinful
Only a perfect sacrifice is acceptable
Once the sacrifice has been accepted, God sends it out from the people – sin is transferred and remembered no more
e) Many others: These – and many other narratives from there history – were to teach the Israelites:
Nature of man’s plight
Sacrifice is needed to deal with man’s sin
Suffering must be involved
Combination of divinity and humanity required for salvation
Divine and self-giving
And so, God was using events to point to and to prepare the Israelites for a Messiah who would rise to deliver them.
4) Jesus is spoken about by the prophets of Israel
God’s version of “show and tell.” He showed the people His plans through their history – but He also told them what He was doing through His prophets.
God sent Prophets to explain and predict the who, what, when, where and why of Jesus.
The Bible contains over 300 prophecies that testify to and were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Let's go through a few examples.
Who : “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
What : “because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.” Psalm 16:10 (fulfilled Acts 2:31)
Where : “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel.” Micah 5:2 (fulfilled Matthew 2:1-2)
How : “Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14 (fulfilled in Matthew 1:18)
Isaiah 53 : And, perhaps the most instrumental Prophecy is found Isaiah 53. The chapter captures so perfectly the message of Christianity. Jesus Christ is clearly the fulfillment of this amazing prophecy and it is worth writing out in full. Remember, this was written in 680 BC. This chapter is preserved on the Dead Sea scrolls which are dated before the time of Christ.
“Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”[vii]
So we see that God used SHOW and TELL before Jesus lived to show His divinity and purpose for coming.
5. Jesus’ Claims to be Divine are corroborated by his life, teaching and miracles: Jesus Life was remarkable – and His claims were incredible.
Let me ask you a question in the words of the immortal Alanis Morissette: “What if God was one of us?” What do you think he would look like?
- wise/smart, good/help others, accommodating?, tell us what’s up?, show us how we can know the father? We don’t have to speculate like Alanis, we can knows
A. Jesus was a WISE teacher:
Jesus is also universally respected as a great prophet and a great moral teacher by all the world’s major religions. His teaching is moral truth exhibited at its purest. It is not wishy-washy idealism, but it is realistic and cogent, the product of a sane mind. Even the opponents of Christianity are quick to point out that they agree with Jesus’ moral teaching.
Some examples of teachings attributed to Jesus:
The Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have done to you. Love your neighbors as yourself.
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Do not judge and you will not be judged. Forgive and you will be forgiven.[viii]
Jesus HELPED Others - Miracles
- performed 23 healings – (man with leprosy, paralyzed man, boy with a demon, crippled woman, official's son, man born blind)
- 9 displayed command over nature (feeding of the 5,000-4,000, calming the storm, walking on the water)
- 3 bringing the dead back to life (Jairus' daughter, widow's son, lazurus)
C. Jesus' Claims
There is a paradox about the life of Jesus, which I think you will capture if you read the Gospels carefully. For all his gentleness and meekness, he made some absolutely outrageous comments. Jesus’ Claims:
He claimed to be above the law. He lived in a Jewish society where laws and rituals were strictly kept, but he just announced to everyone that he was above the laws. “No one need fast while I am here,” he said one day. “You have your laws and your rituals but I just do what my Father tells me to do.”
He claimed to be able to forgive sin: In Luke Chapter 5. There is a great crowd around Jesus, so some men cut a hole in the roof of the house he was in and lowered a paralytic on a mat. “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”[ix]
He claimed that no one could know God except through Him. "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
He claimed that he rise from the dead. “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” Matthew 17:23
He claimed to be God. “Before Abraham was born ‘I am’.” John 8:58 (‘I am’ was the holy name for God in Hebrew, unutterable by any man. After Jesus said this, the people tried to stone him because he clearly claimed to be God.)
“Yes, it is as you say. I am the Son of God, but I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Mt 26:64
Ultimately, Jesus life is so remarkable and his claims so clear – that it led CS Lewis to come to his famous Trilemma conclusion. That Jesus is either a Lord, Liar or Lunatic:
“I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic---on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg---or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make the choice. Either this man was and is the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
Jesus Death and Resurrection can not be explained away. They serve as God’s EXCLAMATION POINT!
- God used a word picture through a nation
- God used prophets to predict
- God used Jesus life, teachings and claims
- God used raising Jesus from the dead
As if he said: Ok, here’s something that is either of God or it’s not.
Skeptic: “Analogies, Predictions, Teachings, Miracles, Morality – yeah, yeah, maybe other faiths have these: Rome thought itself an instrument of God; Solomon was Wise; Mother Teresa was a good, moral person. I see your Jesus and I Call.”
God: “Ok, let me be really, really clear. No one can do this unless they are God.”
And Christians believe that what God accomplished in 3 short days was the final argument that Jesus was God and that Only He can make us right with God.
Let me walk you through the evidence of why 21st century, cosmopolitan, cynical, capitalist consumers can believe that a real person 2,000 years ago physically got up out of a tomb. Ultimately, I don’t think this argument and the evidence will ever “convince you” to become a Christian: only the Holy Spirit revealing your sin and need for Christ can do that. My hope is that this evidence will remove a stumbling block in your disbelief.
Summary of What happened in Jesus last days:
Garden -> Trials -> Torture -> Humiliation -> Walk to Calvary -> Crucifixion -> Death -> Darkness -> Placed in a Tomb -> Large Stone & Soldiers -> 3 Days of Silence -> Empty Tomb -> Empowered Disciples - > Changed World
Christianity exploded not because of the death of a martyr – no it was because of the resurrection of a Savior. This is what empowered the disciples. Christianity doesn’t make sense without this.
Jesus Died and was placed in a tomb
In reading the account of Jesus Passion – His Crucifixion, we notice certain details:
Up all night facing trials
Whipped with long, leather, glass
Crown of thorns on his head
Crossbar to Golgotha
Nails placed in his hands and feet
Spear was placed in his side
We see that Jesus was really dead
Placed in the tomb of Josephus of Arimithae’s tomb – member of the Jewish ruling council
Large stone – some think 1-2 tons – was placed in front of the tomb
Guards were placed in front of the tomb: 4-16 Roman detachment
Roman seal was placed on the tomb: confirm and warn
Jesus was really placed dead in a sealed tomb
Yet, three days after this, the tomb was empty.
This was never refuted. The disciples were preaching in the vicinity and near the time. People could easily have walked to the tomb. Some, no doubt, did. But that the tomb was empty was never refuted. The very fact that this early proclamation of the empty tomb took place in Jerusalem is remarkable. Silence speaks loudly.
And, there are really only a few potential explanations for this.
A. Jesus swooned – he didn’t really died
I think John Stott best refutes this scenario: are we to believe “that after the rigors and pains of trial, mockery, flogging and crucifixion He could survive thirty-six hours in a stone sepulcher with neither warmth nor food nor medical care? That He could then rally sufficiently to perform the superhuman feat of shifting the boulder which secured the mouth of the tomb, and this without disturbing the Roman guard? That then, weak and sickly and hungry, He could appear to the disciples in such a way as to give them the impression that He had vanquished death? That He could go on to claim that He had died and risen, could send them into all the world and promise to be with them unto the end of time?”
Hallucination – all the sightings of Jesus were false – people didn’t want to believe that Jesus died – and this led to hallucinations
Both the Luke and John gospels emphasize the disciples’ own disbelief at the solidity of what they were seeing, the Luke author for instance, wonderingly reporting ‘...they offered him a piece of fish which he took and ate before their eyes’ (Luke 24:43).
The John author noted the disciple Thomas’ insistence that he was not prepared to believe unless he was able to put his fingers into the wound in Jesus’ side, and recorded that Thomas was specifically allowed to do this “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” Luke 24:38-39
Explaining the resurrection as a hallucination is just not plausible. Besides, once the Way got carried away, the authorities would simply have produced a body to expose the false teaching.
The body was stolen:
By the Roman or Jewish authorities…
In Matthew 28:11-15 we read about an idea of how the tomb was empty. It’s interesting, isn't it, that this highlights the fact that the authorities could NOT produce the body. The very fact that they had to suggest that the body had been stolen shows that the tomb where Jesus was known to be lain was also known to be empty.
Again, they had little to gain from moving the Body – and, even if they had stolen it, why would they have produced it once it was advantageous to do so?
By the disciples…
Roman guards continually kept watch over the tomb because Jesus’ claims that he would rise again from the dead were known. Their presence would have made it next to impossible for the disciples to steal the body without attracting attention. It seems unlikely that some dispirited disciples had actually overcome a Roman guard in combat, and then stolen the body.
I Cor. 15:3-8 is particularly important because easily goes back into the first decade after Christ's death & resurrection. Paul’s testimony here certainly implies his belief in the empty tomb. And the people named were alive & many could be talked to, particularly in Jerusalem. Furthermore, these witnesses had Jesus appear to them, they couldn't find him . Doesn't sound like the way they would have made it up.
The most plausible explanation for the empty tomb – was that Jesus did in fact rise from the dead.
The changes that came after Jesus Resurrection seem to confirm this explanation.
The Changed Lives of the disciples and the changed world.
A. Lives of the Disciples
The behavior of the apostles after Jesus’ death not only defies the conspiracy theory it also corroborates the Miracle Theory. The day Jesus died, they disowned and rejected him, terrified of Jewish authorities. Later, 11 out of the 12 and countless others died martyr’s deaths testifying to the risen Christ. How do you explain the sudden transformation? What would these men have gained from their deception? Nothing but rejection, contempt, torture, and ultimately their deaths. The apostles were in a position to be sure of the truth, and people don’t die for a lie when they know it’s a lie.
Illustration[x]
The Church Grew immeasurably.
We also see that the church itself grew.
Christianity had to begin somehow, you know, and if you just read the gospels up through the crucifixion, you have a hard time explaining it.
Jesus Christ didn’t die as the first martyr in a great cause, thus inflaming the masses. There were no riots, no mass marches when He was killed. His followers were comparatively few. The masses were not inflamed by the noble death of Jesus!
It was Christ’s resurrection that inflamed the people, that began the explosion that is the Christian church, whose impact continues in the lives of many of us gathered here tonight. Without the Resurrection there is no Christianity!
I think the reason for this growth was recorded in Acts 5:
“Some time ago Theudas appeared claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. Therefore in the present case I advise you: Leave these men (the disciples) alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting God.”
That is from the The Pharisee Gamaliel as he tries to persuade the Sanhedrin to leave the disciples alone
Other historical changes took place
The Sabbath day – the original day of worship for the Jews was switched from Saturday to Sunday.
Many scholars who have looked into this suggest that actually, the most weighty argument for the resurrection is the change of day of worship from Saturday to Sunday. Religious habits are--so sociologists, anthropologists and demographers tell us--among the slowest of habits to change. So what can account for this sudden change among some first-century Jews from an observance which was so central to their faith?
b. The introduction of Communion.
Had Jesus not been raised from the dead, do you think his followers would have instituted the sacrament of communion? Surely the memory of the meal which led directly to the betrayal and crucifixion of Jesus would have been an unbearable pain. What changed the anguish of the Last Supper into a communion of joy the world over?
c. The Calendar eventually changed.
The changes that occurred in the world because of the life of Jesus of Nazareth were colossal. Malcolm Muggeridge summarizes his impact:
“Behind the debris of these civilizations stands the gigantic figure of Jesus Christ, because of whom, in whom, and through whom man can ultimately find the answer for himself and for history.” [xi]
8. Jesus has changed lives throughout history and He is still changing them - Our Personal Testimony
But it’s not just these large, worldwide changes that lead to a belief that Jesus rose from the dead, it’s also the many lives of the saints throughout history who have also experienced changed lives.
Spurgeon, sitting in the back of a chapel on a cold, wintry morning with a deacon saying: "look to Jesus. All you have to do is look to Jesus."
CS Lewis: an Oxford professor who had serious intellectual problems that he had to work through.
Colson: who was taken prison to learn that freedom is found in Christ
My life.
You know this is how I became a Christian:
Ecclesiastes – meaningless
Philippians – content in every situation
Why? B/c of Christ – he promises to change our lives – from loving cars and stuff and ourselves – to loving Him.
People think that they don't want their lives changed – not in the way that Jesus will change it – Small ways at first – cursing – but more dramatic ways over time.
Illustration: Pilgrim in Pilgrim's Progress with the huge pack on his back. Relieved when it was removed.
Why do you believe a dead man walked out of a tomb?
1) Jesus is a big deal
2) Jesus was an historical person
3) Jesus is the point of the History of Israel
4) Jesus is spoken about by the prophets of Israel
5) Jesus’ Claims to be Divine are corroborated by his life, teaching and miracles
6) Jesus death and resurrection can not be explained away
7) Jesus’ disciples’ lives and the world dramatically changed after his life
8) Jesus has changed lives throughout history and He is still changing them!
Let’s Pray.
[i]
So – How did He do this?
(1) by Descending to earth - God Himself leaving His throne to walk among us.
(2) by Dying on a cross - to take the punishment that we deserved on Himself – to be a substitute for us. To redeem us – a legal term meaning to pay for ones debt.
3) by Rising from the Dead - and proving that death – and sin – had no power over him and proving that God accepted His sacrifice on our behalf. He pays our debt and gives us an inheritance as co-heirs and Sons of God.
Jesus is the Substitute for all who would turn and trust in Him.
Paul writes this to a small first century church: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works so that no one can boast."
[ii]
[iii] if believed in just as sincerely , couldn’t make.
Now this might be true, if the living Jesus whom Christians talk about was simply “living” in the sense that he is alive metaphorically or symbolically
But this isn't what we Christian’s mean when we say that Jesus lives!
No, that division of the Jesus of history from the Christ of faith turns Him into an idea rather than a person.
But the whole Christian gospel is based not upon God dropping a book to earth, but upon God's becoming a man, suffering for our sins, and rising from the dead in victory.
The Christian faith is a historical one – in which we claim that certain events happened – and that those events actually have a meaning to them. And – the central fact of Christianity surrounds the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
As popular Apologist Ravi Zacharias says: “If, indeed, Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be, any castigation of His message is the ultimate expression of futility. On the other hand, if His claims were false, all of Christendom and much of history has been built upon a lie.”
[iv]
Born in Bethlehem, but grew up in Nazareth
Parents: Mary and Joseph
Cousin: John the Baptist
Siblings: several, James
Occupation: Carpenter
Single, never married
Died at 33 in Jerusalem by Crucifixion
Died with no possessions, nothing that he wrote, just a small band of followers
He left no heirs
[v]
“About this time lived Jesus, a wise man...He performed astonishing feats …Pilate sentenced him to the cross, but those who loved him from the very first did not cease to be attached to him his disciples...reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive;
[vi]
[vii]
[viii]
If someone strikes you on one cheek turn to him the other also.
Don’t perform your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them; don’t let your right hand know what your left is doing.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.
Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and the rest will be given to you as well.
Whoever finds his life will lose it but whoever loses it will find it.
The book of Luke records many of Jesus’ famous parables, each one showing a keen insight into the heart of men. It’s as if this man understands each of us better than we understand ourselves.
[ix]
[x]
“Yet even the prospect of jeopardizing the President we’d worked so hard to elect, of losing the prestige, power, and personal luxury of our offices was not enough incentive to make this group of men contain a lie. Nor as I reflect today, was the pressure really all that great....If John Dean and the rest of us were so panic-stricken, not by the prospect of beatings and execution, but by political disgrace and a possible prison term, one can only speculate about the emotions of the disciples.......Even political zealots at the pinnacle of power will save their own necks in the crunch, though it may be at the expense of the one they profess to serve so zealously. Is it really likely then, that a deliberate cover-up, a plot to perpetuate a lie about the Resurrection, could have survived the violent persecution of the apostles, the scrutiny of early church councils, the horrendous purge of the first-century believers who were cast by the thousands to the lions for refusing to renounce the Lordship of Christ? Is it not probable that at least one of the apostles would have renounced Christ before being beheaded or stoned? Is it not likely that some “smoking gun” document might have been produced exposing the “Passover plot?”
[xi]
