The empty tomb

Did Jesus Christ really resurrect on the third day after He was crucified, died and was buried? To us Christians and believers, the answer is a firm and unwavering “yes” mainly because this is a sacred truth which our Holy Catholic Church believes and teaches. But to those who would not want to fully rely on faith alone, doubts cannot be totally erased. And this is understandable and expected because of our imperfect human nature. In fact, our brother Jews whom God first chose to be his own have their own version of the event.

The only given and admitted fact in this controversy is the physical evidence of Jesus’ empty tomb three days after he was buried. The Sacred Scripture gives us a vivid account of how Jesus’ tomb became empty. As culled from the Gospel of Sts. Matthew (28:1-15), Mark (16:1-10), Luke (24: 1-12) and John (20:1-10), there were three women who first saw what happened: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and either Salome or Joanna.

Based on their account of the event, it was very early Sunday morning when they went to the tomb carrying spices they had prepared. On the way, foremost in their mind was the very large stone at the entrance, so they said to one another, “who will roll away for us the stone at the entrance to the tomb?” To their surprise however, when they arrived at the tomb, they found the stone already rolled away. So they just entered. But to their further surprise, they did not find the body of Christ. As they stood there puzzled, an angel of the Lord in the person of a young man wearing a white shining robe suddenly appeared, sitting at their right. Full of fear, the women bowed down, as the angel of the Lord told them: “you must not be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; He has been raised. Come here and see the place where He was lying. Go quickly now and tell his disciples that He has been raised from death and now He is going to Galilee ahead of you. There you will see Him. Remember what I told you”

Upon hearing these, the women suddenly ran, afraid and yet filled with joy. Suddenly Jesus met them and said “Peace be with you”. They came up to Him took hold of His feet and worshipped Him. “Do not be afraid”, Jesus said to them. “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee and there they will see me”

When the women told the disciples what they saw, the latter at first did not believe them. But Peter and John got up and ran to the tomb and saw only the linen cloth lying there as well as the cloth which had been around Jesus’ head rolled up by itself. Then they went back amazed at what happened.

On the other hand, the guards at the tomb who were also so afraid, pale and trembling confirmed that the tomb was really empty as they went back to the city and told the chief priest everything that had happened. At that time tomb robbing was not unusual. In fact, there was even a decree issued by Emperor Claudius punishing “anyone who has extracted the buried corpse or has maliciously transferred them” So the guards were instructed to say that Jesus’ disciples came during the night and stole the body while they were asleep. This is the report spread around by the guards after they were given a large sum of money. And this is the report accepted by the Jews up to this very day as a plausible explanation of the empty tomb considered in the light of the rampant “tomb stealing” in those days.

During these times, the most acceptable way perhaps to resolve this controversy is to conduct a full blown court trial under the existing judicial system where both sides will present their evidence to prove their story. The rule of evidence that can be used here is the one which says that “evidence to be believed must not only proceed from the mouth of a credible witness but must be credible in itself as common experience and observation of mankind can accept to be probable under the circumstances. The test of truth of human testimony is its conformity to our knowledge, observation and experience”

In this case of Christ’s resurrection, it is likewise duly recorded and undisputed that on the night of the first day of the week, Jesus appeared to the eleven apostles in closed door session, showed them His wounds, talked and ate with them. The judge or jury trying the case can thus easily take judicial notice of the following observations made by a learned author: “In a matter of hours after the discovery of the empty tomb, His followers were amazingly transformed. They came sparklingly animated with new vision and power proclaiming that Jesus had risen. No amount of persecution could stop them in preaching the good news that He has truly risen. If fact some of them were also crucified, fed to the lions and burned alive for preaching the resurrection of Christ. If the disciples had stolen Jesus’ body, is it conceivable that these eleven men would then have faced death with radiant courage…to propagate a doctrine which they know to be false?”

The choice is therefore quite clear and easy: witnesses who are willing to die for what they saw and experienced are more believable than paid witnesses.

 So, let us rejoice and be glad, the Lord has truly risen!

HAPPY EASTER TO ALL

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