Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from the article, “The cross and the empty tomb” written by Dale Chrisman, Faith Columnist of Hill Country News, Cedar Park, Texas.
Being a follower of Christ requires faith. But it’s not a blind faith.
As we approach Resurrection Day, Christians look to the Cross. But there’s another symbol that’s important to Christians. Some even believe it’s more important than the Cross. The other symbol is the Empty Tomb.
There’s a lot of evidence for the resurrection. How do we know for a fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and the tomb was, indeed, empty?
It’s early Sunday morning two thousand years ago. The sky is black. The elite Roman soldiers are standing watch, alert. They’re under orders to allow no one to move that huge boulder in front of the tomb. The authorities have warned them that grave robbers might try to steal the body or; worse yet, those pesky disciples might try to take the body and then claim that their rabbi had, indeed, risen from the dead. No way was that going to happen. Plus, the penalty for falling asleep on a guard watch, under Roman law, was to be put to death. So, their eyes are wide open and they’re looking for troublemakers.
Suddenly, there was a violent earthquake and the sky was lit up by a blinding light. Then, the lightning took the shape of an angel. He removed the stone as if it were weightless. When the guards peered into the tomb, imagine their shock when they saw… nothing! The body was gone.
First, there’s no evidence that the soldiers or authorities ever challenged its emptiness. No Pharisee or Roman ever led the authorities back to the tomb and said “See, there’s the body.” All they had to do to stop those rumors was to produce the body. But there was no body.
That helps explain the great Jerusalem Revival that we read about in Acts. When the disciples and apostles preached Jesus Christ and him crucified and resurrected, the Pharisees and the Roman authorities had no rebuttal. Their silence was deafening.
We know Jesus was resurrected because, for the next forty days, he was seen by thousands. The Jewish historian Josephus writes of people who said they saw and talked with the man who claimed to be the Messiah — after he was crucified.
And we know that the spread of Christianity over the next several hundred years was supernaturally-powered by the Holy Spirit. The Jews were hostile. The Romans were hostile. The Greeks were hostile. Christianity had nothing going in its favor except that it was true.
Being a follower of Christ requires faith. But it’s not a blind faith.
As we approach Resurrection Day, Christians look to the Cross. But there’s another symbol that’s important to Christians. Some even believe it’s more important than the Cross. The other symbol is the Empty Tomb.
There’s a lot of evidence for the resurrection. How do we know for a fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and the tomb was, indeed, empty?
It’s early Sunday morning two thousand years ago. The sky is black. The elite Roman soldiers are standing watch, alert. They’re under orders to allow no one to move that huge boulder in front of the tomb. The authorities have warned them that grave robbers might try to steal the body or; worse yet, those pesky disciples might try to take the body and then claim that their rabbi had, indeed, risen from the dead. No way was that going to happen. Plus, the penalty for falling asleep on a guard watch, under Roman law, was to be put to death. So, their eyes are wide open and they’re looking for troublemakers.
Suddenly, there was a violent earthquake and the sky was lit up by a blinding light. Then, the lightning took the shape of an angel. He removed the stone as if it were weightless. When the guards peered into the tomb, imagine their shock when they saw… nothing! The body was gone.
First, there’s no evidence that the soldiers or authorities ever challenged its emptiness. No Pharisee or Roman ever led the authorities back to the tomb and said “See, there’s the body.” All they had to do to stop those rumors was to produce the body. But there was no body.
That helps explain the great Jerusalem Revival that we read about in Acts. When the disciples and apostles preached Jesus Christ and him crucified and resurrected, the Pharisees and the Roman authorities had no rebuttal. Their silence was deafening.
We know Jesus was resurrected because, for the next forty days, he was seen by thousands. The Jewish historian Josephus writes of people who said they saw and talked with the man who claimed to be the Messiah — after he was crucified.
And we know that the spread of Christianity over the next several hundred years was supernaturally-powered by the Holy Spirit. The Jews were hostile. The Romans were hostile. The Greeks were hostile. Christianity had nothing going in its favor except that it was true.
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