Few of us could completely understand the roller coaster of emotions which Jesus and his followers were on the last week of his life.
On the first day of the week, before he was crucified, he was proclaimed and worshiped as king. But on Thursday night, he was arrested and they all scattered.
On Friday, he was tried and put to death and buried late in the day. This was horrible enough, but it got worse when the body turned up missing on Sunday morning.
And then later that day, Jesus appeared to them seemingly alive and well.
I’m sure that the whole thing seemed to be a nightmare. Jesus had spoken to them about leaving them and even being put to death, but they didn’t understand or believe. So when it happened, they scattered in fear and confusion.
But the belief in the resurrection of Jesus reversed the catastrophe of the crucifixion. Because God had raised Jesus from the dead, he was seen to be Messiah after all.
The resurrection changes the mood of the crucifixion into joyful rejoicing. Not just then, but now.
It is the event that separates the Christian Faith from all other religion and gives to it it’s power. But it is also a very controversial event.
Many people will celebrate the resurrection of and never consider the real meaning and if asked, would not be able to accept the truth.
Every other religion or belief system holds sacred the grave of their founder. But the empty tomb is the cornerstone of the Christian faith.
So Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15, “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:14, 17).
This Sunda, we are going to look at two pieces of evidence to try to answer the question, “Where is the body?”
Join us this Sunday.
