More than 530 people were eyewitnesses. They saw Jesus after He had been buried. He was alive!
The evidence was so clear that Jesus had arisen from the dead that the Roman government had to make up a cover-up story and say that Jesus’ disciples had stolen His body.
Really? How could that happen when the tomb was guarded by Roman soldiers? And there was a stone over the tomb which was sealed with a Roman seal? How could the all-powerful Roman government admit publicly that they had been overpowered or tricked so successfully that Jesus’ disciples were able to steal His body?
Besides, there were too many witnesses who saw Him alive. They were known by name.
This presented quite a problem for the Roman government. If Jesus’ body was stolen, He still came back to life! And were the Roman soldiers punished for their inability to stop His Resurrection? As with most government coverups, credibility breaks down quickly when the evidence is examined.
I’ve heard it suggested more than once that the symbol of Christianity should be the empty tomb. While Jesus’ death on the cross paid for our sins, His Resurrection gives us Eternal Life right now. If there were no Resurrection, this great salvation would be impotent beyond forgivenss. But, Jesus came back to life on the Third Day!
His resurrection is proof that He is God. Without this proof, His death would just be another death of a human being. While it would have been admirable and awesome for a human being to die for another human being, that death would not pay for any sins committed by the one saved. It is only possible for Jesus’ death to be effective for our forgiveness if He is God and He arose from the grave.
Bill and Gloria Gaither wrote: “An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives. Because He lives I can face tomorrow. Because He lives all fear is gone. Because I know, I know He holds the future; and life is worth the living just because He lives.”
Now why are we concerned about what governments do? Won’t they have to face God in the Judgment? Were they able to stop Jesus? Were they able to discredit Him? No. The Roman government was only able to be an instrument in fulfilling the plan and will of God for all mankind.
Even death had no power over Jesus Christ, the True and Living God! How can a human government match that kind of power?