The breaking news of an unaccounted-for missing body and an empty tomb brought fear into the hearts of Israel’s political and religious leaders.  Panic struck, they hurried to fabricate a plausible explanation that the body of Jesus was stolen, rather than admit to the truth that the resurrection of Christ was now an historical fact.  

Such a construct was not a novel idea, for exchanging the truth for a lie had proven to be a successful tactic since first introduced by Satan in the Garden of Eden when he asked Eve … “Did God really say” (Gen 3:1b NIV)?   Thousands of years had passed since that first temptation, yet Paul reminded the Romans that Satan’s tactics had not changed in fostering man’s unbelief.   “For although they [unbelieving mankind] knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles” and …. “they exchanged the truth of God for a lie” (Rom 1:21, 22,25a NIV). 

Matthew wrote concerning the resurrection in his gospel …  “While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.  When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’  If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”  So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day” (Matt 28:11-15 NIV). Though the lies suppressed the facts at first, they were soon exposed as false, especially to those willing and desiring to know Truth. 

The women at the tomb, the first ones to hear of the risen Savior were overwhelmed by their encounter with the angel at the tomb. They could not hold within themselves the good news of the resurrection. “When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others.  It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles” (Luke 24:9-11 NIV).

The Apostle Paul, referring to his own encounter with the risen Christ, wrote … “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.  After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.  Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also.” (1 Cor 15:3-8a NIV). 

Though the historical reality of the resurrected Jesus is undeniable, many today in their unbelief ignore the Truth concerning the One whom God the Father affirmed saying … “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (2 Peter 1:17b NIV).  Paul was confronted with this unbelief in Corinth.  “But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Cor 15:12-14 NIV).  Paul’s argument is reenforced when the words of the angel to Mary Magdlene are recalled … “Remember how he [Jesus] told you” (Luke 24:6c NIV). 

Harry Martinez, a resident of Albany, is a retired minister who served a nondenominational congregation in Florida. His weekly column appears in several South Georgia newspapers.