Examining the credibility of the Resurrection

By PAT ARENSBERG
For The Catholic Week
The tomb is empty!  Alleluia!  Our faith in Jesus is dependent on the bodily resurrection of Jesus.  We may say something like, “It is incredible that Jesus rose from the dead!”  We mean to say, that it is fantastic and wonderful, but there are many people in this world who will take the more literal meaning; it is not believable.  I would like to spend some time reflecting on the credibility of Jesus’ resurrection.  Please know that I am going to do so in a very brief manner.
First, the tomb of Jesus was known by the Jewish and Roman officials.  They both had a vested interest in making sure that nothing happened to Jesus’ body once it was placed in the tomb.  They were aware of the claim that Jesus made about rising from the dead.  Secondly, this also is how we know that the tomb in which Jesus was laid was in fact empty on Easter Sunday and thereafter.  If the body of Jesus had been in the tomb after His disciples proclaimed that Jesus had risen from the dead, it would have been very easy for the Jews and Romans to produce the body and disprove the claim.  No one would have persisted in their belief in Jesus in this case.  So we know that Jesus’ tomb was in fact empty.
Any fair-minded investigation as to what happened to the body would include the question of whether the disciples of Jesus stole the body and hid it so that they could claim the Resurrection.  This would have been an improbable possibility since the tomb was guarded by Jesus’ detractors, and it also seems out of character for 11 men who ran away in fear and abandoned Jesus at His arrest.  However, even more compelling is the fact that ten of those 11 Apostles died horrible deaths in lieu of denying Jesus’ divinity and resurrection.  If some in that group had stolen the body and were perpetrating a fraud, they certainly would not have died gruesome deaths for their faith in Jesus (whom they would have known was not divine).  
It also stretches credulity to propose that someone else stole the body as a joke.  Since the tomb was guarded, any potential thief would have been risking crucifixion to pull off the joke.
So, we know that Jesus’ tomb was empty and that the body was not stolen. 
There are two other theories, even more far-fetched than those rebutted above. 
First is the possibility that an earthquake caused the body to be lost in rubble or in a fissure in the tomb.  Really?  Can we really think that the Jews and Romans would not have been able to figure that out when they investigated the tomb?  The other far-fetch theory is that Jesus was not dead when taken from the cross.  Rather, He was unconscious.  I am way over length so … the Romans were cruel in the extreme and did not underdo punishment.  Also, if one is unconscious on the cross (not getting up on their tip-toes to catch a good breath) they would quickly suffocate (this is why they wanted to break the legs of the criminals being crucified with Jesus).  Finally, even if somehow Jesus was not dead when removed from the cross, He would not have been able to appear in the Upper Room just over 48 hours later and convince the Apostles that He had been resurrected.
The most reasonable thing to believe is that Jesus rose from the dead.
— Pat Arensberg is the Director of the Office for Evangelization and Family Life. Email him at [email protected] 
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