An empty tomb; still the most compelling difference that separates all religions is the resurrection of Jesus Christ during that fateful moment documented in the Gospels, and the moment of truth for the substantiation of Christianity. Even the Bible acknowledges, if Jesus has not risen, then your faith is in vain.http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/jeff_lowder/empty.html
Jesus made the bold prediction several times that He would be killed but rise again. The American boxer Mohammed Ali gained notoriety for calling out the round he would knock his opponent out. Who else has predicted their death and then left even circumstantial evidence that the resurrection took place?
Scoffers more than a thousand years later have attempted to invent explanations regarding the resurrection of Christ; Jesus didn’t really die, or they went to the wrong tomb, or the disciples stole the body, or the Roman guard was asleep and Jesus’ body was stolen.
The swoon theory is ridiculous because of the severe beating Jesus took and the extreme lacerations given with the Roman flagrum. Most people died from a scourging due to loss of blood and massive tissue damage. Jesus was strong from his occupation of being a carpenter, however the loss of blood weakened Him tremendously. Even Pontius Pilot was surprised Jesus died rather quickly after being crucified because normally it took days for one to die, and Jesus was far from normal.
The Romans were experts and quite adept to the killing process, and when the two thieves crucified with Jesus had their legs broken to hasten their death, the Romans saw that Jesus was already dead. For good measure one Roman thrust a spear through his side spilling blood and water from the pocket of fluid that accumulated in his chest. Jesus was dead all right.
The wrong tomb is too silly to seriously consider. The Romans had sense enough to post a guard at the correct tomb, especially after the appeal of Joseph of Arimathea to Pilot. If the Romans were not sure of the location of the tomb, they had the techniques to persuade Joseph to disclose where the tomb was. And for what possible reason would Joseph not disclose where the tomb was anyway? If Joseph didn’t disclose where the tomb was, he would have been tortured and probably killed.http://www.provethebible.net/T2-Divin/D-0505.htm
The disciples stole the body is more laughable than the wrong tomb. The disciples were scared silly of being killed by the Romans for association with Jesus or the Sanhedrin who would be happy to dispatch the remaining group of disciples. Additionally, a Roman cohort guarded the tomb at the request of Caiaphas…and a cohort consisted of anywhere from 40 to 80 soldiers. Jesus allegedly had thousands of followers and the Romans weren’t dumb enough to leave three soldiers to handle potential trouble.
The most widely circulated story was created by the Sanhedrin who bribed the soldiers to say they fell asleep and the body was then stolen. If they fell asleep, it’s kind of difficult to testify who stole the body. And it’s ludicrous to assume all 40 to 80 soldiers fell asleep at the same time.
What is the punishment for sleeping on duty? It is death by torture or even crucifixion. All sleeping?…….sure.
All the disciples faced death willingly after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. If all of it was a fabrication, why in the world would every disciple face death when all they had to say was to reject Christ? It would be ludicrous to assume somebody would not crack, not doubting Thomas or even Peter who denied Christ three times. What else could have injected boldness and courage into this group? The transformation of their resolve was spectacular. Nobody in their right mind would die for a lie.
One of the most controversial relics that may be direct evidence to Jesus’ resurrection is the Shroud of Turin. There has been squabbling over its authenticity for centuries, however the latest on the burial cloth of Jesus has placed its origination between 300 BC and 400 AD. Ignored is the method of how the image on the cloth was created since photography had not been invented.. The image is a photographic reverse of current technology and can’t even be adequately produced with today’s methods.http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/healthscience/2013/March/New-Research-Suggests-Jesus-Shroud-No-Forgery/
The best guess is a burst of enormous energy created the image on the cloth. Those claiming it was painted don’t know what they are talking about. No paint or artificial coloring method produced the image. It is more of a dot matrix type of imagery that was produced by an unknown source of light or energy.
Regardless of rational explanations that are attempted to explain an empty tomb, all of the evidence points to an extraordinary circumstance well documented in the historical records. Besides documentation in the gospels, hundreds of witnesses saw Jesus as a resurrected being. However one decides to accept or reject the resurrection of Christ, it is still by faith that determines the ultimate disposition of the matter.
As Jesus Himself declared to a doubting Thomas, “Because you have seen, you believe. Blessed are they that have not seen yet believe”.
Faith and belief are still the glue to a believer’s reality.