Xristos Anesti! Christ is Risen! This is how Greek Orthodox greet each other beginning on Easter until the day of Ascension, Thursday, June 6. All Christians believe that Christ rose from the dead on Easter Sunday, three days after he was crucified. According to Matthew 28:2, “And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it” and the guards shook from fear and became like dead men. The discovery of the empty tomb was first made by Mary Magdalene and two other women as they arrived to find the stone rolled away and saw an angel with an appearance like lightning and clothing white as snow. He announced that Jesus had risen from the dead and instructed the women to go and tell the disciples.
However, none of the disciples believed the women. I always wondered why. Didn’t Jesus tell the twelve that he would rise from the dead in three days? So why did they not believe? Firstly, women were not considered reliable witness in those days. As a matter of fact, women were not permitted to testify as witnesses in court proceedings. Their testimonies were not considered admissible. If someone had created this story as some suggest, they would not have had women discover the empty tomb. It just was not customary to accept the word of a woman. On the other hand, these were women that were well acquainted with the disciples and were more like family. Why was is so difficult for the disciples to believe Jesus rose from the dead? After all, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.
I suppose, it is the same reason why we may find it difficult to believe! It has never ever happened. No one ever raised themselves from the dead. Even if Jesus raised Lazarus, how could He raise Himself, once He was dead. Jesus often talked about the resurrection of the dead, when those in Hades would receive eternal life in paradise, but no one ever saw the dead spirits. The disciples probably never expected a bodily resurrection. They never expected to see Jesus walking on this Earth. They probably expected to see Him when they died and went to heaven themselves.
Thomas even disbelieved the disciples, when they told Him that they had seen Christ. He declared that “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25). Christ obliged. Thomas touched the wounds in His hands and in His side. Then Thomas believed. He not only believed, but he declared, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28), acknowledging that Jesus was God. They even gave Jesus “a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence” (Luke 24:42-43). A spirit would not be able to eat!
The fact remains, if Jesus did not rise from the dead, all that we believe would be in vain. It is the resurrection, which gives us hope for eternal life. This is what Christ promised. If He did not rise from the dead, He would be little more than a good teacher. However, because Christ kept His promise, we can be assured that His word is truth. No one else ever claimed to have risen from the dead. It is a bold claim.
There were Roman guards placed at the tomb to ensure that the disciples could not steal the body of Jesus. When earthquake revealed the empty tomb, some of the guards reported what had happened to the chief priests. The priests “devised a plan to give a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, “You must say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed” (Matthew 28: 12-15). According to Matthew, the Jews were well acquainted with the story that the disciples had stolen Christ’s body.
However, there are a few problems to this story. First, why would the disciples knowingly die for a lie? If they had truly stolen the body, they would not have been willing to die such horrific deaths, like crucifixion, beheading, being flayed to death from whipping, or being dragged by horses through the streets. Second, if Christ had not risen from the dead bodily, all the chief priests and Roman authorities had to do was produce the dead body. All rumors would have been immediately quashed.
Instead, rather that silencing the Christian movement, it gained momentum. Christians still stubbornly believe that Christ rose from the dead. Why do Christians still persist in their beliefs for two thousand years? It seems illogical and foolish.
“For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God…Where is the one who is wise…Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:18-23).
The proof of Christ, the Son of God who rose from the dead, is in the changed hearts and lives of those who love Him. The frightened and cowardly disciples who ran away and hid after Jesus was crucified became bold proclaimers of His resurrection and died horrific deaths for their beliefs. For two thousand years, even to this day, Christians have been martyred for their beliefs. We Christians claim to know Christ and to have experienced Him in our lives. We do not live by blind faith, but rather, live by what we know to be true, our personal encounters with the living God. Our faith is not based on just a feeling. Our hearts and lives are changed as we come to develop a relationship with our Lord. Every Christian has a story, an experience, which has changed them. Some have experienced a radical change over a short period of time, while others have undergone a gradual change over the years. What is your story?
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