Introduction
Christianity is the sole true faith comprising the foundation of Jesus Christ, the living Savior, sent by God to deliver humankind from the sin committed by the first humans, Adam and Eve. God, the supreme in the holy trinity hierarchy, had good plans to bring the human race to salvation. Due to His good plans, God chose to send His only son, the second on the Trinity, to die because of the world’s sins. Jesus Christ fulfilled all the Old Testament’s Messianic prophesies that foretold His birth, life, mission, and the mysterious death as made glorious and influential in the gospel. Since He rose on the third day to fulfil the scriptures, the Christian faith was considered credible as Jesus Christ remains the cornerstone of all Christian’s faith and those who witnessed His ascension. The disciples of Jesus did not steal his body after death and burial: the most logical and provable reason behind the loss of Jesus’s body is the resurrection that occurred after three days.
The Resurrection of Jesus
The death of Jesus Christ was one of the most mysterious events that have ever happened in the world. The night before, He knew that He would die the following day. That evening, Jesus took his disciples, and they prepared and had a common special meal, biblically referred to as the last supper. After the last supper, He delegated various roles and missions to his disciples. Interestingly, He identified the sole disciple who could betray him, Judas Iscariot, and the one who could deny him, Simon Peter. Then, they went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray but the Roman soldiers arrested him within the process. The next day, He died after a trial and death sentence through crucifixion after a series of persecution and mockery. The event looked mysterious and resembled a royal occasion as He was escorted by soldiers from the highest authority and crucified between two thieves. Although He had done many miracles throughout his mission, Jesus’s resurrection was the greatest.
The initial twelve disciples walked with Christ wherever He went to spread the word of God, deliver biblical teachings, and provide a way to salvation. They not only acted as Jesus’s disciples but also as His best friends. Moreover, some of the disciples, such as John, James, and Peter, were more than a brother to Jesus. The friendship of Jesus was the best in the world as they lived and walked together as a family. In their entire mission or journey to salvation, the disciples never collided or quarreled with one another. Although many people like the Pharisees, high priests, and Jewish rulers always worked against them, the disciples fought hard to stay together and help all the people in need. Therefore, it would be easy for the theorists to conclude that they stole the body.
However, there was no evidence to testify or approve that the disciples stole the body. There was no specific grave nor tomb to which the theorists can claim to be the real place where Jesus’s body was buried soon after the disciples stole it. Although others might claim that the disciples burned down the body, you all understand that the act was forbidden and considered a greater sin and act of treason. In the whole mission, the 12 disciples had solid respect for their master and leaders as they walked together in their daily missions. Hence, they could not temper with His body since that could be disrespectful to the Savior and was a great sin.
After Jesus’s death by crucifixion, a man named Joseph of Arimathea requested for His body to bury it in his tomb. The tomb was uniquely made, spacious, and fit to lay the body of the Messiah and put it into eternal rest. In addition, the entrance of the tomb was sealed with a very huge and heavy stone which three-dozen people could not lift, roll or move with their hands. Furthermore, the tomb was guided by highly skilled tacticians and soldiers in the Roman army day and night so that no one could walk across or near the place. A former tax collector or fisherman could not fight against and overpower an imperial roman soldier and escape with a corpse unnoticed. Therefore, the eleven disciples had no chance to reach His body by themselves; hence they would need more people and energy to walk past the guides and open the tomb’s impossible entrance.
Furthermore, the disciples believed in their master, knew what He could do, and could not lie to them that He would rise again three days after his death. They trusted him that He would keep the promise as well as testify the prophecies from various prophets in the Old Testament. Their theory would not have any straightforward explanation on Jesus’s missing body but would mean that Jesus was not the true Messiah and His missions, teachings, and prophesies were not true. Therefore, the disciples rarely took any action against the roman rulers, laws, and soldiers to prove to the whole nation and the neighboring lands that Jesus Chris was the true Messiah and the Son of the Most High. However, the act would lead to the disciples being referred to as the liars and preachers of a false gospel.
As anyone can recall, after Jesus Christ was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, only one disciple followed Him as he was taken for trial and judgment by King Herod and Pontius Pilate. The man was Simon Peter, who at some point denied Jesus thrice before the cock crow and escaped soon after the crowd started to notice him as one of Christ’s disciples. Even after Mary Magdalene and the other two women informed the disciples about Jesus’s resurrection, only Peter went out to confirm the news. Therefore, no one among the disciple went outdoors for the period between Jesus’s arrest and resurrection.
Conclusion
Only three groups could steal Jesus’s body; the Jewish leaders, Roman soldiers, and His disciples. The roman soldiers only followed orders from their leaders and had no interest in the body. On the other hand, the Jewish leaders could not bother to touch the body to preserve their religion. The disciples also believed in the Messiah and respected His body. Therefore, the most logical reason behind the loss of Jesus’s body, which even the Roman soldiers can testify, is resurrection.
Bibliography
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