He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said.
(Matthew 28.6 NRSV)
Over a thousand years ago, a Spanish kingdom was under attack by foreign invaders. For many years, one small fort withstood all assaults, thanks to a remarkable leader called El Cid. When their great leader died, his followers had an idea. They dressed his body in his armor, tied a sword in his hand, and placed his corpse on his horse. With El Cid's body in the lead, the Spanish forces charged. But they were quickly defeated, for this act fooled no one. A desperate trick that collapsed led to despair instead of victory.

There will always be those who insist that this was the strategy of the early church--a dead leader, dressed in armor, propped up on a horse with sword in hand. "Tell people," the chief priests said to the soldiers following Christ's resurrection, "that his disciples came while you were asleep and stole his body. That way if the story of his disappearance reaches the governor's ears you won't get into trouble." (Mt. 28:14) Thus from the very beginning, the explanation was advanced that the disciples had stolen Christ's body in order to invent the story of his resurrection.

Never has a less satisfactory solution been proposed to a difficult problem. The reason this explanation was not persuasive then is the same reason it is not persuasive now. It simply does not fit the facts. Christ is alive and nothing can change that fact!

God of the living, thank you for making me alive through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Ron Newhouse

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