plain how the tomb became empty, but not one of them has ever been generally accepted, even by the enemies of the Christian faith, by those who deny that Christ is the Son of God. Theories are still being manu factured. The question of how the tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea be came empty is still a problem which those who reject the resur rection are not able to solve, and they confess that they cannot. The first theory ever constructed to rationalistically explain the empty tomb, and at the same time deny the resurrection, was that concocted by the Sanhedrin on Easter day. It is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. When the soldiers who had been stationed at the tomb came to report that it was empty, these leaders told them to tell everyone that the disciples came and stole the body while the sol diers were sleeping! (How would these soldiers know what went on while they were asleep?) Remember too, that the disciples devoted their whole lives to the preaching of the resurrection of Jesus. It is this preaching that “ turned the world upside down.” It is contrary to all the experience of men we know—and contrary to human nature—for 11 men who had stolen His body to say He had risen, and then go out and suffer indignities, excommunication, per secution, imprisonment, beat ings , torture and finally, death—all for a lie. The disciples possessed the deep conviction that they had seen Jesus alive after He had died, and be cause of this conviction the pagan religions of the Roman world went to pieces; thousands of people re ceived Christ as Saviour; many of His enemies were themselves con verted, believing in His resurrec tion. Our Lord appeared to His dis ciples and followers during the 40 days immediately following His resurrection. He appeared to cer tain women as they returned from the sepulchre on Easter morning; and then separately to Mary Mag dalene. He appeared privately to the apostle Peter, sometime the CONTINUED
on the third day He would rise again. What would p e o p l e conclude about you and me if, meeting a friend on the street, we should say, “ I feel death coming over me; I believe I will not live later than the end of the week” (such premo nitions of death have frequently been vouch-safed to men and wom en) ; and then you should say, “ But never mind, do not get anyone to take my place in the office, or in the classroom; for in three days after I die, I will rise again?” What would your friends think? Well, they would do more than think; they would say that you were losing your mind, and would grieve for the extreme insanity that had come over you; they would lose all confidence in everything else you were saying; they would know you were out of your mind. Only a fool would say he is going to rise three days after he dies; only a fool, unless — unless he is going to rise. That Jesus did rise from the dead is confirmed first of all by the empty tomb. That the tomb was empty on Easter morning is ac knowledged by Jew and Gentile, by believer and unbeliever, by Christian and scoffer. All admit that the testimony is overwhelm ing that the tomb was empty. The women went to the tomb and found it empty. Peter and John followed and they found it empty. The San hedrin that had condemned Jesus to death confessed it was empty, because they concocted a story to explain how it had become empty. The angels from heaven said it was empty, declaring to the wondering disciples, “ Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was cru cified. He is not here; for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” There are many theories to ex- About the Author A long-time pastor in the East, Wilbur M. Smith is now professor of English Bible at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena. Smith, an avid reader, has a private li brary that rivals many a public one. He is a contributor to religious publications and has written a number of books. This article is now in booklet form, published by Tiny Giant Books, Los Angeles.
Now, one thing about Jesus is that He was no liar. He con demned falsehood; He lived the truth; He claimed to be the truth incarnate. Falsehood He loathed. No one can ever honestly accuse Him of lying. He certainly was not a deceiver, for His own enemies said, “Never man spake as this man.” If He were self-deceived, He would not deserve to be the joy fully acknowledged leader of mil lions of men and women through the ages. He was not deceived in the prophecies He made concern ing the fall of Jerusalem; He was not deceived concerning the proph ecies He uttered regarding His own death. He did not reveal Himself to be an unbalanced man as He went around doing good. There is only one other conclu sion to come to: this man Jesus was speaking the truth. The dual ques tion Jesus asked while on earth is still a living question— “Which of you convicteth me of sin? If I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?” Here is a tremendous option. In this matter must we not come to a decision? These are the words Jesus uttered. This is the kind of man He was. What do you think of these words? They cannot honestly be brushed aside. They concern you and me, and He intended that they should. He said that through Him was the way to God; there is no other. He said His blood would wash away sins; there is no other way for washing away sins. He said He came to make us free; there is no true freedom apart from Him. He came to bestow peace and joy. He said He would go and prepare a home for us; if we do not have Christ we do not have His home. These things concern us; they vitally concern us; they will eter nally concern us. We should come to a conclusion regarding them. The Man Who Arose from the Dead The most important single event that ever took place on this earth, with the possible exception of our Lord’s crucifixion, was the resur rection of Jesus. Jesus had done a very daring thing: on five occasions during His life on earth, He had predicted that
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T H E K IN G 'S BU SINESS
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