The Losers in the Resurrection Story

 Jesus died.  Everyone agrees about this.  The Romans.  The Jews.  Pontius Pilate.  Mary, Mother of Jesus.  The entire population of Jerusalem.  The story gets muddled when it comes to the Resurrection.  Let's look at this from the point of view of the people who stood to lose if the body disappeared.  In my opinion, the Romans had the most to lose.  They were in power.  They wanted to keep their power.  If you were in charge, wouldn't you do everything to keep that dead body in the tomb?  Wouldn't you put your best people around the tomb to prevent a theft of the dead body?  These Roman guards were burned alive if one fell asleep during guard duty.  Odds are that these guards stayed awake.

Who else would be considered a loser if the body was stolen?  How about the Pharisees who believed Jesus was a false Messiah?  Yep.  A stolen body would lead to all kinds of chaos.  Their power over the Jews would be threatened.  They urged the Romans to post guards at the tomb to prevent them from turning into losers.

There is a third group who would be considered losers if that dead body disappeared.  This group is still active today.  This group celebrated when Jesus was crucified.  They thought they won.  Like the Romans and the Pharisees, a missing body would challenge the power they have in this world.  In my opinion, this third group got bamboozled.  They knew better than anyone on the planet who Jesus is.  How incredible it must have been to see Jesus descend into their dark world and set all the dead people free.  The breakout was massive.  Death lost its power.  Boom.  The dark side lost.  

There may be a great number of people who refuse to believe Jesus rose from the dead.  I believe all the evidence you need is right in front of you should you choose to seek.  I also believe you will find the answers.  Start with the empty tomb.  Ask yourself why it was empty on the third day as Jesus predicted.  Ask yourself why the Romans couldn't stop the body from disappearing.  Most importantly, ask yourself what a resurrection means to you.  What changes in your life when you realize death has no power over you?  The losers in the resurrection story don't want you to consider these questions.  Consider one more thing.  Jesus not only promised he would come back from the dead, he also promised he will come back one more time.  Which side will you be on when that happens?  Have a great day.