If it is thought of as a news event of these times, the press would not have spared space to record the great event of the Resurrection of Jesus. From a journalistic perspective and obviously with the respect that the Catholic fact represents, we present a record of how a media outlet would write this news. Let’s see:
Jesus has risen!
Mysteriously, the tomb of Jesus, located in the area of Gordon’s Calvary, meters away from the city of Jerusalem, is completely empty. The body of the Nazarene had been deposited in that grave last Friday afternoon/night, after a long, stormy and painful day of crucifixion, after the controversial trial presided over by the Roman Prosecutor of Judea, Pilate, and which concluded with the death warrant.
The news of the Resurrection was spread by three women, who, when they went to the tomb, noticed that it was uncovered and without the mortal remains of Jesus.
Mary Magdalene, one of the women who says that the so-called Messiah was resurrected, said that when she arrived at the cemetery she saw the diffuse image of an angel who asked her the following question: “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”
“There was no body. “Jesus is resurrected!” said the surprised woman.
Jesus was resurrected on the third day.
The guards guarding the tomb stated literally: “We did not see any body resurrected.” However, they stated that this morning they did feel the floor move and they saw in a strange way how the stone was being removed from Jesus’ tomb.
They argued that, like Mary Magdalene, they also saw a diffuse image that had a great lightning-like glow:
“I was unmoved and I don’t remember what else happened. It’s like I’ve fallen asleep. When I reacted, the tomb was empty,” said one of the guardians.
The testimony of this guard, who reiterated that he suffered a tremendous scare, was provided to the Roman authorities, as well as the Roman princes. For today, in an extraordinary manner, a security council is planned, with the presence of Pilate and the high priests.
Reactions of the Jews
Memory of the passage of Jesus and his meeting with the Pharisees.
Detractors of Jesus, including the Pharisees, today dismiss versions of the Resurrection of Jesus. “We cannot forget that Jesus was an ‘imposter’ and that, even while still alive, he had said that after three days he would rise again. It seems to me that his disciples, to give credence to these words, stole the corpse to be able to tell the people that Jesus has risen from the dead,” said one of the Jews consulted by this Editorial Team.
For his part, the Prosecutor of Judea has not dared to issue any opinion, until the testimonies that account for the mysterious event are investigated and credit can be given.
For the apostles who followed Jesus in life, “the referenced Resurrection is the most important miracle that the Master has worked. That is the conclusive proof of his divinity, and the main foundation of our faith,” explained Pablo, one of his most devoted disciples.
He gave greater value to this news, taking into account that Jesus had prophesied his Resurrection on several occasions: “It is the breaking latest news of an announced miracle. We knew this not only the apostles, but also the enemies of Christ; Therefore, they hastened to ask Pilate for guards for the tomb.”
At the close of this edition, both the Jews, the highest hierarchs and the Roman authorities were discussing the veracity of the facts and even an exhaustive investigation was ordered.
The experts speak
Resurrection
If analyzed in current times, there would be many theses that would arise around the news of the Resurrection of Jesus. We set ourselves the task of finding out what some of the people who have studied the topic think.
For example, there are many doubts that Jesus’ tomb was mysteriously empty. However, Paul Althaus has said, ‘the message of the Resurrection’ could not have been sustained in Jerusalem for even a day, nor an hour, if the empty tomb had not been an established fact.
Another skeptic, John Dominic Crossan, claims that Roman law automatically prohibited the burial of Jesus, and that he must therefore have been thrown into a mass grave.
Raymond Brown, for his part, explained that Roman burial policy varied with circumstances and allowed the possibility of personal burials for some of those crucified.
If the gospels had been false in this matter, they would not have been able to withstand the rapid rectification of the Jews.
How do skeptics react today to the topic of the Resurrection of Christ?
Jesus came back to life
Some have said that someone must have stolen Jesus’ body from the tomb, and that this sparked the stories of the miraculous resurrection. Is it possible?
Neither the Jews nor the Roman leaders who guarded the tomb would have taken the body from the place. In fact, both had every reason to show their bodies in public, with the intention of humiliating the disciples and nipping their movement in the bud.
However, no body was shown. If the Jews had the body, they would have displayed it on the day of Pentecost when all of Jerusalem was in an uproar because of Peter’s sermon on the Resurrection of Jesus.
Likewise, it is extremely unlikely that Jesus’ followers could have removed the body with a Roman guard protecting the tomb, plus a large stone for a door.
Why would the disciples (or anyone else) want to risk their lives to steal the body of Christ?
The Biblical record shows that the disciples were cowed, discouraged, and discouraged. His only motive could have been to deceive his followers.
But everything we read about these men indicates that they were good and honest. How could they have gone out into the streets for the rest of their lives and preached every day that Christ had risen from the dead, when they knew, all along, that it was a lie?
Would they have sacrificed and suffered so greatly for something they knew was an absolute deception?
It would have been foolish to hide the corpse and fake a Resurrection. More knowing that the consequences of his loyalty to Jesus led to whippings, imprisonment, and even the death of Jesus himself.
The explosive growth of the Church is compelling evidence in favor of the Resurrection of Jesus. Significantly, it was not the powerful, but the commoners, marked with all the cultural stigmas against them, whose message of resurrection peacefully transformed the Roman Empire.