Lee Strobel

And we could talk all day about all the evidence the tomb was empty, but the best evidence to me was we know from sources inside and outside the New Testament that when the disciples began proclaiming that Jesus had risen, what the enemies of Jesus said was, oh, well, the disciples stole the body. Now they're admitting the tomb is empty. They're admitting it's empty. The ones who crucified it.

And we could talk all day about all the evidence the tomb was empty, but the best evidence to me was we know from sources inside and outside the New Testament that when the disciples began proclaiming that Jesus had risen, what the enemies of Jesus said was, oh, well, the disciples stole the body. Now they're admitting the tomb is empty. They're admitting it's empty. The ones who crucified it.

And we could talk all day about all the evidence the tomb was empty, but the best evidence to me was we know from sources inside and outside the New Testament that when the disciples began proclaiming that Jesus had risen, what the enemies of Jesus said was, oh, well, the disciples stole the body. Now they're admitting the tomb is empty. They're admitting it's empty. The ones who crucified it.

Yeah. They're just trying to explain how it got empty. It's like if you're a teacher and a student comes up to you and says, the dog ate my homework. As soon as admitting it, look, I don't have my homework, but I can explain what happened to it. The dog ate. It's the same thing.

Yeah. They're just trying to explain how it got empty. It's like if you're a teacher and a student comes up to you and says, the dog ate my homework. As soon as admitting it, look, I don't have my homework, but I can explain what happened to it. The dog ate. It's the same thing.

Yeah. They're just trying to explain how it got empty. It's like if you're a teacher and a student comes up to you and says, the dog ate my homework. As soon as admitting it, look, I don't have my homework, but I can explain what happened to it. The dog ate. It's the same thing.

So everybody in the first century, whether they're supporters of Jesus explicitly saying the tomb is empty or the enemies of Jesus implicitly admitting it was empty, everybody's conceding the tomb is empty. The real question is, how did it get empty? And you go through the usual list of suspects. The Romans weren't about to steal the body. They wanted Jesus dead.

So everybody in the first century, whether they're supporters of Jesus explicitly saying the tomb is empty or the enemies of Jesus implicitly admitting it was empty, everybody's conceding the tomb is empty. The real question is, how did it get empty? And you go through the usual list of suspects. The Romans weren't about to steal the body. They wanted Jesus dead.

So everybody in the first century, whether they're supporters of Jesus explicitly saying the tomb is empty or the enemies of Jesus implicitly admitting it was empty, everybody's conceding the tomb is empty. The real question is, how did it get empty? And you go through the usual list of suspects. The Romans weren't about to steal the body. They wanted Jesus dead.

The Jewish leaders of the day weren't about to steal the body. They wanted Jesus to stay dead. The disciples weren't about to steal the body. They didn't have the motive. They didn't have the means. And they didn't have the opportunity.

The Jewish leaders of the day weren't about to steal the body. They wanted Jesus to stay dead. The disciples weren't about to steal the body. They didn't have the motive. They didn't have the means. And they didn't have the opportunity.

The Jewish leaders of the day weren't about to steal the body. They wanted Jesus to stay dead. The disciples weren't about to steal the body. They didn't have the motive. They didn't have the means. And they didn't have the opportunity.

In fact, I found seven ancient sources, six of them outside the Bible, that report that the disciples lived lives of deprivation and suffering as a result of their proclamation that Jesus had risen. Why were they willing to do that?

In fact, I found seven ancient sources, six of them outside the Bible, that report that the disciples lived lives of deprivation and suffering as a result of their proclamation that Jesus had risen. Why were they willing to do that?

In fact, I found seven ancient sources, six of them outside the Bible, that report that the disciples lived lives of deprivation and suffering as a result of their proclamation that Jesus had risen. Why were they willing to do that?

And their willingness to die is well established. How a couple of them died gets a little bit misty in history, but their willingness to die, seven sources tell me that they willingly lived lives of deprivation and suffering. Think about this. Of all human beings who've ever lived on the planet, They were in a unique position to know, is this a lie or is it true? Because they were there.

And their willingness to die is well established. How a couple of them died gets a little bit misty in history, but their willingness to die, seven sources tell me that they willingly lived lives of deprivation and suffering. Think about this. Of all human beings who've ever lived on the planet, They were in a unique position to know, is this a lie or is it true? Because they were there.

And their willingness to die is well established. How a couple of them died gets a little bit misty in history, but their willingness to die, seven sources tell me that they willingly lived lives of deprivation and suffering. Think about this. Of all human beings who've ever lived on the planet, They were in a unique position to know, is this a lie or is it true? Because they were there.

They touched the resurrected Jesus. They talked with him. They ate with him. Of all people who ever lived, they knew the truth. They didn't just believe it. They just have faith in it. They knew the truth, and knowing the truth, they were willing to die for it. That's the difference between a terrorist today who crashes an airplane into the Trade Center.

They touched the resurrected Jesus. They talked with him. They ate with him. Of all people who ever lived, they knew the truth. They didn't just believe it. They just have faith in it. They knew the truth, and knowing the truth, they were willing to die for it. That's the difference between a terrorist today who crashes an airplane into the Trade Center.