If the corpse of Jesus was stolen and hidden, either His enemies did it, or His friends did it. If His enemies took the body, when the message of the resurrection started spreading, all they had to do was produce the body and the movement would have died quickly and quietly. And suppose for argument’s sake, that the disciples took the body of Jesus, and then they made up the legend of the resurrection. If they were deceitful enough to do that, surely they would have had a selfish motive leading to some personal benefit for them. So what did the disciples receive? History tells us all of them were abused and tortured; and except for John, they all died by execution. Surely, one or more of them would have recanted their story in the face of the death–but all of them went to their deaths with unshakable profession that Jesus rose from the dead. Would dishonest men be willing to die for a lie?
