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     The very soul, the core, the singular fact, sustaining Christianity, is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.  His resurrection is “the” confirmation of His deity and the trustworthiness of all that He promised those who would follow Him.  Paul points to the paramount importance of the resurrection in a negative manner, stating, “If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain .... If in this life only, we have hope in Christ, we are of all men, the most pitiable.” (1 Corinthians 15:14,19).  Chapter 15 of First Corinthians reflects that at least some of the early Christians questioned the reality of Jesus’ resurrection.  Thus, it is imperative that we also ascertain whether Jesus really rose from the dead.
     Previously we considered the evidence that Jesus was dead and in the tomb.  Let’s revisit this site in view of the testimony of the four gospel accounts.  Jesus’ body was in a rock tomb, with a rock door (“sealed” – certifying Jesus’ body was in the tomb) and guarded by Roman soldiers to prevent body thieves as feared by the Jewish leadership (Matthew 27:62-66; Mark 15:46).
     The tomb was a room cut into a huge boulder.  It was secured with a circular stone door no less than 12 to 15 inches thick, 4.5 feet in diameter and weighed no less than a ton.  This door was rolled down a sloped groove cut into the stone floor outside and adjacent to the tomb’s opening.  Thus when the door was closed, several men would be needed to roll the stone up the track. Obviously it could not be opened without causing a commotion and without bystanders taking notice.
     A Roman guard was not less than four men, who took shifts sleeping at the grave site, so that the tomb was guarded continuously.  They would have been most diligent to guard the tomb, as under Roman law, they, themselves would be put to death for dereliction of duty if the tomb was robbed.  These security measures ensured that Jesus was dead, and that only Jesus was buried in the tomb.
     The fact of a guarded rock tomb with a one ton circular door implies that if someone stole Jesus’ body, the thieves would have had to kill the guards as they would not risk their lives for a bribe or to collaborate with the thieves.  But wait!  Matthew recorded that when the door was rolled back, the guards shook with fear and passed out (Matthew 28:4).  What happened?  Who rolled back the stone?  Why didn’t the guards prevent it?  Were the guards put to death?  How would they explain the open tomb and how it was opened?

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