Happy Easter (the grave's still empty)

Time and again scholars, sceptical clergy and the odd pseudo-scientist will rant on about the improbability of the climax and centrepiece of Easter events: the resurrection of Jesus. I find it incredible how some simply refuse to even consider the evidence, direct or circumstantial, that have lead so many of us to conclude that


THE GRAVE'S STILL EMPTY

1. The events, all through the so-called Passion Week, were well attested by people who were eyewitnesses. We are simply not talking about a story based on hearsay or second-hand information. We even know the identities of some of the men and women who first testified to this very rare phenomenon (Mark, Matthew, Luke and John). Their words are recorded for all subsequent generations to consider. And although the eyewitnesses can no longer be examined or interrogated regarding their astounding claim, millions of people have later had experiences that strongly corroborate its validity (more on that soon).

2. Despite claims to the contrary, it's well beyond doubt that the disciples cannot simply have smuggled Jesus' body out of Jerusalem to bury it in some unknown location, and after that having succeeded in persuading both themselves and the Jerusalem residents that Jesus had come back to life. In such a small town as Jerusalem 33 AD, it wouldn't take a Sherlock Holmes to unravel the disciple's attempted subterfuge, much less to actually produce Jesus' body. Neither Pontius Pilate nor the Jewish high priests would have spared any effort to prove the disciples wrong. They both stood with too much to lose. The former feared an uprising that would jeopardize his career as a Roman official, the latter feared their religious power slipping out of their firm grasp.

But they couldn't produce a body. Because there was no body to produce. The grave remained empty, as its occupant had already escaped its confines.

AND SO THE STORY GOES ON AND ON

3. The overwhelmingly beautiful thing about the resurrection story is that it quintessentially isn't a narrative with a definite ending. As the original disciples claimed to have encountered the resurrected Christ in his post-mortem(!) body, so do millions who call themselves disciples today. On the surface of things, these experiences do not seem to amount to much more than the trademark alien abduction story that seemed so rampant in 20'th century USA. But then again, these stories cannot that easily be written off as home-spun fiction coming from the mentally deranged, or people obsessed with the supernatural.

• Scores of people are reported to have had visions of the risen Christ. And these stories span centuries, continents, cultures and all walks of life. University alumni and illiterates together testify about encounters that even pales Mr. Spielberg's Hollywood ("Encounter of the third degree") output into insignificance.

• Testimonies of supernatural healings after prayer offered in Jesus name do more than just vaguely indicate that the said carpenter from Nazareth hasn't decomposed in some ancient grave somewhere, but that he is continuing to heal the sick in response to countless calls for help from those in dire need.

• More people still attest to the life-changing power of becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ. Some have been instantly transformed, having been set free from their addictions to alcohol and drugs. Others point to very personal points in time when, they say, Jesus intervened and brought about a change in their character or personality that no human agent had or could have managed.

I WISH I COULD HAVE BEEN THERE

I am among those who have never seen a single vision, who have never had a near death experience, and who who still will lend our pipes to that massive choir of voices thundering the Easter message across Earth:

"HE IS RISEN INDEED"