(Be blessed by this DWOD for April 26, 2014 by guest contributor, Lance Wallnau)

He established the Harvard School of Law, based on his principal work of legal scholarship called a “Treatise on the Law of Evidence.”

He decided to apply his “laws of evidence” to the most controversial and disputed trial in all history–the trial of Jesus and the claims of the resurrection.

He intended to disprove the Gospel account.

The result? This Jewish scholar, Dr. Simon Greenleaf, undisputed master of legal evidence, became convinced–based on the evidence–that Jesus was most certainly raised from the dead. Greenleaf went on to become an influential follower of Christ.

Simon put his finger on the one issue–the one question at the center of the case, namely…

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BODY?

1. Did His disciples steal the body? This same group that was “hiding” in a locked room for fear of the Jews would hardly have mounted an evening raid against armed Roman guards. And where did they go with the body?

GREENLEAF CONTINUED…

2. If his disciples had overpowered the guards or paid them off and stolen the body, why would they for the next 30 years let themselves be beaten, hunted, burned and boiled alive, skinned and crucified upside down to proclaim a message they themselves knew was a hoax?

Why be martyred for a lie? Clearly, they believed He was risen… so they could not have conspired together in a great public deception.

WHAT ABOUT HIS ENEMIES?

3. Jesus’ enemies most certainly wanted the body to be found. All they needed to end the harassment of the early church was to produce the decaying corpse of the so-called Messiah and force the public to see the dead body. They were frustrated because they could not find the body.

GREENLEAF TURNED TO THE GUARDS…

4. What about the Roman Guards? The least likely scenario is that the Roman guards slept and the body was stolen…or that they were paid off to let the body be stolen.

These were Roman soldiers–the same lot who mercilessly beat and whipped the so-called Messiah a few days earlier. They were not sympathetic to the movement one bit.

Pilate told them to take a “guard” and watch. A watch consisted of 4 soldiers, which was changed every four hours. They would be executed if their prisoners escaped. The last thing these four men would agree to do would be to risk execution for sleeping on duty after being assigned to guard the body of a religious leader who predicted His resurrection.

FINALLY GREENLEAF ASKED…COULD JESUS NOT HAVE DIED?

It is called the “swoon theory.” (The “PASSOVER PLOT” was a best-selling book based on this theory.)

Here is what Greenleaf concluded.

5. Could Jesus have revived in the tomb and not died? According to this theory, Jesus, after being whipped, crucified and stabbed by a spear, somehow revived and recovered from His trauma in the tomb. He used his pierced hands to roll away the stone and then overpowered the four guards and knocked them out. Either that, or moved with such ninja stealth that they never heard him roll the stone back. Then He walked on pierced feet several miles to make an appearance before his nervous disciples that was so effective it convinced them all that He was vibrating with the power of a supernatural body. How likely is that scenario?

Greenleaf concluded… it was EASIER to believe he was raised from the dead than not to believe it.

The body parts of Buddha and the Prophet Mohammed have their sacred shrines, but Jesus has no proper grave because they NEVER FOUND THE BODY!

What do you say?

(Dr. Lance Wallnau is a world-class trainer and consultant whose students span the globe. From bestselling authors, pastors, and billion dollar CEO‘s, he has helped to transform the lives of thousands. Please check out his resources at www.lancelearning.com)