The Resurrection of Jesus Christ - Part Two
It is not difficult to put the details of the narratives together. Jesus had been crucified either on Friday (which the church has traditionally believed) or else on Thursday (which is less widely held but, in my judgment, seems to fit the evidence better).1 In any case, Jesus lay in the tomb until the resurrection, which certainly took place before dawn on Sunday morning. At this point the women came to the tomb from Jerusalem bearing spices to anoint his body. There were at least five women and probably more. We have already seen that Matthew mentions Mary Magdalene and the other Mary and that Mark adds Salome, Luke has the two Marys, Joanna, and others. These women started out while it was still dark and arrived at the tomb in the very early dawn.
 
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ - Part One
Have you ever noticed that when Hollywood tries to portray the life of Jesus it inevitably spiritualizes the resurrection? A few years ago I saw one of these films on television. It was well done. The death of Jesus was real enough. When the Roman soldier took a hammer and drove the nail through Jesus' hand, there was no doubt that you were seeing real metal, flesh, and wood. But when they came to the resurrection all you could hear was music. You couldn’t see Jesus. People rushed about in what was supposedly the joy of the resurrection. But where was the Lord? He wasn’t there. At last there was a ghostly view of Jesus in the clouds, but it was no resurrection. If the resurrection had been like that, I am sure that Thomas for one would never have believed in it, and I do not think that Peter or John or any of the others would have either.
 
The Burial of Jesus Christ - Part Five

If you want to secure yourself against Jesus, let me suggest what you can do. You can begin with activity. That should not be too difficult in our very hectic times. Our world seems to be preoccupied with activity and even rewards those who are busiest. If you are busy enough, you will not have time to think about Jesus. Fill up your time. Schedule your idle hours. Take a class in a foreign language or computers or aerobics or art or any one of a thousand other things, Then you will not have to go to a Bible study. When Christians invite you to church, you can say that you are too busy. Fill your evenings with television so you will not have time to read your Bible.
The Burial of Jesus Christ - Part Four

A few years after Jesus’ resurrection, a young rabbi rose to prominence. He had studied under Gamaliel and had achieved some stature among the Pharisees, the very sect that had been instrumental in securing Jesus’ death. Christianity had not died out after Jesus' crucifixion, and this young rabbi—his name was Saul—decided to stamp it out forcefully. He uprooted the Christians who were in Jerusalem, brought them to trial, and killed at least one (Acts 7). Then, not satisfied with his work in Jerusalem, he went to the high priest and secured letters of introduction to the synagogues in Damascus so that, if he found any there who were Christians, he might arrest them and bring them to Jerusalem for trial too.
The Burial of Jesus Christ - Part Three

When the chief priests and Pharisees came to Pilate, they explained the request by their fear that “his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead” (v. 64). But that is not likely what they truly feared.