Examining the Resurrection

A look at the resurrection story

I want to get a good handle on the story from the resurrection of Jesus to his ascension into heaven. You see I’m a firm believer that the resurrection is what defines Christianity. Yes, no doubt, the cross is a defining moment — Jesus took our sins and died in our place.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we may cease from sinning and live for righteousness. By his wounds you were healed. — 1 Peter 2:24

There are those who don’t like the “died in our place” concept because the bible doesn’t explicitly say this. Well, there are a lot of Christian beliefs that the bible does not explicitly say. Bottom line on this (which this article really isn’t about) is that Jesus died on the cross and shed his blood to pay the penalty for our sins. Don’t like the term”pay the penalty?” Please, tell me what atone means. It means “to pay the penalty.”

for the life of every living thing is in the blood. So I myself have assigned it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives, for the blood makes atonement by means of the life. — Leviticus 17:11

Life is in the blood. Blood needed to be shed. This was accomplished by sacrificing animals on the altar and shedding their blood to make atonement, “for the blood makes atonement.” But the animal sacrifices of the old were not sufficient because the animals were not perfect so the atonement only covered for a year until the next Day of Atonement. But Jesus was a perfect sacrifice. Why is he called a sacrifice?

But the cross is not the only important act here. The resurrection is just as important. The resurrection sealed the deal, so to speak. It was the conclusion of the most important spiritual act that you have benefited from.

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is futile and your faith is empty. 15 Also, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified against God that he raised Christ from the dead, when in reality he did not raise him, if indeed the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is useless; you are still in your sins.
1 Corinthians 15:15-17

Catch that: verse 17, if Christ is not raised then your faith is useless and you are still in your sin.

No resurrection, then you are still in your sin. Even after the sacrifice on the cross: if there is no resurrection then you are still in your sin. It takes everything from the garden of Gethsemane, to the cross, to the resurrection.

One last thing: I’ve had people tell me that after the sacrifice on the cross the resurrection was a given, a show of force, so to speak, that the cross was real and it achieved what it was meant to achieve. If this is so, then someone should tell the apostle. For the apostle Paul said “if Christ has not been raised,” with no mention of the cross. Yes, he talks importantly of the cross in verse 3 of this chapter, with the burial and the resurrection and the appearance to others. But when he speaks of he importance of the resurrection, that you are still in your sin without it, there is no mention of the cross. It is that important.

Now, let’s talk anomalies. For, as always, I am so far pointing out the hypocrisy of the teachers who take scripture and teach whatever their little hearts desire. They dismiss these verses as somehow less important. But just how important are any of them. Let’s take a look at the resurrection story and try to make sense of it. We are going to go through the resurrection (and after) stories in the four gospels, the book of Acts and a mention of it from 1 Corinthians (Paul speaking). Let’s do this.

Matthew (ch 27-28)

The crucifixion takes place in Matthew 27 along with Jesus’ death. The Sabbath is coming and they did not have time to prepare the body so they wrapped it in a cloth and placed it in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, after Pilate released the body. According to this story Joseph of Arimathea rolled the stone to close the entrance (27:60).

60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut in the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance of the tomb and went away.

64 So give orders to secure the tomb until the third day. Otherwise his disciples may come and steal his body and say to the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “Take a guard of soldiers. Go and make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went with the soldiers of the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.
-- Matthew 27:60; 64-66

The next day Roman soldiers are given command to seal the tomb and guard the tomb (27:64-66).

On the third day, the day after the Sabbath, the two women go to the tomb (28:1). There is an earthquake and an angel descends, rolls away the stone and sits on it (v2). The angel appears as lightning, white as snow (v3). The guards fall as if dead (v4). And this single angel tells the women Jesus is risen and is gone, and they get to go in and see the empty tomb (v5-6). They are told to tell the disciples to go to Galilee to find Jesus (v7). The women meet Jesus on the way to the disciples and hug and touch his feet (v9). Jesus tells them the same thing about Galilee (v10).

Now after the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 Suddenly there was a severe earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descending from heaven came and rolled away the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were shaken and became like dead men because they were so afraid of him. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has been raised, just as he said. Come and see the place where he was lying. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead. He is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there.’ Listen, I have told you!” 8 So they left the tomb quickly, with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 But Jesus met them, saying, “Greetings!” They came to him, held on to his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. They will see me there.”
-- Matthew 28:1-10

The eleven disciples go to Galilee (v16) and see Jesus (v17).

16 So the eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted.

Now remember all those details. We'll remind ourselves later, but it can help if you remember as you read the rest of the Gospels.

Mark (ch 15-16)

Jesus is crucified in Mark 15 and he dies. The Sabbath is coming, no time for preparation so they bury him in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea after Pilate releases the body. Joseph of Arimathea wraps body in linen cloth and rolls the stone to close the entrance. All this, just as in Matthew.

Mark says nothing of guards being assigned to seal and guard the tomb. This doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, but as we will see, when the angel appears there is still no mention of guards falling as if dead or running away. Again, perhaps Mark didn't think these details to be important to what he had to tell.

1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought aromatic spices so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, at sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled back. 5 Then as they went into the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6 But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has been raised! He is not here. Look, there is the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples, even Peter, that he is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you.”
-- Mark 16:1-7

Three women, after the Sabbath, go to the tomb worrying about who will move the stone (16:1-3). But the stone was already rolled away (v4). No earthquake. No bright lights as lightening. Quite subdued and nice. Here they go into the tomb without seeing an angel that rolled it away or sitting on the stone outside. But inside the tomb they see the angel in a white robe, sitting on the right side (v5). They are told to go to Galilee where they will see him (v7)

Now we have an issue. In most of the respected texts of the New Testament, the Gospel of Mark ends with verse 8. It's known to scholarship as the "short ending."

There are also texts that contain something scholars call the "intermediate ending." It contains the following: “They reported briefly to those around Peter all that they had been commanded. After these things Jesus himself sent out through them, from the east to the west, the holy and imperishable preaching of eternal salvation. Amen.”

This "intermediate ending" is not widely accepted. When it was present it usually is included with the longer ending shown below (and in your bible, likely marked aside with brackets and a footnote to explain it.)

Eusebius and Jerome wrote that no Greek manuscript contatined this longer ending. The problem among scholars is that the "intermediate ending" and the "longer ending" (below) do not contain the vocabulary, syntax, and style of Mark.

It is fairly widely accepted that these other endings were added by scribes later. Verse 8 is considered to be the last verse of chapter 16. You should research this deeper if you care about it, the scholarship is rich in detail and possibilities.

With all that in mind, lets move forward with the "longer ending" of Mark. (See the '[[' ??)

9 [[Early on the first day of the week, after he arose, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had driven out seven demons. 10 She went out and told those who were with him, while they were mourning and weeping. 11 And when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

12 After this he appeared in a different form to two of them while they were on their way to the country. 13 They went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them. 14 Then he appeared to the eleven themselves, while they were eating, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen him resurrected.

19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. ...]]
-- Mark 16:9-19

Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene but nobody believes her (v9-11). Then he appears to two men who were going to the country, but nobody believed them either (v12-13). Then he appeared to the eleven and rebuked their unbelief (v14) After this Jesus was taken up to heaven (v19). We can assume this last appearance was in Galilee, but it doesn’t say for sure.

Also, with the explicit mentions of who Jesus appeared to it is quite obvious that he did not appear to the women when they came back from the tomb.

Luke (ch 23-24)

Jesus is crucified in Luke 23 and he dies. Joseph of Arimathea gets a release from Pilate and takes the body of Jesus and wraps it in a linen and puts it in the tomb (23:52-53). Sabbath was coming (v54). The women saw Jesus in the tomb and went to prepare spices, but because of Sabbath they rested and did not prepare Jesus body (v55-56).

52 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and placed it in a tomb cut out of the rock, where no one had yet been buried. 54 It was the day of preparation and the Sabbath was beginning. 55 The women who had accompanied Jesus from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. 56 Then they returned and prepared aromatic spices and perfumes.
-- Luke 23:52-56

The women go to the tomb with the spices. The stone is already rolled away (24:2). No mention of guards. No earthquake, no lightning man in a white robe. Nobody. They go into the tomb and Jesus is not there (v3). They are afraid and suddenly two men are standing next to them “in dazzling attire” (v4). I can only take this to match the “white as snow” in Matthew. They tell the women that Jesus is risen and has gone (v6-7). The women leave the tomb and go to the eleven disciples (v8-9). The disciples didn’t believe them (v11). Peter runs to the tomb, finds strips of cloth and then goes home, wondering. (v12)

2 They found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood beside them in dazzling attire.

6 He is not here, but has been raised! Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” 8 Then the women remembered his words, 9 and when they returned from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles. 11 But these words seemed like pure nonsense to them, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. He bent down and saw only the strips of linen cloth; then he went home, wondering what had happened.
-- Luke 24:2-4;6-9;11-12

The women here do not see Jesus on the way back from the tomb. Did you notice verse 10? Three women plus women; so we have 4 or more women. Later that day Jesus is seen on the road to Emmaus with two men, Cleopas and another, between Jerusalem and Emmaus, a seven mile trip (v13; 18). They didn’t know this was Jesus with them. They explained to Jesus about the crucifixion (18-20). They told him how they thought Jesus would redeem Israel (v21). And they told him how the women were at the tomb and Jesus body was gone (v22-23).

13 Now that very day two of them were on their way to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.

18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 He said to them, “What things?” “The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied, “a man who, with his powerful deeds and words, proved to be a prophet before God and all the people; 20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. Not only this, but it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Furthermore, some women of our group amazed us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back and said they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive.
-- Luke 24:13; 18-23

They approached Emmaus and the men urged Jesus to stay with them for it was getting toward evening (v28-29). Jesus broke bread with them and their eyes were opened as to who this was. And he vanished from before them (v30-31). They run off to Jerusalem to tell the eleven that they just saw Jesus (v33-35).

30 When he had taken his place at the table with them, he took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 At this point their eyes were opened and they recognized him. Then he vanished out of their sight.

33 So they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem. They found the eleven and those with them gathered together 34 and saying, “The Lord has really risen, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how they recognized him when he broke the bread.

36 While they were saying these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
-- Luke 24:30-31; 33-36

And while this exchange is happening, suddenly Jesus appears before the eleven and the others in Jerusalem. And Jesus ate with them — the eleven and other people. (v36)

He gives them the Great Commission. Jesus tells them to stay in the great city (Jerusalem) until they are “clothed with power” (v44-49).

He leads them out to Bethany and then is taken up into heaven. The disciples return to Jerusalem as told (v50-53).

The disciples according to this member of the eleven never went to Galilee. Jerusalem to Galilee, by the way, is about 86 miles and would take about 29 hours to walk. So any attempt to rectify these stories with time of day differences is pure fantasy.

44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it stands written that the Christ would suffer and would rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And look, I am sending you what my Father promised. But stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

50 Then Jesus led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51 Now during the blessing he departed and was taken up into heaven. 52 So they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple courts blessing God.
-- Luke 44-53

And then along comes John.

John (ch 19-21)

Jesus is crucified in John 19 and he dies.

38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (but secretly, because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission, so he went and took the body away. 39 Nicodemus, the man who had previously come to Jesus at night, accompanied Joseph, carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about seventy-five pounds. 40 Then they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the aromatic spices, in strips of linen cloth according to Jewish burial customs. 41 Now at the place where Jesus was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden was a new tomb where no one had yet been buried. 42 And so, because it was the Jewish day of preparation and the tomb was nearby, they placed Jesus’ body there.
-- John 19:38-42

Joseph of Arimathea gets release from Pilate (v38). Now it is Nicodemus who has the spices, not the women (v39). But here we have Joseph and Nicodemus wrapping the body in strips of linen WITH the spices, according to Jewish burial custom (v40). These two aren’t messing around. They are getting it done. Even if the other three reports said that it didn’t get done because of the Sabbath. Now the reading here does not attribute the tomb to Joseph of Arimathea. It makes it sound like it was late, they are near the crucifixion site and there was an empty tomb. It says “no one had yet been buried” in it. So they used it. (v42)

Now very early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been moved away from the entrance. 2 So she went running to Simon Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
-- John 20:1-2

Chapter 20. OK, first day of the week after Sabbath. Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb. Alone. She sees that the stone is already rolled away (20:1). No angel in shining white. No earthquake. No Mary the mother of Jesus. Just Magdalene and a stone already rolled away. So does Mary go in? Nope! Well, technically it doesn’t say and as you’ll see she knows that Jesus is gone, so maybe she peeked. She runs off and finds Peter and John (the disciple that Jesus loved) (v2).

3 Then Peter and the other disciple set out to go to the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent down and saw the strips of linen cloth lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter, who had been following him, arrived and went right into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen cloth lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been around Jesus’ head, not lying with the strips of linen cloth but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, came in, and he saw and believed. 9 (For they did not yet understand the scripture that Jesus must rise from the dead.)
10 So the disciples went back to their homes.

So they ran to the tomb, John getting there first (v3-5). But Peter gets there and goes into the tomb and finds the strips of cloth and the first mention of a face cloth (v6). John then comes in and both believe (v8-9). Then they went home (v10).

11 But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. As she wept, she bent down and looked into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus’ body had been lying, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” Mary replied, “They have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have put him!” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.

15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” Because she thought he was the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus replied, “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene came and informed the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what Jesus had said to her.
-- John 20:11-18

Mary stayed at the tomb, outside weeping. She peeks into the tomb and sees two angels sitting there (v11-12). No earthquake. No shining white lights. She asks them where they took the body of Jesus. She turns and sees Jesus standing near her, but does not recognize him, thinking that he is the gardener (v14-15). She asks him the same question. He calls her by name and then she recognizes him (v16). But he stops her and tells her not to touch him, for he has not yet ascended to his father in heaven (v17). She then goes and finds the disciples and tells them that she saw Jesus (v18).

19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the disciples had gathered together and locked the doors of the place because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

22 And after he said this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained.”
-- John 20:19; 22-23

So in one account there are two women who see him before they get back to the apostles and they grab and hug his feet. Now we have one woman who sees him after getting the apostles (only 2 of them, mind you) and is not allowed to touch him. So that evening the disciples are gathered in a locked room, fearing the Jewish leaders (v19). (It doesn’t say but Jesus’ body is gone and they might be afraid the leaders would blame them, even though they obviously do not have Jesus there.) And then, Jesus shows up (v19 as well). He breathes on them and says “receive the Holy Spirit” (v22). (Even though the Holy Spirit isn’t supposed to come until the upper room in Acts — when Jesus is long gone back to heaven.)

24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “Unless I see the wounds from the nails in his hands, and put my finger into the wounds from the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe it!”

26 Eight days later the disciples were again together in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
-- John 20:24-26

Thomas wasn’t there (v24). So Jesus is appearing before the ten — doesn’t matter that the other accounts that speak of Jesus coming to the apostles says he appeared before the eleven (remember, Judas committed suicide). Thomas doubts and then eight days later (v26) when Thomas is there with them, Jesus comes back (second time to all the disciples). Didn’t make it to Galilee where he said that he would see them for the first time, but he will.

4 When it was already very early morning, Jesus stood on the beach, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 So Jesus said to them, “Children, you don’t have any fish, do you?” They replied, “No.” 6 He told them, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they threw the net, and were not able to pull it in because of the large number of fish. 7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” So Simon Peter, when he heard that it was the Lord, tucked in his outer garment (for he had nothing on underneath it), and plunged into the sea. 8 Meanwhile the other disciples came with the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from land, only about a hundred yards.

13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
-- John 21:4-8; 13-14

In Chapter 21 Jesus does indeed show up with them in Galilee (21:4). It is the story of Peter and the disciples fishing, couldn’t catch anything, Jesus calls from the shore to throw the nets off the other side of the boat, and they caught more than they could handle (v5-8). Jesus broke bread and fish and they had breakfast together. John makes a point to say this was the third time Jesus was with the disciples (v13-14).

Acts

In Acts 1 we get a synopsis of Jesus showing back up with the apostles. He tells them, “Do not leave Jerusalem” (v4). But at the end of John they were 80+ miles away in Galilee with Jesus. Unless he was telling them to get themselves back down to Jerusalem and wait. Perhaps.

4 While he was with them, he declared, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait there for what my Father promised, which you heard about from me.

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called the Mount of Olives (which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away).
-- Acts 1:4

But as he had all his disciples around him (wherever this is — I’ll explain next sentence) he ascends into heaven and two angels in white appear and tell them that he will return one day in like manner. So it says they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives (v12), which is just outside Jerusalem (you know the story that when Jesus returns he will come back on the Mount of Olives and the mount will split in two; btw, they found an earthquake fault that runs right smack dab through the middle of the Mount of Olives, did you know that?). So, no, they were nowhere near Galilee.

1 Corinthians 15

In chapter 15 of First Corinthians, Paul talks about the resurrection.

3 For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received—that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, 4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than 500 of the brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as though to one born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also.
-- 1 Corinthians 15:3-8

Now remember, Paul is not one of the original disciples. He was nowhere near that scene. But Paul says that Jesus died (v3), was buried, rose on the third day (v4) and appeared to Cephas (that is Peter), then to the twelve (v5). Then to over 500 (v6), then James, then all he apostles (v7). Then on the road to Damascus he appeared to Paul (v8). No gospel account has him appearing to Peter first. It is always one or both of the women, except in Luke where it is Cleopas and his buddy. So even the mighty Paul gets it all wrong.

Pulling it all together

To pull it all together into a coherent story — well, I can’t. Out of 45 individual points in these six sources there are only 6 common facts. Was the body prepared with spices before the Sabbath or did they have to wait until after Sabbath? Were there Roman soldiers? Who saw Jesus first after the resurrection? Who rolled the stone away? Was the angel inside or outside? Was there one or two? Could they touch Jesus or was he untouchable until he ascended to heaven? Were there ten or eleven in the room when Jesus appeared? Did they go to Galilee?

There is simply too much discrepancy in these stories to come up with a consistent view of what happened. Perhaps we go with part of Paul’s account in 1 Corinthians: he died, was buried and rose again. Other than that we hardly know what happened.

What is the purpose for going through this? Well, to tell the truth so that you will know it. You'll never hear this from the pulpit.