Nobody dies for what they know is a lie.
Many millions of people have died for what we NOW KNOW to be a lie.
That's not the point. The early disciples lived with Jesus. Several of them were there when He was crucified. Several helped to bury the body. If the resurrection was a scam, they would only have been willing to go so far with it. If they knew it was a scam they wouldn't have died a martyrs death.I might die for something if I didn't realize it was a lie, but not if I knew it was a lie.
The disciples scattered when Jesus was arrested.. The only one noted to be at the actual crucifixion is John.. at least that is what it says in his gospel. He was there with Jesus' mother. Matthew reports that only Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus.. no mention of any disciples of Jesus helping with the burial.
Mark reports the same Joseph burying Jesus. One thing interesting about Mark is that he says Joseph rolled the stone over the entrance to the tomb when he was done.
I thought the stone was too heavy for someone to roll it away? If he could roll it, is it not possible for someone else, say a disciple or two to roll it away in the night?
Luke reports that Joseph buried Jesus. The two Mary's watched him.
John reports that Joseph buried Jesus with the help of Nicodemus.. also according to John, this tomb was new and no one had ever been placed there..
The only odd thing about this is that it is claimed that Jesus is the suffering servant in Isaiah 53.. but in Isaiah 53:9 it says:
"
They buried him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he'd never hurt a soul
or said one word that wasn't true. - The Message
"
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth. " - NIV
If Jesus was the guy in Isaiah 53 (which is paramount to christianity), then he was supposed to be buried with wicked men. The gospels say he was buried alone in a new tomb.
Did the NT writers overlook this small detail?