I Appeal To Caesar!

This conversation is not new ground; the two scheming priests have threshed the matter until there really is nothing left to say. Soldiers still continue the search for Jesus’ body, even in nearby towns! Yet, city-wide surveillance and other investigation have come up with nothing! The seal was snapped off the tomb, and the stone at the entrance rolled away and left sitting in the strangest position, as though tossed aside by a giant hand. The claim that Jesus was raised from the dead and that an angel had broken the tomb open was too ridiculous for consideration! How could this have happened? The soldiers’ story, although consistent, was still unbelievable to a thinking person. The guards were bought off with large sums of money and told to keep the details quiet. Now, those soldiers are no longer available for questioning . . . . * * * * * The two priests proceed in their cautious approach. Then (gulp!) . . . they see what they are looking for! They stare with total concentration. . . . (“What are those people doing out there?”) * * * * * In the huge Court of the Gentiles, off to the western side, under the canopied portico supported by magnificent thirty-five-foot pillars, people are gathering and getting settled. Some sit on the few benches, most sit or kneel on the marble courtyard floor in the postures of prayer. The first rays of sunlight are breaking into the Courtyard. The body is indeed gone, and there are no clues!