But if neither they nor you saw him dead, and buried, and did not see
him rise, either, how can you tell that a most astounding and
supposedly impossible miracle had taken place between the time you saw
him last and when you saw him again two or three days after? Is it not
more natural to suppose that, being in a hurry on account of the
approaching Sabbath, Jesus, if ever crucified, was taken down from the
cross before he had really died, and that he was not buried, as rumor
states, but remained in hiding; and his showing himself to you under
cover of darkness and in secluded spots and in the dead of night only,
would seem to confirm this explanation.

You admit also that the risen Jesus did not present himself at the
synagogues of the people, in the public streets, or at the palace of
the High Priest to convince them of his Messiahship. Do you not think
that if he had done this, it would then have been impossible to deny
his resurrection? Why, then, did Jesus hide himself after he came out
of the grave? Why did he not show himself also to his enemies? Was he
still afraid of them, or did he not care whether they believed or not?
If so, why are _you_ trying to convert them? The question waits for a
reasonable answer; Why did not Jesus challenge the whole world with
the evidence of his resurrection? You say you saw him occasionally, a
few moments at a time, now here, and now there, and finally on the top
of a mountain whence he was caught up in a cloud and disappeared
altogether. But that "cloud" has melted away, the sky is clear, and
there is no Jesus visible there. The cloud, then, had nothing to hide.
It was unnecessary to call in a cloud to close the career of your
Christ. The grave is empty, the cloud has vanished. Where is Christ?
In heaven! Ah, you have at last removed him to a world unknown, to the
undiscovered country. Leave him there! Criticism, doubt,
investigation, the light of day, cannot cross its shores. Leave him