This is a new piece I wrote over Easter, experimenting with a kind of "Biblical journalism" style. What if newspapers as we know them existed in those days? What would the main headline be after Resurrection Sunday? Here's my take...
JESUS’ TOMB EMPTY?
Resurrection rumors persist
JERUSALEM – Local eyewitnesses from the Aramathiah tomb garden reported yesterday that Jesus of Nazareth’s body has gone missing.
At dawn on Yom Reeshone, a group of Jesus’ female followers (two of which are identified as “Mary”) went to the tomb to anoint the Nazarene’s body with recently purchased spices and perfumes.
But upon their arrival, the entrance to the tomb was found open and unguarded.
“We were just wondering how we would roll the stone door away so we could get to Jesus,” said Mary, mother of James.
The large stone in question is estimated to weigh as much as 2 tons, according to experts, and can only be moved by the combined strength of several men using assistance levers.
The women claim that they were greeted by an angelic being sitting inside the tomb next to Jesus’ abandoned linen grave clothes.
“The sight of the strange man was very frightening, so we fell to the ground instantly,” said Salome, one of the eyewitnesses . “He asked us, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!'”
Conflicting theories on the causes of the disappearance are circulating throughout the region.
