The Easter story is convincing because the details are so humdrum
The obliqueness – the sheer, understated character – of the New Testament accounts of the Resurrection makes them powerfully disturbing. True, Matthew’s Gospel tells us that when Jesus died, the tombs of Jerusalem opened and the holy dead arose, like characters in a canvas by Stanley Spencer (Matthew 27:52). Matthew also has an earthquake occurring at the time of the Resurrection of Christ (Matthew 28:2). But you would expect the other Gospels to have much more of this sort of thing, especially since they were written decades after the events described. There had been plenty of time for a tall story to grow. Instead, we watch a tall story shrinking to understatement. The oldest of the Gospels, Mark, ends with women going to the tomb, and finding it empty. They ‘ran away from the tomb because they were frightened out of their wits; and they said nothing to anyone, for...
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