What do the priests do next? They
had bribed the soldiers to tell a lie which was so base that it only
needed to be told in order to be known as a lie. Next, they arrest the
apostles; they beat them, they scourge them, and bid them shut their
mouths, and insist that they shall say no more about this matter. They
did not seem to regard them as liars and impostors, else they would
doubtless have charged them with the fraud. They try to assassinate and
murder these witnesses of the resurrection. They prevailed with Herod to
put one of them to death; but they never seemed to think of charging
them with stealing the body away. Their orator, Tertullus, could not
have missed such a topic as imposition and fraud if any had been
practiced. He did not seem to think of anything of the sort, but
contented himself with the charge of sedition, heresy, and the
profanation of the temple. Yet the very question of the resurrection was
under consideration; for Festus tells Agrippa, that the Jews had
"certain questions against Paul of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul
affirmed to be alive." After this Agrippa heard Paul's testimony, and so
far was he from suspecting imposition, that he said, "Almost thou
persuadest me to be a Christian."

Not long after the resurrection the apostles were taken before the
council and sanhedrim of the Children of Israel. They make their own
defense, a part of which is in these words: "The God of our fathers
raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree." The first impulse
of the council was to slay them all; but Gamaliel, one of the council,
stood up and related the history of several impostors who perished in
former days, and said: "If this work be of men it will come to nought,
but if it be of God ye can not overthrow it." He advised them to refrain
from the men and let time tell the story. The tree shall be known by its
fruits. The council acquiesced; they gave the apostles a whipping and
let them go.

A resurrection is a thing to be ascertained by men's senses. We all know
whether a man is dead by the same means by which we know whether a man
is alive. There are those who claim that "a resurrection could not be
proven by any amount of testimony, because of its being contrary to the
course of nature." But this is mere prejudice and ignorance. First: Who
can measure the extent of natural possibilities? Are they generally
known? Is it a greater thing to give life to a body once dead than to a
body