There is a new book out now that questions whether the resurrection was actually part of an elaborate hoax, carefully planned by the disciples and then covered up by the church for centuries. Books like these seem to surface every few years, so apparently there is still a healthy appetite for those who wish to feast on the latest conspiracy theory. Only this particular theory is not new. In fact, it’s been around almost as long as Easter itself.

According to the Gospel of Matthew, the chief priests approached Pilate shortly after Jesus died and suggested that Roman guards be stationed at the tomb—just in case the disciples might try and steal the body, and then start the rumor that he had risen from the dead. However, since Pilate was hardly in favor of crucifying Jesus to begin with, he wasn’t about to dispatch military personnel to baby-sit the man’s corpse. “Don’t you have a guard of soldiers?” he asked sarcastically. “Go and make it as secure as you can.”

Which is precisely what they did … or at least what they attempted to do. But when our Lord shook loose the shackles of death and walked out of the cemetery, the chief priests quickly decided that perhaps a rumor was better than the truth after all. So they concocted the wild tale that, as the guards were taking their rest, the disciples had taken the body.

I suppose part of what fuels all of these conspiracy theories is the fact that, for some reason, the risen Christ doesn’t make very many public appearances. He never visits Pilate, or Caiaphas, or any of the chief priests. He doesn’t parade up and down the main streets of Jerusalem, or stand out in front of the Temple so that the crowds can “ooh” and “aah” in amazement. He comes only to those who had been willing to come to him in the first place.

In other words, it is the church that witnessed the resurrection. And therefore, we are the ones responsible for declaring it to the world. If the true meaning of Easter is lost and dwindles down to little more than colored eggs and chocolate bunny rabbits, it won’t be Pilate’s fault. The risen Christ didn’t come to him. The risen Christ came to us. We can’t blame the government, or the school system, or the larger society for not getting the message out. This is our story to tell!

And if the world is ever going to believe that Jesus got up from the grave on Easter Sunday morning, it will only be because we, who believe it, get up and start declaring it. After all, everyone already knows that Jesus lived. That’s a matter of public record. And everyone already knows that Jesus died. That, too, is a matter of public record. But when it comes to the resurrection—that is not a matter of public record. Of that, we are the witnesses!