It is incredible that the soldiers should have stolen the body which they had been ordered to guard.  The fact that the Jews tried to make people believe that the disciples had stolen the body,^[1] is further proof that the tomb was empty, but it fails to explain the subsequent life of the disciples.  Men do not readily endure persecution and death to perpetuate a falsehood.  The suggestion that Jesus was not really dead but only swooned on the Cross is contrary to the evidence that the soldiers did not break His legs for they ‘saw that He was dead already’.^[2]  Furthermore, if He only swooned, when did He finally die?  The piercing of His side made doubly sure that He did not remain alive.^[3]