Tradition No Proof
There were no eye-witnesses to the resurrection. Even so-called “apostolic fathers” had no source of information save that record which is today available to us — the biblical revelation. Any tradition, then, which conflicts with God’s revelation must be dismissed.
What are the recorded facts?
The doubting Pharisees were asking Jesus for a sign — supernatural evidence — in proof of His Messiahship.
Jesus answered: “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS in the heart of the earth” (Matt. 12:39-40).
Now consider, please, the tremendous import — the overwhelming significance — of Jesus’ statement.
He expressly declared that the only sign He would give to prove He was the Messiah was that He should be just three days and three nights in the rock-hewn sepulcher in “the heart of the earth.”