JERUSALEM, Monday - There were conflicting reports today over the mysterious disappearance of the Jewish preacher Jesus, whose crucified body vanished from its tomb at some point during the weekend. With several eyewitnesses claiming to have seen the dead man alive, serious questions are likely to be raised about the effectiveness of current crucifixion methods.

According to one source, Mary Magdalene and several other women first claimed to have seen the risen Jesus early on Sunday morning, but could get no one to believe them. It was not until a similar claim was made by two men on the road to Emmaus that the reports were given any credence.

Asked by Mary Magdalene to explain his presence, Jesus allegedly said that he had not yet ascended to his Father, but was in the process of doing so.

Police are treating the case at this stage as a missing person inquiry.

So might the media have reported the goings-on at the first Easter 2000 years ago; but even if the 20/20 or 60 Minutes TV teams of their day had brought the full rigour of investigative journalism to bear on the story, it's unlikely that they would have been able to give us a clear picture of what really happened.

Not even the four Gospels - our chief sources of information for that famous weekend - agree on the basic facts. According to Matthew, there was a great earthquake on the Sunday morning, just before Jesus' body was discovered gone, but, none of the other Gospels mentions that. John says Mary ran into Jesus right outside the tomb, but mistook him for a gardener; Luke says she didn't see him at all.

So it goes. But then, the Gospels were written between 60 and 120 years after Jesus' death, so a certain inconsistency is understandable. If the media today had to report a relatively obscure event of 80 years ago - say, the arrest of Rua Kenana - as if it was hot news, they too, might have trouble ascertaining the facts

LÒÒnytunes

24.04.00. Front Page

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