Would you die for a LIE?

"I'm sure Jesus never really rose from the dead!", "The resurrection is a total hoax!", "Come on, it’s just a legend, as good as Robin Hood or King Arthur, just an interesting story."
These are the various replies of many people around the world when confronted with the issue about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, of course not in exact words. :) Skeptics and cynics included.
From historical records and even from the bible, we know that the man, Jesus, indeed did walk on this earth. Lucian(180 a.d.), Josephus (100 a.d.), Tacitus (120 a.d.), these were some of the non-christian historians which recorded the existence of the man Jesus and His famous event of the crucifixion. So we all know that He died. Yet in the bible, we are also told that on the third day of His death, He resurrected!
Now, when confronted with the issue of a man rising from the dead, many people will be skeptical and doubtful about its truth. Likewise, this was the similar reaction by the Jewish leaders when they found the empty tomb of Jesus. The bible records that the tomb where Jesus' body was laid, were guarded by Roman soldiers and the stone which weighed about 2 tonnes sealed the entrance to the tomb.
Yet, on the third day, the stone was rolled away and Jesus' body was gone. All these happened under the watchful eyes of the Roman soldiers. This incident was then reported to the Jewish leaders. After much discussion, they came up with the most wonderful answer! "The disciples stole the body!" ........
Imagine, a group of fishermen, some tax collectors and a few ladies, rolling away a 2 tonne stone and stealingJesus' body under the watchful eyes of the Roman soldiers. Hmmm.... Sounds like a ninja's job. :)
Ok, now I'm getting right to my point. Assume, that the disciples really DID steal Jesus' body, let’s see whether the following events make sense. We know that after the death of Jesus Christ, the disciples began to teach and spread Jesus' teachings. Obviously they received much hostility from the public. They were heavily persecuted, many were killed. Some of the disciples were even beheaded! So great was the persecution. My question is this; would you die for a lie? In the incident of September 11, the Islamic martyrs proved that some will die for a false cause that they believe to be true. Yet to be a willing martyr for a known lie is insanity. Had the disciples stole the body of Jesus, and thus know that the resurrection of Jesus is a lie, would they then be willing to be persecuted, suffer and die for a LIE? Food for thought. A quote from Paul little, "Men will die for what they believe to be true, though it may actually be false. They do not however, die for what they know is a lie."
If the resurrection of Jesus Christ was a hoax, this myth or legend would have died off a long time ago. Yet until today, the gospel of Jesus Christ prevails and continues to spread to unreach areas, it indeed has impacted many lives! This can only further validate the fact that the resurrection on Jesus Christ is indeed a truth!
While I know that this is not the only way to prove that the resurrection of Jesus is real, I hope that it may serve as a view point to disprove certain arguments and false claims. Truth or falsehood? It’s up to you to decide.
Glory to God on high