Jesus' Empty Tomb

When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.

Apologetic - In Israel up to now in excess of 60 rolling stone tombs have been found and examined. The tombs and the stones themselves vary in size, some stones could be moved by one person others would require a group of people to help shift what would be a very heavy stone. Tombs with rolling stones guarding the entrance were a luxury for the wealthy which would be consistent with the description of Joseph of Arimathea whom whose tomb Jesus was buried in and who is described in the Gospels as being 'a rich man' (Matthew 27:57). The stone at the entrance of Jesus' tomb is described as being 'very large' which suggests it was a stone that couldn't be moved by just one person.

The empty tomb presents a problem for those who are sceptical of the resurrection of Jesus yet it also helps build a solid case that presents Jesus' resurrection from the dead as being the best explanation for his empty burial place. So why do even secular and even most sceptical scholars believe that shortly after Jesus' death and burial that his tomb was found empty?

Commonly referred to as the Jerusalem problem this describes the problem of Jesus' tomb being located in Jerusalem where all four Gospels accounts are unanimous that he was was killed and buried in. It is highly unlikely that the earliest Christians would preach regarding Jesus' miraculous resurrection from his Jerusalem based burial place when if this was not so his body could simply be presented by their critics. The fact that Christianity began in Jerusalem, the place where it could all be proved wrong provides very strong evidence that Jesus' tomb was at the very least empty.

Few scholars have challenged the fact that women are recorded as being the first people to discover Jesus' empty tomb (Mark 16:1-8, Matthew 28:1-10, Luke 24:1-8 and John 20:1-13). In Palestine at that particular time women were not thought to be particularly reliable witnesses. So to present women as the first witnesses to the empty tomb would have presented some embarrassment for the early Christians. To strengthen their case they could have lied and told people that men were the first witnesses at Jesus' tomb but instead we are left with the feeling that the early Christians were more interested in telling the truth regardless of how embarrassing it may have been to their cause. To present women as the first witnesses to Jesus' empty tomb would have seriously weakened their testimony in the first century. This leaves me thinking that the only rational explanation for including such details in their proclamation of the Gospel was that women really were the first discoverers of the empty tomb!

It has also been argued that the tomb was witnessed by a number of different independent witnesses. The empty tomb narrative is not something that just one person invented, it was something that was seen by many and scholars have argued that there are at least three or four independent traditions contained in the Gospel accounts. The empty tomb was not something hidden it was something that was verifiable for those in Jerusalem to falsify. As Paul states these things were not done in a corner (Acts 26:26), Jesus' crucifixion would have been a spectacle that many would have witnessed, and there is no doubt that if Jesus was still in his tomb it wouldn't have been something that his disciples would be out proclaiming if untrue.

Some smaller points that point to Jesus' tomb being empty include Paul's account of an early Christian creed that has been dated to the mid 30's AD which is only a few years after Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. Although Paul doesn't explicitly detail the empty tomb it is clearly implied in 1 Corinthians 15:4 - 'that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day', since if he was raised in the same place he was buried then it clearly implies an empty tomb.

The earliest claims as an explanation from critics as to why Jesus' tomb was empty were that the disciples themselves had stolen the body, what this demonstrates is that even the Jewish leaders of the time acknowledged that Jesus was no longer in his tomb. However the disciples stealing Jesus' body makes little sense and simply doesn't explain the dramatic transformation of Jesus' early disciples.

Application - The empty tomb demonstrates to Christians that evidence has a place in the Christian walk, the empty tomb was a tangible and physical space that could be observed and checked by those who were critical of the disciples claims. God could have done these things in secret but instead Jesus was crucified, killed and buried for all to see, this is why Christianity's earliest critics never suggested that Jesus wasn't crucified, killed or was still in his tomb. These events were witnessed by real people living in a real place and contrary to our western prejudice Jesus' disciples wouldn't have willingly suffered for something knowing it to be untrue.

What this means for us is that, that very same message that Jesus has overcame death and provided a way for mankind to be made right with God that was so obvious and life changing for Jesus' first disciples was made available for us. That message isn't something to be ashamed of, its a message of hope, redemption and freedom where God offers to carry our burdens and forgive us for our wrongdoing in return for us recognising the love that he has demonstrated to us, and living in acknowledgement to this by turning our back on what displeases him.

...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)