In this episode, Arnie and Fred discuss two of the theories skeptics have proposed over the years to explain the empty tomb Jesus' body had been in. We begin by looking at a number of passages written by the witnesses that show that Jesus' body had in fact been in Joseph of Arimathea's new sepulcher. The apostles who wrote the accounts and others mentioned therein had witnessed that fact. The first theory we look at was proposed by a Dr. who taught at the Harvard Divinity School in 1907. His theory was that those involved went to the wrong tomb and found it empty. We talk about the individuals who were involved in burying Jesus and the fact that they were acutely aware of the location of the tomb He was put in. We discuss the knowledge the chief priests and the soldiers who guarded had of its location. We note that its location would be a matter of official Roman record as well. We then look at the theory that the body was stolen by the disciples, the Romans or the Jews. We look at obvious reasons this is simply not true. Take about thirty minutes to listen in on our conversation. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript provided of this Buzzsprout episode for your convenience.
In this episode, Arnie and Fred discuss two of the theories skeptics have proposed over the years to explain the empty tomb Jesus' body had been in. We begin by looking at a number of passages written by the witnesses that show that Jesus' body had in fact been in Joseph of Arimathea's new sepulcher. The apostles who wrote the accounts and others mentioned therein had witnessed that fact. The first theory we look at was proposed by a Dr. who taught at the Harvard Divinity School in 1907. His theory was that those involved went to the wrong tomb and found it empty. We talk about the individuals who were involved in burying Jesus and the fact that they were acutely aware of the location of the tomb He was put in. We discuss the knowledge the chief priests and the soldiers who guarded had of its location. We note that its location would be a matter of official Roman record as well. We then look at the theory that the body was stolen by the disciples, the Romans or the Jews. We look at obvious reasons this is simply not true. Take about thirty minutes to listen in on our conversation. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript provided of this Buzzsprout episode for your convenience.
This is a presentation of the Woodland church of Christ meeting at 3370 Broad Street in Sumter, South Carolina. We meet for worship on Sunday at ten thirty am and five thirty pm. We meet for bible study at nine thirty am on Sunday, and seven pm on Wednesday. If you have questions or comments on this lesson, you may email them to Fred Gosnell at fgosnell@ftc-i.net Or to Arnie Granke at agranke440718@twc.com.
Arnie:Good afternoon. This is Arnie Granke and Fred Gosnell, we're with the church of Christ at Woodland in Sumter South Carolina. And we certainly hope that if you ever happen to be in Sumter, either touring or possibly in the military, stationed out of Shaw, Air Force Base, PCS or, or TDY, why we certainly would be delighted to have you have you come and worship with us on the Lord's Day. We're when we have worship in the morning and a Bible class in the morning and then worship again in the evening. And then on Wednesday's, we have a Bible class as well. Come and be with us and study the Word of God with us if you are of a mind to do that. Fred, I see you've got a passage of scripture open there. What is that?
Fred Gosnell:Well, I guess we'll start with Mark, Mark's account of the resurrection. And this is verses one through 11. We begin in verse one says, When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Salome, had bought sweet spices and that they might come and anoint Him. Very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchrde at the rising of the sun, and they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked they saw that the stone was rolled away for it was a very grea. And entering into the sepulchre they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment, and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them be not afrighted. You see Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified, He has risen. He is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter, that he goeth before you into Galilee. There you shall see Him as He said it to you. And they went out quickly and fled from the ssepulchre, for they trembled and were amazed and neither said they anything to any man, for they were afraid. Now, when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils, seven, seven demons. And she went and told them that had been with Him as they mourned and wept. And they when they had heard that he was alive and had been seen of her, believed not. And in that text, notice the twice it says that he was raised on the first day of the week.
Arnie:That's right,
Fred Gosnell:And the Sabbath had ended. So the Sabbath is the seventh today. And that's our Saturday. And the first day of the week is Sunday, our Sunday. And
Arnie:And, yeah, actually, actually, that Sunday began at sunset, on on the Sabbath, is the Saturday. So they were well into the well into the day. You know, Fred, historians have, have recorded in the chronicles of mankind, many of the greatest moments, in the course of human events. Records, bound of the histories of great nations and the rise of illustrious loo leaders, momentous decisions, notable victories, significant achievements, and that kind of that kind of thing. And yet, very few historians notice what is in fact, the most astounding discovery, I think, in the annals of humanity. The discovery that precipitated really the fall of Judah and Jerusalem, shook the mighty Roman Empire. The discovery that changed the course of human events, the most, I'd have to assert, most controversial discovery ever made. And yet a discovery whose enemies for 2000 years have been powerless to either disprove or even to explain why, the discovery of Jesus empty tomb. So so let's talk about the the empty tomb and and, you know, why was it empty and what did that signify and, and that sort of a thing. Here in the passage you just read John Mark is the writer of that and he describes some of the evidences of Jesus' resurrection. He mentions the empty tomb, itself, he mentioned the grave clothes. He mentions the witnesses, he mentions their testimony in in the scriptures. So, so let's talk about, let's talk about the empty tomb.
Fred Gosnell:Okay, and so let's go on to Luke. And Luke tells us first, about the tomb. The tomb belonged to Joseph of Arimathaea. So it was his tomb, nobody had ever been buried in it. And Luke writes, in Luke 23, verses 50 through 55, he says, And behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counselor, and he was a good man and a just, the same had not consented to the council and, deed of them. He was of Arimethaea, a city of the Jews who also himself waited for the kingdom of God. This man went into Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down and wrapped it in linen. And laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, where it never man before was late. And that day was the preparation and the Sabbath drew on. And the women also which came with him from Galilee followed, after and beheld the sepulchre and how his body was laid. So this was a new tomb, hadn't been anybody in it, but but there was, it was used by Joseph of Arimethaea to bury Jesus. So so he did so. He Pilate allowed him to take his body. So air, Joseph took it down, and he wrapped it in linen, in the manner the Jews did for for burying, and he put it in the sepulchre. And then it tells us that the women also came with him from Galilee, and the women saw the sepulchre and how his body was laid in there. So there was a body in this sepulchrde. The body was Jesus' body. It was the one that was on the cross. It was the one that Pilate allowed Joseph to take to his new tomb and bury, and then there were witnesses, women who saw it there. Saw Jesus dead in the sepulchre.
Arnie:From from where the women were watching, they were actually able to see into the sepulchre and and see both Joseph of Arimethaea and and Nicodemus doing the work of preparing, preparing the body. Something that I would say about that is of course they were the spices and various other things that were inserted among the folds of the of the cloth, but they would cut the cut a bolt of fabric usually linen, fine linen was used, cut it into large strips and those strips are wrapped starting at the feet, and all the way up to the neck and then a separate wrapping for the for the head. So that Jesus hands would actually either by his side or are crossed there in in front of him, there within within that that cloth. And something else that I would note about and that's by the way, how how Nicodemus, not Nicodemus. I'm trying to think who that was. Lazarus. Lazarus was was buried the same way. Of course, that was the standard, standard way that that the Jews bury. Something else to note about them is that Joseph said here to be a a counselor. Both he and Nicodemus were members of the Sanhedrin Council. We don't know if there were any others that were that were favorable to, to Jesus or not, among the Sanhedrin. Probably not, I guess, because nobody else is, is mentioned there. But then preparing the body is described in in John chapter 19. This isn't all just in one verse. One writer, it's spread out in among several writers who really agree about the things that that were said and that were were done and how they were done and so forth. But in John chapter 19, beginning in in verse 38. John tells us, And after this, Joseph of Arimethaea being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear the Jews besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore and took the body of Jesus and there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 100 pound weight. By the way, John chapter three is the chapter that tells about Nicodemus visiting with Jesus and, and the conversation that they that they had. Verse 40, Then they took the body of Jesus wound it in linen clothes, with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to to bury. Now, in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden and in the garden, a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid There laid they Jesus, therefore, because of the Jews preparation day, for the sepulchre was nigh at hand. The preparation day is, this is the last day it would have been Friday before sunset of that impending holiday, holy day there of Passover for the for the Jews. So it was it was urgent for them since it was since that was going to be over a Sabbath. And it wasn't always over a Sabbath. But that was going to make it an especially high day. And so it was essential that they that they have all of those kinds of things like burying the dead, taken care of. And so they did and they were done before sunset.
Fred Gosnell:Yes. And you notice that that these writers wrote these accounts. Of course, each one of these writers were witnesses that they were witnesses of the crucifixion. And they were witnesses of the burial. And Matthew tells us in Matthew 27, 62, through 66, he, he tells us about the security that was made of the tomb and the guards that were placed there. So beginning in Matthew 27, verse 62, it says, Now the next day, this would be the Sabbath day, this would be on Saturday,
Arnie:Yeah, starting it starting at sunset.
Fred Gosnell:So, now the next day that followed the day of the preparation, the preparation being the day before the Sabbath.
Arnie:Yeah,
Fred Gosnell:The chief priests and Pharisees came together to Pilate saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said while he was yet alive, after three days, I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure, until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away and say unto the people, He has risen from the dead. So the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said to them, You have a watch, Go your way, make it as sure as you can. So they went and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone and setting a watch. So so Jesus was already buried, the stone was already across the entrance, this is the following day, Saturday, the Sabbath. So they they got the order from Pilate to to seal the the stone. And then to set a watch, there were there were a number of Roman soldiers that they had that guarded that tomb, and there was a Roman seal put on that, that tomb, so that if anybody messed with it, they would know about it. And so Matthew's account tells us that the sepulchre was sealed and gaurded to make sure nobody messed with it. And, of course, they didn't and later on, we'll find out what happened.
Arnie:Well, as a matter of fact, you know, the, these guards were not there to welcome visitors to the tomb. They were armed, they were Roman soldiers. They would have killed anybody who attempted to tamper with that, that tomb. Remember, that's a Roman seal that's been placed on that tomb. You did not mess with that kind of thing. At the cost of your life, if you did. So, Matthew chapter 27. sort of picks up really the next phase of of that. Here are the Roman soldiers posted there. There are at least four we know from from reading the text. Yeah. yeah. Okay. Yeah, there are at least four that
Fred Gosnell:I read that. that are there. And so, you know, two could be, could be sleeping while two were on duty. I don't know what their their arrangements for that would have been. But Matthew 27, beginning in 60, verse 62, The next day, following the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, saying, sSr, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, after three days, I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away and say unto the people, he's risen from the dead. So the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, You have watch, go your way. Make it as sure as you can. So they went, made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone and setting a watch. So they were there. The Jews had done everything that they could to prevent tampering, and prevent somehow Jesus' body disappearing. And And Pilate went along with that, said so, go ahead and do it. And so they so they did so the tombs, sealed and guarded. Yeah, and so so John tells us about the first day of the week, and in John's account, John 20, 1, one through 10. So and of course, this is where they found the tomb empty. And John begins in verse one says, The first day of the week, cometh Mary Magdalene, early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved. Probably, John, we understand that's him.
Arnie:yeah, I think you're right.
Fred Gosnell:And saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth and that other disciple and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together. And the other disciple did outrun Peter and came first to the sepulchre, and he stooping down and looking in saw the linen clothes line, yet when he not in. Then cometh Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin that was about his head, not lying with linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw and believed For as yet they knew not the scripture that he must arise again from the dead Then the disciples went away, again, unto their own home. So it's the first day of the week, and the tomb that had been guarded and sealed is open, and Jesus is gone. So they, and they see that the clothes that he was wrapped in, no doubt, they may have been blood stained, for all we know. And, of course, the body would have been may have been washed. But then there was a separate napkin is called a napkin, a piece of cloth,
Arnie:Head cloth
Fred Gosnell:That had been wrapped around his head. So remember that. There wasn't just one piece of cloth folded from head to toe. This is a cloth, cloths that were wrapped around him, and then a separate cloth that was covering the head. So their account was, well, he was here, but he's not now. And it said that, that the one now believed. So that's, that's John's account. And, of course, we continue on.
Arnie:We didn't read about the experience that the guards had, of course, when the angel came and rolled back, the stone and all of that, because that's not really essential to what we want to discuss here, we want to discuss the theories that people have set forth about why the tomb really was empty. And there are some pretty pretty shockingly ridiculous ideas that have been have been suggested over the over the years, the theories of of skeptics and whatnot. One of those is what we'll call the wrong tomb theory. There was a a doctor, a professor, by the name of Kirsopp Lake who was a Professor of Eccliastical History at Harvard Divinity School back in the late 1800s and early 1900s. And he also was a professor on on the staff at Leiden University in the Netherlands. He wrote a book called historical evidence for the resurrection of, of Jesus Christ. And his theory that he mentioned that the wrong tomb theory is that everyone went to the wrong tomb. First the women went to the wrong tomb. Then the the Apostles in in small groups, one after another, eventually wound up at the wrong tomb. Then everyone else that that came and saw the tomb empty, went to the wrong place. So a supposedly people think that there was a, just a plethora of errors. Everybody went to the wrong tomb, which is, which is pretty, pretty ridiculous. Matthew 27. If you look there at beginning in verse 57, When even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple, he went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. And Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb. So it's his tomb, there, which had, he had hewn out in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre and departed. And there was Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, sitting over against the the sepulchre. So so here is a site where this tomb is that's well known, well known to Joseph, it's his it's his tomb. He didn't do that in, it didn't, hew, that tomb out of the stone in 30 minutes, you know. He went back or a number of days to, to get that done. He knows exactly where that tomb was located. Nicodemus knew where that tomb was located, the women that sat there and watched this for a period of time, probably an hour or more, that knew where the tomb was, the disciples all knew where the tomb was. Let me just throw in another brief passage here, Luke 23, and beginning in verse, verse 55 says, The women also which came with him from Galilee, followed after and beheld the sepulchre and how his body was, was laid. So this wasn't done in some foreign country somewhere and nobody knows the way. Everybody knew where the tomb was. It's it's not it's not the wrong locations. Were there were there any other people that they could show where the tomb was Fred?
Fred Gosnell:Yeah. Well, John, tells us a little bit there in John 20, verses five through through eight. Of course we need to remember that the location of this tomb would have been a matter of Roman record. Pilate, Pilate had, had had at least four soldiers there, guarding it, and there was an official Roman seal put on that. And John tells us in John 20, the beginning in verse five, and he stooping down and looking in saw the linen clothes line yet went he not in. And then that's John. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into this sepulchre and seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to this sepulchre, that's probably John, And he saw and believed. So they knew where the sepulchre was, that it was no mystery. They know exactly where it was. They did not forget that and go to the wrong place later on. John himself writes about being there and looking in and and knowing. You know, those, they had, they had follow Jesus for three years, they were,, they were with him, they knew him better than anybody else. And and they, of course, did not want him to die. They didn't completely understand this. And of course, when he did when he was crucified, this was an individual they were with for three years, and they weren't going to just forget where he was buried. Since they knew the tomb, they knew where it was. So to say that well, that they went to the wrong tomb is completely contrary to all of the texts that we have read. And of course, that's the problem these people have. They simply don't believe what the Bible says about this time that Jesus was resurrected, the most important thing that's ever happened in human history,
Arnie:I can tell you, I can tell you some people who if all of the disciples and and all the women and all of these folks had the wrong tomb, I know exactly who could have taken them to the right tomb. It would have been the chief priests. And it would have been the soldiers. They could show you the correct location if if the disciples and all them had been wrong. And and they would have been glad to produce the body to prove that Jesus was not resurrected from the dead. But of course, it was the right tomb and they didn't have the body, they couldn't produce the body, the body had had left the grave. There's a second. A second theory that's offered sometimes, and and the Jewish officials back in AD33, would have been the ones who would, would have offered the stolen body theory that speaks for itself, you ought to be able to figure out pretty quickly what that that has to do with. That Jesus' body was stolen, stolen, either by the disciples, maybe the Romans stole the body. I don't know why they would have but they might have been accused, perhaps, or even the Jews may have have stolen the body so they can produce it. If somebody wanted to assert that, that Jesus had been resurrected from the dead.
Fred Gosnell:Yes. And of course, if that was the case, as you said, it would be easy to produce this body that Jesus said was going to be raised in three days, it would be easy to say you see here, here it is. He wasn't raised. Of course, the problem was he was raised and, and they had denied that that was ever possible. So they, they decided they were going to make up these stories. So in Matthew 28, 11, through 15. Matthew tells us, Now when they were going behold some of the watch came into the city. This, these were the soldiers that were watching this, of course, they saw what happened,, they passed out, And showed it to the chief priests all the things that were done. Remember, other accounts, have the soldiers they were, they were awake. And when this man, messenger, Aangel, whatever you want to call him, appeared, they all passed out, they were as dead man. So So they went and they were telling the chief priests, all the things that were done. And when they were assembled with with the elders and had taken council, they gave large money unto the soldiers, saying, Say ye, his disciples came by night and stole him away while he slept. And if this comes to the governor's ears, and we will persuade him and secure you, so they took the money and did as they were taught, and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. So they were bribed, they were paid off to lie about what really happened. Of course, they knew what happened and they told the Sanhedrin the elders there what happened? And of course, they propagated this lie to explain it away. So the disciples stole the body and that's why it's not in the tomb.
Arnie:Very clearly if the sense, sentrys, if the soldiers, if the disciples had stolen the body, they'd have to get past those those guards in some way. And if the centuries had been overpowered, why no report to that effect you know, why no physical injuries that they that they had? This was a time of very serious civil arrest. Why weren't some arrests made for breaking the governor's seal and, and assaulting the Roman soldiers, or sedition? They were, there were some people that were executed for sedition for sure. And and why weren't there any did disciples there if they if they had tried to overwhelm the guards? So these two theories don't cut just don't cut the the issue of truth. Let's talk about this some more next Lord's Day Fred. And we appreciate you listening we hope that you tune us in for the next part on this.