Aletheia

Before we can even begin to prove that the tomb was empty, we must first show evidence that it was full. Scripture says that Joseph of Arimathea, a rich disciple of Jesus who had his own tomb asked for Jesus body and buried in his tomb. Who was Joseph though? Was he trustworthy to put Jesus in the tomb? Joseph was actually a member of the Sanhedrin, but he didn't agree with their action against Jesus. Jews in general, especially the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees, took death very seriously. Also, notice it was not one of the then eleven disciples, but rather their "enemy." If the authors of the gospels had written what they wanted to, they probably would not admit to such a fact. As a final point of evidence, there is absolutely no other recorded competing story. All four Gospels record it and there are no competing stories from any outside sources.

Now that we have good reason to believe that He was in the tomb, who were the first people to discover that He was missing? The first witnesses are almost always the most reliable and usable in any court case. The interesting thing is that the first witnesses were two women. To us this may seem trivial, but for the authors of the gospels to record this evidences incredibly their concern with just the facts. How does it do that? Well, women in that day were not only seen as objects to be possessed, but also were not considered in the least reliable in any court and could not be used as a witness. They had absolutely no legal standing. One man could murder another in front of a woman and the man would get off scot-free. Why would the authors postulate such a huge claim with women as the first witnesses? Again, if they wrote what they wanted to, this is obviously not what they would have written.

There are many other evidences for the tomb being empty. First of all, both the Jews and the followers of Jesus knew where the tomb was. The crucifixion and the tomb were in very public places. Literally, it was just down the road, probably as near as the nearest 7-11 or Starbucks if not closer. Also, the account of the empty tomb is not at all glorified. Descriptive, embellishing language is absolutely minimal because the authors wanted to preserve the truth in purity and security. Some of the other accounts written approximately the same time were not included in the Bible because of the way they talk about the resurrection and obviously embellish in order to glorify God more. Thirdly, Jews do not mess with tombs. To touch a dead body meant being unclean for seven days and having to make many sacrifices etc. to be clean again. Fourthly, scripture tells us that only the body was missing. The 50 - 300 lbs. of linen and spices Jesus was wrapped in were neatly folded and put in the corner of the tomb (there is an interesting meaning behind that that I'll get into later.) Why would anyone who was going to steal the body take the time to unwrap the body and leave the wrappings neatly folded in the corner of the tomb? They'd want to get in and out as quickly as possible. Some people say, the guard did it. What, then, was their motive. While some might have possibly been believers, there was probably a minimum of a couple hundred men and perhaps even 1,000 troops stationed outside the tomb to prevent the bodies theft. Others say the disciples stole the body. Why then did all but one of the eleven die martyrs and the 11th, John, lived a life of persecution, imprisonment, exile, and loneliness if they knew that it was all a hoax?

The meaning of the grave clothes, before I make the final point of evidence, is that carpenters of that day, when they completed a house, they would take their towel and fold it neatly in the corner of the house to say that the work was done. Jesus was a carpenter by birth and trade. He used this symbol to say that His work was done.

The final and possibly the greatest evidence for the empty tomb is that the enemy started with the assumption that the tomb is empty when trying to spread lies about where the body had gone. Matthew 28: 11-15 says, "While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, 'You are to say, "His disciples came during the night and stole Him away while we were asleep." If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.' So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day." Thus, I believe it is safe to conclude that the tomb was empty.

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