The Empty Tomb
The empty tomb is a theological conundrum. We cannot use it to prove anything really, nor can we use it to disprove anything.
Yet if Jesus’ body lay entombed there, how difficult it would be for the disciples to believe in the resurrection. The instances when the disciples witnessed Jesus’ power to raise the dead always involved a body being raised. Therefore, for the disciples to believe Christ was raised from the dead required the body not be present in the tomb. It would have been an insurmountable obstacle to their faith, in that time and place.
The disciples during this period often associated the resurrection with the body. Remember Thomas was absent when our Lord first appeared to the disciples. What a time to be absent! He apparently believed in the resurrection of the body. Remember what he said, “Except I see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25).
Perhaps he felt hurt and left out at being the last to witness the resurrection, but he was being a little hard about this whole matter. By his demand he insinuated that the others had not made these identifying observations and that therefore they were possibly deceived. If he did not believe the witness of the resurrection by the disciples, he should have believed Jesus’ testimony in Mark 9:31, “They will kill him; and when he has been killed, He will rise three days later.” His position was extreme, perhaps even stubborn. He melted immediately when our Lord appeared, but the Lord insisted on meeting his terms.
Thomas was wrong in demanding to see Jesus raised in a similar human body. How easily the church later was led astray in believing the resurrection of the body. That is the first mistake to take root in the church – The Apostle7s Creed, while correct in every other matter, errs in this matter – stating “I believe in the resurrection of the body.” Paul says, “Thou fool … God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed its own body” (1 Corinthians 15:36, 38).
NO WITNESSES
We have no witnesses as to what happened to Jesus’ body. None. The story starts with the empty tomb. All we have is Acts 2:31, “His soul was not left in hades, neither his flesh did see corruption” The women and later Mary were witnesses of the empty tomb. Peter and John took pains to confirm the fact that the tomb was empty. Also the soldiers who guarded the tomb were witnesses to the tomb being empty.
SPICES WASTED BUT APPRECIATED
When Jesus was buried they put about 100 pounds of spices on his body. The sisters apparently were coming to add more spices according to Mark’s account (Mark 16:1). When they arrived they met the angels who said “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is risen”
When Peter and John arrived they saw Jesus’ linen grave clothes there, but the linen head napkin was all rolled up in a place by itself No mention is made of the spices. The living don’t need spices. At any rate his body never needed spices because God’s Word made it clear it would not corrupt. However, the spices are not mentioned even though they would normally have been poured over or under the grave garments.
The women came to honor Jesus; he honored them with the news of the resurrection. They were the first to hear the angel and to see Jesus. “Them that honor me I will honor.” Here was a surprising move to decentralize from a clergy-laity arrangement as it later became. All the faithful believers in Jesus, some 500, were witnesses of his resurrection. Jesus only appeared to the faithful. No others. That is important.
Jesus could have appeared to Annas, Caiaphas, the Sanhedrin, Pilate, Herod, Caesar, the Roman Senate – he would have put the fear of God into their hearts. But he did not. Why? Christ wanted only true believers to be witnesses. To the wicked he says, “What hast thou to do to declare my statutes … seeing thou hatest instruction, and casteth my words behind thee” (Psalm 50:16, 17). No enemy was a witness. This is wise from another standpoint – the Devil had no, way to misrepresent matters by reporting false information. They simply had no information on the resurrection.
THE PROBLEM OF THE EMPTY TOMB
The empty tomb was bad news for Jesus’ enemies. They had it guarded to prevent the body from being carried away. The body was gone. That prevented them from showing Jesus’ dead body as proof that no resurrection had taken place, yet – notice – they did not send out a search party to find the body. In a small community it would be hard to hide a body. They were in a difficult position, but there is no indication that they believed his body was stolen. They bribed the guards to spread the rumor that the “disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept” (Matthew 28:13). (How could they know what happened if they were sleeping?) The soldiers probably heard the angel say “He is risen” So they knew it was useless to search for the body. The empty tomb troubles the enemy.
The empty tomb puzzled Mary. She supposed someone did take Jesus’ body. When she met Jesus she thought he was a gardener. When he asked her why she was crying she said, “Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away” (John 20:15). She believed the tomb was empty and Jesus was still dead. She wanted to find the body. There was no body to find. The empty tomb troubled Mary.
The empty tomb posed a problem for Jesus. He had to show that he was risen without his former body. This was difficult because he was made alive a “lifegiving spirit” and his disciples were looking for a flesh and blood Jesus (1 Peter 3:18, 1 Corinth. 15:45).
The proof of the resurrection is not the empty tomb. It is his witnesses and his word. Last of all he was seen of Paul as one born out of due season, shining above the sun at noonday.
– Gene Burns