Why was the tomb of Jesus empty?

The following blog is indirectly related to our upcoming adventure in Jerusalem. The specific topic was triggered by reflecting on the empty tomb during our Easter service in the Upland Community Church back on April 4.

As the Gospel accounts either affirm or imply (in the case of the shorter ending of Mark's Gospel), the tomb of Jesus was empty on Sunday morning. What explanations have been advanced to account for this fact? Here is a list of seven suggested answers.

1. A very early and persistent answer is that the disciples stole the body and concocted the myth of Jesus' bodily resurrection. Already in Matthew's Gospel, we learn that the Jerusalem religious leaders feared something like this might happen and took steps to prevent it by posting a guard and sealing the tomb (Mt 27:62-66).

2. The religious authorities themselves removed the body in order to forestall the disciples' attempt to carry off the above named option. One might then speculate that they disposed of the body in an unmarked pauper's grave and thus its location was lost to memory.

3. Dominic Crossan, well-known "historical Jesus" scholar and member of the well-publicized Jesus Seminar, suggests that Jesus' body was not even buried; it was eaten by scavenger dogs after being taken down from the cross.

4. Jesus did not actually die but lost consciousness on the cross. Thinking he was dead, the soldiers released his body to the disciples who then placed it in a tomb, as per the Gospel accounts. However, the cool and quiet of the tomb revived him and he left the tomb under his own power.

5. The Roman execution squad took Jesus' body down from the cross and buried it in an undisclosed location. The women in the Gospel stories went to the wrong tomb, one that was empty and hence was born "resurrection faith."

6. The women and other disciples, in their grief and anxiety, forgot the location of the true tomb and it remains unknown to this day. The disciples, as in option one, simply invented the story of Jesus' resurrection, or, more likely, experienced intense, visionary experiences involving Jesus. This led them to speak of his actual appearance and then, eventually, to the story of his bodily resurrection, adapting the Pharisaic doctrine of bodily resurrection at the last day, so that Jesus' resurrection became the first of a series of resurrections (1 Cor 15:20-24).

A quick perusal of each of the above "explanations" reveals a common assumption: a casual dismissal of the Gospel accounts as reliable history. One must assume that the Gospels are almost pure literary invention in order to champion any of the above options. On the contrary, there is substantial evidence for assuming that the Gospels are based on eyewitness testimony.Scholars such as Richard Bauckham have argued this point convincingly.

A second observation is that several of these explanations pose insurmountable psychological problems. How does one account for the incredible commitment and growth of the early Christian movement if the very heart of the message was predicated on a deliberate lie, known to the earliest leaders of the movement. The transformation of lives requires something more dynamic and lasting than falsehood or self- delusion.

Thirdly, if option #2 were true, why didn't the authorities produce the body. This would have totally discredited the gospel message. The fact is, they never did and this strongly implies they never had it.

Crossan's theory has the least credibility. While a few instances may be cited in which Roman officials prevented family members from reclaiming a body and burying it, these occurred not in Palestine but in Rome itself. The Roman occupation forces in Palestine generally respected the importance Jews attached to proper burial for their dead. If there is a shred of truth to the Gospel accounts, the notion that dogs ate the body of Jesus simply cannot have been the case.

The mistaken tomb hypotheses strain credibility to the breaking point. Can one produce another example of a famous martyr's tomb being forgotten? If one can, was this a public execution carried out by an experienced execution squad? I'd be interested in hearing if even one example could be produced.

7. The best explanation is the same one proclaimed in the Gospels and celebrated in the other New Testament writings: God raised Jesus from the dead, an angel of the Lord opened the sealed tomb and Jesus walked out with a glorified body. The Apostles gave their lives for the truth of this message. The earliest believers lived transformed lives based on the power and hope of this message. If one believes in a God who created all things by his word (Gen 1) sustains all things, and occasionally intervenes into the flow of history to accomplish his purposes, the bodily resurrection of Jesus is no big deal. Of course, for believers, the resurrection of Jesus simply has "the ring of truth" to it. Soli Deo gloria!