Evidence of Jesus' burial and resurrection
Matthew 27:59 - 28:3 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave. 62 Now on the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, 63 and said, "Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I am to rise again.' 64 "Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead,' and the last deception will be worse than the first." 65 Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how." 66 And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone. 28:1 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day , of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. 2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.
Mark 15:44 - 16:4 Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead. 45 And ascertaining this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. 46 Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth and laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were looking on to see where He was laid. 16:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3 They were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?" 4 Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large.
Luke 23:50 - 24:12 And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man 51 (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God; 52 this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain. 54 It was the preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. 55 Now the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed, and saw the tomb and how His body was laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. 24:1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; 5 and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? 6 "He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, 7 saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again." 8 And they remembered His words, 9 and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. 11 But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. 12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.
John 19:40 - 20:8 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. 20:1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him." 3 So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. 4 The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first; 5 and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. 6 And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed.
The large stone was moved, in spite of the Roman guards and seal
Jesus' tomb was secured in three ways:
(a) A large stone was rolled against it. It was customary to roll big stones against tombs; the stones were generally too big to be moved by just a few men, so levers were used to move them. Some have estimated that the stone that sealed Jesus' tomb weighed 1-1/2 to 2 two tons (1,361-1,814 Kilograms), which is the approximate weight of a midsize car.
(b) A Roman guard unit--which usually consisted of four soldiers--was stationed at the tomb. Roman guards were strictly disciplined fighting men held to the highest standards. Failure often required death by torturous and humiliating methods.
(c) The Roman seal was affixed to the stone that secured the tomb. The seal stood for the power and authority of the Roman Empire. Breaking the seal meant automatic execution by crucifixion upside down. Anyone trying to move the stone from the tomb's entrance would have broken the seal and thus incurred the wrath of Roman law.1
On resurrection Sunday morning, the first thing that impressed the people who approached the tomb was that the large stone was moved.3 Certainly the entire guard unit would not have fallen asleep with torture and death as the consequences. But even if the guards did fall asleep, how could thieves have sneaked by the guards and moved the massive stone without waking them up?
2. The tomb was empty
To begin, what is the evidence that the tomb in which Jesus was buried was discovered empty by a group of women on the Sunday following the crucifixion?
First, the resurrection was preached in the same city where Jesus had been buried shortly before. Jesus' disciples did not go to some obscure place where no one had heard of Jesus to begin preaching about the resurrection, but instead began preaching in Jerusalem, the very city where Jesus had died and been buried. They could not have done this if Jesus was still in his tomb--no one would have believed them. No one would be foolish enough to believe a man had raised from the dead when his body lay dead in the tomb for all to see. As Paul Althaus writes, the resurrection proclamation "could not have been maintained in Jerusalem for a single day, for a single hour, if the emptiness of the tomb had not been established as a fact for all concerned."
Second, the earliest Jewish arguments against Christianity admit the empty tomb. In Matthew 28:11-15, there is a reference made to the Jew's attempt to refute Christianity be saying that the disciples stole the body. This is significant because it shows that the Jews did not deny the empty tomb. Instead, their "stolen body" theory admitted the significant truth that the tomb was in fact empty. The Toledoth Jesu, a compilation of early Jewish writings, is another source acknowledging this. It acknowledges that the tomb was empty, and attempts to explain it away. Further, we have a record of a second century debate between a Christian and a Jew, in which a reference is made to the fact that the Jews claim the body was stolen. So it is pretty well established that the early Jews admitted the empty tomb.
Why is this important? Remember that the Jewish leaders were opposed to Christianity. They were hostile witnesses. In acknowledging the empty tomb, they were admitting the reality of a fact that was certainly not in their favor. So why would they admit that the tomb was empty unless the evidence was too strong to be denied? Dr. Paul Maier calls this "positive evidence from a hostile source. In essence, if a source admits a fact that is decidedly not in its favor, the fact is genuine."
Third, the empty tomb account in the gospel of Mark is based upon a source that originated within seven years of the event it narrates. This places the evidence for the empty tomb too early to be legendary, and makes it much more likely that it is accurate. What is the evidence for this? I will list two pieces. A German commentator on Mark, Rudolf Pesch, points out that this pre-Markan source never mentions the high priest by name. "This implies that Caiaphas, who we know was high priest at that time, was still high priest when the story began circulating." For "if it had been written after Caiaphas' term of office, his name would have had to have been used to distinguish him from the next high priest. But since Caiaphas was high priest from A.D. 18 to 37, this story began circulating no later than A.D. 37, within the first seven years after the events," as Michael Horton has summarized it. Furthermore, Pesch argues "that since Paul's traditions concerning the Last Supper [written in 56] (1 Cor 11) presuppose the Markan account, that implies that the Markan source goes right back to the early years" of Christianity (Craig). So the early source Mark used puts the testimony of the empty tomb too early to be legendary.
Fourth, the empty tomb is supported by the historical reliability of the burial story. NT scholars agree that he burial story is one of the best established facts about Jesus. One reason for this is because of the inclusion of Joseph of Arimethea as the one who buried Christ. Joseph was a member of the Jewish Sanhedrein, a sort of Jewish supreme court. People on this ruling class were simply too well known for fictitious stories about them to be pulled off in this way. This would have exposed the Christians as frauds. So they couldn't have circulated a story about him burying Jesus unless it was true. Also, if the burial account was legendary, one would expect to find conflicting traditions--which we don't have.
But how does the reliability of Jesus' burial argue that the tomb was empty? Because the burial account and empty tomb account have grammatical and linguistic ties, indicating that they are one continuous account. Therefore, if the burial account is accurate the empty tomb is likely to be accurate as well. Further, if the burial account is accurate then everyone knew where Jesus was buried. This would have been decisive evidence to refute the early Christians who were preaching the resurrection--for if the tomb had not been empty, it would have been evident to all and the disciples would have been exposed as frauds at worst, or insane at best.
Fifth, Jesus' tomb was never venerated as a shrine. This is striking because it was the 1st century custom to set up a shrine at the site of a holy man's bones. There were at least 50 such cites in Jesus' day. Since there was no such shrine for Jesus, it suggests that his bones weren't there.
Sixth, Mark's account of the empty tomb is simple and shows no signs of legendary development. This is very apparent when we compare it with the gospel of Peter, a forgery from about 125. This legend has all of the Jewish leaders, Roman guards, and many people from the countryside gathered to watch the resurrection. Then three men come out of the tomb, with their heads reaching up to the clouds. Then a talking cross comes out of the tomb! This is what legend looks like, and we see none of that in Mark's account of the empty tomb--or anywhere else in the gospels for that matter!
Seventh, the tomb was discovered empty by women. Why is this important? Women were second class citizens in Bible times; their testimony was not even allowed in court. Yet the Bible says the risen Christ first appeared to Mary Magdalene and other holy women. Even the apostles did not believe Mary when she told them the tomb was empty. Jesus, who always had special respect for these women, honored them as the first eyewitnesses to his resurrection. The male Gospel writers had no choice but to report this embarrassing act of God's favor, because that was how it happened.Because the testimony of women in 1st century Jewish culture was considered worthless. As Craig says, "if the empty tomb story were a legend, then it is most likely that the male disciples would have been made the first to discover the empty tomb. The fact that despised women, whose testimony was deemed worthless, were the chief witnesses to the fact of the empty tomb can only be plausibly explained if, like it or not, they actually were the discoverers of the empty tomb."
Because of the strong evidence for the empty tomb, most recent scholars do not deny it. D.H. Van Daalen has said, "It is extremely difficult to object to the empty tomb on historical grounds; those who deny it do so on the basis of theological or philosophical assumptions." Jacob Kremer, who has specialized in the study of the resurrection and is a NT critic, has said "By far most exegetes hold firmly to the reliability of the biblical statements about the empty tomb" and he lists twenty-eight scholars to back up his fantastic claim.
I'm sure you've heard of the various theories used to explain away the empty tomb, such as that the body was stolen. But those theories are laughed at today by all serious scholars. In fact, they have been considered dead and refuted for almost a hundred years. For example, the Jews or Romans had no motive to steal the body--they wanted to suppress Christianity, not encourage it by providing it with an empty tomb. The disciples would have had no motive, either. Because of their preaching on the resurrection, they were beaten, killed, and persecuted. Why would they go through all of this for a deliberate lie? No serious scholars hold to any of these theories today. What explanation, then, do the critics offer, you may ask? Craig tells us that "they are self-confessedly without any explanation to offer. There is simply no plausible natural explanation today to account for Jesus' tomb being empty. If we deny the resurrection of Jesus, we are left with an inexplicable mystery." The resurrection of Jesus is not just the best explanation for the empty tomb, it is the only explanation in town!
3. Jesus' burial wrappings were in the tomb
When the disciples saw the “linen clothes lying” uncut, undisturbed, lying just as they had been, yet empty –- it convinced them that
the body had been miraculously, supernaturally removed. Had some human hand stolen the body, they would have been forced to slit
open the bindings in order to remove the body. The Greek words translated, “wrapped together” in John 20:7, actually mean, twisted
together”or “rolled up” –- it speaks of a fixed position –much like a cocoon. The linen cloths were“wrapped” or “rolled together,"
however thebody was missing. The “linen clothes” had notbeen unfolded, loosed or disturbed in anyway!They just lay there!, an empty
shell of the linen clothes that had been wrapped around and around he body of Jesus.
John 20:7 also tells us that the napkin, that was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside, but Scripture takes an entire
verse to tell us that the napkin was“neatly folded and placed by itself.” John and Peter, after seeing “linen wrappings, like a giant cocoon,"
lying there, the noticed the “napkin,” that had covered Jesus' head wasfolded and lying to the side. Is it significant!
4. There were many witnesses to Jesus' appearances
Of the many people that witnessed Jesus Christ in His resurrected body, only a handful of specific people are named. Each appearance was purposeful, even though some incidents are recorded without details. For the events that are recorded, the Scriptures reveal specifics that are both intriguing and inspiring. When each Gospel narrative is read carefully, and all the details are put together, the big picture becomes quite clear.
Many who saw the crucifixion of Jesus also witnessed His resurrection. During the 40 days Jesus lived in His resurrected body before ascending into heaven, he first appeared to Mary Magdalene. Verses in the Gospel of Matthew imply that Mary, the mother of James, also saw Him on that first Sunday morning. Jesus appeared to Peter, then to two men on the road to Emmaus, and to the Apostles, except Thomas. Eight days later, Jesus appeared again to the Apostles, this time with Thomas present. Jesus appeared to more than 500 believers on one occasion, and to His half brother James. Lastly, after the ascension of Jesus, He appeared to the man who would become the great apostle Paul.
"For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas (Peter), then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once." After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me (Paul) also, as by one born out of due time." (1 Cor. 15:3-8)
Mary Magdalene is first named in the Gospel of Luke, chapter eight, as one of several women that traveled with Jesus, ministering to and caring for Him. She had been delivered from severe demonic activity, and was a loyal and loving follower.
Peter was the man to whom Jesus gave 'the keys of the kingdom of heaven.' Although he denied even knowing Jesus on the night of His arrest, Peter ran to see the empty tomb on Resurrection Sunday morning. By the time Cleopas and his friend arrived in Jerusalem from Emmaus, the Lord had already appeared to Peter, although the details of that incident are not recorded.
Beginning in Luke 24:13, the account of Cleopas and another disciple walking on the road to Emmaus is given. Jesus, whom they did not initially recognize, accompanied them to Emmaus, expounding the Scriptures to them while they walked. It was not until He broke bread with them during their evening meal that they recognized Him. Afterward, Jesus vanished from their sight. Cleopas and the other disciple immediately returned to Jerusalem and informed the other disciples that they had seen the Lord. As they were speaking, Jesus appeared in their midst. While He ate in their presence, Jesus explained to them the many Scriptures regarding Himself.
Eight days later, Jesus appeared again to His chosen men, and this time, Thomas was with them. Jesus confronted Thomas' doubt, and said, "Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen yet have believed."
The final chapter in John records Jesus' third appearance to His disciples, and seems to focus primarily on Jesus' confrontation and exhortation of Peter. Peter had decided to return to fishing. Thomas, Nathaniel, James and John, and two other disciples followed his lead, and they all went fishing at the Sea of Tiberius (Galilee). After they had fished all night and caught nothing, Jesus appeared on the shore, again unrecognized. When they followed Jesus' instruction to cast their net on the right side of the boat, there were so many fish that they were unable to pull in the net. Realizing it was Jesus, Peter swam to shore, and the others brought in the boat, dragging the net of fish. Jesus had a fire going, and he cooked some of the fish and ate with them. During this time, Jesus exhorted Peter, the future leader of the church.
There are no details in the Bible regarding Jesus' appearance to more than 500 hundred people, or His visit to His half-brother, James, except in the reference in Corinthians. James, however, went on to become the prominent leader in the church in Jerusalem after Peter, and Paul mentions both James and Peter in Church leadership roles in the first chapter of the letter to the Galatians.
The conversion of Paul records the most drastically changed life in the Bible. As Saul of Tarsus, he was an aggressive persecutor of the early church. When the risen Christ appeared to Paul on the Damascus Road, Paul became Christianity's most determined missionary. He endured five floggings, three beatings, three shipwrecks, a stoning, poverty, and years of ridicule. Finally the Roman emperor Nero had Paul beheaded because the apostle refused to deny his faith in Jesus. What could make a person willingly accept—even welcome—such hardships? Christians believe the conversion of Paul came about because he encountered Jesus Christ who had risen from the dead.
These are the truths recorded for all time in God's Word, and, as Jesus stated in John 17:17, "Your word is truth."
5. New Testament accounts were circulated among people who were alive at the time of the resurrection
Archaeological discoveries have confirmed that New Testament accounts of the resurrection were written within the lifetimes of people who were alive at the time of the resurrection. Those people could certainly have denied the accuracy of the Gospel writers' accounts.
6. The followers of Christ were persecuted and killed for proclaiming the resurrection
The lives of the disciples were transformed such that they were willing to die for their conviction that Jesus had risen from the dead. After the crucifixion of Jesus, his followers were disheartened and depressed. The one who they had believed to be the Messiah, the promised Savior of the world, had died in the most dishonorable way possible, crucifixion. They scattered and fell away, but within weeks they were leaving their jobs, gathering together and committing themselves to proclaiming the Gospel that Jesus was the Messiah sent by God, who died on a cross to pay the penalty for sin and then was raised to life seen alive by them. From an earthly perspective, they had little to gain in return. They were often hungry, ridiculed, beaten and imprisoned. Ultimately, most of them were brutally executed in torturous ways. Why were they willing to proclaim this Gospel to their death? Because they were absolutely convinced that they had seen the resurrected Christ.
Consider the weakness of theories given to deny the resurrection
1. Maybe the women who reported the missing body had mistakenly gone to the wrong tomb
This would mean that the disciples also went to wrong tomb.
Also, the Jewish authorities and the Roman guards were not mistaken about the location of the tomb. If the women and the disciples had gone to the wrong tomb, the Jewish and Roman authorities would have immediately produced the body of Jesus from the proper tomb in order to stop the rumor of the resurrection.3
2. Maybe those who claimed to have seen the risen Jesus were hallucinating
This position is unrealistic for several reasons. In order for hallucinations of this type to occur, psychiatrists agree that several conditions must exist. However, this situation was not conducive for hallucinations. Here are several reasons. Hallucinations generally occur to people who are imaginative and of a nervous make up. However, the appearances of Jesus occurred to a variety of people. Hallucinations are subjective and individual. No two people have the same experience. In this case, over five hundred people (Corinthians 15) have the same account. Hallucinations occur only at particular times and places and are associated with the events. The Resurrection appearances occur in many different environments and at different times. Finally, hallucinations of this nature occur to those who intensely want to believe. However, several such as Thomas and James, the half brother of Jesus were hostile to the news of the Resurrection. If some continue to argue for this position, they still must account for the empty tomb. If the Apostles dreamed up the Resurrection at their preaching, all the authorities needed to do was produce the body and that would have ended the Apostles' dream. These facts make these two theories extremely unlikely.
3. Maybe Jesus swooned
The swoon theory is that Jesus never died on the cross, but merely fainted from exhaustion and loss of blood. After three days He revived, exited the tomb, and appeared to His disciples who believed He had risen from the dead. This theory was developed in the early nineteenth century, but today it has been completely given up for several reasons. First, it is a physical impossibility that Jesus could have survived the tortures of the crucifixion. Second, the soldiers who crucified Jesus were experts in executing this type of death penalty. Furthermore, they took several precautions to make sure He was actually dead. They thrust a spear in His side. When blood and water come out separately, this indicates the blood cells had begun to separate from the plasma which will only happen when the blood stops circulating. Upon deciding to break the legs of the criminals (in order to speed up the process of dying), they carefully examined the body of Jesus and found that He was already dead. After being taken down from the cross, Jesus was covered with eighty pounds of spices and embalmed. It is unreasonable to believe that after three days with no food or water, Jesus would revive. Even harder to believe is that Jesus could roll a two-ton stone up an incline, overpower the guards, and then walk several miles to Emmaeus. Even if Jesus had done this, His appearing to the disciples half-dead and desperately in need of medical attention would not have prompted their worship of Him as God.
It contradicts medical science to believe that Jesus could have survived the crucifixion, let alone survived another two days in the tomb, removed the large stone, overpowered the Roman guards, and then convinced His followers that He had conquered death and the grave.
4. Maybe Jesus' body was stolen
Who would have stolen the body?
As mentioned above, Jesus' disciples fled in fear when Jesus was arrested and taken away for trial prior to being crucified, and then they stayed in hiding until hearing of the resurrection. Why would these men, who had displayed such cowardice and depression, risk their lives trying to overpower the Roman guards and steal Jesus' body? And why would they have wanted to? There was nothing for them to gain by stealing the body. They were persecuted, tortured, and eventually killed for preaching the resurrection, so there was no motive for them to fabricate a lie.
What's more, even if the disciples would have wanted to maintain a conspiracy, they would not have been able.
Every conceivable method was used by Roman and Jewish officials to stop them from talking.3 Self-preservation would have eventually won over the disciples' commitment to a conspiracy. If the resurrection were a concocted hoax, the disciples would have testified against one another before succumbing to beatings or the death penalty. Think about America's Watergate: The Nixon administration, the most powerful group of men in the world at the time, could not maintain a conspiracy for even a few weeks. They buckled under pressure and chose self-preservation over maintaining a lie to save their leader.
Consider also that the Romans must not have believed that the disciples stole Jesus' body--had the officials believed it, they would have killed them for breaking the Roman seal.
Theft of Jesus' body by Jewish or Roman authorities doesn't make sense either. If the authorities had the body in their possession or knew where it was, they could have produced the body of Jesus and put an end to Christianity. But they didn't.
Several historians have performed exhaustive evaluations of the facts surrounding the resurrection of Jesus Christ and concluded that there is no event of ancient history that is better supported by historical evidence. Statements by these historians can be found in the book Evidence That Demands a Verdict, by Josh McDowell (see Further study, next).