|
Had the story of Jesus ended on the cross we Christians would be of all men most pitiable. A dead Christ could save no one. We live rejoicing and face death with confidence and optimism because not only did Christ die for our sins, "he was buried… and ..raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" (I Cor. 15:3-4).
The Burial
By the hands of lawless men the Jews did crucify and slay Jehovah's Son. The sun had begun it decline when the darkness rolled away to reveal the foul deed they had done. Those unctuous hypocrites who had murdered the innocent Savior were concerned lest the forthcoming Sabbath day be compromised by corpses hanging on the three crosses (John 19:31). They did not break the Master's legs as they did the thieves', but "one of the soldiers with a spear, pierced his side. And straightway there came out blood and water." John the beloved apostle was eyewitness to this final act of violence (John 19:33-35). Jesus was dead already, but the spear pierced his heart and from the wound flowed blood and water. No one could deny the fact of his death.
The corpse was claimed by an unlikely person. Joseph of Arimathea was "a councillor of honorable estate," i.e., he was a member of the great Sanhedrian council that governed the religious affairs of the nation (Mk. 14:43). Being a good and righteous man, he had not consented to the foul deed of his fellow Sanhedriists (Lk. 23:50-51). With others of the faithful remnant, he was looking for the kingdom of God. Joseph had been impressed with Jesus' teaching but had not openly committed himself for fear of the Jews (John 19:38). Seeing the dastardly thing his brethren had done made Joseph ashamed that he had not taken his stand earlier. At great risk to himself, he boldly went to Pilate and requested permission to give the Master a proper burial. The Romans would have left the bodies impaled until devoured by beasts and birds of prey. The murderous Jews would have cast them into a pauper's grave. Granted his request by the Roman governor, Joseph took the lifeless body from the cross and wrapped it in a large linen cloth bought for that purpose (Mk. 15:46).
Near the site of the crucifixion there was a garden containing a tomb, hewn out of stone. There they carried the body of Jesus. Nicodemus, a fellow officer of the Sanhedrian, met the funeral party at the tomb, bringing a hundred pounds (1200 ounces by Roman measurement) of myrrh and aloe for use in preparing the body for the grave (John 19:39). Roman pounds were twelve ounces. (1) He too, had been hesitant to publicly declare his allegiance to the Lord, but now he stepped forward to do what he could. The Jews did not embalm as did the Egyptians, or as we do today. Rather they wrapped the body in swathes of cloth laced with aromatic spices. In the beautiful forty-fifth Psalm, which the writer of Hebrews declared to be messianic, the writer says, "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever…. All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes and cassia…" (Ps. 45:6-8; Heb. 1:8). Likely they took the large cloth purchased by Joseph, tore it into strips and wrapped each member of the body, the head being wrapped in a separate napkin according to the burial custom of the Hebrews (John 19:40; 20:6-7).
The burial tomb was large enough for a man to stand inside (John 20:6). The body would have been laid on a ledge left projecting from the wall. Such tombs may yet be seen in the Holy Land. Isaiah had said of Messiah, "They made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death" (Is. 53:9). Though they crucified him with malefactors, he was buried as a prince. It was a new tomb where no dead body had yet been laid (John 19:41). The sacrifice for man's sin must not be defiled by ceremonial uncleanness (Lev. 22:4).
The sun was now near the horizon, the Sabbath would begin at 6:00 p.m. Even though their task was uncompleted, the mourning friends rolled the great stone against the door of the tomb and made their way home for the Sabbath rest.
The Impossible Assignment
On the Sabbath day following, the chief priests and the Pharisees approached Pilate with a request to secure the body of Jesus lest it be stolen by his disciples (Matt. 27:62-65). They remembered with great anxiety his promise to rise again after three days. With the governor's permission they sealed the stone covering the entrance and posted a guard of soldiers (Matt. 27:63-67). The seal may possibly have involved stretching cords across the great stone and sealing them with wax imprinted with the governor's signet. Any disturbance would break the seal and be noticed (See Dan. 6:17). In this we see the providence of God in using his enemies to seal and watch the tomb so that it would be impossible to say that his disciples had stolen the body. Had the Lord's followers sealed and guarded the tomb, it would have left the event of his resurrection open to the suspicion of fraud.
"Pilate said unto them, ye have a guard, make it as sure as ye can" (Matt. 27:65). There are two ways of understanding his words: 1). An imperative: Do everything you can to make sure the body stays in the tomb," 2). Despairingly: "Make it as sure as you are able" given the spectacular events of his death and the miracles of his ministry. However we view the words, the assignment was impossible. The gates of Hades could not and would not prevail against him (Matt. 16:18). The divine promise to raise him had been made (Matt. 12:39-40). The proper time needed only to elapse and Heaven would fulfill its word.
Three Days in The Tomb
Across the ages there has been confusion about the time involved in the Lord's entombment. This problem is seen in Matthew's record. "……and the third day he shall be raised up" (Matt. 20:19). "…as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matt. 12:40). He was crucified on Friday, the day of preparation for the great Sabbath day of the Passover (27:62). Death came sometime after the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.), when Jesus cried, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani" (Matt. 27:46). He was buried before the Sabbath began at 6:00 (Lk. 23:54). The body rested through the Sabbath but early on the morning of "the first day of the week," Mary Magdalene found the tomb open (John 20:1). Thus we can roughly calculate his entombment to have lasted: 1 hour on Friday, before 6:00 p.m.; 24 hours of the Sabbath; 12 hours or so on the first day; approximately 37 hours, in all.
Those who press for a literal interpretation of three days and three nights must find a way to have him in the grave seventy-two hours. D. R. Dungan in his fine textbook, Hermeneuties, observes, "If we take the ordinals among the Greeks, (first, second, third, etc.), they are always to be relied upon but if we have the indication in the use of cardinals, (one, two, three, etc.), we may feel sure that it is not as we would say it" (2) Albert Barnes notes that it was a maxim among the Jews that a part of a day was to be counted as a day in computing time. (3) Thus the Savior's prediction was that his death experience would be like that of Jonah's in the sea monster. The Jews evidently saw no contradiction in his prediction and the actual facts. Had there been a discrepancy, we can be sure that they would have attacked his credibility the point; which they did not.
The Empty Tomb
When Christ was laid in Joseph's tomb, nothing appeared more weak and doomed than the movement he had launched. The handful of disciples who were left were unlearned and ignorant men. They were discouraged and defeated. They had no base of power as the world views it. Their Master had died a most ignominious death and now lay enclosed in the tomb with millions who had died before him. The gates of Hades slammed shut when the great stone was rolled into its slot. Satan had won his most signal victory. All Hell rejoiced, the righteous wept.
"But early on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb and they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus" (Luke 24:1-3). Among the women who found the tomb opened were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. Mary Magdalene immediately ran to Peter and John thinking the body had been stolen (John 20:1-2). Meanwhile two angels appeared to the other women who lingered at the tomb, telling them, "He is not here; for he is risen, even as he said…go quickly, and tell his disciples…" (Matt. 28:7).
The Linen Clothes Lying
Upon hearing the report of Mary Magdalene, Peter and John dashed away to see for themselves. John out ran Peter and : "…stooping and looking in, he seeth the linen cloths lying," "…Simon Peter therefore also cometh, following him, and entered into the tomb; and he behold the linen cloths lying, and the napkin, that was upon his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place by itself…" (John 20:4-7). Lenski comments:
"What he sees is remarkable indeed: the linen bands (11:40) lying wholly undisturbed in their proper place with the body of Jesus gone out of them. " "…This is the astounding phenomenon: "The linen bands lying. Nothing whatever had been done with them, they were merely lying. We are not to imagine that they had been unwound from the body as was done with the grave bands of Lazarus when he came to life. Neither had they been cut or stripped off in some other way. They lay just as they had been bound about the limbs and body, only the body was no longer in them, and thus the wrappings lay flat." (4)
Had robbers stolen the body they would have taken it with the bands in place. If his friends had taken it, they would not have taken time to unwrap it. Even had they done so, they would not have arranged the clothes as if they were around corpse. This clearly is evidence of the strongest kind that Jesus simply passed out of his grave clothes with his resurrected body even as he entered into the locked room where the disciples were without having to open the door (John 20:19). That the cloth which covered his head was neatly "rolled up in a place by itself" (John 20:7) tells us that his removal was not the work of robbers. They would have tossed it aside in their haste. Christ or one of the angels evidently neatly rolled the cloth and laid it aside as a testimony of his resurrection.
While Mary Magdalene hurried back to tell Peter and John what she had seen, the other women entered the burial chamber and beheld two men in "dazzling apparel" (Lk 24:4). Later Mary returned and saw "two angels in white, sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain" (John 20:11-12). This scene reminds us of the cherubim that adorned the mercy seat in the temple (Ex. 25:18-20). It was on the old mercy seat between the cherubim that the blood of the atonement was sprinkled each year (Lev. 16:14-16). Now the bier on which our Lord's crucified body was laid is our mercy seat. It speaks of forgiveness of sins and hope for life that is eternal.
They Disbelieved
When the women "told these things unto the apostles…these words appeared in their sight as idle talk; and they disbelieved" (Lk. 25:11). Mark tell us that they disbelieved Mary Magdalene's testimony as well as that of the two disciples who saw him on the way to Emmaus. "And afterward he was manifested unto the eleven themselves as they sat at meat; and he upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them that had seen him after he was risen" (Mk. 16:14).
It seems amazing to us that the apostles found it so hard to believe in the face of the repeated manifestations of the risen Savior and the testimony of the peers who saw him. This however, is a vital part of the record and proof of his resurrection. This shows us conclusively that they had not conspired to concoct a story about Jesus being raised from the dead. "They were not convinced until it was impossible for them to deny it." (5)
In this they were no different than are we moderns. Being finally persuaded, they could not help but preach it to every creature, no matter the personal risk involved
The Power of the Resurrection
Paul wrote, "Yea verily and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord… that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings becoming conformed unto his death; if by any means I may attain unto the resurrection of the dead" (Phil. 3:8-10). The resurrection is truly one of the foundation pillars of Christianity.
The Importance of the Resurrection
To the Corinthians, Paul emphasized the importance the resurrection. He reason, "If Christ hath not been raised" 1) Our preaching is vain; 2) Your faith in vain; 3) The apostles are found false witnesses; 4) We are yet in our sins; 5) The dead have eternally perished; 6) We are of all men most pitiable, if Christ has not been raised (I Cor. 15:12-19).
The Proof of the Resurrection
But Christ has been raised from the dead, and this is no fond wish or hope. There is proof! Luke states in Acts 1:1-3 that "he also showed himself alive ..by many proofs, appearing unto them by the space of forty days…" The truth of Jesus' resurrection is substantiated by many witnesses, who testified that they saw him alive after his death! They were assured it was him!
* On Sunday morning Mary Magdalene and another Mary went to the tomb. There was an earthquake and an angel of the Lord rolled back the stone door and showed them an empty grave. As they returned to tell the other disciples, Jesus met them saying, "all hail, and they came and took hold of his feet and worshiped him" (Matt. 28:1-10).
* Later Jesus appeared unto Mary Magdalene alone at the sepulcher on the resurrection morning. He talked with her and she told the disciples, "I have seen the Lord, and that he had said these thing unto her" (John 20:11-18).
* He appeared to Peter the afternoon of resurrection day (I Cor. 15:5; Luke 24:34) and …
* To the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Lk. 24:13-15), and they testified, "the Lord is risen… and they rehearsed the things that happened in the way, and how he was known of them in the breaking of the bread"
* He appeared then to all the apostles, save Thomas, on the resurrection evening, "Jesus came and stood in the midst and saith unto them, Peace be unto you… he showed them his hands and his side…" They testified, We have seen the Lord" (20:19-25).
* A week later he again appeared to the eleven apostles. Thomas, who had doubted the story of the others was told, "reach hither they finger and see my hands; and reach hither thy hand and put it into my side…" Thomas answered and said, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:26).
* A few days afterward, Jesus appeared to several of the apostles as they were fishing at the Sea of Galilee. He caused them to have a great catch of fish. He then invited them to share breakfast with him. "And none of the disciples durst inquire of him, Who art thou? Knowing it was the Lord" (John 21:1-23).
* He appeared to above five hundred disciples at once (I Cor 15:6), and to the apostles on an appointed mountain in Galilee. "And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted" (Matt. 28:16-20).
* James saw him alive (I Cor. 15:7).
* He then led his apostles from Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives and blessed them and ascended into the heavens in their sight (Lk. 24:50).
* Saul of Tarsus, the persecutor of Christians, met the risen Christ face to face on the road to Damascus (Acts 22:6-9,14). The change in Saul and his work as the Apostle Paul established his claim to have seen the risen Lord.
These witnesses give us empirical evidence that should satisfy even the most skeptical soul.
* They saw him to be the same man they had followed .
* They saw him eat food as he had before.
* They saw his wounds of crucifixion.
* The voice they heard was the same one that had taught them before.
* They felt his body and his wounds. It was not a dream, a ghost or an illusion. They saw Jesus alive after he was raised from the dead!
The empty tomb gives testimony of his resurrection. Joseph, Nicodemus, Mary Magdalene and other disciples tenderly took the body of Jesus from the cross, prepared it and laid it to rest in Joseph's new tomb. The chief priests and Pharisees, remembering his prediction, that he would rise on the third day, secured permission from Pilate and "went and made the sepulcher sure, sealing the stone, the guard being with them" (Matt. 27:66).
Many witnesses testify that the tomb was found empty on Sunday morning.
* Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome went to anoint the body (as the custom was). They found and empty tomb(Mk. 16:1-8).
* Peter and John on hearing the report ran and entered the tomb, finding it empty (John 20:2-6).
* The Roman guard, whose lives were jeopardized by allowing the corpse to disappear, said it was gone (Matt. 28:11).
* The Sanhedrian Council of the Jews verified that the body was gone, in that they paid much money to the soldiers to spread a lie that the disciples had stolen the body while they slept (Matt. 28:12).
What happened to his body? Either his friends, his enemies or God took his body from the tomb.
* His friends could not have taken it, because the grave was sealed and a guard placed there to prevent just such a happening.
* His enemies would not have taken his body, for it was this which they were trying to prevent. Thus we are left with but one conclusion;
* God raised his body from death and took him from the tomb.
The evidence of his power over death during in his ministry convinces us that he had the power to rise from the dead. As he raised Lazarus before many witnesses, he could raise himself. Jesus said, "I lay down my life, that I may take it again… I have power to take it again (John 10:17-18).
The transformation wrought in the Apostles is proof of his resurrection. A few days before, they had deserted him and fled in fear of their lives. They cowered in a locked room in the city. Now see them standing before that same mob who had murdered their Lord, and boldly proclaiming the resurrected Christ (Acts 2:14-36)
The prophet foretold Christ's resurrection. "I beheld the Lord always before my face… Because thou wilt not leave my soul unto Hades, neither wilt thou give thy Holy One to see corruption" (Ps. 16:8).
The inability of his enemies to produce the body so that they might disprove the apostle's witness is proof of the resurrection. It they had stolen the body we can be sure that they would have publicly displayed it and destroyed their claim.
The impact upon Jerusalem of the resurrection gospel, demonstrated the factuality of Christ's being raise. Within a few days, over 5,000 men had become his disciples (Acts 4:4).
The influence of the resurrection gospel (Phil. 3:10) upon those who receive it and upon our whole world today is a positive testimony to its truthfulness.
What the Resurrection Means to Us Today
* The resurrection is the "axle and hub" of the gospel. Paul wrote, "I make known unto you the gospel which I preached unto you… Christ died for our sins… and that he was buried; and that he hath been raised on the third day…" (I Cor. 15:1-4).
* The apostle wrote that Jesus "was declared to be the Son of God with power…by the resurrection from the dead" (Rom. 1:4).
* It proves his testimonies to be reliable and true, thus,
* It demands our faith (Rom. 10:9). "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord and shalt believe in they heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Rom. 10:9).
* To the Romans Paul said, "Jesus…was delivered for our trespasses and was raised for our justification" (Rom. 4:5).
* His resurrection conquered death. "Death is swallowed up in the victory" (I Cor. 15:54).
* His resurrection assures our resurrection and immortality. Romans 8:11 says, "if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you, he that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall give life to your mortal bodies."
* The resurrection gives Christians comfort at the time of death. Paul writes, "concerning them that fall asleep…sorrow not even as the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so them also that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with him (I Thess. 4:13-18).
* God …begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead…(I Pet. 1:3).
* The resurrection gospel is a powerful force for good in our lives. Paul speaks of the "power of his resurrection" (Phil. 3:10), and affirms we can do all things thorough him that strengthens us (Phil. 4:13).
* The disciples' faith in the resurrection was responsible for the phenomenal growth of the early church.
* It made possible the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, "If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you (John 16:7). Peter declared, "Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted…he hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear" (Acts 2:33).
* The great day of judgment is dependent on the resurrection. The Lord has appointed a day in which he will judge the world…by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead" (Acts 17:31).
Without the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead, there can be no Christianity. No wonder Satan seeks to disprove it and keep people from believing it. He that rejects the resurrection must reject the whole of Christianity. True Christians believe Christ was actually resurrected from the dead and lives and reigns today. This is the good news of the gospel! JHW
End Notes
1. Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. Two volumes, Grand Rapids, Eerdmans Pub. Co. 1943, Vol. II, p. 618.
2. D. R. Dungan, Hermeneutics, Cincinnati, Standard Publishing Co., n.d. p.311
3. Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: Matthew and Mark, Grand Rapids, Baker Book House, 1956, p. 134.
4. R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John's Gospel, Minneapolis, Augsburg Pub. House, 1942, p. 1340-1341.
5. Albert Barnes, Matthew and Mark, p.391.
Bibliography
Barclay, William. The Daily Study Bible. 2nd ed., 17 vols. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. 1958. Vol. 2: The Gospel of Matthew: Volume 2 (Chapters 11 to 28).
__________. The Daily Study Bible. 2nd ed., 17 Vols. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. 1956. Vol. 4: The Gospel of Luke.
__________. The Daily Study Bible. 2nd ed., 17 Vols. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. 1956. Vol. 6: The Gospel of John 2 (Chapters 8 to 21).
Barnes, Albert. Notes on the New Testament: Explanatory and Practical. Edited by Robert Frew. 11 Vols. Grand Rapids: Baker book House [1832]. Vol. 1: Matthew and Mark.
Bryan, W. J. Seven Questions in Dispute. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company. 1924.
Dungan, D. R. Hermeneutics: A Text-Book. Cincinnati: The Standard Publishing Company n.d.
Edersheim, Alfred. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. 2 Vols. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 1943. Vol. 2
Farrar, Frederic W. The Life of Christ, vol. 2. New York: E. P. Sutton and Company. n.d.
Godet, F. A Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke. The Standard Series. New York
I. K. Funk and Co., 1881.
Lenski, R. C. H. The Interpretation of the St. John's Gospel. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House. 1961.
_________. The Interpretation of St. Matthew's Gospel. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House. 1961.
McGarvey, J. W. and Pendleton, Philip Y. The Fourfold Gospel or A Harmony of the Four Gospels. Cincinnati: The Standard Publishing Company. n.d.
Perowne, J. J. S., gen. ed. The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Cambridge: University Press, 1906. The Gospel According to St. John, by A. Plummer.
__________. The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Cambridge: University Press, 1882. The Gospel According to Luke, by Frederic W. Farrar.
___________. The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Cambridge: University Press, 1893. The Gospel According to St. Matthew. By A. Carr.
Robertson, A. T. Epoches in the Life of Jesus. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1907.
__________. A Harmony of the Gospels for Students of the Life of Christ. New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1950.
Smith, Wilbur M., compiler. Great Sermons on the Resurrection of Christ. Natick, Massachusetts, W. A. Wilde Co., 1964.
Stalker, Jr. The Life of Jesus Christ. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1949.
Summers, R. Jesus, the Universal Savior: Commentary on Luke. Waco: Work Books, Publisher, 1972.
Waddey, John. Christianity versus Liberalism. Winona: J. C. Choate Publications, 1972.
Wilcock, J. The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary, reprint, 31 vols. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1980. Vol. 23: St. Luke.
|
tweet this!