Easter 2007: Where Are His Bones?
Scripture: Matthew 28:1-7; 11-15; Luke 24:36-43; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8
Introduction
Last month there was a TV special that appeared on the Discover channel that caused a lot of excitement. In this “documentary” the tomb of Jesus was supposed to have been discovered. In this tomb were the “supposed” bones of Jesus, Mary His mother, Mary Magdalene and one of His brothers. Based on this “new” discovery, the possibility of Jesus not rising from the dead as is believed by Christians gain new momentum. The controversy around this issue is as old as the New Testament as we will discuss later, but this documentary did cause a stir in the media and in individuals who do not fully understand what happened with the resurrection. This morning I will answer some key questions based on our belief that the bible is accurate.
Did Jesus really die on the cross or did He survive the cross, went into hiding until His wombs were healed and then lived a quiet like with Mary Magdalene? Some have proposed that He really did not die on the cross and that the tomb was empty because he escaped. If this is what happened then there would be a tomb with His bones and the bones of other family members including His wife. But think about what this would mean if it were true. If Jesus did not die on the cross and was not raised from the dead, we have no rights to call on God as our Father. Our relationship with God is based on our acceptance of Christ as our Savior based on the sacrifice that He made for us. If He did not rise from the dead, then He is no better than any of the other prophets that lived before or after Him as it pertains to our salvation. So, how can we know for sure? Is there a way to look beyond the media to find the truth according to God’s word? The first step again is to decide whether or not you believe the Bible as written, if you do, then you will be able to follow the logic of what I am about to share. You can know with certainty that Christ died on the cross, was placed in a tomb and rose from the dead to live forever as our Savior. Let follow the trail as given to us in Scripture.
I. Proof That Christ Truly Rose From The Dead
First: The Roman Executioners Were Good At Killing. The first fact that we know with certainty is that the roman soldiers charged with executing criminals were very good at their jobs. We can know for certain that Jesus died on the cross. Not only were the Roman executioners good at their job, but they pleasure in their skills at killing. The beating that Jesus received caused Him to lose so much blood that He could have died before He ever reached the cross. He was so weak that He was unable to carry His cross demonstrating the fact that His body was in extreme pain and His blood loss was extensive. When He was placed on the cross, His death did not take long. He was already dehydrated and we know that individuals crucified actually dies from suffocation as the hanging on the cross causes the lungs to fill with fluid drowning the person. Consider this Scripture recorded in John 19:31-34, “The Jews therefore, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. The soldiers therefore came, and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other man who was crucified with Him; but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs; but one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.) To hasten death the guards would break the legs of the person being crucified in order to prevent them from using their legs to push up and catch their breath. By not being able to use their legs, death came more quickly. In the case of Jesus they did not have to break His legs because He had already died. To further verify that He was dead, one of the guards stuck a spear into His side to ensure it. There is literally no way the guards would have let Him come down off the cross without ensuring that He was definitely dead. By the way, one of the prophecies concerning Jesus as recorded in Psalm 34 was that none of His bones would be broken. This is what was referenced in verse 36 of this chapter.
Second: Jesus’ Resurrection Was Not Like Lazarus. There are those that believe that Jesus’ resurrection was similar to Lazarus’ resurrection as was recorded in John the 11th chapter, but this is not the case. You see, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, but Lazarus eventually died again. Jesus did not. When Lazarus rose from the dead, he retained the same body that he had, a body of flesh and blood. His body continued to go the way of all flesh and blood bodies, it aged and died. Jesus’ body did not require blood, could walk through walls, could appear out of no where and yet He could eat. He had a glorified body that we will one day receive, but Lazarus did not have this body. Again, we know Lazarus died again, Jesus did not.
Third: Testimony Of The Two Mary(s) And The Guards. After Jesus was taken down from the cross, Joseph took His body, prepared it for burial and placed it in his own tomb before the start of the Sabbath. Now let’s see what happens early on Sunday morning. “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. 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. And his appearance was like lightening, and his garment as white as snow; and the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. And the angel answered and said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going before you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.” Matthew 28:1-7
Early on Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the tomb and discovered that Jesus was no longer there. When they arrived, they encountered an angel that told them that Christ had risen from the dead. Notice who else was present at this event – the guards. The guards saw the angel and heard what he said and were afraid. The angel told the two Mary(s) that Jesus would meet them in Galilee and for them to go and tell the disciples. Now jump down to verses 11-15 and you will witness the beginning to the belief that Jesus disciples came and stole the His body.
“Now while they were on their way, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. And when they had assembled with the elders and counseled together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers and said, ‘You are to say, His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.’ And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews and is to this day.” Matthew 28:11-15
When the two Mary(s) left, the guards also left to tell the priests what had happened. The priests bribed the guards to report that Jesus’ disciples came and stole His body while they were sleeping. This belief continues to exist today, that the disciples came and stole His body. Some believe they did this to foster the “lie” that He had risen while others hold to the fact that He was not really dead and they took Him and hid Him until He was recovered after which He married Mary Magdalene and lived in exile. Can this be true? Not according to the word of God and to historical facts of the time. Let me share with you from a historical perspective how we can know with certainty that the disciples did not come and steal the body. There are three points that I want to stress that proves it unlikely (or impossible) for the disciples to have come and stolen His body. First and foremost, in order for the disciples to come and steal the body, they would need to have a reason to do so. They would need to be part of a conspiracy to foster a lie that Christ who was dead rose from death. This would have had to been planned out once Christ was taken. But consider what we know about the disciples. They did not understand that Christ was supposed to rise from the dead and if they did not know this, they could not know what it meant if He did. This was revealed to them afterwards. They thought when He was buried, it was over and that is why they went into hiding, they were in fear of their lives. The second fact concerns the guards that were placed around the tomb. The disciples had no means to overcome those guards (who were trained military/fighting men), remove the stone and take Christ’s body. To have attempted that would have meant death for them and we know that were already in fear of their lives. My third point is this; the grave clothes were undisturbed. Grave robbers would have been in a hurry and would not take the time to remove Christ’s burial clothes and take his naked body out. They would have had to take Him the way as He was because the myrrh that was used on His body would have made the cloth that was wrapped around Jesus’ body stick like glue. To remove the cloth from Jesus’ body would have taken a lot of time since the cloth would have come like lead. His disciples didn’t have the time or nerve to do this.
Four: He Appeared To Many After He Rose From The Dead: It would be hard to prove that Christ rose from the dead if no one had ever seen Him. It would be hearsay at best because there would be no credible proof that He had risen if no one “credible” had seen Him. But Jesus solved this issue when He appeared to many. Consider these verses from Luke 24:36-43: “And while they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst. But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. And He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. And while they still could not believe it for joy and were marveling, He said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and He took it and ate it before them.” Jesus appeared to His disciples and showed them His hands and feet as proof that He was Jesus and that He had risen from the dead. He even ate a piece of fish to prove that He was not a “spirit” as the disciples initially thought they were seeing (a spirit cannot eat). The disciples were energized after this interaction with Jesus. This brings me to my fifth point, the disciples’ change of attitude.
Five: the Disciples’ Change Of Attitude: If you were in fear for you life after your leader had been killed and you knew that you could be next you would also go into hiding. I know that I would consider moving to a different state or country. The disciples went into hiding. Now ask yourself this question, “Would the disciples, who were in hiding in an attempt to save their lives, come out of hiding and be willing to suffer and die for a lie?” If they had not had a personal interaction with Jesus, would they be willing to die? Even when the two Mary(s) gave their report, the disciples found it hard to believe. They had to see something for themselves in order to have this type of change in attitude. What they saw caused them to come out of hiding and be willing to suffer and die horrible deaths. What they saw was Jesus, alive, having risen from the dead.
Six: Paul’s Testimony: The final testimony is that of the apostle Paul. If you understand his history, he would be the last person who would ever stand up and confess that Jesus was alive. Paul hated Christians. He persecuted them, tracking them down and killing or placing them in prisons. He actually received governmental approval to do this, and then he has an interaction with Jesus. It must have been something special because Paul totally changed and began to preach Christ. Look at what he says in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8: “For I delivered to you as the first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as it were to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.” Paul states that he delivered to them what he received from Christ “according to the Scriptures”. What Scriptures? Paul was referring to the prophecies of the Old Testament that referred to Jesus. Remember, Paul was well versed in the Old Testament which made him a perfect enemy of Christians whom had limited knowledge of the Old Testament. Paul also stated that Jesus appeared to many, some of whom were still alive at the time that he wrote that letter. Again, this is from a man whose job it was to track down and imprison Christians. For him to become a follower of Christ, he had to have had an experience that totally changed his life – he met the risen Savior.
Conclusion
In conclusion, let’s examine what it means to be resurrected. One of the “theories” is that Christ’s resurrection was more “spiritual” versus Him actually rising from the dead in bodily form. By definition, resurrection must be in bodily form. Throughout Scripture every time someone was resurrected, they came back to life in bodily form. It was a spiritual experience in that God intervened and overrode the power of death, but for the person, they retained the body that they had. They came back to life after being dead. When the prophets, disciples and Christ resurrected anyone, they were resurrected in their natural body. When Jesus rose from the dead, although His body was changed, He retained the body that He had on earth. It was a glorified body, but He still carried the wounds inflicted upon Him when He died. This was important for his followers to understand and believe that truly He had risen from the dead. One other point, when Jesus talked with Thomas, He told Thomas to notice the holes in His hands and side. The holes were still there because His body did not have time to heal. Remember, healing comes when the blood continues to circulate helping the tissue to regenerate. The injury closes and a scar forms. In the case of Jesus, since His body died, the blood stopped circulating so the wounds did not have time to heal therefore what Jesus was showing Thomas were the actual holes. Again, had Jesus survived the cross, those holes would have started to close – just something to think about when you examine all of the evidence.
When Jesus rose from the dead, His whole body rose from the dead. It was not only spiritual, but it was physical. Based on this, if you believe that Jesus was resurrected then you cannot believe that the stories are true that His bones were found because there were no bones to be found. His disciples saw Him ascend into heaven, there was nothing physically left of Him on earth. Today we celebrate a risen Savior and He is alive and well. One day, each of us will die and we too will be resurrected in that last day to a glorified body. On that day, we will live forever with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. May God blessings be yours on this celebrated Easter Sunday.
