The Mystery of the Empty Tomb
All the four gospel writers are unanimous on it that the tomb was empty. But how it got empty is the answer we have got to find for the question.
Starting with Matthew, at the end of that Sabbath, which in Israel is at the sunset, Mary Magdalene with another Mary, went to see the tomb. Never mind that the tombstone was sealed and the guards were there to prevent the approach of any suspect. They either did not know it or the conspiracy to provide an eyewitness had backfired.
As the women arrived there, there was nothing of the sort. However, the writer of Matthew reports an earthquake, as an angel came down to move the tombstone, and sat on it. Who was inside the tomb? Nobody. The tomb was empty. Then, the angel addressed the women and said, “I know you are looking for Jesus. As you can see, he is not here.” The tomb was empty. Even the angel could not be used as an eyewitness, because when he removed the tombstone, the tomb was empty already. (Mat. 28:1-6)
Let us ask Mark about this. He says almost the same, except for the earthquake. When that Sabbath was over, the women brought perfumed oils to anoint Jesus’ body. They were worried only on how to remove the tombstone, which was huge. Never mind that it was sealed and kept by guards, because when they got there, they saw nothing of the sort. So much so that the stone was already removed and the tomb was empty, except for a youngman who was there, telling them that Jesus was not there. That he had been raised. He was right, because by the will of God one rises, but by the will of man one is raised. It means that someone had indeed removed Jesus from there. (Mark 16:1-6)
How about Luke? What did he have to say? That the tombstone was removed, the tomb was empty, but there were two guys asking why the women were looking for the living among the dead. And that Jesus had been raised. Mind you, not risen but raised. The women went to tell the disciples, and they refused to believe their “nonsense and idle tale,” as those were their very words. Probably, Jesus had never mentioned such a thing about himself. (Luke 24:1-11)
Last but not least, we have John, who brought to the tomb only Mary Magdalene. The tombstone was removed as usual, and the tomb was indeed empty. All that Mary could think of, was that Jesus had been taken from the tomb. They all probably had never heard about resurrection. Mary remained at the tomb crying her eyes out. Then, to a guy there, whom she thought was the Gardener, she asked to let her know where he had put Jesus’ body, so that she could take it away with her, if he had been the one who had removed Jesus from there. It means that Mary had come to the tomb with the intention to remove Jesus from there. Bad luck for her, because obviously Joseph of Arimathea had done the removal during the first hours of Friday night. (John 20:1-15)
As we all can see, the mystery is not in the empty tomb but in the how the tomb got empty. Quite easy to solve if we try to understand the difference between rising and being raised, and the inconsistency among the four gospel writers on reporting the “idle tale” of the resurrection. (Luke 24:11)
Ben
Gospel of Mark 16
1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him.
2 And very early on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb when the sun was risen.
Gospel of Matthew 28
1 Now late on the sabbath day, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.:
Gospel of Luke 24
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came unto the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared.
2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.
3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
Gospel of John 20
1 Now on the first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, while it was yet dark, unto the tomb, and seeth the stone taken away from the tomb.
The first character of honest witnesses are slight discrepancies. Secondly these gospels were written by different people each inheriting a slightly different oral tradition. But there is still considerable agreement.
In each case they came to the tomb early in the morning. The Jewish day may have ended at sunset, but there was hardly any point in the women coming to the tomb at night. So they went first thing on Sunday morning.
All the gospels agree on that.
Mary Magdalene is mentioned in three Gospels out of four despite the oral tradition for some years; Mary the mother of James in two of them; angels are mentioned in two of them, with one stating one young man and the other two young men. The tomb is empty in all four. Roman Guards were on strict penalty of death for failing to keep watch, hence “they became like dead men” when the angel/s appeared.
Ask any cop if witnesses agree perfectly on an incident. That doesn’t make them dishonest, but they are relying on their own perception. For an oral tradition to make the rounds for some years, but still have a considerable amount of agreement means that the various stories were consistent.
I assume you agree that JFK was assassinated in Dallas in 1963.
But … "Back to Oswald’s clothing – There were, indeed, varying versions from the witnesses as to what the ONE ASSASSIN IN THE SNIPER’S NEST was
wearing. "
The witnesses to Kennedy’s assassination couldn’t even agree on the clothing Oswald was wearing. So I suppose you’ll tell me now Kennedy wasn’t assassinated because there were slight discrepancies between the witnesses?
