Christ's Resurrection Confirmed by Eyewitness Accounts

Burial Preparation

When Jesus’s body was taken off the cross it was prepared for burial. According to Jewish law, dead bodies “should not remain all night on the stake” but, rather, should be buried “on that day.” (Deuteronomy 21:22, 23). The Jewish people closely followed the burial customs of the Egyptians, specifically mummification (embalming, or treating the dead body). These customs had been in place since the days of Moses in the Old Testament when the Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians for 430 years (Exodus 12:40–41). 

• "Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus (Sanhedrin), the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh (like shellac) and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. 40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs." John 19: 38-40 

Jewish Burial Customs:

·  The deceased’s eyes were closed

·  Body washed thoroughly

·  Body wrapped and bound in strips of cloth

·  Body buried wearing a simple white shroud (tachrichim)

·  Body guarded or watched from the moment of death until after burial (Temple Guards)

·  Ossuaries (bone box) and some loculi (single tomb) were sealed with a stone slab

• "The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face." John 11: 44

The average, first century Jewish male was 5'1" tall and 110 pounds. So why would Joseph and Nicodemus need to make a minimum of 75 lbs. or a talent mixture of rosin? One talent weighed between 75 to 100 lbs. which was what was being described in the Bible. That’s approximately 70% of a mans total body weight. Apparently, Jesus was larger than the average man being a carpenter, a profession in those days that required a lot of muscle strength. The reason a large quantity was required was because they were going to mummify the body of Jesus. Bible scholars have concluded that there was an equivalent to three inches thick of fiberglass rosin covering His entire body with the head exposed with a cloth covering.  We will explain why this often overlooked scripture detail is so critical.

The first person to observed the empty tomb and resurrected Christ was Mary Magdalene. In those days women were not considered to be reliable witnesses in a court of law which makes it very unusual that the testimony for the resurrection of Jesus Christ came from a women. The testimony of a women in the First Century was considered invalid. If the early Church was inventing a resurrection they surely would not have use women as their first line of defense.

• "Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first (John's Bible humor). 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed." John 20: 1-8

Keep in mind that when the mixture dried the strips of linen on the body became as hard as a rock like a cast. Do you think if you saw a few linen strips lying on the ground that you would have written “he saw and believed"? Doubtful, but if we had witnessed a 75-100 lbs. headless "shell” or empty linen "body cast" with no break in the cast, then we would have recorded it just as John did as an eyewitness along with Perter and the others. Both knew a miracle had occurred in the empty tomb. 

As a result, the linen covered shell was not taken away from the tomb for quite some time. Anyone could have taken a short walk from Jerusalem to the tomb and seen the shell evidence. The Book of Acts declares that many became "believers" because of this evidence. In the section below "Jesus Eternal Resurrected Body" indicates that the resurrected Jesus could walk through matter, which also supports the "empty shell” supposition. Since Jesus was resurrected, then the mummified container holding the body would have essentially been undisturbed. The "strips of linen lying there" is how it was described in John's text, but if we put all the puzzle pieces together, we come to a more precise visual account. Christ's resurrection was prophesized in 721 B.C.E.

• “After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight.” His body was missing because His physical body was transformed into His eternal, glorified body." Hosea 6:2 

There was a large rock that covered the entrance of the tomb. Roman solders guarded the tomb to prevent anyone from stealing the body of Jesus. It was widely known at the time that Jesus claimed that he would rise from the dead on the 3rd day. Neither the Romans or the Sanhedrin (Jewish Council) could allow for the body to be removed. 

• "The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard".  Matthew 27:62-66

Roman soldiers (minimum of 16 Roman or more) stood guard over the tomb for the next three days in four-hour shifts. We do not know exactly how many soldiers guarded the tomb, but we would imagine the tomb was as secure than Fort Knox. It's a historical fact that first century Roman solder signed his own death warrant if their prisoner escaped. 

• "The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped." Acts 16:25-27

The Roman soldiers guarding the tomb were professional killers, unlike Jewish Temple Guards who were not formally trained and were the ones who imprison Jesus. The Jewish council may have also ordered Temple Guards to watch the tomb. The point we're making is that all parties involved had a lot invested in securing the tomb. The Sanhedrin could not afford to allow the Jesus followers to make the claim that in fact on the third day He was raised from the dead. All the Sanhedrin had to do was produce the body of Jesus Christ and Christianity would have ceased as a faith. The missing body, empty shell and resurrected Jesus eye witnesses prevented that from ever happening. These evidences only accelerated the growth in the Christian faith.

The stone that covered the entryway into Jesus tomb was sealed so that the Sanhedrin could ascertain if the stone had been disturbed. There was a violent earthquake caused by an angel that dislodged the stone.

• "After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it." Matthew 28:1-10

A similar event happened to the Apostle Paul and Silas when imprisoned.  

• "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose." Acts 16:25-27

Before the tomb stone was moved, Jesus walked through the walls of the tomb in His eternal, resurrected body (see below). The stone was removed so that others could witness the remains of the missing body on the 3rd day.

 The resurrection of Jesus Christ is unique to Christianity and is not found in other faith-based leaders. The resurrection is proof that God had accepted Jesus payment on the cross for our sins. If Jesus body had remained in the tomb that would implied that He had paid for His own sins, not ours.

• “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” Luke 9:22

Christianity is also the only faith that makes a big deal about a resurrection being both bodily and spiritual. The Book of Job verse below was written almost 1,500 years before Jesus Christ walked the Earth and He is being referred to as Job's "redeemer".  Job is also saying that in the Second Creation, even though he will be physically dead, he will be alive in eternity and will "see God" which is also mentioned in Revelation 22:4. This verse is proof that people who live prior to Jesus Christ first coming will be saved. Job was saved because He believed God and he realized he needed redemption.

• "I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; " Job 19:25-26 written ~1473 B.C.E

Placing the crown of thorns on someone's head was not a normal part of the crucifixion process during the first century. Jesus had told Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world so they mocked him by dressing him like a king. In the historical documentation of Jesus’ crucifixion found in the Gospels (Matthew 27:29, Mark 15:17, John 19:2-5), a crown of thorns was placed on his head by the soldiers. The soldiers draped a purple robe around Jesus, placed a crown of thorns on his head and shouted, “Hail, King of the Jews”. The crown of thorns symbolized the royalty and majesty of a king which was used as part of their futile attempts to shame Him. Mark's gospel records that Jesus was mocked as a king three times. 

Pontius Pilate announced the final sentence upon Jesus some time between six and nine o'clock. He gave the orders to the Roman soldiers that Jesus was to be crucified. The soldiers led Jesus into the open Court of the Governor's Palace and they called the rest of the Roman cohort together to take part in a cruel scourging. The flogging is performed with a whip called the "flagrum" and had pieces of sharp instruments embedded into the cord which was designed to remove flesh quickly. As Jesus was bent over with a lacerated body, they hailed him King of the Jews, and the soldiers put together a garland of flexible boughs (Aramaic "nubk") which were bushes filled with long sharp thorns,. They created a crown of thorns and placed it upon his already bruised head. To mock him even further they created a scepter made out of a reed and placed it in his right hand, and they began striking him similar to when he was stricken before the Sanhedrin (Matthew 27:27-31).

The crown of thorns can be seen clearly in the negative image of the Shroud of Turin which as explained above is a rare, unusual occurrence during a crucifixion. The crown of thorns gives the shroud a little more validity. It also contains the markings where Jesus was pierced by the Roman soldier which was a more common practice matching the Gospel accounts. The man on the shroud was approximately six feet tall and 30 to 40 years old. The average first century man was 5'1' which is what we would expect Jesus' height to be based on the Bible verse in Isaiah which would be in contrast to the image on the shroud. 

• "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him." Isaiah 53:2

If the shroud is an actual relic of a cloth that was placed on the body of Jesus, it would have had to be put on before the body was prepared for burial according to Jewish customs. There is no mention in any of the four gospels that a cloth was placed over Jesus body before burial preparation. According to the scriptures the body was prepared with linen strips and a minimum of 75 pounds of rosin mixture was used in the traditional Jewish mummifications process which they adopted from the Egyptians while being enslaved for 430 years. Only a small cloth was placed over the face of the deceased, not over the entire body (John 20:7). No rosin was found on the shroud which is also suspicious.

The first carbon 14 test result performed showed the shroud to be a 13th to 14th century relic. Scientist don't believe a single test is definitive because the shroud was in a 13th century fire that could have undergone some unknown contamination since subsequent results differ depending on the location of the shroud fibers tested. Shroud expert, Professor Nello Balossino, said that the image is on the surface of the linen, and it doesn't break any of the fabric's fibers. The first unique characteristic of the shroud is that the fabrics light and dark coloration is due to the density of fibers concentrated in any given area. A second characteristic is that under the blood stains on the linen there are no prints which means that the blood stains were formed first, only later did the imprints appear. This is opposite of what we would expect from a forgery in which the blood would have been applied last. An analysis determined that the blood type on the shroud is AB and went completely through the cloth to the back. A third unique characteristic is that behind the print no body marks are visible, the body marks can only be seen on the shroud's surface with three dimensional characteristics produced by a phenomena we cannot explain. Even with new technologies experts are unable to reproduce the three dimensional image on the shroud without leaving a residue of paint.

A way to help settle the Shroud of Turin controversy is to perform a second carbon 14 dating test from a reliable part of the shroud. Since it's so large this shouldn't be an issue to take a sample greater than four square inches. If the test doesn't produce a first century relic than it's not authentic. If it is first century than it helps validate it, but not 100%.

The 13th century was also a period in the Christian Church history when there were very high prices paid for relics of Jesus. If the shroud is a fake, it's a really good one and there is a high likelihood that someone was actually crucified to get it as accurate as the shroud has proven to be. The bottom line is that we don't require the shroud authenticity to prove that Jesus was raised from the dead, we have a lot more provable evidence.

 "On Easter Sunday Mohammad is still in his grave. Buddha is still in his grave, so is Confucius, Joseph Smith (Mormons), L. Ron Hubbard (Scientology), Charles Taz Russell (Jehovah's Witnesses) and every other religious figure of all time except Jesus Christ! He's not in the grave...as we like to say, follow a dead savior and you will end up just like him."

― Lon Solomon Ministries

Not a sermon, just a thought message 

Legal scholar, Dr. Simon Greenleaf (1783–1853), one of the greatest legal minds this country has ever produced,  helped to put the Harvard Law School on the map. Greenleaf was an agnostic, some say atheist, who believed the resurrection of Jesus Christ was either a hoax or a myth. No stranger to truth, and to the proof of the truth, Greenleaf was a principal founder of the Harvard Law School and a world-renowned expert on evidence. Challenged by one of his students one day to “consider the evidence” for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Greenleaf set out to disprove it, but ended up concluding that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ was indeed fact, not fiction. Being a man of conviction and reason, and in accordance with his conclusions, Greenleaf converted from Agnosticism to Christianity. His life and works went on to inspire such scholars as John Warwick Montgomery, Josh McDowell, Ross Clifford and Lee Strobel. He also wrote the three-volume legal masterpiece, A Treatise on the Law of Evidence, which has been called “the greatest single authority in the entire literature of legal procedure.”[1] The U.S. judicial system today still relies on rules of evidence established by Greenleaf.

As a legal scholar, Greenleaf wondered if Jesus’ resurrection would meet his stringent tests for evidence. He wondered whether or not the evidence for it would hold up in a court of law. Focusing his brilliant legal mind on the facts of history, Greenleaf began applying his rules of evidence to the case of Jesus’ resurrection.

Contrary to what skeptics might have expected, the more Greenleaf investigated the record of history, the more evidence he discovered supporting the claim that Jesus had indeed risen from the tomb. So, what was that evidence? Greenleaf observed several dramatic changes that took place shortly after Jesus died, the most baffling being the behavior of the disciples. It wasn’t just one or two disciples who insisted Jesus had risen; it was all of them. Applying his own rules of evidence to the facts, Greenleaf arrived at his verdict.

After evaluating all the evidence, Greenleaf accepted Jesus’ resurrection as the best explanation for the events that took place immediately after his crucifixion. To this brilliant legal scholar, it would have been impossible for the disciples to persist with their conviction that Jesus had risen if they hadn’t actually seen the risen Christ.[2]

To this legal expert, the case for Jesus’ resurrection was so compelling that he had no doubt it would hold up in a court of law. In his book, The Testimony of the Evangelists, Greenleaf documents the evidence supporting his conclusion. He challenges those who seek the truth about the resurrection to fairly examine the evidence.

Greenleaf believed that any unbiased person who honestly examines the evidence, as in a court of law, will conclude what he did—that Jesus Christ has truly risen.[3]

1. Knott, The Dictionary of American Biography, back cover of The Testimony of the Evangelists.

2. Simon Greenleaf, 1874. The Testimony of the Evangelists. New York, NY: 28.

3. Ibid. 46.

"Every document, apparently ancient, coming from the proper repository or custody, and bearing on its face no evident marks of forger, the law presumes to be genuine, and devolves on the opposing party the burden of proving it to be otherwise." 

― Simon Greenleaf

Founder, Harvard Law School 

There are other instance in the Bible (Old and New Testament) where someone other than Jesus Christ is resurrected. The primary difference in Jesus resurrection is that he was resurrected into His eternal body or state whereas these other resurrections were in human form only.

• "Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet." 2 Kings 13:21

• "At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split. 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and[a] went into the holy city and appeared to many people." Matthew 27:51 -53

• "Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” 22 The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.2 Kings 4 32 When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. 33 He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the Lord. 34 Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out on him, the boy’s body grew warm. 35 Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out on him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes." 1 Kings 17:21 

• "Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother." Luke 7:14 

• "But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished." Mark 5:40

• "When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face." John 11:43-44

• "Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up." Acts 9:40

• "Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. 10 Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” 11 Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate." Acts 20:9

To the left is a photo of the "Birds of Gethsemane" on the Mount of Olives including a Peacock. Peacocks often appear in early Christian art as a symbol of the Resurrection and Eternal Life. There are various levels to this symbolism.  The most obvious is a carry-over from ancient pagan religions, some of which held the belief that the peacock’s flesh never decayed, even after it died. Early Christians, therefore, adopted the bird as a symbol of the Resurrection, Christ’s eternal, glorious existence.

In medieval times, it was also thought that peacocks molt (shed their feathers) every year, and the new ones that grow are more beautiful than the old ones. Along with this idea, medieval legends included the theory that the gorgeous colors of a peacock’s feathers came from a special diet: It was believed that peacocks could kill and eat poisonous serpents, ingesting the poison and transforming it into the colors of their feathers. This too contributed to their being an apt symbol of Christ’s Resurrection, since Christ “became sin” 2 Corinthians 5:21 for us on the Cross, but then rose from the dead with his glorified body and wounds having conquered the powers of evil. Regardless of the biological accuracy or inaccuracy of these traditions, they help explain why Christian artists often used peacocks as a symbol of the Resurrection and Eternal Life.

Jesus predicted his own death in the Synoptic Gospels. We have Matthew, Mark Luke and John as His witnesses.  

• "From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised." Matthew 16:21

• "Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” Matthew 20:17

• "He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again." Mark 8:31

• “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” Luke 9:22

• "Jesus replied, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." John 12:23