THE EMPTY TOMB John 20 1 9 Pastor
THE EMPTY TOMB John 20: 1 -9 Pastor Keone
John 20: 1 -2 1 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!"
John 20: 3 -7 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. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.
Did someone take the Jesus’ body? Or Did Jesus rise from the dead?
Why was the tomb empty?
Why was the tomb empty? 1. Wrong tomb 2. Someone took Jesus’ body 3. Jesus fainted and escaped 4. Jesus rose of the dead
Did women go to the wrong tomb?
Did women go to the wrong tomb? Matthew 27: 57 -61 57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.
Did women go to the wrong tomb? • Peter and John went to the wrong tomb too
John 20: 3 -7 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. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.
Did women go to the wrong tomb? • Peter and John went to the wrong tomb too • Others that knew the correct tomb • Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus
John 19: 38 -39 38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
Did women go to the wrong tomb? • Peter and John went to the wrong tomb too • Others knew the correct tomb • Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus • Chief Priests and Pharisees • Guards
Matthew 27: 62 -66 62 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.
Did women go to the wrong tomb? • Peter and John went to the wrong tomb too. • Others that knew of the correct tomb • Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus • Chief Priests and Pharisees • Guards Conclusion: It was the correct tomb.
Someone stole Jesus’ body…
Someone stole Jesus’ body… Tomb Raiders?
Someone stole Jesus’ body… Tomb Raiders? NO! • Tomb was guarded • Usually take stuff, not bodies • If take the body, why unwrap it before leaving? • From wording, the linens and burial coverings were undisturbed
John 20: 6 -7 6 Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.
Someone stole Jesus’ body… Jew leaders?
Someone stole Jesus’ body… Jew leaders? NO! • They had a vested interest to make sure Jesus body stayed in the tomb • They asked for guards
Matthew 27: 62 -66 62 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.
Someone stole Jesus’ body… Jew leaders? NO! • They had a vested interest to make sure Jesus body stayed in the tomb • They asked for guards • Bribed the guards to spread a false story and covered for the guards
Matthew 28: 12 -15 12 When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13 telling them, "You are to say, 'His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep. ' 14 If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble. " 15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.
Someone stole Jesus’ body… The disciples?
Someone stole Jesus’ body… The disciples? NO! • They ran away when Jesus was arrested • Tomb was guarded • Genuinely surprised body was gone • Never admitted to stealing the body or denying the truth of the resurrection
“I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren't true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn't keep a lie for three weeks. You're telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible. ” Charles Colson
Jesus fainted and escaped…
Jesus fainted and escaped… NO! • Jesus was beaten, flogged, crucified, thrust through the heart with a spear, and wrapped in linen cloth. • Certified as dead by multiple people
John 19: 32 -34 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. Mark 15: 44 -45 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph.
Jesus fainted and escaped… NO! • Jesus was beaten, flogged, crucified, thrust through the heart with a spear, and wrapped in linen cloth. • Certified as dead by multiple people • Doesn’t explain why stone was rolled away, why the linens still retained the shape of a person
Why the empty tomb?
Why the empty tomb? Jesus rose from the dead! • Women as first eye witnesses • Implausibility of body being stolen • Arrangement of the linens • Actions of the Jewish leaders • No body was ever found • Multiple eyewitnesses of risen Jesus • No one admitted to stealing body or denying truth of the resurrection
John 20: 8 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.
- Slides: 34
