The Burial of Jesus Christ; a study of what happened and the significance of it
Introduction
1) As we continue our study on this important topic, lets review what we have learned
A) We examined the evidence that supports the fact that Jesus was a historical
figure. We looked at the writings of many secular writers that lived around
the time of Jesus. The most significant thing that we learned was that all
these writers never once denied that Jesus existed. They tried to discredit
the claim that He was God, yet never argued that He did not exist.
B) We then looked at the evidence for the claim that He is God. We looked
at several lines of evidence. Fulfilled prophecy, The claims that He made,
the claims of others, and used the inductive method to show that He is in
fact God.
2) As we continue our study, the next item we will look at is the burial of our Lord.
A) One thing I must make clear, I did not find a lot of information on the subject.
B) I found some and I will try to express this to you as best I can.
C) Although there is a limited amount of information, I believe there is a
sufficient amount, along with what is recorded in scripture, to help us
understand what took place, the items used, and their significance.
I)The Tomb
1) It was a rich mans tomb
A)This is indicated in Matt. 27:57-60
B) This is also a fulfillment of prophecy from Isaiah 53:9
1)Joseph is said to be rich
2) This was his own personal tomb
2) No man had been laid before
A) John 19:41
1) There is significance to this. It was a tomb that was unused, and not
just recently built. This fact is important to notice because it was to
show that from it no one had before risen nor would come forth by
the power of another as was once the case at Elisha’s grave
(II Kings 13:21)
2) This fact, I believe, was intentional on God’s part. The Jews in
knowing the situation with Elisha could have made the conclusion
that it was just the same and that our Lord was not raised by the
power of God.
B) Also we must remember that this was to be the tomb of our Lord. I do not
think it to be a stretch to conclude that it would not be proper for Him to
be entombed in a common sepulcher.
3) Location of tomb
A) John informs us that the tomb was in a garden near the place of the
execution.
B) In all the gospel accounts we find that the women had watched were they
had laid the body of our Lord. This was done by them with their own eyes.
1) The fact is important since some say that the women went to the wrong
tomb.
2) In fact Matt. 27:61 seems to indicate that the women were with Joseph
and Nicodemus at the time that they had placed the body there.
3) Mark 15:47 indicates that they beheld the location of the tomb.
4) Luke 23:55 indicates that they seen how the body was laid on the
slab.
C) Do we know were the tomb is today?
1) Some have stated that they have found the tomb of our Lord.
2) This claim can not be asserted with any type of truth. The fact,
I believe, is we will never know were the tomb is. This is God’s
doing.
a) Remember one of the reasons why we do not have the
original autographs of the scriptures?
b) I believe that, if we had them then they would become the
focus of idol worship and not God.
c) This would seem logical of the tomb also. All we have to
notice is in the way that some do in fact worship relics.
4) The tomb itself
A) Most tombs of the rich were hewn out of the side of a hill out of the rock face.
B) They were primarily for the family and not the individual.
C) The tomb usually had 2 chambers, an outer chamber in which the body was
placed on a shelf cut in the side of the tomb and a smaller chamber toward
the back which would became the final resting place for the bones.
D) From the information that I could gather, it appears that the body of the
deceased was placed in the outer chamber to decay. Once the process of
decay was complete (After 30 days, as far as I can gather), the bones
would be placed in the ossuary. This was a small box. The ossuary was
then placed in the inner chamber along with the rest of the family.
II) The preparation of the body
1) After Joseph had claimed the body of our Lord, it had to be prepared for burial.
2) The time
A) The time of day and week of the issues are of importance to the understanding
Of the events we have recorded.
B) It is generally accepted that Jesus was nailed to the cross at 12 noon, and died
at 3:00 Friday afternoon.
C) It was a desecration of the Sabbath for the dead bodies to remain on the cross
during that day. Of course we know that the Sabbath was Sat. The body of
our Lord could not remain on the cross.
1) The time of the Sabbath began at sunset on Friday night.
2) We sometimes miss this important fact of the Jewish time scale. The
Sabbath, to them, would have started at sunset on Friday night and
ended on sunset Sat. night.
D) This is significant in the fact that Joseph and Nicodemus would not have had
a lot of time to properly prepare the body. This was a hurried event.
1) The time that they would have had would have only been about 4 or 5
hours.
2) In that time Joseph would have had to go before Pilot, wait until the
guard established that Jesus was dead, purchase the necessary items,
take the body down from the cross, transport it to the tomb, and then
begin the burial process.
3) The disciples would not have had the sufficient amount of time to
properly prepare the body.
4) This is why the women returned to the tomb on Sunday after the
Sabbath with more spices and items that they had prepared
(Luke 24:1).
3) Side note
A) The actions of the disciples at this time needs to be noticed by all.
B) They had just suffered a great loss. The loss of our Lord. Their hearts
would have been very heavy.
C) The natural inclination would have been to complete the burial process,
yet this is not what they did. The teachings of Jesus served to make them
careful observers of the moral law which Jesus upheld during His time with
them. (Matt. 8:22)
4) Spices
A) In all the accounts, the use of spices and other things are mentioned as being
a part of the process.
B) As I indicated before, we do not have a lot of information as to why these were
used. As such, the only thing that we can accomplish here is to make some
assumptions as to what they were used for. We simply do not have the facts.
C) Amount used
1) One thing that we do know is the amount that was used.
2) John 19:39 indicates that it was about 100 pounds in weight.
3) This was a large amount to use. It has been speculated that this was
an amount that would have been used only for those of significant
stature. Of course, being God, Jesus would have been seen in this
light.
D) Some have suggested that the spices and other things were used to embalm the
body. I believe this to not be the case since it appears that the process that took
place was that they would revisit the tomb about 7 days later to anoint the body
again with the spices. They would then wait about 30 days before they would
visit the tomb for the final part, that was to place the bones in the ossuary.
This length of time (if the tradition is correct) would not allow enough time
for the body to decompose if it was embolmed.
E) With this evidence it would seem more logical that the spices were maybe used
so that the stench of the body would not attract scavengers. Maybe the spices
were used to mask the odor of the body. Of course this is just speculation and
not fact.
5) Linen cloth
A) Another item that we can be certain of is the fact that the body was wrapped
in fine linen cloth.
B) Mark 15:46 indicates that Joseph went and purchased this cloth for this
exact purpose. This was not a second hand thought.
C) The cloth would have been wrapped around the body in such away as to
enclose the spices next to the body.
1) This is not the way we see on t.v. in which the arms and legs are
wrapped individually.
2) The arms most likely would have been placed in an X upon the
chest. The legs would have been placed together.
3) The body would have been wrapped as an entire unit. In this way it
would have been impossible for someone in our Lords
condition to unwrap themselves from the cloth.
III) The stone
1) The accounts inform us that a large stone was placed at the entrance of the tomb.
2) This stone is of importance because it shows the impossibility of someone from
the inside moving it, or a group from the outside moving it without disturbing
the guard that was placed there.
3) The stone was large
A) Mark 16:3 gives the indication that the stone was of very great wieght.
1) They questioned among themselves as to how they were going
to move the stone.
2) It should be clear from the readings of the events that there was
a plurality of women. We are not told of the exact number but we
know that it was more than one.
3) The importance of this fact is this, if a plurality of healthy
women were wondering how they would move the stone, how can
it be thought that one in our Lords condition could do it by Himself?
B) This stone is speculated to be about 1 to 1 and one half tons in weight.
C) This would make it impossible to move by oneself or to move it without
making a considerable amount of commotion.
4) The placement of the stone
A) It is speculated that the stone was in a trench and that it was propped up
by a smaller stone before it was rolled into place.
B) However, we do know that the stone was placed in front of the opening
of the tomb.
C) This was done to ensure that the body would not be disturbed by natural
forces. Also, it would seem logical that the seam would have been sealed
with something in order that the smell would be kept to a minimum.
IV) The Roman Seal
1) The seal was made up of two leather straps.
2) They were placed in the form of an x.
3) They were fastened to the stone by clay packs that were placed on each of the ends
of the straps at the edge of the stone where it met at tomb.
4) There was placed where the straps met in the middle a large clay pack where the
Roman insignia was placed.
A) The insignia was a ring.
B) This was placed in the clay pack and embedded into it.
C) Once this clay hardened, the only way to remove the straps was to break these
seals. There was no way to keep them in tact.
5) The penalty for breaking the seal
A) This seal was placed by the Roman guard as indicated by Matt. 27:62-65
1) This is the only account that is given of this event happening.
2) The original Greek indicates that it was the Roman guard that was
given to the Jews.
3) It was the Roman guard that placed the seal on the tomb.
B) This seal did two things
1) It was an authenticating device. When the Roman guard unit placed the seal on something and the insignia embedded in it, they put their lives on the line that what they were to protect was there, in this case, the body of Christ. They put their lives on the line.
2) The seal was a security symbol in this sense – it represented the power and the might of the Roman Empire. People feared the breaking of that seal, because if that seal was broken every security force of the Roman Empire was thrown into finding that man or men. When they were found, now think of this, they were crucified; those who broke the seal were crucified upside down. And when they were crucified, trumpets played throughout that city so everyone could be aware of the severe discipline of the Romans when it came to breaking the seal.
V) The Roman Guard
A Roman Custodian was a sixteen man security unit. Each man was a fighting machine. Each man had usually three to five different weapons on them. They were able to protect six square yards, each individual, against superior force. The sixteen men, in the square of four on each side, were supposed to, and their reputation was, that they could protect that ground from an entire battalion. They were that well trained. In fact, they even used psychological warfare. It describes that they would often have black and purple feathers on these massive helmets. And the black and purple feathers would go up two and a half feet and the reason is, at a distance it made them look twice as big as they really were. And you read the descriptions of their enemies, how just the sight of the Roman Custodian struck fear into a person’s heart. Now I believe that sixteen of these men were placed at the tomb of Jesus Christ. You can find some accounts where four individuals were placed, in other words, one fourth of a Custodian, but there's no indication that is what happened here. Especially when it says, after the resurrection some of the guard unit remained at the tomb and the others went into the city to see the High Priest. I believe that indicates it was a pretty good size, multiple guard units. Now normally the way they were dispensed, the sixteen men, say at the tomb, you would have four units in the group of sixteen. The first unit was awake in a semi-circle in front of what they were to protect. The other twelve with their heads facing in were asleep in a semi-circle in front of them. Then every four hours, with the temple police it was every six hours they changed, with the Roman Custodian, every four hours, they woke up another unit or another unit that was rested took the place immediately in front of what they were protecting.
VI) Conclusion
1) Based upon the above evidence, we can conclude the following
A) The body of Jesus was not stolen.
B) Jesus did not resuscitate and move the bolder and walk away
C) There could have been no hallucinations by the Roman guard
2) The only logical conclusion is the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead.
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