The Empty Tomb

The title of today's post, "The Empty Tomb", is not likely a new revelation to many. The resurrection of Jesus has long been a central tenet of Christian theology. However, with the recently published documentary "The Lost Tomb of Jesus," many may question the validity of this precious believe.



As I mentioned in "The Journey from Tarsus" post, I've been studying the life of the apostle Paul. I've been simply amazed at how entrenched the Pharisees had become in legalism. So much so that they could not recognize the very presence of the Messiah who was promised in prophecy by Moses. The gospels are filled with numerous accounts where Christ confounds the Pharisees as they try to apply religious legalism to the ministry of Jesus. The Pharisees, as Stephen points out in Acts 7:1-39, had become stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears. Their regimented life stlye and adherance to the legalistic doctrines that they and their forefathers had established led them to try and silence Christ and his disciples.



The last miracle performed by Christ, the resurrection of Lazarus, was "the straw that broke the camels back." Caiaphas, high priest of the Sanhedrin, and many other Pharisees sought to and were successful in having Jesus crucified. Of specific interest is that after his death Caiaphas and the Pharisees went to Pilate requesting that Roman guards be sent to protect the body of Christ.



Matthew 27:62-65



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



This brings me to the point of today's post and the associated revelation I had. Considering the following points:

• The Sanhedrin and Pharisee's were concerned for the security of Christ's body
• Their desire was to silence the teachings of Christ and the christian "movement"
• Persecution of Christians documented throughout NT as Christianity spread

The Sanhedrin and Pharisees, who went to great lengths to have Christ crucified would have expended significant energy in locating the body of Jesus. What better way would there have been than to simply produce the body of Christ - effectively silencing all that Christ had accomplished. The fact is they were not able to find his risen body. Today, some 2000 years later, the secular and religious opponents to the message of Jesus continue to try and find the body of Christ.....

So today I have two conclusions:
1.) The Tomb IS Empty
2.) If they truly want to find Christ, I have his exact location: