 |
 |
Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins
The Tomb Was Empty!
On the Sunday morning after His crucifixion, Jesus’ disciples went to His tomb—only to find it empty! How could this be? Where was His body?
That empty tomb has been a most difficult problem for those who deny Jesus’ resurrection. If they could have produced Jesus body, their denial of the resurrection would have some credibility. But that tomb was empty!
Many sites honor the person buried therein. Lincoln, Kennedy, Napoleon, the Pharaohs and others are so honored and remembered. The site of Jesus’ tomb is not known, but even if it were, the attention would focus— unlike those others—upon its being an empty tomb!
By various means, unbelievers have tried to explain away the fact that Jesus’ tomb was empty.
The Wrong Tomb theory
This view states that Jesus’ body was still in the original tomb while His followers went to the wrong tomb to find Him. But His tomb was not in a cemetery with many other burial sites, but within the private property of Joseph of Arimathaea. Joseph and Nicodemus had taken Jesus’ body from the cross, wound it in linen with the spices and placed the body in that private tomb. It was a “new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid,” John 20:41.
Another problem with this view is the fact that the angels of the Lord must have gone to the wrong tomb also. Plus, the angel in Mark 16:6 told them Jesus “…is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.” Was the angel lying? Did He also go to the wrong tomb?
Apostles Stole the Body
This seems strange, to suggest Jesus’ apostles deliberately deceived their contemporaries, and all of us as well. Then, knowing Jesus had not been resurrected, lived with danger, persecution and threat of death all their life—for a lie? Now, tell me that makes sense!
There were Roman guards at the tomb, and this was their claim, but they said the “robbery” took place while they slept. Scripture gives no credibility to this statement, and describes it as bribery, Matthew 28:11-15. This must be the most absurd of the attempts to discredit the resurrection of Jesus.
Jewish Leaders Stole the Body
This might appear to be logical if those same leaders had then responded to resurrection claims by bringing the body forth to prove that Jesus was dead and had not been raised from the dead. They did not do so, and they never made such a claim.
The Vision Theory
Again, one must have a great imagination even to consider this alternative to the resurrection. The idea is that Jesus only appeared to walk the streets of Judea, and the apostles merely saw a vision of Jesus. One would be forced to state that scripture took part in this deception, for the Bible says many saw what some today say was just a “vision,” 1 Corinthians 15:3-8.
The obvious problem with this view is the fact that so many saw and touched Jesus and the wounds in His body. Thomas, absent at Jesus’ first appearance to the apostles, is told by this “vision” to “Reach your finger here, and look at my hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into my side. Do not be faithless, but believing,” John 20:27. (NKJV)
What, then, did he see and touch?
The “Swoon” Theory
As implausible as it seems, this view suggests that “Jesus arranged to be drugged on the cross, simulating death so that he could later be safely removed and thus bear out the Messianic prophecies.”
This quote is from Hugh J. Schonfield’s introduction to his The Passover Plot, first published in 1966. Schonfield, rejecting the New Testament as do most Jews, contradicted his own written treatise on this subject, in his 1959 book, The Bible Was Right. There is no reason to believe that such a “potion” was even available in that day, much less that Jesus and His apostles had any motive to be involved in such deception.
If Schonfield’s view is correct, the Gospel is falsified in its entirety, and Jesus’ redemptive plan, as well as His resurrection, is a hoax. That, of course, was just what he intended, since he denies Jesus’ deity.
Where and when did Jesus really die, if Schonfield is right? What happened to His body? Why did the Romans not discover this fraud? Just as the others, this theory fails of its own means, that being that it is palpably false. Jesus’ resurrection is integral to the Gospel and God’s plan to redeem mankind. Praise God that Jesus died, was buried and came forth from the grave on the third day. Yes, The Bible Was Right.
|
|
|
|
“If Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?...If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain...If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”
|
|
|
|
|
A Puzzle (30 Books) for Bible Scholars
There are thirty books of the Bible in this paragraph. Can you find them? This is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found by a gentleman in an airplane seat pocket, on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping him occupied for hours. He enjoyed it so much he passed it on to some friends. One friend from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his johnboat. Another friend studied it while playing his banjo. Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend, was so intrigued by it she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column. Another friend judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot. That's a fact. Some people, however, will soon find themselves in a jam; especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized. Truthfully, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or scholar to see some of them at the worst. Research has shown that something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the books in this paragraph. During a recent fund raising event, which featured this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi lemonade booth set a new sales record. The local paper, The Chronicle, surveyed over 200 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen. As Daniel Humana humbly puts it, "the books are all right here in plain view hidden from sight." Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers. Also, keep in mind that punctuation and spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete really well against those who claim to know the answers. Remember, there is no need for a mad exodus, there really are 30 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph waiting to be found.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
