Jesus' tomb was empty. Or was it?

One of the frustrating parts of being a Christian for me is when I debate skeptics who'll throw anything they can to dispel the truth of the gospel. You would think something as simple as the necessity of faith or lack of in how a person believes or doesn't believe in the gospel would've set in by now, and that I would know that having such conversations is a waste of time in that I am not going to change anyone's mind, but for me it isn't. a waste.  It's why I do "My Christian Walk "in this blog format as well as in a podcast format. Because the gospel of Jesus Christ is TRUE it's important that the "evidence" be shared, then it's up to God to do what he wants to do with those seeds that are planted via debates with unbelievers.

My post has to do with the evidence of Jesus' empty tomb. In my previous post I wrote about some of the biblical and historical evidence for Jesus' crucifixion, but even more importantly is what "proof" is there for the tomb he was laid in after he was crucified, and how the stone would later be moved, and his body gone. He was either removed by man or he was raised from the dead and exited the tomb himself. The empty tomb must be dealt with as to how it became empty because Jesus' resurrection is paramount to the gospel message, and if he was resurrected as I believe evidence proves and my faith suggests then what Jesus said and did as the son of God who sits at the right hand of the father MUST be taken literally, period. 

The Gospel of Matthew reads that Jesus died on the cross and his body wrapped and placed in the tomb by Joseph of Arimathea. 

"Joseph took the body. wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and placed it in his own new tomb that he cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away."

Matt 27:60-61

One of the interesting facts according to archeologists is that tombs in Jesus' time had a distinctive style which was used only in the period from 37 B.C. through AD 70. This fact aligns with what biblical scholars believe is recorded in the bible about the how tombs were constructed and used. Later in time as many as 1000 of these tombs from the first century were found in Israel. 

In the above-described tomb Jesus' body would've been placed on a stone slab then after the body decayed (usually after a year), his bones would've been placed in a bone box (small ossuary) and stored so other bodies could be placed inside, decay and put also in a bone box and the pattern would repeat. 

Although this information is interesting for understanding how bodies were laid in tombs, decayed, remains preserved, etc., it still doesn't serve as proof for hardcore skeptics that Jesus resurrected because skeptics don't accept scriptural documentation. If Jesus was resurrected, spent time with his apostles and was seen and recorded as coming back from the dead, what else other than New Testament accounts of such can further prove that he was resurrected. 

It's recorded that as late as A.D. 136 Christians identified the place where Jesus was buried in Jerusalem. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built over that location. The residents of Jerusalem recognized this place as Golgotha (The place of the skull as recorded in the gospel of Matthew) Also in A.D. 136 the Roman Emperor Hadian put down a rebellion in Jerusalem (the "Bar Kokhba Revolt) and making this location a Roman city (Aelia Capitolina). Roman emperor Hadrian destroyed many religious sites as well as building a temple to the pagan god Venus atop the spot of Golgotha, likely an effort to stop Christians from gathering to worship at this location. 

Archeologist Shimon Gibson states on this evidence

"We may surmise that the exact situation of Golgotha was passed down from generation to generation among Jesus' supporters, even when the place itself came to be hidden beneath the pavement of the Forum and Temple of Venus in Aelia Capitolina, which was built after 135 CE to replace the ruins of Jerusalem. The is clear from Eusebius, an erudite and learned scholar writing in the late third century, who noted that the "Place of the Skull" was still pointed out in Aelia on the northern side of Mount Zion, indicating the knowledge of the whereabouts of Golgotha had been maintained from 70 CE and until this day" 

What this shows is that Jesus' crucifixion and tomb location (Golgotha) was known from the time of Jesus and up until the time of Eusebius. Why?  Why would Jesus be memorialized THIS WAY if he never existed, never was crucified, and never was resurrected? Later, Constatine and the leaders of the Roman Empire built a church building on that EXACT spot. 

Within the church building a location was marked where it was believed Jesus' tomb was located, however legitimate questions do exist about this. How did they know it was Jesus' tomb? After three centuries the 'said" tomb could not be investigated because it had been sealed over and over for many centuries, but in 2016 an excavation was completed, and National Geographic filmed and documented the whole excavation process demonstrating that the sealed location was indeed what was said to have been as the site of Jesus' tomb, then later the Church of the Holy Selpuchre, then later the location of the pagan temple built by Roman emperor Hadrian to prevent early Christians from gathering, worshipping at the spot of Jesus' tomb location, then finally the exact location of the church built by Constatine and written about by the historian Eusebius in the early 300s. 

Archeologist Martin Biddle summarized the excavated findings this way 

"Obviously this date is spot on for whatever Constatine did" he said. "That's very remarkable" 

See videos below 

https://youtu.be/nkmx_k9wVs0

https://youtu.be/EXbBomxS-JA

A few additional concluding points need to be made regarding the truth of Jesus' resurrection and the "empty tomb" It would have been very difficult to proclaim that Jesus rose from the dead if Jesus was STILL in the tomb. Enemies of Jesus (and there were plenty) would have easily produced his body to reject his resurrection. Thousands were becoming Christians within the fifty days of Jesus' crucifixion. Another interesting fact is that early critics (Justin Martyr, Trypho, Tertullian, De Spectaculis) NEVER said Jesus' body was still in the tomb but instead claimed his apostles had stolen the body, so the only countering claim to Jesus' resurrection is "the Apostles must've stolen the body". 

The last interesting point about the truth of Jesus' resurrection is in the testimony of women in the ancient world at the time of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. Women in the first century AD were not held to be reliable witnesses. They were certainly NOT accepted as witnesses in Israel at the time of Jesus' time on earth, but the Gospels tell us that women were the first witnesses of the resurrection. If the writers of the Gospel were making it up, why would they use the testimony of women as reliable testimony UNLESS it ACTUALLY HAPPENED? 

What facts do we know about Jesus' crucifixion?

I was recently listening to Lee Strobel's testimony about his conversion to evangelical Christianity. Lee Strobel is a former atheist and editor for the Chicago Tribune who converted to born again Christian after he found after a year and a half, he couldn't disprove the gospel. Lee Strobel's wife at the time had converted to born again Christian and Lee believed he could convince her that "it" was false. He couldn't and consequently he has been a born-again Christian ever since. 

While listening to one of his many public testimonies about his conversion I thought it'd be interesting to do a series of posts about the gospel, resurrection, crucifixion, and other related facts about Christianity. The first fact I want to look at is Jesus' crucifixion and what has been recorded about it both within and outside the four gospels of the New Testament.  

Other than the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), Paul the apostle and former persecutor of Christians writes after his conversion to Christianity in 1 Corinthians 15 3-8 the following

"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried. that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also."

I have had numerous conversations with skeptics who flatly reject ANY scriptural support for Jesus' crucifixion, let alone his resurrection or even existence, so one must look outside the New Testament for objective, additional evidence of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. 

Crucifixion was not uncommon for Jews. Just thirty years prior to Jesus' crucifixion the governor of Syria crucified two thousand Jews. Additionally, the ancient writer Cicero said death by crucifixion was "the most cruel and hideous of tortures" Crucifixion was so awful the Romans usually exempted Roman citizens from it and only reserved it for slaves or rebels. 

In connecting the dots of crucifixion as an extremely cruel form of punishment for Jews and dated to the time of Jesus' place in history it's still NOT a given that Jesus WAS crucified but given the accounts within the gospels along with Paul's writings in the New Testament and his first-hand account of meeting Jesus it certainly follows that Jesus MAY HAVE been killed by the Romans as documented in the New Testament, but let's get some more facts about Jesus' death on the cross. 

In 1968 construction workers found remnants of an ankle bone with a nail piercing it from within an ancient tomb. The nail was in knotted wood and the discovery had been dated to the first century. Clearly crucifixion was not uncommon and was very "real" and used around the time of Jesus' ministry. 

There are also additional outside sources corroborating the crucifixion of Jesus including 

1. The Jewish Talmud 

2. Josephus 

3. Tacitus 

4. Lucian 

5. Mara-Bar-Serapion 

NOTE:  Each of the above-mentioned sources can be researched for exactness. I have listed the sources but have not provided the actual documentation of Jesus' crucifixion. 

So, in a nutshell the fact that Jesus is reported in great detail to have been crucified within the four gospels as early as AD 70, despite the many skeptics who try to denounce the validity and reliability of Jesus' crucifixion, it's really not within the acceptance of New Testament Scholars that Jesus was NOT crucified. 

What this proves is that Jesus throughout his ministry foretold his death and the purpose of his death in bringing about a fulfillment of his canceling out human sin, and both scripturally and historically he WAS crucified by the Romans at the request of the Jews because on the outside he was a threat to the Jewish order, but more importantly he was prophesized to be the perfect vehicle for God's plan to redeem the sin of mankind forever. 

Jesus did exist. 

Jesus was crucified. 

The Apostle's Creed

The Apostles’ Creed, though not written by the apostles, is the oldest creed of the Christian church and is the basis for others that followed. Its most used form is:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; The Holy catholic Church, the Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body, And the Life everlasting. Amen.

In its oldest form, the Apostles’ Creed goes back to at least 140 A.D. Many of the early church leaders summed up their beliefs as they had an opportunity to stand for their faith—see, for example, 1 Timothy 6:12. These statements developed into a more standard form to express one’s confession of faith at the time of baptism. It is not Scripture, but it is a simple list of the great doctrines of the faith.

The word “catholic” means “relating to the church universal” and was the word used in the original version of the Creed. It does not mean the Roman Catholic Church, but the church, the body of Christ, as a universal fellowship. The phrase, “He descended into hell,” was not part of the creed in its earliest form.

Why Billy Graham was a great, special man of God

 I included a whole category on my blog of recorded sermons on You Tube from the great preacher, Billy Graham. There is something about Billy Graham that spoke to me, and even though I never attended one of his massive revivals, I have always been blessed and moved in my spirit by his powerful preaching style. 

There's something special a man of God who gives his life to the Lord at such a young age as Billy Graham did. I suppose I am envious of him because he TRULY walked the path to Heaven here on earth and never wavered from his sincere faith, and if he did, it wasn't scandalous or public. How many times have men in Christian leadership who are successful erred in the public eye and fell to some evil transgression? This has happened to the likes of Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Baker and many others, but not with Billy Graham. 

Maybe what I love the most about Billy Graham's style is that it's powerful and unapologetic. Billy Graham was revered and looked to by numerous presidents for spiritual counsel as well. He was the real deal. To watch him call those thousands in attendance to come up and be "saved" at the end of every revival was awe inspiring.  Billy Graham was doing God's work and he must certainly be in Heaven right now for eternity. 

I marvel at men like Billy Graham who heard God's voice and listened and followed. I know Billy Graham represents a specific kind of service to God and there's others with different gifts, but when I hear Billy Graham, I get inspired, and my faith gets strengthened. 

Enjoy his sermons on this blog. 

Only God can change you.

 I am very selfish when it comes to money and charity It's funny how that for lack of a better word, fault, has made me question my very faith to its core. I mean, how can I be a Christian when I am so attached to my possessions? It's a struggle but is it really surprising that my very nature includes frugality? God has taught me so much about sin and grace. The reason I can accept this part of me NOW is because I know we ALL are sinful creatures, and we will battle our sinful nature until we die, but what responsibility do I have to deal with my personal issue of selfishness? 

It's simple. I give it to God. I cannot change this within me. I cannot CHANGE and become an UNSELFISH person. Only GOD can change me. I give it to God. My selfishness is simply one color or shade of my overall sinfulness. It's that same sinful condition that manifests into much worse acts of evil, and it's the very reason Christ came down to earth. God knowing ALL man is plagued with this condition knew that Jesus' death on the cross was the ONLY way to attune for the sin of man. No one is equipped to make the necessary changes to make oneself "right" before God. 

I will continue to lift myself up before God and in prayer ask that he cleanse me, change me, and make me the man he wants me to become. God loves us and wants us to live in peace and forgiveness, so accept Christ and give all of yourself to God. Only God can change you for the better. 

Does anyone really think about one's eternity?

So much of the time I get caught up in what THIS WORLD has to offer, and it pisses me off. I should know better. It's one of the biggest traps believers and non-believers can fall into. Is it really a surprise given our limited scope of experience that we ONLY look at our experience of THIS WORLD? What else do we really have to go on? 

I was reminded in a sermon earlier today how un-grounded we can get when we ONLY look at this world. This world experience is a finite, fleeting adventure that will inevitably end and are you prepared? Am I prepared? I would respectfully say I believe most people; especially non-believers are NOT prepared for their eternal resting place. 

So much of the time we get caught up in the regimented life maps given to us and when we have sudden shifts in direction for whatever reason we get tweaked. We do not want surprises and we don't want hardship or suffering. So how do we get redirected to what's important. For me it's simply GOD. 

God will always bring us back, especially in his word to what we should be focusing on. God will help us through this life experience because GOD knows what awaits all of us and he truly wants us to focus on what is eternal, not temporal. 

Today I was restless. I was going to blow off church. I was sitting, parading social media, wasting time and I thought "Why don't I go to church?" I quickly got dressed, went to church and got fed a dose of God and it was really comforting and helpful. It was a community of people taking the time to worship together and it was uplifting and peaceful. 

God is not hiding. He wants us to seek him, to know him, and he'll get us focused on these really important eternal things that surpass this world and death. 

My Christian Walk Introductory Post (Why I am doing this?)

 Hello Everyone, 

I have branched out to include this blog platform to diversify content for "My Christian Walk" Currently you can find content podcast segments on Spotify and Anchor FM. My podcasts are like an audio diary of my walk with Christ. I was fortunate to be indoctrinated into the Christian faith by my parents from the third grade on and I still today keep in touch with friends dating back to 1972. There's something about a fraternity of parochial school children that carries over to adulthood, and I'm fortunate to keep in touch with my old classmates as we traverse our worldly encounters in our later middle age years. Wow. Truly a blessing. 

As I figure it, we ALL have the gift of life and as believers we can share the gospel in positive ways by our walk with Jesus. I am certainly no saint, nor do I take a heavy-handed approach in sharing my faith. I simply believe that God is essential in the lives of ALL his children, and he can even lead those who don't believe to the saving grace of his son, Jesus.  

 I hope you will enjoy this platform of content and if you care to interact, engage, leave messages, please do so!