Welcome back friends. This is the fifth lesson in our studies on the resurrection of Yeshua/Jesus the Messiah, where we have been examining the evidence before us from the earliest documents and other ancient sources, in order to gather all of the information and data and reach a conclusion about this singular incident and those surrounding it in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The reader will find that I have made certain changes which I believe will benefit my readers. Unlike previous posts, this one contains all of the authorities cited by me.
I am working on updating my previous four posts on the topic with their own sources, which should also be of great benefit to my readers, because now they will be able to look up the sources for themselves and do their own homework by cross-referencing what I have posted.
It is my hope and prayer that everyone who reads these posts will benefit from them and gain both an understanding from them that they lacked before, and regardless of their faith, will go away with a deeper appreciation of what happened in that distant land on that Passover weekend a long time ago.
The Pepster
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LESSON FIVE
THERE ARE MARKED DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE GOSPEL ACCOUNTS AND PAGAN AND JEWISH MYTHS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD
Welcome again, as we continue our journey back through time and history, to a period when all of the heavenly and earthly and other-worldly forces combined as though in a spiritual battle, which took shape in the temporal events we are currently examining.
What we have been examining are not cleverly written myths, but eye-witness accounts related and recorded in the most direct and honest manner by those who saw and witnessed them.
When one reads a myth, there are peculiar characteristics to the myth which combine to form its narrative, and we identify and see the stories which various civilizations have invented as clever myths. We need not enumerate them here; we simply understand that they do exist.
This is not a study of myths. Rather, we are currently engaged in gathering cold hard facts which were beheld by a great multitude of people, as the records are confirming thus far for us.
As we have confirmed previously, these events were seen by friend and foe alike; and were known even by other independent sources which cite them in their histories, a good number of which we have examined thus far.
And they – the events we have examined thus far, and those which follow – so riveted in the memories of those who witnessed them that it took Jesus’ detractors more than a century to put to writing alternate stories to the Gospels, such as the Toledoth Yeshu.
The reason for this would be obvious to anyone. If someone in the years which followed Jesus’ appearance to Israel attempted to contradict the records as we have them in the Gospels, each story could be independently verified by visiting and speaking with the people who saw them, who lived it; and who could either confirm or correct the inaccuracies those stories, or if necessary, to debunk them.
And there were just too many people – Jesus’ followers, those who were indifferent or apathetic to these things who were non-committal, and Jesus’ detractors and enemies – who could confirm that the events which the Gospels record did indeed happen just as they say.
By the end of the first century, many of them had passed on, but like John the Elder and John of Patmos, and a few others remained and continued teaching about them.
They knew that these were not myths, but events involving real people – Jews and Gentiles from every corner of the Roman Empire who were in Jerusalem for the Passover – all who had one thing in common; they were all witnesses to the incomprehensible signs connected to Jesus’ death the day He was crucified.
There are very good reasons why the Gospels differ greatly from the pagan and even Jewish myths of antiquity; the most obvious being that they are retelling actual events, the others are not.
Saul Paulus of Tarsus; the disbelieving and later believing Pharisee and follower of Jesus, who in the estimation of most was the greatest of rabbis of the Second Temple Era – with the exception of Jesus Himself –, was well versed in these Jewish and Greek legends.
He admonished his disciples not to pay attention to either Greek or to Jewish myths, philosophies, endless genealogies, and endless halachot – what he called “commandments of men,” because according to him; they served no purpose with regards to true godliness, but produce needless arguments.
If the Gospel Narratives with their stories of Jesus’ miracles, signs and wonders, and resurrection were nothing but myths, Paul and others would not have devoted their lives to teach others about them.
Paul and Peter and the other followers of Jesus, would have warned their disciples, and all those with whom they came into contact with, to avoid them; but instead, they devoted a good part of what they wrote on the theme of the resurrection, indeed one might say that everything they wrote and preached about was – and for those of us who read and study them – is the Messiah and His triumph over sin and death through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the grave.
THE GOSPEL NARRATIVES PRESENT HISTORICAL PLACES, PEOPLE, EVENTS, AND LOCATIONS KNOWN TO THE ANCIENT THAT WERE KNOWN TO THE ANCIENT WORLD, NOW CONFIRMED BY ARCHEOLOGY
The Gospel Narratives present to us in bold relief the life and teachings of the Messiah, and peripherally almost in passing where it’s necessary, mentions the participants with their stories containing all of their flaws and imperfections – men and women who contain and display all of the characteristics – ethos and pathos – human beings are known for, a very big difference from the myths of ancient Greece or Rome, and other ancient civilizations.
The matter of fact manner in which the Gospels are written indicate precisely that the people telling them are not embellishing them with their own fiction, but are sharing experiences, sights, sounds, smells, locations, people, and emotions that they or someone they knew experienced and related precisely about.
How does an honest religiously observant and God-fearing person relate the inexplicable? They do it by writing about experience as he or she has witnessed it. And this is what the Gospel writers do.
We have already seen independent evidence confirming what the Gospel writings say; corroborating what they say about the events themselves, even from sources considered hostile to the Messiahship of Jesus.
DEVOUNT OBSERVANT JEWS OF THE HIGHEST INTEGRITY AND HONESTY WROTE THE GOSPEL NARRATIVES WE HAVE BEEN HANDED DOWN
The Gospels are written with reverence and faith by a group of people of the highest moral character and integrity; one might say, writing even as low key as possible, considering the subject matter and the incredible events about which they write.
They stand in stark contrast to the myths of antiquity and those of recent times that tend to exaggerate things, and embellish them with outlandish fantasies – the product of inflated egos and fertile imaginations.
Writers of fiction live through the characters in their novels, and write from their own experiences, whereas the writers of the Gospels stand back and put us there with the living Messiah and His mission, while they step back, and become transparent in the stories.
In the few places where their own names are mentioned, they treat themselves as almost as an afterthought; they’re in the story, yet they are not important to the story, because the story is not about them, but about the One for whom Israel had awaited for so long, whom they saw and heard, and touched, and cried for.
The writers of the Gospels were careful to record every scrap of information, every bit of detail, every memory, and not to include in their accounts any exaggerations; because they understood and appreciated that what they were writing down as it were – living testimonies of events they could not keep to themselves, but were compelled to share with other Jews, and later with the Non-Jewish World.
True to their character, honesty, integrity, and piety; they wrote it as they themselves saw it with their own eyes. They could not have done otherwise and remain true to their core faith and observant Torah life.
Their own accountability to the God of their fathers compelled them to be as forthright as they possibly could be with the material at hand that they were entrusted with writing.
It was this understanding that made them appreciate their responsibility as custodians of the Good News, and they guarded these with their lives, vouchsafing them to men and women of the highest moral character and integrity, who would preserve them for future generations to come right down to this age.
ARCHEOLOGY CORROBORATES THE HISTORICITY AND FIDELLITY OF THE BIBLICAL NARRATIVE AND THE METHODS USE IN COPYING THEM
The Dead Sea Scrolls have confirmed what Judaism has known for centuries; devout Jewish Scribes who were, and continue to be entrusted with the responsibilities of copying letter for letter, punctuation for punctuation, space for space; everything written in the Sacred Texts of the Holy Scriptures.
As modern scribes today are meticulous in recording the new scrolls of the Scriptures right down to the smallest punctuation, so their ancient counterparts were in every generation right down to the present.
Their method is explained in the following article:
“Before he began his work each day, the scribe would test his reed pen by dipping it in ink and writing the name Amalek, then crossing it out (cf. Deut. 25:19). Then he would say, "I am writing the Torah in the name of its sanctity and the name of God in its sanctity." The scribe would read a sentence in the manuscript he was copying, repeat it aloud, and then write it. Each time he came to the name of God, he would say, " I am writing the name of God for the holiness of His name." If he made an error in writing God's name, he had to destroy the entire sheet of papyrus or vellum that he was using.
“After the scribe finished copying a particular book, he would count all of the words and letters it contained. Then he checked this tally against the count for the manuscript that he was copying. He counted the number of times a particular word occurred in the book, and he noted the middle word and the middle letter in the book, comparing all of these with his original. By making these careful checks, he hoped to avoid any scribal errors.”
Those Jewish Scribes some of whom were followers of Jesus in the same manner as their non-Christian colleagues were even more so, because they realized the treasure they had been given in recording the life of the Messiah.
When these responsibilities passed from Jewish into Gentile hands, the same meticulous care was followed that was learned from those entrusting the oracles to their Non-Jewish disciples.
Say what one will about the Roman Catholic Church’s jealous and tenacious hold over the Scriptures for a long time, and the Protestant Reformation making the Scriptures accessible in the language of the people; first Luther with his translation of them into German, and later others who came along and suffered with their lives for the same.
If not for this tenacious and possessive nature of the clerics, though many for the wrong reasons; this zeal and fidelity would not have been available to be used by God to preserve for us the Greek, Latin, Hebrew and Aramaic manuscripts we have in existence today.
There are thousands of them, and we have God and these Scribes whom He used to thank for, for transcribing them and preserving them to this very day.
We are the beneficiaries and new custodians of these magnificent living oracles of the lives of great men and women who came before us, but even greater still – of the Lord God and His merciful dealings with the sons and daughters of men when He brought His Messiah among our ancestors.
We appreciate now the meticulous details we are given in the Gospels and the great care that has been taken to preserve them by those who have entrusted them to us.
As we have examined these at length, now we must move on, and examine other aspects of the accounts that will provide us with further evidence of what occurred on that day of days and the days that would follow, which Lord willing, we will cover in this study.
THE EVENTS AS THEY TOOK PLACE IN THEIR ORDER
A QUICK RECAP OF THE FINAL EVENTS FOLLOWING THE CRUCIFIXION
We find ourselves in a private burial area at the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea built into solid rock with a single entrance/egress point.
After obtaining permission from Pilate for Jesus’ body, Joseph and Nicodemus and their group of men, have taken Jesus’ body down from the cross, wrapped it in clean linen which Joseph has brought.
Then they carry the body to Joseph’s tomb, located in a nearby private burial area in a garden, because it is conveniently close to the execution place, and there they prepared Jesus’ body for burial.
This tomb has never been used by anyone. In our modern parlance; it is a brand new tomb.
A new and unused tomb is distinct in its newness from tombs which have been used previously, and those which are old; and the word used by the Gospel writer here indicates that this tomb had been recently hewn out of the rock.
This proves providential, like so many things we shall see in this study which the Gospel writers have made so evident to us.
Because of this, as we shall see; no one can claim that the wrong tomb is used later on when the Romans and chief priests secure it and post troops to guard it.
No one can claim that the actual location would be mistaken with another, even when the women return to it later on, as we shall see, since they have not left Jesus’ presence for a moment from the time He was crucified until His body is buried in Joseph’s tomb.
THE PROCESS OF RITUALLY PREPARING JESUS’ BODY FOR BURIAL
Though this is not mentioned in the Gospel accounts, there is no doubt that Jesus’ body is quickly washed ceremoniously before anything else is done to it.
This is called Tahara. It means purification, and symbolizes a transformation/transition of status – being created in God’s image; the body has served its purpose and is now laid to rest. Regarding this, we provide the following by way of explanation:
The Tahara Process
“To preserve the dignity of the deceased, men bathe men, women bathe women. A cloth covers the body at all times, except for the parts of that are being washed. Throughout the Tahara, the body is kept face up in another gesture of respect.
“The body is placed on a table with a drain. The Tahara is done with lukewarm water, and the body is cleansed beginning with the right side of the body. The hair is combed the hair and the fingernails are cleaned. At the close, the body is raised and immersed in a mikveh, a ritual bath, or a steady stream of water is poured over the body as the Chevra Kaddisha pronounces tahor hu, he is pure, or tehorah hee for a woman, three times. Then the body is dressed in shrouds and placed into the casket. Some communities have the custom of placing ashes on the eyelids to recall the words “unto dust you shall return.”
“At the close of the Tahara, all those who participated in the ritual will ask forgiveness from the deceased for treating it with inadvertent disrespect.”
We can picture Nicodemus performing this mitzvah – this purification on Jesus’ body within Joseph’s tomb, as he and Joseph prepare it for its final resting.
Nicodemus has brought a hundred pounds of spike nard, aloes, myrrh, with which he embalms Jesus’ remains in.
Since it is the Day of Preparation, and it is late, as Shabbat is quickly approaching, they must make haste preparing Jesus’ body and finishing everything before Shabbat.
After ritually purifying Jesus’ body with water, Nicodemus wraps Jesus’ body in a great deal of linen thoroughly impregnated with the mixture of myrrh and aloes he has brought.
The great amount of myrrh and aloes, combined with the spikenard wrapped around Jesus’ body form a formidable body cast, and hardens over time.
About this, we have the following:
“After all the members of the body were straightened, the corpse was clothed in grave vestments made out of white linen. There could not be the slightest ornamentation or stain on the cloth. The grave linens were sewn together by women. No knots were permitted. For some this was to indicate that the mind of the dead was "disentangled of the cares of this life" -to others, it indicated the continuity of the soul through eternity. No individual could be buried in fewer than three separate garments.
“At this point, the aromatic spices, composed of a fragrant wood pounded into a dust known as aloes, were mixed with a gummy substance known as myrrh. Starting at the feet, they would wrap to the armpits, put the arms down, then wrap to the neck. A separate piece was wrapped around the head. I would estimate an encasement weighing a total of between 92 and 95 pounds. John Chrysostom, in the fourth century A.D., commented that ‘the myrrh used was a drug which adheres so closely to the body that the grave clothes could not easily be removed.’"
If Jesus had been alive and awaiting resuscitation, as conspiracy theorists have alleged, this process would mitigate any hope of reviving Him; because He would have suffered acute asphyxiation during this process.
It is obvious that Nicodemus is very wealthy, because one pound of spikenard today costs approximately four thousand dollars. He has brought a hundred pounds of this which he has wrapped around Jesus’ body in straps of linen drenched with it.
Nicodemus has given Jesus’ body the respect and reverence accorded to a Cohen Ha Gadol, or one of priestly descent. He is aware that Jesus the Messiah was to be both of the Royal Line of King David, and of the Priestly Line of Melchizedek, Cohen Ha Gadol El Elyon, both Priest and King.
And now consider the significance of the responsibility in performing the duties of Tahara on Jesus’ body:
“Traditionally, a Jewish Burial Society counted as its members the most prominent individuals in the community. These Jews were honored to have the opportunity to carry out the commandment of taharah – the cleaning and bathing of the dead -- dressing the body in shrouds, and resting it in the coffin, with prayers woven throughout the process.
“Taharah is a service unique in the fact that the recipient of the kindness is unable to give thanks or repay the favor. Those who perform taharahs are entrusted with a task that requires a great deal of compassion because the dead in their hands are entirely helpless.”
Nicodemus is very aware that he and Joseph are laying to rest the body of King Messiah – the True Melech and Cohen Ha Gadol, and he and Joseph have prepared all that is necessary and required according to Jewish Law (under the circumstances and time constraints they are under) to give Jesus a proper and honored burial.
THE TOPOLOGY AND LOCATION OF JESUS’ EXECUTION AND HIS BURIAL
Because Golgotha is on a hill that rises above a road leading into Jerusalem; just outside the gate to the city, and the garden where Joseph’s rock hewn tomb is located nearby; the tomb itself is not in a hidden place, but during the day, it can be viewed by passersby.
This location is chosen by Joseph and Nicodemus as if by some plot or conspiracy, but because it is in a garden that is near the location where Jesus was crucified.
Because of its proximity and the short period of time they have to prepare the body for burial before Shabbat; they have chosen it to lay Jesus’ body to rest.
Indeed, as we have seen before; the spot where Jesus was crucified is not an obscure location far from Jerusalem, but a place the Romans themselves execute criminals who are not documented Roman Citizens.
The Romans have chosen this location to crucify their criminals, just outside Jerusalem, near one of its gates, atop a hill; so that passersby on the road below can see those being executed.
It is a statement that those being executed are guilty, yet Jesus has not died for His own guilt, because there was no guilt in Him, but He died for the guilt of others.
Let me repeat this to make this absolutely clear; it is a statement that those being crucified so horribly within eyesight of those passing by on the street below nearby within the city wall – that those lifted up on those crosses high on that hill, are guilty.
So it is a statement that they are guilty, but also a warning to anyone else who might contemplate opposing Rome and its might will suffer the same fate as those hanging on those crosses.
Remember, from that location atop Golgotha hill, even the veil of the temple could be seen as it shred from top to bottom, and from the temple, Golgotha and those on it can be seen as well.
This would prove providential, because any move to tamper with the tomb and Jesus’ body, either by friend or foe; would be seen from all quarters, even within the city, and the perpetrators prevented from carrying out such desecration; because Golgotha was atop a hill, and everything that transpired in and around it would be in plain sight of all.
AND NOW ABOUT JOSEPH’S TOMB WHERE JESUS BODY IS LAID TO REST
Let us continue. Before leaving the tomb, Joseph and Nicodemus have their servants roll a huge one to three ton stone over the single entrance/egress of the rock hewn tomb.
A commentary within the margins of the Archeological Study Bible has this to say about the type of heavy stone used in covering these tombs throughout Judea during the Second Temple Era:
“Tombs of the New Testament times were either caves or holes dug into stone cliffs…
“A general opening gave access to vaults that opened on ledges to provide support for the stone doors. The door to such a grave weighed from 1 to 3 tons (.9 to 2.7 metric tons)…..”
According to the facts about stones such as the one used here, we know that in order to move that stone from its place it will take several men.
In the Cambridge Library in Great Britain, there is a manuscript known as Codex Bezae, and it contains the following parenthetical statement in the Gospel of Mark:
“And when He was laid there, he put against the tomb a stone which 20 men could not roll away.”
Also, anyone attempting to reach the tomb would be seen approaching it from almost every angle.
And they would have to roll away the huge stone over its entrance in order to gain access to the interior of the tomb.
These will preclude any foolish attempt by adventurous souls from attempting to rob Joseph’s grave of Jesus’ body.
If there is one thing that the Secular World and apostate Christians and Jews fail to not understand about observant Jews, is the respect and reverence they have for their dead.
This is something that devout Christians share with their observant Jewish counterparts, and can appreciate when reading about the great pains Joseph and Nicodemus took to make sure that everything was done properly with Jesus’ burial before the onset of Shabbat, and that the tomb be made secure before they left.
This is something that both Jews and Christians understand and appreciate about one another – the remains of their dead, and how they are buried is a most sacred matter.
A SHOMER’S SOLEMN DUTY TO WATCH OVER THE BODY OF THE DEAD
We take a moment now to examine another Jewish custom that the Gospels do not mention, but which is of paramount importance to our investigation – the responsibilities of the Shomer, or guardian, or guardians – Shomrim – of keeping watch at loved one’s coffin before burial, until the burial can be completed.
In the case of the Gospels, it is the posting of a Shomer over Jesus’ tomb.
There are four types of Shomrim, and they are the following:
A Shomer Hinnam is an unpaid guardian.
A Shomer Sakhar is a paid guardian.
A Shoel is a borrower.
A Sakhar is a renter.
Oftentimes, a Shomer does not necessarily have to be acquainted with the deceased or his/her family.
When evening comes, if there are more than a single Shomer, each takes a shift while the others sleep. The Shomer on watch is diligent and awake during his watch, during which time he recites the 23rd and 91st Psalms.
The Shomer does not eat during this time, because it is considered poor taste to enjoy the delicacies of a meal in the presence of one who cannot enjoy such a meal, presumably any longer.
THE EVENTS AS THEY TOOK PLACE IN THEIR ORDER
WHO AND WHERE IS THE SHOMER AT JOSEPH’S TOMB?
It is my belief that neither Joseph of Arimathea nor Nicodemus are Shomrim – guardians of Jesus’ tomb, because the narrative says that having completed their duties of preparing the body, they leave for their homes. And, as we shall see, there is no need for a Shomer.
Because of their haste, neither of them, even with the resources of their servants to help them at the burial, have time to station a Shomer or Shomrim at Joseph’s tomb before leaving.
If they have stationed a guardian or a group of guardians at the tomb, the records are strangely silent about it; therefore we must go on the assumption that at this time, that no Shomer has been placed at the tomb, again because Jesus’ burial is complete, not unfinished.
But more importantly, this writer believes that the reason they do not place a Shomer at the tomb is because when they have finished with Jesus’ body and sealed the tomb from interlopers with a heavy one to three ton stone over its entrance; they have finished with their duties according to Torah strictures, therefore there is no need for the services of a Shomer.
This indicates the best and most logical reason why the records are strangely silent about a Shomer here.
But, God never being incomplete in what He does; works it in such a manner that if anyone would bring up the matter legally, a Shomer is placed at the tomb the next day, but not just one Shomer, but many by none other than Pilate and the chief priests!
What is most telling is that we have Jesus’ detractors – the temple police, and a Roman Guard who are dispatched by Pilate and the high priests; stationed at Jesus’ tomb, who are unwittingly taking on the responsibility of the Shomer after Jesus’ burial!
This is most significant, because had the Shomer been either Joseph or Nicodemus, or any of Jesus’ followers, it cannot be claimed by those allied to the chief priests that Joseph and Nicodemus have misled everyone by guarding the wrong tomb while Jesus’ body is taken away; but this is not what transpires, as we shall see.
THE EVENTS AS THEY TOOK PLACE IN THEIR ORDER
THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND PHARISEES APPROACH PILATE TO REQUEST HE DISPATCH TROOPS TO GUARD JOSEPH’S TOMB
It is Shabbat – the next day, which is the one after the preparation, when the delegation of chief priests and Pharisees visit Pilate with their request for Pilate to dispatch a guard to Joseph’s tomb where Jesus’ body has been placed by Joseph and Nicodemus.
Now there are several details here which we must cover because they are both valuable and important to this study as we continue our examination of the evidence.
For this we go straight to the record; the Gospel of Matthew, written by Levi Ben Halpai – otherwise known as Levi or by his most common name – Matthew – the ex-Roman Publican:
Now on the next day, which is the one after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, “After three days I am to rise again.’
“Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, lest the disciples come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”
Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go make it as secure as you know how.”
And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.
On the basis of Pilate’s reply to this delegation of priests and Pharisees, some have surmised him to mean that they use their own temple police to guard Joseph’s tomb.
WHY THE SOLDIERS DISPATCHED TO GUARD THE TOMB ARE ROMAN TROOPS AND NOT SIMPLY TEMPLE GUARDS
But there are several reasons why this is not what he meant, and we explore them here.
1.) The Judean religious leaders would not approach Pilate with a request to use their own troops.
2.) If it had been otherwise, and they were asking for Pilate’s authorization to use their own troops for this specific situation; the text would have made it plain, but this is not what the text says at all.
3.) Pilate would have taken such a request as an affront to his own authority, since the garden tomb cut into solid stone was located at the place of Jesus’ execution – nearby in fact.
4.) Neither the Sadducean Priests, or their Pharisaic counterparts and their troops would have the authority to set a seal over the entrance to Joseph’s tomb, or any tomb for that matter.
5.) The seal would be set by the Romans who uniquely possessed such authority under Roman Law.
Pilate’s reply, according to some sources, should be rendered, “Take a guard,” as it is rendered in the New International Version.
The Jewish New Testament has the correct rendering:
Pilate said to them, “You may have your guard. Go and make the grave as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the grave secure by sealing the stone and putting a guard on watch.
Remember, the stone had been rolled into place by Joseph and Nicodemus’ servants the previous day, and anyone who would have approached this tomb, would have been seen and spotted, because the tomb’s location was in a garden located on the hill where Jesus was crucified and died.
THE EVENTS AS THEY TOOK PLACE IN THEIR ORDER
LET’S SUMMARIZE: FROM JESUS’ DISCIPLES’ POINT OF VIEW
In summary, from the time that Jesus expires on the Roman cross, to the time His body is taken down, every effort is made to account for what is going to be done with His remains.
At least two, probably more, prominent members of the Sanhedrin make sure to that. Everything is done to make sure that this is carried out assiduously, and with meticulous calculation as Torah requires.
The Sabbath is approaching, and it is a High Shabbat, therefore everything must be done so as to keep the Law and make certain that Jesus’ body is interred properly before sundown.
From Jesus’ supporters’ perspective, it is important that Jesus’ remains be treated with reverence and respect, and that all diligence be given to assure that everything necessary be done to it in accordance to the strictest form of Halacha.
Let us not forget, these are Pharisees; the most observant Jewish doctors of the Torah of their day; indeed, the most observant of all Jewish sects of the Second Temple Era.
They are experts with regards to compliance with all Halachot according to what the Law requires under these circumstances.
And we have examined those requirements and the customs connected to them which these men would make sure be carried out to the letter.
LET’S SUMMARIZE: FROM JESUS’ DETRACTORS’ POINT OF VIEW
From Jesus’ detractor’s point of view, everything has to be completed before sundown and the end of the Sabbath to assure that Jesus’ remains be kept under their watch with Roman assistance so as not to have anyone claim if anything should happen to the body that they have had anything to do with it.
There is a very good reason for this. The chief priests and their allies in the Sanhedrin know who some of Jesus’ followers are; and they are aware that they are all observant Jews, therefore during Shabbat they have had nothing to worry about, and they know that they are all in hiding fearing for now.
During Shabbat, they had nothing to worry about, but when the end of Shabbat approaches later the day after the preparation day; they will have much to worry about, and this compels them to reach Pilate with their request for him to post troops at Joseph’s tomb.
They know of the tomb’s location, because they know that Jesus’ body was buried in Joseph’s tomb, and it goes without saying that everyone in the Sanhedrin are acquainted in one way or another with Joseph – a fellow member of that body.
Once all parties assure themselves that Jesus’ remains are properly interred inside the tomb, they then set about the task of keeping watch over the tomb to prevent anything from occurring which might lend itself to anything remotely resembling a resurrection from the dead.
The Roman troops guard the entrance to the tomb and the surrounding area just outside of it, while the garden parameter is guarded by the priest’s temple officers, especially during the night watches.
It is this writer’s belief that regardless of the fact that the Sabbath had fallen, Jesus’ detractors are so hell-bent on discrediting Him, that they allow some of their Temple Police duty to guard the tomb and outlying area, including the parameter of the garden during Shabbat, or at least keep a lookout to keep watch over it.
It would not be a stretch for them to do this, since these Temple Police are also on duty during the Sabbath, and considering the extremes to which these priests have gone in having Jesus tried, sentenced, and executed; they could make any excuse for this course of action and justify it; which from the evidence, suggests this is precisely what they do with some of their guards, while they approach Pilate with their request for his troops.
The coup de grace is when Pilate decides to add to this, the official Roman Seal, affixing it over the stone which the Romans have again rolled over the tomb’s one and only entrance.
This is his way as defying anyone and daring them to break Roman law and incur Roman wrath, in this case; the penalty exacted will be capital punishment either by crucifixion or beheading, depending on whether the violator was or was not a Roman citizen.
This suits the Sanhedrin well, since no one would dare break this seal, and if anyone successfully breaches the first line of defense presented by the temple guards, he, she, or they will immediately be halted by the Roman troops stationed around the area, and arrested.
But if this were not to prevent an interloper from approaching the garden tomb, the Roman soldiers present in front of the tomb would either arrest that person, or kill him right on the spot.
What’s more, anyone approaching the tomb without authorization would be identified almost immediately.
Only those who were present when the body was interred in Joseph’s rock hewn tomb might be allowed to enter after the Sabbath; and only under close observation by the Romans and others present.
Thus, the narratives tell us. They make it clear that it is impossible to come near the body, much less approach the area without being watched or stopped by those guarding the site.
We will see though, that the situation has changed drastically when Mary goes to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body with spices, due to what has occurred just minutes before arrival, which we will explore in more detail in the next chapter.
The events which we are about to explore at the very heart of what this study is all about, and Lord willing, we will examine them entirely, sifting through the records every detail available to us, and gleaning from these the evidences of what occurred the day that the Jewish and Gentile Worlds collided with one another in the most significant event in history.
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SOURCES CITED IN THIS STUDY
The History of Jesus, or Generations of Jesus, or the Life of Jesus is a medieval version of the story of Jesus from a Jewish non-believing perspective. From Wikipedia the Online Encyclopedia at the following URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledot_Yeshu
Mark 15:25, 9:00AM. Jesus was on the cross from sometime between 9:00 AM and sometime after 3:00PM, when His body was taken down by Joseph and Nicodemus and their servants. Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, Luke 23:44. Matthew 27:51. Matthew 27:51-54. Luke 23:48.
Pagan myths would include the story of Greek gods Hercules and Zeus, and their Norse counterparts such as Thor and Oden.
Jewish myths would include the story of Lilith, also the legend of the Golem, and the deuterocanonical fourteenth chapter of the Book of Daniel, that contains the story of Bel and the dragon.
He was a student of the sage Rabban Gamaliel I, and had been an ardent ally of the House of Caiaphas and its police action against Jesus’ followers, but later became one of them, (Acts 22:3-5,Gamaliel 1:13-24) when he came face to face with Jesus on a road to Damascus (Acts
1Timothy 1:4.
Titus 1:14.
Colossians 2:8.
Rules.
Paul stands in good company, since Isaiah the prophet criticized the religious rulers of Israel in his day of teaching as the Word of God the precepts of men (Isaiah 29:13). Rabbinic Judaism has created a fence around Torah and codified it into a multi-volume encyclopedic work it calls the Talmud, which is considered more important even than the Law itself.
They saw themselves and all followers of the Messiah as ambassadors of God’s kingdom to the human race, admonishing it to be reconciled with God through the Messiah Jesus (2Cor. 5:20, Eph. 6:20).
Authenticity of Scripture, a well written article at the following URL: http://www.kenscustom.com/bible/authen.html for those who wish to read the article in its entirety.
Matthew 27:60, Mark 15:46, Luke 23:53b.
The fact that none of the records indicate any other entrance, but the single entrance upon which Joseph’s men rolled a huge stone up against, makes it evident that this tomb had a single entrance/egress point from which to gain access to or exit from by everyone.
Matthew 27:57-58, Mark 15:42-45, Luke 23:50-53, John 19:38-38. “According to Roman law, a close family member could come and take away the body of an executed person. But there was no entitlement for a non-relative. There was a risk that a request from a non-relative would be denied and the body dumped, denying it proper burial. Tradition and sentiment also demanded that the body be interred with those of other family members, and not in the tomb of a stranger.” From Wikipedia, the Online Encyclopedia, at the following URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_of_Arimathea Joseph of Arimathea was a follower of Jesus, but he may have also been close to Jesus’ immediate family, though there is no record of this.
Matthew 27:59-60, Mark 15:46, Luke 23:53, John 19:40.
John 19:41.
John 19:40-41. John 19:42b. In fact, John writes that at the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and inside the garden, a tomb, and it was in this tomb where Joseph and Nicodemus laid the body of Jesus (John 19:41).
Luke 23:53, John 19:41b.
Matthew 27:60, Luke 23:53.
The Greek word used by all of the Gospel writers is KAINOS. It is a primary word that indicates something that is fresh, recently made, and brand new, and unused. It is something that is a new thing. See Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, page 1658, left column, specifically number 2537, and its meaning. See also the following link: The New Testament Greek Lexicon
http://www.studylight.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=2537
Matthew 27:55-56, 61, Mark 15:40-41, 47, Luke 23:27b-31, 49, 55-56.
From an article at the following URL: http://www.aish.com/spirituality/odysseys/Taharah_A_Personal_Look_at_the_Jewish_Way_of_Death_and_Burial.asp
Good deed.
John 19:39-40. There is the possibility that Nicodemus was of priestly descent, though he was a member of the Pharisees. There were Pharisees who were priests, but the leadership was held by the Sadducees, specifically, the House of Caiaphas and his sons who were Sadducees. The Sa
Matthew 27:57a, Mark 15:42, Luke 23:54, John 19:42. Shabbat would fall at sundown, at 7:00PM that evening. This indicated that Joseph and Nicodemus had precisely four hours from the hour of Jesus’ death at the Sixth Hour – 3PM – and the beginning of Shabbat at 7PM that evening, at which time, they would need to cease from all labor.
From A Ready Defense – the Resurrection at the following URL: http://www.greatcom.org/resources/areadydefense/ch20/default.htm
Professor James Hastings says concerning the grave clothes found in Christ's empty tomb: "As far back as Chrysostom's time [the 4th century A.D.] attention was called to the fact that the myrrh was a drug which adheres so closely to the body that the grave clothes would not easily be removed" (Joan. Hom. 85).
High Priest.
Isaiah 9:7, 11:1, 10, Jeremiah 23:5-6, 33:15-17, Hosea 3:5, Amos 9:11, Ezekiel 34:23-24, 37:24-28, Zechariah 12:8.
Psalm 110:4, Hebrews 5:6, 10, 6:20, 7:11, 15, 17. Cohen Ha Gadol El Elyon – Priest of God Most High.
From an article at the following URL: http://www.aish.com/spirituality/odysseys/Taharah_A_Personal_Look_at_the_Jewish_Way_of_Death_and_Burial.asp
King.
High Priest.
The wall of the city separates the city’s interior from the place of execution from where people behind the wall view those being crucified above them as they walk along the road.
John 19:41.
John 19:42.
Roman Citizens sentenced for execution were executed by beheading. Non Roman Citizens were crucified.
Matthew 27:32a, John 19:17b, Hebrews 13:12-14.
Isaiah 53:9c.
Isaiah 53:4-6, 8.
John 19:20a.
With regards to Jesus’ innocence; He died because of our guilt, not His own. Isaiah 53:6-10a.
Thus we read in Mark’s Gospel that the prophecy was fulfilled which stated that Messiah would be numbered with transgressors, yet be buried in a rich man’s tomb. See Mark 15:28, and Isaiah 53:9.
Matthew 27:60, Mark 15:46.
The Archeological Study Bible, Zondervan Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2005.
Archeological Study Bible, page 1760 bottom, commentary to John 20:1, Zondervan Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2005.
Joseph of Arimathea.
Codex Bezae, Mark 15:4.
This fact eludes the secular skeptic, or the marginally religious. This is why skeptics have such a hard time with the accounts, because they do not understand or connect to the kind of people involved in them or those who wrote them. They make the erroneous assumption that everyone is just as jaded, cynical, and unbelieving as they are, and perhaps just as dishonest as they themselves may be, and that the Gospel writers had a chip on their shoulder – an ax to grind – as some of them have charged, and therefore their accounts are biased and unreliable. This is a colossally mistaken place to start from, and it makes incredible leaps of poor judgment in assessing and attributing motivations to others which are not necessarily there, but only in the minds of the cynic.
The laws of shomrim are derived from the Torah in Shemot (Exodus) 22:6-14. It is discussed in the Talmud in Seder Nezikin in tractates Bava Kamma and Bava Metzia.
One Jewish source explains the responsibility of a shomer in the following manner: “Until the time of burial, a "shomer," meaning "guard" or "watcher," is appointed to stay with the deceased all through the day and night. The shomer, or shomrim if shifts are needed, stays awake and says King David's Psalms, known as "Tehillim." Before the burial, members of the burial society come to perform the ritual bath, the "tahara," and clothe the body in the shrouds.” From Yakov Branfman’s Experiences of a Certain Watcher at the following URL: http://www.jewishmag.com/6mag/jb/jb.htm
Also known as a noseh sakhar (Hebrew: נושא שכר, one who receives payment).
See the article titled Shomer at Wikipedia the Online Encyclopedia at the following URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shomer
Guardian.
Matthew 27:60c,
Though it must be said that a Shomer is not necessary here, because the services of a Shomer is used when a burial has not yet taken place, whereas according the records, the burial has taken place and Messiah’s body has been interred in Joseph’s tomb; which is why this writer believes there is no mention of a Shomer or guard until the Sanhedrin approaches Pilate for one.
Shabbat began at sundown Friday. Shabbat lasts from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.
Matthew 27:62.
Matthew 27:62-66.
Matthew’s Hebrew name.
He is called in Greek “telones” – one who keeps records. This would explain why Matthew’s Gospel is so meticulous with details, especially with regards to the Romans and Pilate. Matthew would have access to all of the records of what we are about to read from his contacts within the Procurator’s government, and confirmed and cross-checked with contacts within the high priests’ circles, as well as his own first hand experiences – all of which he includes it in his Gospel.
Matthew 27:62-66.
See John 19:41, where it says: At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby they laid Jesus there. NIV.
NIV Bible, Zondervan Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc., Clarksville, Maryland.
David H. Stern, The Jewish New Testament, Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc., Clarksville, Maryland.
Joseph, Nichodemus, who belong to the faction of those among the Pharisees within the Sanhedrin who have not sided with the chief priests and their allies, mostly among the Sadducees and some Scribes and Pharisees.
This duty would be because they would not be allowed to come into contact with anything dead, and therefore be defiled by it. The Roman Guard would guard tomb and surrounding area, while the temple police would guard the parameter of the garden, just within the area where Jesus had been crucified. See John 19:41.
Those among the temple police performing this duty would be ritually unclean and would be precluded from temple service for a period until which time they have made themselves clean according to Halachic requirements.
They would have to do this because before it can be made secure, Jesus’ detractors would assure themselves that Jesus’ body is indeed in the tomb and has not been tempered with. It would be superfluous, illogical, and self-defeating of them to secure a tomb that does not contain His remains inside.
The human race is divided along it – believing and unbelieving – and it has defined the three major religions; Judaism, Christianity, and Islam to this day. Even others have been impacted in one way or another.
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