2 Samuel 14-15 | Luke 17:1-19

“[Jesus] asked her, ‘Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?’ Thinking He was the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have put Him, and I will get Him.’” John 20:15

Why was the tomb of Jesus empty? The second of the four most plausible reasons is that the Jewish or Roman authorities removed the body. When Mary Magdalene went to embalm the body of Jesus on the third morning but discovered the empty tomb, her assumption was that somebody took the body. Mary ran to Peter and John and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put Him!” (John 20:2).

Of course, it would be logical and perhaps sensible for the authorities to do it. Why? It is rather expensive to put a detachment of soldiers guarding a dead body in a tomb, not to say also a little embarrassing to do. If they feared any threat of the disciples coming to steal the body, why not pre-empt it by taking the body and putting it in another tomb where nobody else knows or burying it somewhere where nobody else is aware? They could have done it during the night, when nobody was around, and solve the problem of the disciples stealing the body. 

Now, suppose the authorities had done just that, how then do we explain their response later when the disciples began to preach the resurrection of Jesus in such a way that it turned the city of Jerusalem upside down? Acts 4:1-2 tells us, “The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.” They put Peter and John in prison. Then, “they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:18). Sometime later, the high priest commanded the apostles: “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this Man’s blood” (Acts 5:28). 

How do we account for the Jewish or Roman authorities’ response to all of this if they had removed the body and knew a resurrection had not taken place? The simple solution would be for them to produce the body that they removed, but they did not. Additionally, in the literature surrounding this period of time, the authorities resisted the apostles’ preaching about the resurrection, but they never tried to refute it nor did they have an alternative explanation.

Deep down, the Jewish and Roman authorities feared that Jesus resurrected but they were refusing to accept that truth and believe in a resurrected Saviour.

PRAYER

Dear God, soften my hardened heart to the truth that Jesus resurrected from the grave and salvation is found in Him alone. Thank You, Lord.