3. Jesus’ tomb was found empty
Fact three is the exception since it is affirmed by roughly 75% of scholars as opposed to 99% upwards. However, that is still a majority as Habermas explains,
“…A STRONG MAJORITY OF CONTEMPORARY CRITICAL SCHOLARS SEEMS TO SUPPORT… THAT JESUS WAS BURIED IN A TOMB THAT WAS SUBSEQUENTLY DISCOVERED TO BE EMPTY” (40).
Firstly, it is implied in the early pre-Pauline creed of
1 Corinthians 15:1-11 as William Craig notes, “For in saying that Jesus died – was buried – was raised – appeared, one automatically implies that the empty grave has been left behind” (41).
Secondly, Christianity would have hit a wall if the tomb wasn’t actually empty. The easiest way to disprove the early Christian message of a resurrected saviour would be to go to the tomb where Jesus was laid, and expose it. Paul Althaus explains the resurrection proclamation “could not have been maintained in Jerusalem for a single day, for a single hour, if the emptiness of the tomb had not been established as a fact for all concerned” (42).
Thirdly, it is remarkable that even the Jewish authories (the enemies of the disciples) themselves acknolwedged the tomb as found empty in.
Evidence found in
Matthew 28:11-15 and reports by Justin Martyr and Tertullian tells us that the Jewish leaders tried to explain that the tomb was empty because Jesus’ disciples stole his body. This suggests that the Jewish authorities acknowledged the fact that Jesus’ body was no longer in the tomb.
They didn’t object to the tomb being empty, they tried to explain this fact away, which suggests to us it really was empty. This is positive evidence from a hostile sources, suggesting to us that the tomb was genuinely empty.
Fourthly, that Jesus’ women followers were the first to discover the empty tomb passes the criterion of embarrassment, as Chris Price illumines that “In light of this cultural context, if you are going to create a story about an empty tomb you don’t make women the first eyewitnesses. This is a counterproductive detail included by the writer simply because he was committed to telling the truth” (43).
According to scholar D. H. Van Daalen (1972):
“IT IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO OBJECT TO THE EMPTY TOMB ON HISTORICAL GROUNDS; THOSE WHO DENY IT DO SO ON THE BASIS OF THEOLOGICAL OR PHILOSOPHICAL ASSUMPTIONS”
It also boasts independent attestation. It is early and independently attested in
1 Cor. 15:1-11 and the Pre-Markan Passion Narrative (44). It is also attested in the synoptics (Mark, Matthew, Luke) and John. That is four independent sources as Habermas notes:
“[THE] EMPTY TOMB IS REPORTED IN AT LEAST THREE, IF NOT FOUR, OF THESE GOSPEL SOURCES” WHICH IS WHY IT IS “TAKEN SO SERIOUSLY BY CONTEMPORARY CRITICAL SCHOLARS” (45).
It was also part of the early Christian preaching in Acts (3:29-31 & 36-37 ) and is likewise enemy attested (46).
