May 3, 2025

As noted in part 1, the tomb of Jesus Christ was found empty on Sunday morning. On that fact, there is no disagreement. Everyone present agreed that the tomb was empty: the Romans who executed Jesus, the Jewish Sanhedrin who condemned him, the entire populace of Jerusalem and the disciples. The question is––—why was the tomb empty? That is what we will seek to resolve with a cumulative-case argument. We are going to examine evidence surrounding the resurrection that even skeptics should be able to agree with. Let’s look at 19 facts.

Fact 1: There is strong evidence that the four gospels in the New Testament (NT) are ancient and were written by eyewitnesses (Matthew & John) or others who had direct access to eyewitnesses (Mark & Luke). They were written when the eyewitnesses were still alive and could refute any falsehood (i.e., 1 Cor 15:6). This is accepted by almost all professional Biblical scholars to include skeptic Bart Ehrman who dates the gospel of Mark to 70 AD when eyewitnesses were still alive. All four gospels were written well before the end of the first century when eyewitnesses were still alive. John the apostle died during the reign of Trajan who ruled from 98-117 AD. Quadratus of Athens reports that Bartimaeus (the blind beggar mentioned in Mark [10:46-52]) and Jairus (a ruler in the synagogue of Capernaum [Mark 5:22]) were still alive at the end of the first century. Although the gospel authors do not identify themselves in the gospel accounts, all four gospels are ascribed to Matthew, Mark, Luke or John in the gospel titles. There are no anonymous gospel manuscripts. The four NT gospel are accepted as ancient, historical history. (The spurious “lost” gnostic gospels that are trotted out every Easter and proclaimed “hidden” by the church, are in fact well known and were unanimously rejected by the early church as forgeries.)

Fact 2: Jesus was crucified between 30-33 AD in Jerusalem under the reign of Pontius Pilate. All four gospels testify to it. Extrabiblical witness also exists in the ancient writings of Josephus, Tacitus, the Babylon Talmud, Lucian, Serapion, Eusebius, Julius Africanus, and Phlegon of Tralles. We know that Jesus existed and was executed under Pontius Pilate.

Fact 3: Jesus was brutally flogged with a cat-o-nine tails. “GotQuestions” provides the following description here: The whip that was used, called a flagrum, consisted of braided leather thongs with metal balls and pieces of sharp bone woven into or intertwined with the braids. The balls added weight to the whip, causing deep bruising as the victim was struck. The pieces of bone served to cut into the flesh. As the beating continued, the resulting cuts were so severe that the skeletal muscles, underlying veins, sinews, and bowels of victims were exposed. This beating was so severe that at times victims would not survive it in order to go on to be crucified. Those who were flogged would often go into hypovolemic shock, a term that refers to low blood volume. In other words, the person would have lost so much blood he would go into shock. The results of this would be:

1) The heart would race to pump blood that was not there.
2) The victim would collapse or faint due to low blood pressure.
3) The kidneys would shut down to preserve body fluids.
4) The person would experience extreme thirst as the body desired to replenish lost fluids.

There is evidence from Scripture that Jesus experienced hypovolemic shock as a result of being flogged. As Jesus carried His own cross to Golgotha (John 19:17), He collapsed, and a man named Simon was forced to either carry the cross or help Jesus carry the cross the rest of the way to the hill (Matthew 27:32–33; Mark 15:21–22; Luke 23:26). This collapse indicates Jesus had low blood pressure. Another indicator that Jesus suffered from hypovolemic shock was that He declared He was thirsty as He hung on the cross (John 19:28), indicating His body’s desire to replenish fluids.

Fact 4: While on the cross, the side of Jesus was pierced by a Roman spear, penetrating the lungs and heart. Prior to death, the sustained rapid heartbeat caused by hypovolemic shock also causes fluid to gather in the sack around the heart and around the lungs. This gathering of fluid in the membrane around the heart is called pericardial effusion, and the fluid gathering around the lungs is called pleural effusion. This explains why, after Jesus died and a Roman soldier thrust a spear through Jesus’ side, piercing both the lungs and the heart, blood and water came from His side just as John recorded in his Gospel (John 19:34).

Fact 5: Jesus was unquestionably dead after the crucifixion. Crucifixion was capital punishment. The mother of Jesus, John the apostle and several other women witnessed his death. Pilate asked for verification of death (Mark 15:44). The Roman Centurion overseeing the execution verified it (Mark 15:45). Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea wrapped the body with 75 lbs of myrrh and aloes to hastily prepare it for burial before sundown marking the start of the Sabbath (John 19:39).

Fact 6: Jesus was buried in a secure rich man’s tomb that was typical for the First Century and was difficult to open once it was closed. It was carved out of solid rock with one entrance. The entrance was sealed one of two ways. It was probably sealed with a circular stone 4-6 ft in diameter likely weighing between 1-2 tons. Or, it may have been a cork-shaped stone (which weighed more than a circular stone) according to the Biblical Archeology Society in an article dated March 2025. If the stone was circular, one or two men could roll it in place down a slope; moving it to open the tomb was much more difficult, requiring several men. The gospels indicate that the stone was “rolled.” (Matt 27:60; Mark 16:3; Luke 24:2) The Biblical Archeology Society argues that a cork-shaped stone could also be “rolled.” Either way, removing the stone would have been difficult requiring several men.

Fact 7: Jesus predicted multiple times that he would rise from the dead on the third day after his death (Matt12:40,16:21, 17:22-23 Mark 8:31, 9:9, 10:32-34, 14:27, Luke 9:22, 9:30-31, John 10:14-18, 16:16-22). The prediction was made every time he spoke of his impending death. The prediction was so well known that the Jews asked the Romans to take precautions to prevent anything from happening to the tomb on the third day.

Fact 8: Because the prediction of the Resurrection was so well known, the Sanhedrin asked Pilate on Saturday to post a guard and seal the tomb.(Matt 27:62-66)

Fact 9: The Romans took precautions at the tomb on Saturday at the request of the Sanhedrin by posting a Roman guard force (not the Temple Guard) and sealing the tomb with the Imperial seal of Rome. The unauthorized breach of an Imperial seal incurred severe consequences. There were at least three Roman guards at the tomb of Jesus, but some sources suggest there could have been as many as ten or even sixteen, depending on the context and the need for security. They were trained, combat-hardened soldiers equipped with multiple lethal weapons; they were not mall cops.

Fact 10: Everyone agreed that the tomb was empty early Sunday morning. All testified to the disappearance of the body: the Romans who crucified Jesus, the Jewish Sanhedrin who condemned Jesus, the disciples who buried Jesus. All of Jerusalem knew the tomb was empty and the body was missing.

Part 3 is here.