The Empty Tomb of Jesus
by Gary R. Habermas
An intriguing development in recent theological research is that a strong
majority of contemporary critical scholars seems to support, at least to some
extent, the view that Jesus was buried in a tomb that was subsequently
discovered to be empty. I will list several of the more than 20 arguments that
have been cited in favor of the empty tomb.
Major Arguments for the Empty Tomb
(1) Perhaps the most powerful argument favoring the empty tomb concerns
its location and the events surrounding it. The Gospel accounts are unanimous
that Jesus was buried in a tomb that was located in Jerusalem. Few critics
question this, holding that Jesus died and was buried in the city. Most also
agree that early Christian preaching took place here, leading to the birth of
the church.
But it is precisely since Jesus' grave was located nearby that we have a
serious problem if it was anything but empty. Unless Jesus' tomb was
unoccupied, the early Christian preaching would have been disproved on the
spot. How could it be preached that Jesus had been raised from the dead if that
message were starkly confronted by a rotting body? Exposing the body would kill
the message and be an easy disproof of Christianity before it even gained
momentum. Thus, Jerusalem is the last place for the early Christian teachings
to gain a foothold unless Jesus' grave was empty. A Sunday walk to the tomb
could have settled the matter one way or another.
A creative response might be to assert that perhaps the body was indeed in
the tomb, but that, very soon afterwards, the body would have been
unrecognizable, due to its decomposition. Or perhaps the tomb was still simply
closed without being opened for inspection.1 But these questions
miss entirely the point of the Christian preaching that the tomb was empty.
Therefore, if any body was found in Jesus' tomb, whether Jesus' or even someone
else's, or if it were still closed, this would have contradicted the teaching
that it was empty. In Jerusalem, the mistake would have been exposed
in no time.
(2) The most-mentioned argument in support of the Gospel accounts is the
unanimous agreement that women were the first witnesses to the empty tomb.
While it is not strictly true that women were disallowed from testifying in a
court of law, it was clearly the case that there was a strong prejudice against
using female testimony for important matters.2
Notwithstanding this common stance, the Gospel accounts insist in their
proclamation that the women were the star witnesses to the empty tomb. But why
should these writers highlight female testimony unless the women really were
the first to discover this fact? To do so would be to weaken their case
considerably in the eyes of most listeners. Given this situation in first
century Palestine, we can only conclude that the Gospel authors were clearly
convinced that the women had discovered the empty tomb. They were more
interested in reporting the truth than they were in avoiding criticism. This
argument is very widely recognized and few scholars have challenged it, which
testifies to its strength.
(3) While the empty tomb accounts in the Gospels are later than Paul's
writings, it is crucially important that the empty tomb accounts are witnessed
by many. In other words, whichever major view of Gospel origins one takes,
the empty tomb narratives arose from more than one independent source. In fact,
scholars think that there could be as many as three or four independent
traditions in the Gospels, which very strongly increases the likelihood that
the reports are both early and historical. Along with the Jerusalem location
and the testimony of the women, I think that these are the best arguments in
favor of the empty tomb.
(4) Most recent scholars seem to agree that, while Paul does not explicitly
mention the empty tomb, the early tradition that this apostle reported to
others in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 implies an empty tomb. The listing of the Gospel
content moves from Jesus' death, to his burial, to his resurrection from the
dead, to his appearances. This sequence strongly suggests that, however it may
have been transformed, Jesus' body that died and was buried is the same one
that was raised afterwards. Thus, what was placed in the ground is precisely
what emerged. In short, what went down is what came up. Such a process would
have resulted in the burial tomb being emptied.
That Paul does not specifically mention the empty tomb keeps this from being
as strong a point as it could have been. Still, to say so clearly that Jesus'
dead body was buried, raised, and appeared would be a rather strange process
unless the tomb had been vacated in the process.
(5) Many scholars also concede that Acts 13 may very well contain another
early tradition, an early sermon account that was included in a book that was
written at a later date. This report, found in Acts 13:29-31, 36-37, is
attributed to Paul and clearly teaches that Jesus' body was placed in a tomb.
Then he was raised and appeared to His followers without undergoing any bodily
decomposition. If so, here we would have an early text where Paul even more
strongly acknowledged the empty tomb, because Jesus appeared and his body did
not experience any decay.
(6) According to reports that are found in Matthew 28:11-15, Justin
Martyr3 and Tertullian,4 for almost two centuries or
more, the Jewish leaders tried to explain that the tomb was empty because
Jesus' disciples stole His body. This means that the Jewish hierarchy even
acknowledged the fact that Jesus' body was no longer there!
However, even skeptics freely recognize that the explanation provided by the
Jewish leaders was exceptionally weak. For example, if the disciples stole
Jesus' body, how can we account for their incredible transformations, such as
forfeiting their family years, as well as their jobs, health, and even their
peace, all for the right to be chased for decades around the Roman Empire, just
so they could preach a message that they clearly knew was a false tale?
Further, how do we explain their willingness to die for what they knew was a
false proclamation of Jesus' resurrection? Moreover, how does this explanation
allow us to account for the conversion of Jesus' brother James, who had
rejected Jesus' message? And we also lack any convincing reason for Paul's
conversion from Judaism. So, all for the sake of providing a clearly
unconvincing alternative account, the Jewish leaders even admitted the empty
tomb!
(7) A word should be said about the scholarly thesis of N.T.
Wright5 and others. In the ancient world—whether pagan, Jewish, or
Christian—writings up until the second century A.D. were in complete agreement
that the very definition of resurrection was clearly a bodily notion. In
fact, there are almost no exceptions to this ancient view that being raised
from the dead is something that, if it ever occurred, could happen only to the
body. So it had this same meaning throughout the Old Testament and Gospel
accounts, as well as in Paul's writings and the rest of the New Testament
teaching about Jesus. This would indicate that Jesus' resurrection was
conceived in a bodily manner, necessitating that the tomb was
empty.6
Conclusion
These are some of the reasons why a majority of contemporary scholars
recognize the fact of the empty tomb. Still other arguments could be
provided, as well. That is why historian Michael Grant concludes
that "the historian . . . cannot justifiably deny the empty tomb" because if we
apply the same historical criteria that we use elsewhere, then "the evidence is
firm and plausible enough to necessitate the conclusion that the tomb was
indeed found empty."7
In light of arguments such as those we have produced here, this conclusion
seems to be very difficult to avoid. The normal application of historical
rules to the various data indicates that, just shortly after his death, Jesus'
tomb was indeed found empty.
End Notes
1Regarding the suggestion that Jesus was never buried in a tomb,
see the nine criticisms listed in Gary R. Habermas, The Historical Jesus:
Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ (Joplin, MO: College Press, 1996), pp.
127-129.
2An excellent discussion of these issues is provided in Carolyn
Osiek, "The Women at the Tomb: What are they Doing There?" Ex Auditu, Vol. 9
(1993), pp. 97-107.
3Dialogue with Trypho 108.
4On Spectacles 30.
5The Resurrection of the Son of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press,
2003).
6Wright, pp. 32-479, especially pp. xix, 31, 71, 82-83, 201-206,
273, 314, 710.
7Michael Grant, Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels (New
York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992), p. 176.