Delivered Easter Sunday, April 24, 2011
When I was young I read all the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, stories with names like "The Adventure of the Dancing Men" and “The Adventure of the Speckled Band.” I have watched all the PBS Sherlock Holmes episodes starring Jeremy Brett as Holmes. I am presently watching the new PBS Masterpiece Mystery series that puts Sherlock Holme sin the 21st century. I have seen all the films, even the most recent one with Robert Downey Jr as the great detective and Jude Law as Dr. Watson. I most enjoy the old B&W films with Basil Rathbone playing Holmes and Nigel Bruce playing Dr. Watson. The Hound of the Baskervilles still is one of my favorite films of all time.
Today we are going to be investigating a mystery: The Case of the Missing Body. The body I am referring to is, of course, the body of Jesus of Nazareth. There is a television show on CBS called Cold Case that deals with cases that remain unsolved for years. Well, this case is 2000 years old. The whole religion of Christianity is based on the solution to this mystery.
The Gospel of Mark presents this mystery in its earliest form. Most biblical scholars believe that Mark’s gospel is the earliest of the four gospels in the New Testament. Many scholars believe that the gospel originally ended with Mark 16:8. If you have your own Bible you might even have verses 9-20 in brackets with a footnote that says that this ending is not in the earliest extant manuscripts. Therefore the earliest account of Easter might have ended with a missing body without any resurrection appearances. It focused simply on the empty tomb. What happened to the body of Jesus on Easter morning? There are three approaches to solving this case.
I. The first approach assumes there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for the empty tomb, and that nothing strange or supernatural happened on Easter morning.
One theory says that there never really was a missing body - that the body of Jesus was buried and decomposed in time like any other body. Those who hold this view say that the whole Easter story, including the empty tomb and the resurrection appearances, is religious fiction. It is just a myth, a fabrication made up by the church much later. In this case there is no mystery to solve because there was no missing body.
But there is absolutely no historical evidence for this position. People who hold this view simply assume the empty tomb did not happen without even looking at the historical and literary evidence. All the gospels were written within the lifetimes of eyewitnesses to the events of the first Easter. They all agree that the tomb was empty. Even the opponents of Christ in the Gospels, the Jewish religious leaders and the Romans admit the tomb was empty. One might dismiss the idea of a physical resurrection of Jesus because it is scientifically impossible, as far as we know. But there is no reason to dismiss the idea of the empty tomb. Even a strict empiricist like Sherlock Holmes would never do that unless there was some evidence to the contrary. There is no reason to doubt the statement that that the tomb empty on Easter morning. The question then becomes: what happened to the body? What are the possibilities?
One theory is that the disciples stole Jesus' body. We find this idea in Matthew 28:11-15. It says of the guards at Jesus tomb “Some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. 12 When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.” This was the official story from the very beginning.
The explanation defies logic. If the soldiers were asleep, how did they know it was the disciples who took the body? How could the large stone guarding the entrance be rolled away without awakening the soldiers? Furthermore, these men securing the tomb were professional soldiers charged with guarding the tomb with their lives. The punishment for falling asleep on duty was death. They would not have fallen asleep. Air traffic controllers may fall asleep, but these guards would not have! How likely would it be that both fell asleep?
A variation on this idea is that the Jewish religious leaders or the Romans stole Jesus’ body. This is the conclusion that Mary Magdalene immediately jumped to when she saw that the tomb was empty on Easter morning. According to John’s gospel when she saw the empty tomb it says, “2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” But if the authorities had stolen the body, they would have said so when the rumors of Jesus’ resurrection began to circulate.
Another theory is that the disciples went to the wrong tomb on Easter morning. If that were true, the tale wouldn’t have lasted very long. Word would have gotten around quickly and the story corrected. When the apostles started proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus, the Jewish leaders could have directed people to the right tomb and presented the dead body of Jesus! Furthermore the burial accounts make it clear that not only Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimethea (whose tomb it was) but also several women saw where Jesus was laid. What are the chances that Joseph would forget where his own tomb was located?
A third idea is the so-called “swoon theory.” It has popped up repeatedly in recent decades. It was the premise of the best-selling 1965 book, “The Passover Plot” by British Biblical scholar Hugh J. Schonfield. It is repeated occasionally today. This theory says that Jesus was not really dead; he just swooned. He almost died; he had a Near Death Experience. He was either drugged or was so close to death that people back then in ancient times thought he was dead, so they buried him. Then later he woke up, and just walked out of the tomb. Give me a break! If anything is pure fiction, that is! There is no historical evidence for that. Sherlock would just chuckle at that fabrication.
To believe that you would have to believe that Jesus, after being beaten within an inch of his life, crucified for six hours, and pierced with a sword through his side and into his heart, would have been strong enough after awaking to break through the burial garments that bound Him, roll away the large stone that sealed the tomb, fight off the guards protecting the tomb, walk the seven miles to Emmaus where He was seen by the two disciples, walk back to Jerusalem where He was seen by the apostles, all within the same day! It does not seem very reasonable to me.
Fourth is the vision theory. It says that the disciples of Jesus had mass hallucinations or group visions of the risen Christ, which made them think that Jesus had risen from the dead. But even if that were true, it doesn’t solve the mystery of the missing body. Another idea is the ghost theory – also called a spiritual resurrection. This idea is that what the disciples saw on Easter was the spirit of Jesus that had left his body and appeared to the disciples. Again, that doesn’t explain the missing body.
Another idea is the impersonation theory or a case of mistaken identity. A form of this theory is accepted by the religion of Islam. Islam says that Jesus didn’t really die on the cross. They say that God would not have allowed one of his prophets to die in this disgraceful manner. They say someone else died and was buried in his place – possibly Judas Iscariot. That would explain Jesus physically appearing to the disciples on Easter morning, but again it does not explain the empty tomb. In short there are no good natural explanations for the missing body of Jesus. As Sherlock Holmes says, “When all likely explanations are ruled out, any remaining possibility, however unlikely, must be correct.” It is all a matter of logic.
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip, and after finishing their dinner they retired for the night, and went to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes wakes up and nudges his faithful friend. "Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see." "I see millions and millions of stars, Holmes," exclaims Watson. "And what do you deduce from that?" Watson ponders for a minute. "Well, astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Chronologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Theologically, I can see that God is all powerful, and that we are a small and insignificant part of the universe. What does it tell you, Holmes?" "Watson," he exclaims, "It tells me that somebody's stolen our tent!"
II. The empty tomb and resurrection appearances led the eleven apostles and several women disciples of Jesus to eventually conclude that that Jesus had risen from the dead. What makes this theory convincing to me is how resistant the disciples initially were to the idea. Over and over again the gospel accounts say that the disciples did not believe that Jesus rose from the dead.
“9 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. 12 After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either. 14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.” (16:9-14)
The other three gospels repeat this pattern of persistent unbelief. The impression we clearly get from the gospels is that the earliest followers of Jesus were skeptics. They did not, would not, could not accept the resurrection theory to explain the missing body of Jesus. They thought he was a ghost, but Jesus had them touch the wounds in his hands and side. This also disqualified the impersonation theory. The Jesus who really died on the cross was really standing before them. He was not a ghost, a spirit, a vision, a hallucination or an impersonator. This was Jesus. They could not explain it, but they could not deny that this was really Jesus.
Faced with this evidence, the only explanation, as unlikely and unbelievable as it seemed, was that Jesus rose from the dead. The fact that Jesus had predicted that this would happen only confirmed the theory of the resurrection. The fact that Jesus repeatedly appeared to his followers over a period of forty days added more evidence. The apostle Paul wrote in our epistle lesson for this morning (which was written about 55 AD, probably even earlier than any of the gospels), “6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.” Paul had 500 eyewitnesses testify to the resurrection of Jesus.
III. Now it comes down to us. What will we believe? This event was 2000 years ago. How can we really know for sure that Jesus really rose from the dead? You have to admit that it is pretty farfetched. How can we be certain based on ancient documents? Talk about a cold case…. Is there any new evidence?
The apostle Paul’s story of how he came to believe helps here. He was not always the Christian apostle Paul. He was once the anti-Christian Pharisee known as Saul. He was a heretic hunter. He hunted down Christians and had them imprisoned. It all started with he was a young man and participated in – perhaps even orchestrated – the execution by stoning of Stephen, one of the earliest Christians. Paul absolutely did not believe in the resurrection of Jesus. He thought it was a hoax and that Christians were deceived. What changed his mind? He alludes to it in our epistle lesson.
He writes, “6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”
What convinced Paul of the resurrection of Jesus was his own experience of the risen Christ. It was not a physical encounter with the risen Jesus like the eleven first apostles and the women followers had on Easter. This was a spiritual experience. And yet Paul clearly links his spiritual encounter with Christ it to the resurrection of Jesus. The experience convinced him that Jesus had risen from the dead and was alive.
That is what it comes down to for us. I have tried to show that the resurrection of Jesus is a logical explanation for the empty tomb. As unlikely as it seems, the resurrection of Jesus is the best explanation for the empty tomb and the resurrection appearances. But deductive reasoning can only take us so far. For many people it still seems too unbelievable. Then the only thing that will convince us is personal experience. That is what convinced all the disciples. It is what convinced the anti-Christian heretic hunter Saul.
Personal experience convinced me. I didn’t believe in Christ while I was growing up. I was raised in the church, but I did not believe the gospel of Christianity. I went through the motions of confirmation classes and joined the church, but I didn’t really believe any of it. In fact for most of my teen years I considered myself an atheist. When I got to college I became interested in spiritual matters; I was what they would call today “spiritual but not religious.” The only time I sent to church was at Christmas or maybe Easter, and only then when I was home and only to placate my parents. I was more attracted to the spiritual teachings that came out of China, India and Japan. Like Taoism – I loved (and still love) The Tao Te Ching, and the teachings of the Buddha and Zen and Hindu spiritual teachers. Even today I appreciate these teachings. I do not see Christ as a refutation of these, but rather a fulfillment of these. But they were not enough for me; I was still seeking. I read writers like C. S. Lewis, who made a logical case for Christianity, and that brought me closer. But it was not until I was almost 23 years old that I believed in Christ, and that was only because I had an encounter with Christ.
As Paul said about his encounter with Christ and subsequent faith, “By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain.” It comes down to grace. God calls us to himself and we respond in faith. Reason can only take us so far; it comes down to the grace of God and our personal response. If you can’t believe based on the historical evidence and reason, then my only advice is to sincerely ask and seek for God’s grace. As Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” The risen Christ still lives and he still calls disciples to follow him.
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