New Testament Notes 348-350

Grünewald crucifixion — The Crucifixion, by Mathis Grünewald (ca. 1511-1520)
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

Compare John 19:25-27

I suspect that one of the reasons the women were so visible at the crucifixion of Jesus is that they were at less risk of arrest by the authorities, who may well have had the crowd under surveillance, looking for the apostolic “ringleaders” of the Christian movement.

Bening of Flanders Crucifixion scene — “The Piercing of Christ’s Side”

(Simon Bening, ca. 1525-1530, Flemish)
Wikimedia Commons public domain

John 19:31-37

The gospel of John is here citing Psalm 34:20, where it is said of the Lord that “He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.”

It was important to the understanding of Jesus as the perfect illustration of the Passover lamb that no bone in his body be broken.

Among the instructions given for the Passover meal is this, from Exodus 12:46: “In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof.”

Burial of Jesus Christ — “El entierro de Cristo” (“The Burial of Christ”)
Baltasar de Echave y Rioja (Mexico, ca. 1665)
Wikimedia Commons Public Domain

Compare Mark 16:1

Matthew, Luke, and John say that the tomb in which Jesus was placed was a new one, hewn out of the rock by Joseph of Arimathea, who was the Savior’s living contemporary.

This is one of the reasons why many (including myself) think it highly unlikely that the Garden Tomb was the burial place of Jesus, since archaeological analysis seems to identify the tomb as dating to the eighth-seventh centuries B.C. If this analysis is correct, the tomb wasn’t even remotely “new” in the time of Jesus.

That said, though, I fully concur that the area around the Garden Tomb is a uniquely serene and pleasant place in which to contemplate the death and resurrection of the Savior. Jerusalem today is a crowded and hectic city, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is not only often packed with people but, frankly, something of an offense and an abomination. It’s well-nigh impossible to feel the Spirit there. And, moreover, I think that Gordon’s Calvary, situated directly adjacent to the Garden Tomb property, from which the best view of it is to be had, is very possibly the original Golgotha — and that the actual burial place, perhaps lost under buildings today, cannot be more than a few hundred yards away.

Matthew and Mark say that Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joses, were eyewitnesses to the specific place of Jesus’ burial. And Luke seems to agree.

Some skeptics have alleged that the notion of Christ’s resurrection arose from the simple fact (as they suggest it) that the early believers didn’t know where he was buried and mistakenly identified a nearby empty tomb as his.

To make that claim, though, they’re obliged to toss out portions of the earliest sources. But, if that’s going to be the policy, why not simply throw Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John out altogether?

Posted from En Gev, Israel