Christians believe that the empty tomb is evidence of Jesus’ resurrection. Some items that support the empty tomb are listed below:
1. Women were the first eye witnesses of the empty tomb.a. Josephus said women cannot be witnesses in court
2. One of the earliest Christian creeds (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) implies an empty tomb.
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…”
3. If the Matthew story is correct:
a. Roman seal was broken, which meant automatic crucifixion upside down for those who did it.
b. The large stone was moved up and away from not just the entrance, but from the entire massive sepulcher, looking as if it had been picked up and carried away.
c. The guard unit had fled. Justin in his Digest 49.16 lists eighteen offenses for which a guard unit could be put to death. These included falling asleep or leaving one’s position unguarded.
The skeptic response to the empty tomb
1. The body could have been stolen.
Christian response:
1. Jews would not have touched a dead body since it was morally wrong to touch a body.
2. The depression and cowardice of the disciples provide a hard-hitting argument against their suddenly becoming so brave and daring as to face a detachment of soldiers at the tomb and steal the body. They were in no mood to attempt anything like that.
Skeptic response:
It would also be morally wrong to trick people. If their intent was to deceive others, wouldn’t doing other morally wrong things (touching a dead body) be something they could do?
2. The body was never placed in a tomb.
3. The body was placed in a wrong tomb.
4. The Swoon Theory – doesn’t hold much weight (strawman argument).