Islam - Part 10: The Tomb was Empty

Yeshua was publicly executed in Jerusalem.  His post mortem appearances and the empty tomb were first reported in Jerusalem.  If there had still been a body in the tomb, or a body in the possession of any skeptic, it would have been impossible for Christianity to launch from Jerusalem, let alone - grow and thrive as it did.  ​Not only is this the testimony of the New Testament (Acts 2), but Tacitus reports that the church started in Judea (Annals 15:44).

Both the Jewish leaders and Rome knew the tomb was empty... they tried to cover it up!

[Mat 28:11-15 LSB]  Now while they were on their way, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. [12]  And when they had assembled with the elders and took counsel together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, [13]  and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ [14]  “And if this is heard before the governor, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.” [15]  And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.

If Yeshua's enemies had wanted to squash Christianity all they had to do was produce His corpse.  The Jewish leaders and Rome could have easily squashed this hoax by publicly displaying the remains of Yeshua's corpse.  They would've celebrated if they could've produced His corpse... but alas!  No dice... you can't produce a corpse that doesn't exist!

So, now... not only do we have Christianity growing in Jerusalem, we also have the enemy admitting the tomb was empty.  They admitted it by trying to cover it up!

Next, we come to the witness of the women.

If someone concocted a story in an attempt to deceive others, we presume that they would not knowingly invent data that could hurt the credibility of their story. 

For example, we have heard of those who, in attempting to promote themselves, have made up stories about their heroism in the military or of having an education they really did not possess. However, is it normal to invent and spread a story about oneself as a thief or habitual liar?

When we come to the account of the empty tomb, women are listed as the primary witnesses. They are not only the first witnesses mentioned. They are also mentioned in all four gospels, whereas male witnesses appear only later and in two gospels as secondary witnesses.   

This would be an odd invention, since in both Jewish and Roman cultures, women were lowly esteemed and their testimony was regarded as questionable, certainly not as credible as a man's. 

Consider the following Jewish writings: 

"Sooner let the words of the Law be burnt than delivered to women. (Talmud, Sotah 19a)."

"The world cannot exist without males and without females—happy is he whose children are males, and woe to him whose children are females. (Talmud, Kiddushin 82b)."

"But let not the testimony of women be admitted, on account of the levity and boldness of their sex, nor let servants be admitted to give testimony on account of the ignobility of their soul; since it is probable that they may not speak truth, either out of hope of gain, or fear of punishment. (Josephus, Antiquities 4.8.15)."  

"Any evidence which a woman [gives] is not valid (to offer), also they are not valid to offer. This is equivalent to saying that one who is Rabbinically accounted a robber is qualified to give the same evidence as a woman. (Talmud, Rosh Hashannah 1.8)."

Keeping in mind that the disciples were Jews, this provides an interesting context for Luke 24:11: "But these words appeared to them [the disciples] as nonsense, and they would not believe them [the women]." The Greek word employed in this text for "nonsense" means "idle talk, nonsense, humbug".

The Jewish view of women in that period was not unique. Some Romans shared a similarly low view of females. 

The Roman historian Suetonius (c. A.D. 115) writes of Caesar Augustus who was emperor at the time of Yeshua's birth through A.D. 14: "Whereas men and women had hitherto always sat together, Augustus confined women to the back rows even at gladiatorial shows: the only ones exempt from this rule being the Vestal Virgins, for whom separate accommodation was provided, facing the praetor's tribunal. No women at all were allowed to witness the athletic contests; indeed, when the audience clamoured at the Games for a special boxing match to celebrate his appointment as Chief Priest, Augustus postponed this until early the next morning, and issued a proclamation to the effect that it was the Chief Priest's desire that women should not attend the Theatre before ten o'clock."

Given the low first-century view of women that was frequently shared by Jew and Gentile, it seems highly unlikely that the Gospel authors would either invent or adjust such testimonies.

That would mean placing words in the mouths of those who would not be believed by many, making them the primary witnesses to the empty tomb.  Meaning, if the Gospel writers were trying to create/invent a convincible story, one that the public would find believable, they would NOT have used women as the initial testifiers, or primary witnesses!  

Thus, the empty tomb appears to be historically credible in light of the principle of embarrassment.

In, and of itself, an empty tomb means nothing... but now - combine that with reports of a risen Messiah?  Now, we're getting somewhere!

If the tomb was empty because Yeshua rose from the dead, then God exists and eternal life is both possible and available.