Hearing Jesus’ tomb was empty, Peter and John ran to investigate. Apart from the graveclothes, the tomb indeed was empty. John entered, saw the linen cloths, and believed. What caused him to believe? In their book Evidence for the Resurrection, Josh and Sean McDowell relate the process of preparing a body for burial. The body was carefully washed. Aromatic spices were mixed with myrrh, a substance with a gummy consistency. In Jesus’ case, the myrrh and spices weighed about 100 pounds. Then the body was wrapped in cloth from the feet up, and the mixture was placed between the cloth’s folds. When the encasement hardened, it weighed around 120 pounds. Entering the tomb, John saw a hollow shell! No one could have stolen the body without taking the clothes, but there it was, a hollow encasement in the form of Jesus’ body. No wonder John believed! So should we!
John 19:38-42
John 20:1-10
Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell, Evidence for the Resurrection: What it Means for Your Relationship with God, (Ventura, CA: Regal, 2009), 174-175, 194.
An expanded version of this article titled “An Easter Surprise” is available here.
top image credit: The Garden Tomb, photographed by Phillip Benshmuel
Copyright © 2014 by B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All Rights Reserved.