"Upon this most momentous question every one of the Christian writers
is at variance with every other." (Amberley's "Analysis of Religious
Belief," p. 273.)
They differ as to the number of women who visited the sepulcher. John
mentions only one; Matthew names two, Mary Magdalene and the other
Mary. Mark says there were three, the two Marys and Salome. Luke says
there were more than three, the two Marys, Joanna, and certain others
with them. They differ as to the number of persons in white seen
at the sepulcher. Mark mentions one, "a young man." Matthew speaks
of one, an angel. Luke says there were two men, and John that there
were two angels. They disagree us to what was said by the persons in
white. According to Matthew and Mark, they spoke of the resurrection
of Jesus and his departure into Galilee, and sent a message to his
disciples commanding them to follow him thither. In Luke they simply
said that he was risen, and referred to a former prediction of his to
this effect. In John they simply asked Mary, "Woman! why weepest thou?"
Discrepancies as to where Jesus went after his resurrection. Matthew,
dismissing Jesus from history with these words, "Go ye therefore and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost" (28 : 19), seems to know nothing of the ascension; for
it in utterly incompatible with the assumption that he is an honest
and faithful historian. He could not possibly neglect recording so
important an event had he known it, and the plain inference--the
irresistible conclusion is that if he did not record it, it was
because no such thing had occurred.
See with what brevity Mark concludes the career of Jesus. Mark gives
these as the parting words of Jesus: "So then after the Lord had spoken
unto them he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand
of God." (16 : 19.)
How brief is the description of this wonderful scene! No writer that
had witnessed such a sight could possibly condense his thoughts and
feelings concerning it into one sentence. He would have had much to
say; namely, of his own thoughts and emotions on the occasion, and what
other witnesses said and did at the time the event occurred. Writers
who go into particulars on less marvelous affairs would not be
likely to dash off the most wonderful event that had ever happened
before human eyes in one sentence. The thing is utterly improbable and
incredible. "He was received up into heaven" reveals the credulity and
superstition of the times. How could the writer know where he had gone,
if he had once passed away from his sight? Moreover, he knew nothing
of a local heaven or of a personal God, yet he says that Jesus "sat
(down) on the right hand of God," as though the Infinite Power which
pervades the universe had two hands and was made in the image of man!
The only rational explanation we can put upon such language is to
suppose it written by one who was not present at the time referred to,
but had heard of it and had undertaken to give his version of what
he heard, perhaps in the attempt trying to reconcile two or three
different versions of the story, and at the same time weave in his own
opinion on the subject. At any rate, whoever wrote it, the writer does
not claim to have been an eye-witness, and the legendary character
of the account proves that the myth had been handed down to him.
Luke (24 : 50, 51) says: "And he led them out as far as to Bethany,
and he lifted up his hands and blessed them; and it came to pass
while he blessed them, he was parted from them and carried up into
heaven." This version leaves out the sitting on the right hand of
God--yet it has the same superstition of a local heaven--of which the
writer speaks as if he had as positive and distinct knowledge as he
claims to have of Jesus and his resurrection.
If Matthew closes without giving us anything of the after life and
death of Jesus--if he breaks off abruptly without giving us any
insight into the feelings of the disciples, Luke does not. He says
that after they had witnessed the departure of Jesus they worshiped
him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. (24 : 52.) But this
is totally unnatural. We cannot imagine disciples rejoicing in the
loss of their friend. It is not human nature to be glad on such
occasions. We always grieve in parting with friends. The father
grieves when he parts with his son, the mother weeps when she gives
the parting kiss to her daughter. It may be said in reply that the
disciples had faith that Jesus had gone to heaven. But this will not
meet the difficulty, for Christian mothers believe when they part with
their sweet, innocent babes that they go straight to heaven, but does
this belief dry their tears or soothe their anguished hearts? No,
those mothers are frequently tormented to frenzy and even madness
by the intense grief occasioned by loss of their dear ones. It is
human nature to grieve upon the loss of friends, but here we find
disciples who do not mourn when their dearest friend has departed
from them. They were glad of it, and so they "returned to Jerusalem
with great joy." Such a paragraph as this could have been inserted
in the story by some subsequent writer, but never could have been
written by one who had witnessed such an event. Another feature of
this description, as given by Luke, is that it seems to be a slightly
varied copy of the account given of Elijah. "And it came to pass,
as they still went on, and talked, that behold there appeared a
chariot of fire and horses of fire and parted them both asunder;
and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." (2 Kings 2 : 11.)
How closely Luke's account seems to resemble this! "And he led them
out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed
them. And it came to pass while he blessed them he was parted from
them and carried up into heaven." (Luke 24 : 50, 51.) "And when he
had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a
cloud received him out of their sight." (Acts 1 : 9.)
How suggestive is the fact that the writers do not undertake to
tell how he was translated! The writer of the book of Kings gives
us a "chariot of fire" and "a whirlwind" as the modus operandi of
translating Elijah from one world to the other (?), but here there are
no agencies mentioned, and so far as the writers are concerned, there
seems to be nothing incomplete or unreasonable in the statements that
he "was carried up into heaven," and "was taken up and a cloud received
him out of their sight." We must suppose that persons witnessing such
an extraordinary event would have some notions as to the means used
in translating Jesus above the clouds, and that they could not fail
to express them in giving an account of what they had seen. Their
silence on this point, and the utter incredibility of the story make
it apparent that the writer is merely recording myths.
The last chapters of John are silent concerning the ascension. Now,
as it is generally admitted by the best biblical critics that the
last twelve verses of the last chapter of Mark are spurious, we
have then only one of the four biographers of Jesus who mentions the
ascension. It is utterly improbable that these three other writers
should deliberately refuse to give an account of the greatest event
they had ever seen. We must consider the discrepancies of the writers
concerning the number of days that Jesus remained on earth after
his resurrection.
According to Luke's account, he did not remain on earth one
day. "To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise" (Luke 23 : 43)--that
is, in heaven; see 2 Cor. 12 : 4. In this same twenty-third chapter of
Luke, Jesus does not ascend until the third day after his crucifixion;
and in Acts 1 : 3, it is recorded that he was "seen of them forty
days."
Another slight discrepancy occurs in relation to the length of time
Jesus was in the grave. Matthew says (12 : 40), "For as Jonas was
three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of man be three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth." But as Jesus was
only two nights and one day in the grave there is no analogy between
the two, hence the statement is radically erroneous.
An orthodox clergyman critic explains this seeming contradiction
in this way: "In regard to Jesus being only one day and two nights
in the grave, the very same quantity of time 'three days and three
nights,' and which according to our computation was one whole day,
parts of two others and two whole nights, is termed three days and
three nights in the book of Esther. There is no impropriety in this
interpretation." The word "interpretation" as here used is slightly
equivocal, as is also the phrase "according to our computation." It
is peculiar to mathematics that it does not change according to our
computation or any kind of interpretation. It is always true that
two and two make four whether the book of Esther acknowledges the
fact or not. And it not only damages the gospels to bring forth this
sort of evidence, but it seriously derogates from the inspiration of
the book of Esther, which thus attempts in defiance of arithmetic to
make one day and two nights into three days and three nights.
No one saw Jesus come from the grave. When Mary Magdalene came to the
sepulcher, "Behold there was a great earthquake, for the angel of the
Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from
the door and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning and his
raiment white as snow. And for fear of him the keepers did shake and
become as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women,
Fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He
is not here, for he is risen as he said. Come see the place where
the Lord lay." (Mat. 28 : 2-6.)
We have here the stone at the door of the sepulcher, and yet the body
of Jesus had risen and departed from the tomb. There would seem to be
no need in closing the grave after he had risen. But a more serious
criticism must be made upon the fact that it is not pretended that
there was any eye-witness of Jesus coming from the sepulcher. We
have only the word of an angel, but as a story abounding with
conversations of angels is legendary we are not permitted to take
their testimony. Besides, we have serious contradictions concerning
the number of angels seen. Matthew says there was one angel, and that
he rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it. Mark says
that when Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome,
had brought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him; and
very early in the morning, etc. "And they said among themselves, Who
shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher? And when
they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away, for it was very
great. And entering, they saw a young man sitting on the right side,
clothed in a long white garment, and they were affrighted." (16 : 1-3.)
Luke also says the stone was rolled away when the women came to the
sepulcher, and upon entering in, behold "two men" stood by them in
shining garments. John says Mary saw two angels in white sitting, the
one at the head and the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had
lain. Besides, she sees the stone rolled away from the door. Matthew
records the descent of an angel from heaven; the other biographers of
Jesus know nothing of this starting point of the angel. Matthew here
says that the angel rolled away the stone from the door, but Mark,
Luke, and John say that the stone was rolled from the door of the
sepulcher when Mary Magdalene came to it. Matthew here relates that
Mary Magdalene saw an angel sitting upon the stone at the door outside
of the sepulcher, but Mark says she saw a young man sitting down inside
the sepulcher. Luke avers that she saw two men standing inside of it,
and John affirms that Mary Magdalene sees two men sitting, "one at
the head and the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain;"
but they do not tell her that Jesus had risen, as did the angel in
Matthew, and the young man in Mark, and the two men in Luke.
According to John, Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene. But
according to Luke Jesus did not first appear to Mary Magdalene, but
to two persons traveling from Jerusalem to Emmaus: the name of one
of them we are told was Cleopas. (Luke 24 : 13.) But this appearance
of Jesus to brethren who were not apostles is clearly legendary. The
other synoptics seem to know nothing of it. It is wholly improbable
that Jesus should, after his resurrection, appear first of all to
two unknown Christians after this manner and accompany them upon such
a journey.
Now all the attendant circumstances of this event are mysterious,
inexplicable, and improbable; and the closing paragraph removes
the account beyond sober history. "And it came to pass as he sat at
meat with them, he took bread and blessed it and broke and gave to
them. And their eyes were opened and they knew him, and he vanished
out of their sight." (Luke 24 : 30, 31.)
"Their eyes were holden," is superstitious, and as for his vanishing
out of sight, we have the most unmistakable traces of legend--the
fruit of ignorance and childish imagination.
We are called upon to believe that with feet, the bones of which were
broken and crushed with the spikes driven through them on the cross,
he traveled back to Jerusalem about as rapidly as did the two persons
with whom he journeyed to Emmaus. How could he walk upon feet thus
crippled? His hands were yet unhealed, although his fellow-travelers
did not perceive such wounds, nor did they notice that he stepped
haltingly.
He possessed the same material body which he had before his death. He
could be seen and touched. All of which shows that he not only
possessed a physical organization, but that it was the same body he
had before his death. And yet this body could vanish from the two
unknown brethren at Emmaus, it could travel rapidly, it could come in
through closed doors, it could ascend from earth out of sight contrary
to the laws of gravitation; he had flesh and bones, and could eat and
drink. "And when he had thus spoken he showed them his hands and his
feet, and while they believed not for joy and wondered, he said unto
them, Have ye any meat? And they took and gave him a piece of broiled
fish and honeycomb, and he took it and did eat before them." (Luke
24 : 41-43.)
It is useless to attempt any explanation of this difficulty by calling
his body a spiritual body. The disciples on this occasion, when Jesus
suddenly appeared among them, thought they had seen a spirit, but Jesus
wishing to disabuse their minds, said, "Behold my hands and my feet,
that it is I myself; handle me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh
and bones, as ye see me have." (Luke 24 : 39.)
If we accept this plain declaration, then, we are forced to enquire
what became of this physical body. It surely must have died. It is
certain that if he ate and drank, he had a nutritive system--a human
organism--subject to death. And what became of this "corruptible
body?" Matthew and John do not pretend to know anything about the
matter. Mark has no knowledge of the final disposition of his body, for
the last twelve verses of Mark are generally regarded as spurious. Why
should not all these writers have possessed the same information that
Luke pretends to have? They do not write to complement and supplement
the writings of one another, but each claims to give the important
features of Jesus' biography independently. Is not the end of Jesus'
career on earth important, in order to understand his life and
character? Three of the four biographers by their silence say either
that there is no importance to be attached to the ascension of Jesus,
or that it was unknown to them; in other words, that it did not occur.
Passing this, we encounter irreconcilable contradictions between
different writers as to the locality where Jesus appeared to his
disciples after his resurrection. Matthew says the angel at the
sepulcher informed the woman to "go quickly and tell his disciple
that he is risen from the dead, and behold he goeth before you into
Galilee; there ye shall see him." (28 : 7.) "And as they went to
tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them and said, All hail!" (28 :
9.) But as the angel had instructed them to go into Galilee, so also
does Jesus give the same command, "Go tell my brethren that they go
into Galilee, and there shall they see me." (28 : 10.)
Mark gives a very similar account of the woman coming to the tomb
and seeing the "young man," who said, "Be not affrighted; ye seek
Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified; he is risen; he is not here;
behold the place where they laid him. But go your way and tell his
disciples that he goeth before you into Galilee, there ye shall see
him, as he said unto you." (16 : 6, 7.)
The writers of the third and fourth gospels know nothing of any command
to go into Galilee; but on the contrary, Luke relates the command of
Jesus to his disciples to remain where they were until they should
receive blessings from God. "Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until
ye be endued with power from on high." (24 : 49.) Here is manifestly
an entire unconsciousness of any necessity of the disciples for going
into Galilee. For, after giving this command, Luke goes on to say,
"He led them out as far as Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and
blessed them. And it came to pass while he blessed them, he was parted
from them, and carried up into heaven." (24 : 50, 51.)
The two gospels of Mark and Luke make no mention of any journey;
but on the contrary, the immediate ascension of Jesus precludes the
possibility of it. Matthew, who knows nothing of any ascension, gives
this very equivocal statement of the affair: "Then the eleven disciples
went away into Galilee into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them,
and when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted." (28 :
16, 17.) But this is too vague; the point which would most interest
us to know is what they doubted and who it was that doubted. Another
equally vague expression is found in the fourth gospel, where it
is related of Peter and John that they went into the sepulcher,
"Then went in also that other disciple which came first to the
sepulcher, and they saw and believed" (20 : 8); but what they saw
and believed is not made plain, except that they saw an empty tomb,
or at least one which contained only the "linen clothes;" but what
they believed concerning this empty grave we are not informed. If
their belief maintained any correspondence with what they saw, they
believed that they had seen an empty grave. But our difficulties do
not cease; we are surprised that these early visitors of sepulchers
do not see anything of the material in which Jesus was embalmed. It
is recorded that "there came also Nicodemus which at the first came
to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about
an hundred pound weight." (John 19 : 39.)
It is but natural to suppose that if the linen clothes were laid off,
the myrrh and aloes also would be found lying with them, for there
is no probability that Jesus would go abroad a la mummy. We might
ask where the clothes came from that he wore after coming out of the
sepulcher. His own garments had been taken by the soldiery when he
died, that the scripture might be fulfilled (?), but where is the
scripture fulfilled which informs us whence came his resurrection
garments? He did not go into society nude, and yet we have no evidence
that any provisions were made for a new suit of clothes. Some have
supposed that when Mary saw him and mistook him for the gardener
her mistake arose from the fact that he may have been clothed in the
garments of the gardener. But how did he get possession of them?
We must return to the contradictions in regard to the embalmment
of Jesus. Matthew's version excludes the myrrh and aloes. He says,
"And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen
cloth and laid it in his own new tomb." (27 : 59, 60.)
The fourth gospel, as we have seen, relates that when Joseph
of Arimathea and Nicodemus had received the body of Jesus, they
embalmed it in "a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound
weight." Mark knows nothing of this, and his account wholly excludes
it. Joseph "bought fine linen and took him down and wrapped him
in the linen and laid him in the sepulcher." (15 : 46.) "And when
the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James,
and Salome, had bought sweet spices that they might come and anoint
him." (16 : 1.) If the women came on the third day to embalm the
body, they certainly knew nothing of its embalmment on the day of
his death. Luke's version also excludes the version of the fourth
gospel. As in Mark, so in Luke, they came on the first day of the week
to perform this rite of embalmment. "And they [the women] returned and
prepared spices and ointments ... and upon the first day of the week,
very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing
the spices which they had prepared." (23 : 56, and 24 : 1.)
Some exegetes have interpreted this, by saying that "the women came
to embalm the body of Jesus, being wholly ignorant of what Joseph and
Nicodemus had done." This might be sufficient if it were not for the
fact that the women saw Jesus after he was put in the tomb. "And Mary
Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus beheld where he was laid." (Mark
15 : 47.) Matthew corroborates this: "And there was Mary Magdalene
and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulcher" (27 : 61)
when Jesus was placed in it.
The obvious meaning of these texts is that they saw him wrapped in
"the fine linen" and laid away in the tomb. Here, then, are the
contradictory statements. The writer of the fourth gospel relates
how Jesus was embalmed on the day of his death; the writers of the
second and third gospels state that the women came on the third day
to perform this service, wholly unconscious of such embalmment having
taken place on the day of Jesus' death; while the writer of the first
gospel knows nothing of the embalmment on the day of his death, nor
of the intended embalmment on the third day. He speaks of the early
visit of the women as coming merely to see the grave. "In the end of
the Sabbath, as it began to dawn, toward the first day of the week,
came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher." (28 : 1.)
Further contradictions are found in the statements of the writers
as to the time when the women prepared the spices. Mark says (16 :
11), that when the "Sabbath was past" the women bought spices with
which to anoint the body of Jesus. Luke says they bought them before
the Sabbath; "And they returned and prepared spices and ointments,
and rested on the Sabbath day." (23 : 56.)
Jesus Foretells his Resurrection.
There are a number of passages in the gospels which show that Jesus
told his disciples over and over again that he should rise on the third
day, and there are other passages which as plainly show that they
had no thought of any such resurrection when the third day came. If
he repeatedly told his followers that he was to be put to death in
Jerusalem and rise again the third day, we must conclude that his
disciples would remember his sayings and that at least some of them
would wait for the third day to come, expecting to see the miracle
transpire. But we are astounded to read over and over again of this
"rising again the third day," and yet find no friend remembering or
expecting the event when the third day came. It is urged that Jesus'
followers did not understand his words, but this will not meet the
case. If several of these disciples were intelligent enough to write
the biography of their Master they could not have been so stupid as
not to understand such plain words; besides, we must remember that
his enemies understood him.
The Pharisee said to Pilate, "Sir, we remember that the deceiver said
while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again."
Pilate said, "Ye have a watch, go your way, make it sure as ye
can." The disciples could not have failed to understand him, because
it was a special effort on the part of Jesus to show that he must
die and rise again on the third day.
"But their eyes were holden that they should not know him." (Luke
24 : 16.)
This miraculous blindness is too irrational to discuss. It is certain
that if their eyesight was good enough to see what was in the tomb
"when it was yet dark" (John 20 : 1), they would surely recognize
an intimate friend if they journeyed with him in the highway in the
middle of the afternoon.
"From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples how
that he must go up to Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders
and chief priests and scribes and be killed, and be raised again the
third day." (Mat. 16 : 21.)
"And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of
man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: And they shall kill him,
and the third day he shall rise again." (Mat. 27 : 22, 23.)
"And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in
the way and said unto them, Behold we go up to Jerusalem and the
Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chiefs and priests and unto
the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver
him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him:
and the third day he shall rise again." (Mat. 20 : 17-19.)
"And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many
things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests and
scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he spoke
that saying openly." (Mark 8 : 31.)
There is not a chance to refer this prediction to the esoteric
teachings of Jesus, for he "spake that saying openly."
"For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is
delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him, and after
that he is killed he shall rise the third day." (Mark 9 : 31.)
"And he took again the twelve and began to tell them what things should
happen unto him, saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of
man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and
they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles,
and they shall mock him, and shall scourge him; and shall spit upon
him; and the third day he shall rise again." (Mark 10 : 32, 33.)
"The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders
and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third
day." (Luke 9 : 22.)
"Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we
go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written concerning the
Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the
Gentiles, and shall be mocked and spitefully entreated and spitted
upon; and they shall scourge him, and put him to death, and the third
day he shall rise again." (Luke 18 : 31-33.)
These teaching are so plain and repeated so often that it is
inconceivable that his disciples should not comprehend his meaning. If
these passages had been as enigmatical as the following, there might
have been some grounds for the claim of ignorance or dullness on the
part of the disciples: "For as Jonas was three days and three nights
in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three
nights in the heart of the earth." (Mat. 12 : 40.)
But the above predictions have nothing dark or obscure about them. The
time of his resurrection is always specified as the third day.
None of the Disciples Looking for a Resurrection.
With these numerous predictions of his resurrection before us, let us
see whether they can be made to harmonize with other statements on the
subject. When immediately after the transfiguration Jesus warns his
disciples not to reveal what they had seen until after he had risen
from the dead, we are told that they questioned among themselves
"what rising from the dead should mean." (Mark 9 : 2.)
How is it possible that such doubt and surprise could be expressed
by men who had first witnessed the resurrection of Moses and Elias,
and who had also seen the resurrection of the daughter of Jairus,
the son of the widow of Nain and Lazarus!
Now it is plain that if they had ever witnessed these miraculous
resurrections, they could not possibly have wondered "what the rising
from the dead should mean." Both statements cannot be true, for if
they thus wondered, it is proof enough that they had never seen the
dead raised to life; and if they did not so express themselves, then
the gospels are unhistorical. That they never queried in this manner
among themselves is evident from the fact that the resurrection from
the dead was at that time a doctrine generally accepted by the Jews. It
is evident that those who undertook the embalmment of Jesus had no
thought of his resurrection within forty-eight hours. But suppose it
conceded that Jesus was deserted by his immediate friends, and his body
handed over to Joseph and Nicodemus, who embalmed it in "a mixture of
myrrh and olives about one hundred pound," possibly being ignorant
of the repeated predictions of his resurrection on the third day,
which were made to the disciples; still this is unavailing, as the
disciples are also ignorant of any rising from the dead to take place
on the third day. The women undertook the task of embalming the body
of Jesus, but they seem not to have got fully prepared for the task
until the third day. When his body was taken down from the cross and
wrapped in linen and put in the sepulcher, "the women also which came
with him from Galilee followed after, and beheld the sepulcher and how
his body was laid, and they returned and prepared spices and ointments,
and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment. Now upon the
first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the
sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared." (Luke 23 :
55, 56, and 24 : 1.)
"In the end of the Sabbath as it began to dawn toward the first
day of the week, came Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary to see the
sepulcher." (Mat. 27 : 61.)
These two writers, while not agreeing on the object of the women's
visiting the sepulcher, nevertheless do agree that they did not go
expecting to see the sepulcher empty.
This early visit was made ostensibly to anoint or embalm the body
of Jesus. Mary Magdalene and the other women did not even dream of a
resurrection--she did not come expecting to find the tomb empty, but
was concerned to know how they should remove the stone from the mouth
of the tomb. It is evident that if she had heard Jesus say repeatedly
that on the third day after his death he would rise again, she would
not have forgotten it; and if she had, she must have recollected his
predictions when she found the grave empty. In fact she never once
thinks of a resurrection, but when she sees the empty grave, exclaims,
"They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not
where they have laid him." (John 20 : 2.)
Luke says that, "As the women were much perplexed thereabout, behold
two men stood by them in shining garments, and as they were afraid,
and bowed themselves to the earth [people usually run away when they
are frightened] they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the
dead? He is not here, but is risen; remember how he spoke unto you
when he was yet in Galilee, saying: The Son of man must be delivered
into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day
rise again. And they remembered his words." (Luke 24 : 5-8.)
This is evidently an afterthought, an effort to fill out an imperfect
record, but the patch is too perceptible; for had it been that
the women needed only to have their memory jogged to recollect the
prediction of Jesus concerning his rising from the dead on the third
day, we may infer that a similar reminder would refresh the memory
of the eleven, but on the contrary they scouted the idea of such
a thing. The women "returned from the sepulcher and told all these
things unto the eleven, and the rest ... And their words seemed to
them as idle tales, and they believed them not." (24 : 9, 11.)
Mark also says that the eleven did not believe the story of Mary
Magdalene: "She went out and told them that had been with him, as they
mourned and wept. And they, when they had heard that he was alive,
and had been seen of her, believed not." (16 : 10, 11.)
They also had not so much as a dream of the resurrection of Jesus. They
were not waiting and watching for the third day to come that they
might see the predictions of Jesus fulfilled and their hearts filled
to overflowing with joy at the sight. They were not at the sepulcher,
as we might naturally expect. True, it was not too early for the
women impelled by human love to be there with ointments and spices;
but the eleven who were baptized with heavenly love (John 20 : 22),
entertained not the first thought of visiting the grave. And even when
the marvelous scenes witnessed by the women are clearly stated to the
eleven who had heard him teach that he must go up to Jerusalem and be
killed and the third day rise again--who had heard this teaching and
prediction repeatedly and openly, and in the plainest language, and yet
did not believe anything in it or in the report of the women--all this
is simply incredible. We are forced to conclude that if they were not
at the tomb on the third day, and scouted the story of the women--for
"their words seemed to them as idle tales"--they had never once heard
Jesus say he would rise from the dead on the third day.
Luke says, that of the eleven only Peter went to the sepulcher, and
that stooping down "he saw the linen clothes laid by themselves, and
departed wondering in himself at that which had come to pass."
(24 : 12.)
He wonders, but expresses no thought of a resurrection. The writer
of the fourth gospel contradicts Luke in saying that there were two
persons who went to the sepulcher on that occasion. "Peter therefore
went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulcher.... Then
went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulcher,
and he saw and believed. For as yet they knew not the Scripture,
that he must rise again from the dead." (John 20 : 3, 9, 10.)
"He saw and believed," but we are not told what he believed. He did not
certainly believe in the resurrection of Jesus. "For as yet they knew
not the Scripture, that he must rise again." This passage is plainly
legendary. It belongs to a later age when the dogma began to control
the minds of Christians; for it is true that the early Christians
did not insist so much upon the evidence of miracles as they did
upon the prophecies. It must have been written long after that time,
for it is not the "scriptures" they needed to know to be informed
concerning his resurrection, but the plain language of Jesus which he
had with special effort, and in an open manner uttered in their ears
but a few days before. It was wholly needless for them to know the
scriptures in order to recollect these prophetic predictions. Regard
these statements as we may, they are certainly unhistorical. For if
Jesus so frequently spoke of his death and subsequent resurrection,
then it is certain that they would have remembered his words, and
if they had not cherished them with faith, yet when they had heard
from the women of the empty grave, they would without doubt, have
recalled his predictions, and claimed their fulfillment. But they
do no such thing. They said of the women's story what was probably
true, that "their words seemed to them as idle tales, and [therefore]
they believed them not."
The Evidence of Paul on the Resurrection of Jesus.
He gives his testimony in this form: "For I delivered unto you first
of all that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures, and was buried, and that he rose again
the third day according to the Scriptures. And that he was seen by
Cephas, then by the twelve. After that he was seen of above five
hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain unto this
present, but some are fallen asleep. After that he was seen by James,
then by all the Apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also,
as of one born out of due time." (1 Cor. 15 : 4-8.)
In this statement Paul does not pretend to have witnessed the event
himself, but preaches it as a doctrine which he had "received." He
speaks of it as a tradition, "that Christ died for our sins according
to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again
the third day according to the Scriptures."
This language betrays the influence of the dogma of a later date;
for the writer in speaking of the five hundred by whom Jesus was
said to have been seen says, "of whom the greater part remain unto
this present [day] but some are fallen asleep." "Unto this present"
[day] shows that the writer is making his record long after the event.
Paul wrote probably about twenty-five years after the date of the
events he records. And the writers of the gospels also wrote at a
late date. Matthew says, "And this saying is commonly reported among
the Jews until this day." (28 : 15.)
The phrase "until this day" points out the fact that the gospel records
were not completed until long after the time of their occurrence. In
addition to this, there were many gospels recording the life and
doings of Jesus. "Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth
in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed
among us." (Luke 1 : 1.) "Believed among us"--he did not know, but
merely believed these things. Now suppose we had these other gospels,
what harmony could we expect to find among the imaginary five hundred
if they had left a record of what was "most surely believed."
"He was seen by Cephas." It is significant of Paul's independence,
that while the writers of the four gospels all explicitly declare that
Jesus first appeard to Mary Magdalene, Paul knows nothing of such an
appearance. That he makes no mention of this first appearance of Jesus
is evidence that he wrote independently of others, as he said he did,
and also that he wrote before the evangelists wrote. He had no honors
to bestow upon women, as his writings show, and if he had ever heard
of this appearance to Mary Magdalene, he concluded that it was "an
idle tale." (Luke 24 : 11.)
It is noticeable also that although this doctrine is "received" as
a prediction of the scriptures, yet no one is recorded in either of
the gospels or writings of Paul as having seen Jesus rise from the
sepulcher. Even though it is affirmed that Mary Magdalene and the
other Mary had seen the angel from heaven roll back the stone from
the mouth of the sepulcher, yet they did not witness any resurrection.
All that Paul "received" on this subject was the current traditions. As
a Pharisee, he believed in the doctrine of a general resurrection,
and it was most natural for him to accept such tradition into his
belief. That he wrote under the influence of a later age, when the
dogma began to assume character, is manifest in the recourse he has to
scripture evidences. "And that he rose again the third day according
to the Scriptures." (1 Cor. 15 : 4.) But the passages usually cited as
proof-predictions that Jesus should rise from the dead, when examined,
cannot be regarded as Messianic at all; for the idea of a suffering
Messiah was wholly foreign to the Jewish mind. The scriptures usually
cited are Isaiah 53; Psalms 22 and 69; Psalms 16 : 10; Hosea 6 : 2.
As illustrating the free use made of the scriptures, we have only to
compare Matthew 12 : 40 with parallel passages of Mark and Luke. Mark
(8 : 11), says, "And the Pharisees came forth and began to question
with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. And he
sighed deeply in his spirit and saith, Why doth this generation seek
after a sign? Verily I say unto you, there shall no sign be given
unto this generation."
Luke (11 : 29-31) states that "when the people were gathered thick
together, he began to say, This is an evil generation; they seek a
sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the
prophet. For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall the
Son of man be to this generation."
Matthew gives two versions of this incident, "A wicked and adulterous
generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall be no sign but the
sign of the prophet Jonas." (16 : 4.) "Certain of the scribes and
of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from
thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous
generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to
it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. For as Jonas was three days
and three nights in the whale's belly so shall the Son of man be three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Mat. 12 : 38-41.)
Here it will be observed is an illustration of the growth of the
dogma and myth in adding this reference to Jonas. And it is highly
significant that the application of the myth of Jonas is wholly
fanciful, as the passage referred to (Jonah 1 : 17.) has not the
slightest character of prophecy. That the scriptures are evidently
tortured is obvious from the fact that Jesus was only one day and two
nights in the heart of the earth, and, as before said, the passage
is not prophetic; besides, its varied form in the gospels plainly
shows it to be a myth.
"He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve, and after that he was
seen by above five hundred brethren at once." But there were only
eleven Apostles until after the ascension, when Matthias was elected
to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Judas. "And they gave
forth their lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered
with the eleven apostles." (Acts 1 : 26.)
This election of Matthias took place after the ascension. He could not
therefore have been seen by the "twelve" after his ascension (and there
were not twelve until after the ascension), only by the "eye of faith."
That Jesus was seen by above five hundred is nothing more than naked
statement. Paul does not claim to have been one of that number. This
episode, moreover, is not mentioned in any of the four gospels. It
is remarkable that so great an event should be passed over by other
writers also, for not a trace of it can be found elsewhere. It is
difficult for us to understand how this marvelous scene could so
completely perish out of sight of all writers except one who was not
present, but merely heard of it afterward. That Paul may have believed
the story we do not deny--and that he believed that the greater part of
the witnesses "remain unto this present" time. Now if these survivors
remained he does not mention the names of any of them. And besides,
they were not within reach of the Corinthians who might wish to hear
and investigate their testimony, for the Corinthians did not accept
the resurrection of Jesus as a matter of fact.
How could five hundred disciples come together immediately at one
time, when some time after the ascension the number of disciples at
Jerusalem was only one hundred and twenty? (Acts 1 : 15.)
We need to know something of the character of those who gave Paul
this information, and the sources of their knowledge. For it is
all-important to our inquiry to know from whom Paul received these
traditions and what evidences his informants had of the truth of the
story they told. To believe in the reality of these appearances simply
because Paul states that he has "received" his information from others
and believes it to be true, without inquiring as to the character
of his informers, is the blindest credulity. Who were the five
hundred? What did they think of the event? How did Paul or any other
person know what they thought, if there were no written statements
by them? Where and when did the five hundred see the risen Jesus?
"Last of all he was seen by me." In another place he says, "Have I
not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?" (1 Cor. 9 : 1.)
Elsewhere he relates: "But when he was pleased, God, who separated me
from my mother's womb, and called me through his grace to reveal his
son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen, immediately
I conferred not with flesh and blood, but I went into Arabia and
returned again to Damascus." (Gal. 1 : 15-17.)
"For neither did I receive it from men nor was taught it, but through
the revelation of Jesus Christ." (Gal. 1 : 11.) We shall find as we
proceed that Paul saw Jesus subjectively. It is quite natural to so
understand his words, "reveal his son in me." Especially does this
seem obvious when we remember that Paul was a man who firmly believed
in visions and revelations. In relating his own experience he states
this fact plainly. "I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago
(whether in the body I cannot tell--God knoweth), such a one caught
up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man (whether in the body or
out of the body, I cannot tell--God knoweth) how that he was caught
up into paradise and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful
for man to utter. Of such an one will I glory." (2 Cor. 12 : 2-4.)
In Acts there are three contradictory accounts of his seeing
Jesus in a vision. "And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus:
and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven. And
he fell to the earth and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul,
why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the
Lord said I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee
to kick against the pricks. And he, trembling and astonished, said,
Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise,
and go into the city, and it will be told thee what thou must do. And
the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice,
but seeing no man." (Acts 9 : 3-7.)
A second version is in this form: "And it came to pass that as I made
my journey and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there
shone from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell unto the
ground, and heard a voice saying unto me Saul, Saul, why persecutest
thou me? And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me,
I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And they that were
with me saw indeed the light and were afraid, but they heard not
the voice of him that spoke to me. And I said, Lord, what wilt thou
have me do? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus,
and there it shall be told thee of all the things which are appointed
for thee to do." (Acts 22 : 6-10.)
The third account of the affair is given thus: "Whereupon as I went
to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,
at mid-day, O king, I saw in the way alight from heaven, above the
brightness of the sun, shining round about me. And when we were all
fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, saying, in the
Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for
thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And
he said, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.... Whereupon,
O king, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision." (Acts 26 :
9-19.)
According to the first account the companions of Paul "stood
speechless" (9 : 7); in the third they "all fall to the earth." (26 :
14.) Then again, in the first account it is said that the men "stood
speechless, hearing the voice, but seeing no one." In the second it
is stated that "they that were with me saw indeed the light, but they
heard not the voice." These contradictions do not seem to clothe the
vision of Paul with the acceptable form of harmony.
It will be observed that even in this vision Paul is not described
as seeing Jesus. He sees a light and falls to the ground, and when
he rises he is blind. "And they led him by the hand and brought him
to Damascus. And he was three days without sight." (9 : 8.)
In the continuation of this account Paul has another vision: "And it
came to pass that when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I
prayed in the temple, I was in a trance, and saw him saying unto me,
Make haste and get thee out of Jerusalem." (22 : 17, 18.)
In connection with these visions and revelations it is highly
significant that Paul never claims to have seen Jesus in the flesh, and
he never speaks of the resurrection as material, but as spiritual. "It
is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body." (1 Cor. 15 :
44.) "Who shall change our vile bodies that it may be fashioned like
unto his glorious body," (Phil. 3 : 21.) Evidently there is no claim
for seeing Jesus in the body made by Paul in any of his writings. He
preaches the doctrine of the resurrection, but this doctrine he, as
a Pharisee, believed before he became a Christian. Paul claims that
in a vision he saw Jesus. Luke says that this was also the manner in
which Mary Magdalene and the other women saw Jesus. "And when they
found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a
vision of angels, which said that he was alive." (24 : 2, 3.)
This gives force to the claim of Paul, that his seeing or vision of
Jesus was of the same class as the visions of all the others who had
seen him.
Thus, after a careful examination of the writings attributed to the
immediate followers of Jesus, we find that not one of them says, "I
saw Jesus rise from the grave;" or "I saw Jesus in the flesh after his
resurrection." In legendary style it is frequently repeated that he
"appeared" first to this and then to that one, but there is not the
slightest evidence that any one saw him. And in this connection it
is worthy of remark that Jesus did not appear to any persons except
his friends. This gives better occasion for suspicion that the story
is mythical.
"Him God raised up the third day, and showed him openly, not to all the
people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us who did eat
and drink with him." (Acts 10 : 41.) To appear to a few private friends
for one day does not seem much like bringing life and immortality to
light to the whole world. The method is too narrow and exclusive. And
even of these few friends not one has left the record for us of what
he saw. The writers who have recorded the current traditions of their
time, agree in saying that Mary Magdalene found the grave empty:
further than this the writers do not corroborate one another.
How soon the resurrection of the physical body became popular we
have no means of knowing. It was not certainly until some time after
the writings of Paul were given to the churches, for he, as we have
seen, speaks, of it as a spiritual resurrection. So also does Peter
(1 Peter 3 : 13), speak of Jesus "being slain in the flesh, but made
alive again in the spirit."
The legend became more and more marvelous as it spread
abroad. Enthusiasm inflamed the minds of the ignorant and superstitious
until the subjective visions of Paul became crystalized into objective
realities. His visions, and the visions, revelations and messages
of the angels of others were reduced in popular belief to historical
facts.