This is an excerpt from Pastor Mark’s new book “Alive: 21 Reasons to Believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ” as we count down to Easter. To get your physical copy, CLICK HERE to give a gift of any amount in the month of April to RealFaith to help us get more Bible teaching out. For a FREE digital copy, CLICK HERE. Thank you in advance for your generosity to help us tell more and more people about Jesus.
Luke 24:2-3 – And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
Reason #10: Jesus’ tomb was not enshrined.
A few years ago, I took my family to the Holy Lands to explore biblical archeological sites for ourselves. It was an amazing experience, and I was most excited to trace Jesus’ steps during His last few days on earth. I asked our tour guide if he could take us to Jesus’ tomb, but guess what he said: “Nobody knows where it is.” So I paid $20 to go look at a hole in a rock that could have been what Jesus’ tomb might have looked like, but that’s about as close as we could get.
When a beloved person dies, we mark their grave to honor them. When a prophet or holy person dies, a shrine is made for their followers to visit. Jesus is the most significant figure in the history of the world, but we don’t know where He was buried.
Of the four major world religions based upon a founder, only Christianity lacks a known grave or shrine. Abraham’s Jewish holy site is at Hebron. Buddha’s holy site is in India. Mohammed’s Islamic holy site is in Medina. Each of these graves are visited by millions of people every year.
Scholars have also found the tombs of at least 50 religious leaders enshrined in Jesus’ day, but no sign of Jesus’ burial place. No one knows where Jesus was buried, because He’s no longer dead. Instead, He walked away from His tomb. According to former professor at the University of Durham, James D.G. Dunn, there is “absolutely no trace” of any veneration of Jesus’ tomb.1
- James D.G. Dunn, The Christ and the Spirit (Grand Rapids, MI: Eermans, 1998), 67-68.
Have you seen the marked grave of any famous figures or family members? Thank God for the fact that He rose from the dead and doesn’t have a marked grave.
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