THE GREAT STONE
See also Did Jesus Really Die

Did Jesus really die?
Did He raise from the grave?

 “And laid it in his own new tomb,
which he had hewn out in the rock:
and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher, and departed.”
Matthew 27:60 KJV

The mangled body of Jesus could not have been nursed or fed during the time of burial, nor could he receive even a sip of water. Jesus was extremely thirsty on the cross, his body was without doubt extremely dehydrated, but he was denied anything but gall and wine vinegar to drink. If Jesus was not dead when he was placed in the tomb, after three days, he would have died of thirst.

The body was wrapped with 100 pounds of spices (John 19:39 KJV). Consider the difficulty of moving with 100 pounds of weight wrapped around you. For Jesus to get up, hop to the door, move that huge stone and overcome the guards, would require a miracle as big as the resurrection itself.

The tomb was guarded. The law provided for the death of the guards if they allowed their prisoners to escape, see Acts 16:27. If the guards even fell asleep while on duty they were burnt with their own clothing. The guards were on duty only for four hours at a time so they were not sleep deprived. We can safely conclude the guards did not naturally fall asleep at their post. If the disciples had overpowered them they would have used this as their defense, see Matthew 28:13.

The tomb was sealed. The seal stood for the power and authority of the Roman Empire. The consequences of breaking the seal were severe. Breaking the seal meant automatic execution upside down by crucifixion.

The stone was huge and very heavy. “…and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher…,” Matthew 27:60 KJV. The stone, no doubt, was moved only by the exertion of several strong men. If Jesus was a mere physical man, with all these bruises, he would not have had the strength to move the stone away.

Gordon's Tomb:
Just north of Jerusalem’s Damascus gate is the Garden tomb or Gordon’s tomb, named after the English general who tried to prove its authenticity in the early 1900’s .

•          The tomb is at the foot of a hill that, up until the 1940’s, was an exact representation of a skull. Even today the shape of a skull can be seen, “Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha),” John 19:17 NIV.

•          Tradition says that criminals were executed in the area of Gordon’s tomb.

•          “At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid,” John 19:41. When excavation was first done remains of an ancient garden was evident.

•          “Joseph took the body… and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock,” Matthew 27:59-60. Your author walked all the way around the ancient city of Jerusalem. Though there are 1,000’s of tombs in the area this is the only one hewn out of solid rock.

•          “…and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid,” John 19:41. When the tomb was discovered in the 1940’s, scientific tests were performed on the dust and dirt that was found within and there was absolutely no evidence of any human or animal remains in that dirt. This is very odd because there has been a constant struggle to find just a tiny piece of ground where loved ones could be buried near Jerusalem.

•          Mark tells us that the angel sat on the right side of the tomb. On the right side of Gordon’s tomb there is plain evidence that a shelf once existed where the bodies could be laid,” Mark 16:5.

•          The stone door was “great” Matthew 28:2; Mark 16:3, 4. The stone door on Gordon’s tomb must have been about at least two feet thick according to the doorway track that still exists.

•          The marks on the outside wall of Gordon’s Tomb and the location of the stone stopper indicate that the doorway stone was about a 15’ high.

•          It has been calculated that a 5’ X 1 ½’ stone would weigh upwards to 2 ton and would require 20 men to roll.

•          It would follow that a 10’ stone would weigh 4 ton and require 40 men to roll.

•          And a 15’ stone would weigh 6 tons and require 60 men to move?

•          The stone was probably on an incline with wedges holding in place. All that Joseph and Nicodemus had to do to seal the tomb was to knock out the wedges.

•          John records, “They stooped down to look in…” John 20:5, 11.

•          To enter Gordon’s tomb a person has to step up not down, however, they may have bowed down and placed their hands on the floor of the tomb in order to bend in and see in the darkness. The Greek word used here means to lean over as to peer within.

If Jesus was a mere physical man with all these burses, he would not have had the strength to move the stone away.

Some have suggested that Jesus’ body was placed somewhere else and was never in the tomb that was guarded by the soldiers. This idea will not hold water for two reasons. The Jews were no fools. They would not have gone to all the work of getting Roman soldiers to seal and guard a tomb just to find out that were guarding an empty whole in the ground. Second, if Jesus was placed in another tomb, how could we possibly explain the opening of this one, on the third day? If the tomb could remain closed and sealed for three days the Jews could have proven Jesus’ words were wrong and they would have been the winners.

Matthew says the stone was great. Mark records that the stone was very great. The stone must have been very large and very heavy but the true greatness of this stone is in the fact that it proves beyond any shadow of doubt that Jesus died and was miraculously raised from the dead. This being true we can also have hope for our own resurrection. If Jesus, while dead, had power enough to raise himself from the dead, Jesus now living, will have not problem raising us.

This column lists books
that can be viewed from this website.

Just click on the book title

We Can Know . . .

There is a God in Heaven

Jesus Is God

We can know our understanding of the Bible is accurate. Bible Study

 There Is A Literal Heaven

The Way To Heaven

America's Providential Heritage

What Made America Great? Home page

What God says about Homosexuality

What Is Hell Like?

Yielding To The Master's Hands