It was a huge stone.
According to Mark’s gospel, “it was extremely large” (Mark 16:4). Frank Morison called the stone at Jesus’ tomb
“the one silent and infallible witness in the whole episode—and there are
certain facts about this stone which call for very careful study and
investigation.” He went on to say: “Let
us consider first its size and probable character…no doubt the stone was large
and consequently very heavy. This fact
is asserted and implied by all the writers who refer to it. Mark says it was ‘exceeding great.’ Matthew speaks of it as a ‘great stone.’ Peter says ‘for the stone was great.’ Additional testimony on this point is
furnished by the reported anxiety of the women as to how they should move it
(Mark 16:3). If the stone had not been
of considerable weight the combined strength of three women should have been
capable of moving it. We receive,
therefore, a very definite impression that is was at least too weighty for the
women to move unaided.” (Frank Morison,
Who Moved the Stone?, London: Faber and Faber, 1967).
It has been suggested that the stone weighed somewhere
between 3000 and 4000 lbs. and was of sufficient size and weight such that
“twenty men could not roll away.” The
stone was just one of the security measures Pilate had put in place. He sent a guard (16 soldiers) to secure the
tomb, instructing them to “make it as secure as (they knew) how” (Matthew
27:65). Those Roman soldiers were proud
and capable—they failed in a given task under penalty of death. The guard set a “seal on the stone.” A. T. Robertson commented that the method of
sealing was “probably by a cord stretched across the stone and sealed at each
end as in Daniel 6:17…The sealing was done in the presence of the Roman guards
who were left in charge to protect the stamp of Roman authority and power.”
The soldiers, the seal, and the stone were set in
place. They had done everything they
could to make the grave secure—but how can you lock up the Creator in a
cave? “It was impossible for Him to be
held in (death’s) power” (Acts 2:24). The
entirety of the Roman army would not have been able to keep Jesus tomb bound. The Devil himself could have sealed the tomb
with titanium bands and it would have done him no good. Mountain atop mountain would have not have kept
entombed He “who is the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).
The stone was rolled away not to let Jesus out (the Creator
is not bound by such things), but to let the witnesses in. They came to the tomb and found “an angel of
the Lord (who had) descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and
sat upon it” (Matthew 28:2). They
entered the tomb and saw for themselves, “He has risen, just as He said”
(Matthew 28:6). The Roman soldiers
witnessed the security breach. They went
to the leaders, who then bribed them to lie (Matthew 28:11-15).
He rose from the dead.
He presented Himself alive to the apostles (and others) “by many
convincing proofs” (Acts 1:3; Cf. 1 Corinthians 15:3-80). They, having been commissioned by the Risen
Lord, went forth boldly proclaiming His death and resurrection (Acts 2:23-24;
3:15; 4:10; 4:33; 5:30; 10:39-40; 13:39-40).
Most of them suffered martyrdom for the gospel message that they
preached.
There are many in our day who, in their effort to “suppress
the truth” (Romans 1:18), foolhardily believe that they can somehow shove Jesus
back into the tomb. The problem is—He is
the risen Lord! And He’s coming
again! And no manipulation of man—no
matter how clever or strong—can erase that truth. He lives inside the heart of the believer (2
Corinthians 13:5). The “surpassing
greatness of His power” is at work in their lives (Ephesians 1:19). No grave will hold them either—when Christ
comes for His own (1 Corinthians 15:22-23).
No comments:
Post a Comment