Who Was There?

          When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”  Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons. (Matthew 27:54-56)

          And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there. (Mark 15:39-41)

          and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means. (Luke 8:2-3)

          Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home (John 19:25-27)

                 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. (John 19:38-40)

 

         One of the more misguided theories about Jesus' crucifixion, death and resurrection is that he didn't die. This has been called The Swoon Theory.  The claim is that he passed out, came to in the tomb and walked out. Advanced warning, I'm about to get snarky.

          Here are a few web pages that describe just what happened in medical terms: http://www.bing.com/search?q=medical+crucifixion+of+jesus&form=AGWTDF&pc=EUPP_MAGW&src=IE-SearchBox. In spite of all of the trauma his body sustained, including a spear thrust that produced water and blood separated (which happens after death) he didn't die, he merely fainted.

          Who were the witnesses to this most terrible event? The accounts in the Gospels don't agree except in the case of Mary Magdalene and the soldiers. They don't contradict one another. They don't claim to be exhaustive in their listing. Each writer provided the names of a sufficient number of witnesses to meet legal requirements.  Women weren't really considered worthy as witnesses but the accounts make clear that some of these women were wealthy: Mary Magdalene and Joanna, the wife of Cuza (who was the manager of Herod's household) among them.

          At some point, I read a book that discussed these women at length. It agreed with the Zondervan's commentary that Salome was the mother of the sons of Zebedee. That is why I listed her as both in the table below. I don't recall how the author reached the conclusion that Salome was also Mary's sister, making James and John cousins of Jesus. Without going into more speculation, here is what the Gospels say.

 

Who Saw Jesus Die or Handled His Body?	Matthew	Mark	Luke	John
Centurion/Soldiers	X	X	X	X
Mary (His mother)				X
Mary Magdalene	X	X	X	X
Mary the mother of James(the younger)  and Joses	X	X
Salome, the mother of Zebedee’s sons	X	X
Joanna, the wife of Cuza (head of Herod's household)			X
Susanna			X
His mother's sister				X
Mary the wife of Clopas				X
Other Women		X	X
John				X
Joseph of Arimetha				X
Nicodemus				X

 

            Somehow, even though the Roman soldiers were well-trained in death, even though it is likely that each of these people was familiar with death, all of them were mistaken. The last two handled His body, very likely cleaning it before they wrapped it in cloth and spices. Yet they didn't realize he was still alive. They rolled a huge stone across the entrance. Somehow, he came to and either removed the cloth (in which case he was naked) or hopped around with his legs wrapped together and, in spite of all his injuries, rolled the stone away and escaped.

      If this didn't happen before the guards showed up, he had to have done it in full view of the guards and they didn't bother to do anything about a naked man tip-toeing (or a man wrapped for burial hopping) out of the tomb. The Jews got the guards for the tomb because of the rumors that Jesus was going to rise again, so did the guards not check the tomb to make sure the body was there before they put an official seal on it?

        Three other theories that might be connected with today are A) It wasn't Jesus, it was an impersonator. Where do you find someone willing to act as an impersonator for a criminal about to be crucified? B) It was a mass hallucination brought on by their emotional state, but why would the Roman guards hallucinate, too? C) None of it happened, it was all made up. The problem is that (once again) there is no historical evidence to support it. Archeology and accounts from that century support the reliability of the claims.  The alternative theories take more blind faith than the narrative as provided in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.