Category: Outside the Bible

Sources and information outside the Bible about Jesus of Nazareth – investigations, historical, scientific, experts, and non-Christian religions.

Conspiracy Theory – Christianity Is a Fiction

Posted on by K.B. Vogelman

Conspiracy Theory – Christianity Is a Fiction

 

Adversaries of Christianity sometimes argue against the reality of Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, even that he is not a real historical figure, by claiming Christianity itself is a fictional story. One conspiracy theory claims Christianity and thus Jesus are the result of various groups colluding to invent a morphed deity image of a messiah:[1]

“…Christianity and the story of Jesus Christ were created by members of various secret societies, mystery schools and religions in order to unify the Roman Empire under one state religion.  …this multinational cabal drew upon a multitude of myths and rituals that existed long before the Christian era, and reworked them for centuries into the religion passed down to us today.” – Acharya S.

Challenges to create a fictional messiah figure would have been enormous at the beginning of the millennium, especially in an era without any means of electronic communication, media, even the printed word. Just the opposite occurred. Christianity rose so rapidly, Jewish leaders tried to snuff it out quickly and Rome tried to quell it by killing people who professed it.

Creating a Christian religion with a Jewish messiah ups the ante to the highest degree. Probably the most scorned, if not hated, ethnic group in the Roman Empire were Jews, yet at least one conspiracy theory ironically maintains the created fictitious messiah image was himself a Jew. Consider that Judaism, too, views Christianity as blasphemous for its belief that Jesus is the Messiah.

Espousing the theory that an alleged Christianity conspiracy theory began “centuries” earlier, “long before the Christian era,” but history provides a different reality. Centuries earlier in Biblical history, Jews themselves were warring against each other before being taken captive in Babylon. After being freed by the Persian overthrow, enemies still wanted to subvert the Jew’s efforts.[2]

During the four centuries before the Roman Empire, cabals from three Empires – Babylonians, Persians and Greeks – with authority over Judea had to be complicit in the conspiracy.[3] It then has to be accepted there was a long-term strategy “to unify the Roman Empire under one state religion” even though the concept of a Roman Empire was yet unknown.

Pilate had Jesus crucified and to refute that fact means declaring renowned Roman historians Tacitus, Suetonius, Josephus others as well as the religion of Judaism were wrong. The theory proposes that Jewish leadership was supporting Rome when, in fact, Rome was crucifying Jews by the thousands and eventually destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD.[4]

For the invention of a fictional Jewish messiah, the image would call for a flawless ancestral background of pure Jewish lineage, not to mention an ancestral history free of unsavory or illegal activities. Alleged collaborators would then have to weave this complex lineage into a 2000 year timeline to create a messiah narrative.

Genealogy of Jesus of Nazareth was anything but pure and flawless. A perfect lineage of a made-up messiah was simply not possible as demonstrated time and again by Scriptural history.

Disgraceful accounts pulled straight from the Old Testament, the Tenakh, include deceptions, lies, a prostitute, Gentile intermarriages, voyeurism, adultery, murder, greed, lascivious pleasures, etc. The background lineage of Jesus involved the most ignoble examples of disobedience to God, turning lemons into lemonade where each involved blessings from God.

Grandson of Abraham, Jacob swindled his older twin brother’s inheritance blessing from his father, Isaac. Jacob was later renamed by God and became the father of the 12 tribes of Israel.[5]

Jacob’s own conniving sons sold their younger brother, Joseph, into slavery and lied to their father saying he had been killed by a wild animal. Joseph went on to become the second most powerful ruler in Egypt under Pharaoh and eventually saved his same Hebrew family from a famine.[6]

Rahab, a Gentile prostitute spared from the destruction of Jericho, married a Hebrew named Salmon and their son was named Boaz who became a wealthy resident of Bethlehem.[7] Boaz married the Gentile Ruth, daughter-in-law of his Jewish relative Naomi, allowing Naomi to redeem her otherwise lost inheritance.[8]

Jewish sage Rabbi Rashi professed his distaste of having a Gentile in the prophetic lineage of the Messiah. His disgust appears in his commentary on the Bethlehem prophecy of Micah 5:2:[9]

“you should have been the lowest of the clans of Judah: [Rashi] You should have been the lowest of the clans of Judah because of the stigma of Ruth the Moabitess in you.” – The Complete Jewish Bible

Son of Boaz and Ruth was Jesse whose son, David, became the King of Israel.[10] David committed some dastardly deeds that would be scandalous in any century.

King David’s voyeurism led to an affair with his neighbor’s wife and when his plan to cover-up her illicit pregnancy failed, the King had her husband sent to the front lines of a war knowing he would be killed.[11] In spite of this, subsequent prophecies foretold the future Messiah would come from the lineage of King David.

Solomon, King David’s son, indulged in the pleasures of 700 wives and 300 concubines, many of whom were Gentiles who brought with them forbidden idolatry influences. Still, Solomon built the Temple of God and was blessed with great wealth and wisdom.[12]

A flawed genealogy would have been a huge obstacle for anyone who attempted to “rework them for centuries into the religion passed down to us today.” According to the Gospel accounts of Matthew and Luke, Jesus was born into this flawed Jewish royal lineage.

Arrival of Jesus of Nazareth happened during the era when Rome was experiencing it’s height of glory. In one weekend, one morning dawn, everything changed rather than taking “centuries” to rework “the religion passed down to us today.”

Unique to Christianity and the center of its core creed are the Resurrection accounts of Jesus.[13] No one, including the followers of Jesus, ever believed a resurrection could happen before Jesus was crucified. Afterwards, he actually had to prove his own followers that he was back from the dead.

Witness accounts about Jesus rang true with people, many believed and were labeled as “Christians.” Adversaries of the Resurrection accounts refuted, ridiculed, imprisoned and even killed witnesses – they were willing to die for what they believed.

Would anyone die to defend a false legend?

Updated October 31, 2023.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

[1] Acharya S. (Murdock, D.M.)  The Christ Conspiracy. Google Books advertisement. n.d. https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Christ_Conspiracy.html?id=KnIYRi3upbEC> Stitcher. image. 2018. <https://megaphone-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/podcasts/4b9e4b82-9bf9-11e8-ad4e-23b6913e004d/image/aa316e8eb017eeb2d66bd3ab5ef8270c329c2cdb5347f0e589403a20369416bc4a7f9ac6d6f18a9a13fd4eb5c6d622a7e506238a1124dbd66019deba3532d1ee.jpeg
[2] I Kings 11:26-12:24; Ezra 4;4, 5:6-17.
[3] Ezra 1:2-4, 6:7-12; 7:11-28. Spiro, Ken.  “History Crash Course #27: The Greek Empire.” Aish.com. 2001. <http://www.aish.com/jl/h/cc/48939587.html>  Hooker, Richard. “Hellenistic Greece: Alexander the Great.” Washington State University. 1999. <http://web.archive.org/web/20110104072822/http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/ALEX.HTM>
[4] Suetonius (C. Suetonius Tranquillus or C. Tranquillus Suetonius). The Lives of the Twelve Caesars. Ed. Maximilian Ihm, trans. J. C. Rolfe. University of Chicago|Bill Thayer. n.d. “The Life of Titus.” 109 AD. <https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Titus*.html> “Siege of Jerusalem.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2020. <https://www.britannica.com/event/Siege-of-Jerusalem-70> Josephus, Flavius. Wars of the Jews. Book II, Chapter XIV, Book V, Chapter XI.. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false>
[5] Genesis 25; 27-28.
[6] Genesis 37; 41-46.
[7] Joshua 2, 6, Ruth 4; I Chronicles 2:1-17.
[8] Ruth 2-4.
[9] The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi’s Commentary. Micah 5:2 Rashi commentary.
[10] Ruth 4; I Chronicles 2.
[11] 2 Samuel 11-12.
[12] 2 Chronicles 7, 9; I Kings 7-8, 10.
[13] I Corinthians 15:3-4.

“The Censor” – Mystery of the Renaissance

Posted on by K.B. Vogelman

“The Censor” – Mystery of the Renaissance

 

Invention of the Gutenberg press around 1500 AD opened up the Dark Ages with a burst of information to the masses not unlike the explosion of information on the Internet. Triggering the Renaissance, the Gutenberg press was a game changer in another way – it led to censorship.[1]

Imagine – religious information became available to anyone who could read.[2] Elite institutions that previously held exclusive control over religious messaging viewed this as a threat. In an effort to regain control, they resorted to censorship tactics.

“The Censor” … who was he? Expanding a bit further, two more questions:  why and how.

Liberally used by religious scholars, the term “the Censor” actually refers to the many perpetrators who performed the censorship, some known and mostly unknown.[3] For example, home-to-home searches imposed indiscriminate burning of scrolls and books, pages being torn out, and blacking out text.[4]

Censorship was focused squarely on information about Jesus of Nazareth. Encyclopaedia Judaica explains censorship of the Talmud began in the late 1500s such as with Sanhedrin 43a, 106a and 107b.[5]

Blame is largely attributed to the Roman Inquisition for censorship of references deemed to be contradictory to the official teaching of Christianity. However, strong evidence also points to Jewish censorship exposed in newer publications of the Babylonian Talmud and other Jewish writings.

Irrespective of those who pulled the strings of “the Censor,” the once-expunged content is viewed by some as being insightful to a deeper understanding of both Jewish and Christian teachings. At the forefront of censorship restoration was the publishing of the Soncino Babylonian Talmud.[6]

Soncino Editor Rabbi Dr. I. Epstein explained an attempt was made to reproduce a “clear and lucid” literal English translation of the Talmud. Missing content was restored either directly to the body of the text or, albeit more obscurely, within the footnotes. Sometimes the text context was clarified in brackets.[7]

One previously censored folio in the Soncino Talmud translation is Sanhedrin 43a containing direct references to Yeshu, a Hebrew name for Jesus.[8] Some of the original text was restored only in the Soncino footnotes:[9]

“…On the eve of the Passover Yeshu [34] was hanged …’”

“But since nothing was brought forward in his favor he was hanged on the eve of Passover![35]

Footnote #34 following “Yeshu” references the original Munich manuscript, the oldest complete Talmud copy in existence. According to the footnote, the words “the Nasarean” appeared in the censored text referring to the home town of Yeshu.[10] The original Munich Talmud manuscript thus said:

“On the eve of the Passover Yeshu, the Nasarean, was hanged.” [11]

Footnote #35 for the phrase “eve of the Passover” references a less than complete Florentine Talmud manuscript, 200 years older than the original Munich Manuscript, and includes the words “and the eve of Sabbath.”[12] In the scenario where Jesus was crucified on a Friday, that day would be both on the “eve of Passover” and “eve of Sabbath” making the Talmud in total agreement with the Gospels.[13]

Some Sanhedrin 43a Gemara text was not footnoted; rather, the text was clarified in brackets in the Soncino edition:

“With Yeshu however it was different, for he was connected with the government [or royalty, i.e., influential].”

Bracketed words “[or royalty, i.e., influential]” – Hebrew royalty which only comes through the lineage of King David. Corroborating the requirement set forth in several Messiah prophecies, the Soncino Talmud confirms the Gospels’ assertion that Jesus was born in the lineage of David.

Rodkinson’s Talmud translation leaves out the entire Gemara section; Sefaria, based on the Davidson translation, says Jesus was associated with the Gentile government (Roman) who wanted him acquitted.[14]

Mishneh Torah formulates the 13 principals of the Jewish faith written by the revered medieval sage Rabbi Maimonides.[15] Heavy censorship was focused on the last two chapters called Hilchos Melachim – the Laws Concerning Kings.[16] An example excerpt from the Sichos in English translation is found restored, but only in a footnote:

“If a king will arise from the House of David, who, like David his ancestor, delves deeply into the study of the Torah and engages in the mitzvos as prescribed by the Written Law and the Oral Law; if he will compel all of Israel to walk in [the way of the Torah] and repair the breaches [in its observance]; and if he will fight the wars of G-d; – we may, with assurance, consider him Mashiach.

“If he did not succeed to this degree or he was killed, he surely is not [the redeemer] promised by the Torah. [Rather,] he should be considered as all the other proper and legitimate kings of the Davidic dynasty who died.  G-d only caused him to arise in order to test the multitude. As it is written [Daniel 11:35], “Some of the wise men will stumble, to purge, to refine, and to clarify, until the appointed time, for it is yet to come.

“Jesus of Nazareth who aspired to be the Moshiach and was executed by the court was also spoken of in Daniel’s prophecies [Daniel 11:14], “The renegades among your people shall exalt themselves in an attempt to fulfill the vision, but they shall stumble.”[17] – Maimonides

Uncensored texts reveal Judaism’s agreement with the Gospels where Jesus of Nazareth was a royal descendant of King David; was condemned by the court; and was executed leading into Passover and the Sabbath. Does the uncensored information shed light on the accuracy of the Gospels?

 

Updated December 28, 2023.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

[1] Chase, Jeffrey S. “The Gutenberg Printing Press.” Duke University|Department of Computer Science.  n.d.  <http://www.cs.duke.edu/~chase/cps49s/press-summary.html>  Instone-Brewer, David. Instituto John Henry Newman. “Jesus of Nazareth’s Trial in the Uncensored Talmud.” n.d. <https://institutojohnhenrynewmanufv.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/jesus-of-nazareth-s-trial-in-the-uncensored-talmud.pdf> Instone-Brewer, David.
[2] Whipps, Heather. “How Gutenberg Changed the World.”  2008. <https://www.livescience.com/2569-gutenberg-changed-world.html>   “The impact of the printing press.” Skwirk.com. n.d.  <http://www.skwirk.com/p-c_s-56_u-422_t-1108_c-4280/the-impact-of-the-printing-press/qld/the-impact-of-the-printing-press/renaissance-and-reformation/the-reformation>
[3] Valentine, Carol A. “Do Not Censor the Talmud, Please.” 2003.  Come and Hear. 2010. <http://come-and-hear.com/editor/censorship_1.html>  “Euphemism” and “Censorship of Hebrew Books.”  Jewish Encyclopedia.  2011. <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/5906-euphemism> and <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4170-censorship-of-hebrew-books>  Censor. PrivateInternetAccess. image. 2017. <https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/chinese-censorship-red-1200×1045.png> 
[4] “Censorship of Hebrew Books.”  Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011.  Maimonides. “The Law Concerning Moshiach.” Ed. Yechezkal Shimon Gutfreund, “Publisher’s Forward.”  Valentine. “Do Not Censor the Talmud, Please – Returning to Ezra the Scribe.” “Church Censorhip.” Jewish Virtual Library. 2008. <http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/censorship>
[5] “Jesus.” Encyclopaedia Judaica.  Pages 249-250.  Segal, Eliezer. A Page from the Babylonian Talmud.  “Mishnah” – “Redaction.” n.d.  <http://people.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/TalmudPage.html#Page>; “The Gemara (Talmud)” – “Redaction.”  <http://people.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/TalmudMap/Gemara.html#Redaction>   Soncino Babylonian Talmud.  Ed. Isidore Epstein based on the Wilna Romm Edition. 1935 – 1948.  <http://come-and-hear.com/tcontents.html>   The Babylonian Talmud. Rodkinson transalation.  Internet Sacred Text Archives. 2010.  <http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/talmud.htm>  “The Gemara (Talmud).” Valentine. “Do Not Censor the Talmud, Please.”  “Euphemism” and “Censorship of Hebrew Books.”  Jewish Encyclopedia.  2011.
[6] Valentine. “Do Not Censor the Talmud, Please.” “Jesus.” Encyclopaedia Judaica.  Pages 249-250. Soncino Babylonian Talmud.  Ed. Epstein.
[7] “Talmud.” Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011. “Hebrew Manuscripts.” Jewish Virtual Library. 2008. <http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/hebrew-manuscripts>  Soncino Babylonian Talmud.  Ed. Epstein. “Method and Scope.” 
[8] Yassif, Eli. “The Jewish Jesus Story.” Tablet. 2017. <http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/220567/the-jewish-jesus-story>   KjaerHansen, Kai. “An Introduction to the Names Yehoshua/Joshua, Yeshua, Jesus and Yeshu.” 1992. Jews For Jesus. 2017. <https://jewsforjesus.org/answers/an-introduction-to-the-names-yehoshua-joshua-yeshua-jesus-and-yeshu>
[9] Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Tractate Sanhedrin, Folio 43a. “Who will emerge from Bethlehem.”  Teshuvas HaMinim. 2011. Archived URL.  Archive.org. 2 Sept. 2012.  <http://web.archive.org/web/20120902023316/http://www.teshuvashaminim.com/michah51.html>
[10] Net.bible.org. Greek text – Matthew 2:23; 26:71; Mark 1:24; 14:67; 10:47; Luke 4:34; John 18:5.  Strong.  “Nazarenos <3478>  The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible.  “Nazarean” and “Nazarene.”  Merriam-Webster. 2017 <http://www.merriam-webster.com>   “-an” suffix. Dictionary.com. 2017.  <http://www.dictionary.com>  Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Sanhedrin, Folio 43a, footnote #34.   Shachter, J. and Freedman, H.  “Sanhedrin.”  Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Ed. Epstein. “Introduction.” Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Abbreviation” ref. “MS.M”.&nbsp
[11] Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Sotah 47a, footnote #11, 27 & 28.
[12] “Babylonian Talmud.”  Word Digital Library | Library of Congress. 2017. <https://www.wdl.org/en/item/8910>  Pasternak, Nurit. “The Material Context of 15th-Century Hebrew Florentine Manuscripts.” 2013. Academia.edu. 2017. <https://www.academia.edu/4320985/The_Material_Context_of_15th-Century_Hebrew_Florentine_Manuscripts>  Soncino Babylonian Talmud.  Sanhedrin 43a.  “Talmud.”  Jewish Encyclopedia.  2011.
[13] Genesis 1:5. NET, NRSV, NASB, NIV, NRSV. “eve.” MiriamWebster.com. n.d. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eve; “evening (n.).” Online Etymology Dictionary. n.d. https://www.etymonline.com/word/Evening; Gregg, Daniel. TorahTimes.org. n.d. “What is the Genesis definition of “Day.”?” <https://www.torahtimes.org/The%20Genesis%20defintion%20of%20Day.htm> Eisen, Yosef. Chabad.org. n.d. “The Babylonian Talmud.” <https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2652565/jewish/The-Babylonian-Talmud.htm> Sassoon, Hacham Isaac S. The Torah. n.d. “Does a Day Begin in the Evening?” <https://www.thetorah.com/article/does-a-day-begin-in-the-evening> “Day, night, morning, evening and ‘between the evenings.’” Menorah-Bible. n.d. <https://bible-menorah.jimdofree.com/english/resurrection-on-sabbath/day/>
[14] The Babylonian Talmud. Trans. Michael L. Rodkinson. 1918. Internet Sacred Text Archives. 2010.  <https://sacred-texts.com/jud/t08/t0809.htm>  Sanhedrin 43a. Sefaria.org. p 22 <https://www.sefaria.org/Sanhedrin.43a.22?lang=bi>
[15] Rich, Tracey R.  “Jewish Beliefs.”  JewFAQ.org. n.d. <http://www.jewfaq.org/beliefs.htm>  Maimonides.  Mishneh Torah.  Trans. Eliyahu Touger.  “Moses Ben Maimon.” Jewish Encyclopedia.  2011.  Furst, Rachel. “The Mishneh Torah – Maimonides’ halakhic magnum opus.”  MyJewishLearning.com. 2010.  <http://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-mishneh-torah/>   Seeskin, Kenneth. “Maimonides.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2006, revised 2017.  <https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/maimonides/>
[16] Schneerson, Menachem M.  From Exile to Redemption. Volume 2.  Chapter 4, “Studies in Rambam, Hilchos Melachim, Chapter 5, Chapter 11”, footnotes #551, #558, #559, #602, and Chapter 12.”  <http://www.sichos-in-english.org/books/from-exile-to-redemption-2/02.htm>  “Melachim uMilchamot – Chapter 11.” <http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1188356/jewish/Melachim-uMilchamot-Chapter-11.htm>  Maimonides. “The Law Concerning Moshiach.”  Footnote #5.  Kesser.org. n.d. <http://www.kesser.org/moshiach/rambam.html#SIE>  “Mishneh Torah.” MishnahTorah.com. n.d. <http://web.archive.org/web/20161105145530/http://www.mishnehtorah.com:80>  Shulman, Moshe. “The Rambam on Isaiah 53.”  “Mishneh Torah.” MishnahTorah.com.  Maimonides.  “The Law Concerning Moshiach.” Kesser.org. “Publisher’s Forward.” Ed. Gutfreund,
[17] Maimonides.  “The Law Concerning Moshiach.” Sichos In English translation.

Chain of Custody – Was the Body of Jesus Stolen?

Posted on by K.B. Vogelman

Chain of Custody – Was the Body of Jesus Stolen?

 

Oldest of the arguments against the Resurrection is the charge that the crucified body of Jesus of Nazareth was stolen from the tomb. To steal the body, a Roman/Jewish chain of custody over his body would make the claim difficult to overcome.

Procurator Pilate granted the mutilated body of Jesus to Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Jewish council. He was joined by Nicodemus, another prominent member of the Jewish Council. Both took the body to Joseph’s own unused tomb and quickly prepared the body for burial.

Witnessing the scene were women from Galilee, two identified by name, Mary the mother of Joseph (aka Jose) and Mary Magdalene.[2] The women watched Joseph roll a stone in front of the tomb entrance – confirmation by the two Jewish Council members that Jesus was indeed dead and buried.

What did or didn’t happen between the time Jesus was laid in the tomb just before dusk, Nissan 15, until Sunday is limited. Nonetheless, Matthew and Mark reported some activities that occurred.

Those who most certainly would not have wanted to be corroborating witnesses of a Resurrection became just that. After Jesus was buried late afternoon of the prior day, the next day some of the leaders of the priests and Pharisees declared to the Roman government that the body of Jesus was still in the tomb that Sabbath morning, Nissan 16:

MT 27:62-64 The next day (which is after the day of preparation) the chief priests and the Pharisees assembled before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember that while that deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give orders to secure the tomb until the third day. Otherwise his disciples may come and steal his body and say to the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”(NET)

Top level Jewish leadership had approached Rome’s jurisdictional authority of Judea – Pilate – with their concern of a false fulfillment of Jesus’ own  3-day Resurrection prophecy. As a Roman Procurator whose governing capacity included serving as a judge, Pilate had to weigh the truthfulness of their claim as well as the potential political consequences.

First was the declaration that the corpse of Jesus was lying in a tomb and the Jewish leader’s concern that it could be stolen. Rome otherwise had little regard for crucified victims, according to Josephus; however, Rome did allow the Jews’ custom to bury their crucified dead:[3]

“Nay, they proceeded to that degree of impiety, as to cast away their dead bodies without burial, although the Jews used to take so much care of the burial of men, that they took down those that were condemned and crucified, and buried them before the going down of the sun.” – Josephus, Wars [4]

Pilate most likely considered other factors, too, such as the validity of the testimony of the Jewish leaders. False witness was a capital offense making it highly unlikely they were lying to him. If the body was stolen and later found, it would complicate matters even worse. Weighing the credibility and motive of their testimony, then concluding the body of Jesus was still in the tomb, an irritated Pilate issued a terse decision:

MT 27:65-66 “Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.”(NASB) 

Pilate granted permission through what was, in essence, a Roman court order to secure the body the best way they knew how. This included stationing of a koustodia, a company of guards, at the tomb. Together, the Jewish leadership and the koustodia placed a seal on the tomb as an additional security measure.

Josephus described a “seal” process involving a combined Jewish-Roman military style squad led by a “Roman captain of the temple guards.” The Roman captain, who resided in the Tower of Antonia adjacent to the Temple, was assigned to a contingent of armed Temple guards.[6]

It was the Roman captain’s responsibility to match his seal ring with a matching seal ring possessed by the Temple leadership to verify the integrity of the seal, in this case, to secure the Chief Priest’s vestments worn at the Jewish festal sacrifices. This Roman-Jewish seal process was temporarily in place only from the death of King Herod until Vitellius became president of Syria in 35 AD – the period of years virtually coinciding with the lifetime of Jesus of Nazareth.[7]

A similar type of seal and guard process appeared to be utilized at the tomb. The koustodia were accountable to Pilate as evidenced after the resurrection event on Sunday morning when some the guards reportedly ran to the chief priests instead of Pilate. Additionally, Jewish leaders promised the guards they would handle Pilate if their adverse behavior became an issue.

Placed at the scene of the tomb holding the body of Jesus of Nazareth are the contingent of chief priests and Pharisees (possibly including stealth followers of Jesus, Joseph and Nicodemus) to witness the seal being placed on the tomb and the posting of the koustodia. Jewish leaders left with full confidence the sealed tomb was secure alleviating their anxiety that someone might steal the body of Jesus.[8]

Archenemies of Jesus obtained a legally established Roman-Jewish chain of custody over the body of Jesus that remained unbroken until Sunday morning. At dawn that Sunday morning, incredible events occurred at the tomb while the koustodia were still stationed at their post with the seal intact.

Considering there was a legally established Roman-Jewish chain of custody in place, what is the possibility his body was stolen?

 

Updated March 12, 2024.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

NET = NetBible translation; NASB = New American Standard Bible translation
Gospel references: Matthew 27-28, Mark 15, Luke 23, John 19.

[1] Pearce, Jonathan MS. “Matthew and the guards at the tomb.” 2012. <http://www.debunking-christianity.com/2012/06/matthew-and-guards-at-tomb.html rel=”nofollow”> “Gospel Disproof #38: The guards at the tomb.” FreeThoughtBlogs.com. 2014. <http://freethoughtblogs.com/alethianworldview/2012/02/27/gospel-disproof-38-the-guards-at-the-tomb rel=”nofollow”>  Chain. Business2Community. image. 2015. <https://www.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Chain-red-link.jpg-300×200.jpg> 
[2] Edersheim, Alfred.  The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. Book V. 1883. Philogos.org. n.d. <http://philologos.org/__eb-lat/default.htm>
[3] Josephus, Flavius.  Antiquities of the Jews. Book IV, Chapter VIII;
Google Books. n.d. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false> 
[4] Josephus.  Wars. Book IV, Chapter V.
[5] Jahnige, Joan. “The Roman Legal System.” KET Distance Learning. 2017. http://www.dl.ket.org/latin2/mores/legallatin/legal01.htm>  Adams, John Paul. “The Twelve Tables.” 2009. California State University – Northridge. <https://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/12tables.html>
[6] Josephus.  Antiquities. Book XV, Chapter XI; Book XX, Chapter I.  Wars.  Book II, Chapter XVII; Book V, Chapter VI.
[7] Josephus.  Antiquities. Book XV, Chapter XI; Book XX, Chapter I.  Smith William. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. 1857. “L. Vitellius” (#5); “C. Cassius Longinus” (#18), and “L. Cassius Longinus” (#19). OpenLibrary.org. n.d. <https://archive.org/stream/schooldictionary00smituoft#page/n9/mode/2up>  Smith, Mahlon H. “Lucius Vitellius.” VirtualReligion.net. 2008. http://virtualreligion.net/iho/vitellius_1.html>  “Lucius Vitellius.” Livius.org. Ed. Jona Lendering. http://www.livius.org/person/vitellius-lucius>  “Chain of Custody in Drugs Cases.” ProhealthLaw. photo. 2015. <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7Bg40JhqJxo/Vsmv-MAWtXI/AAAAAAAAJlo/U59A28gTqRs/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/blogger-image–519822927.jpg>
[8] “koustodia”, G2892l (Strong) “#2892 κουστωδία koustodia;” “strategos <4755> and “speira <4686>” Lexicon-Concordance Online Bible. n.d. http://lexiconcordance.com>