By: Bill and Teddy Rogers
PREPARING JESUS' BODY WITH
THE MUMMIFICATION PROCESS
After cleaning Jesus' bruised and bloody body as much as possible,
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus placed Jesus in the borrowed tomb.
Then, they wrapped His feet, legs, arms and torso with two inch
strips of cloth. (everything but His head).
Then, they used 100 pounds of myrrh and aloes (a liquid oil) to
saturate every inch of the cloth strips. When this liquid dried, it
formed a very hard shell in the perfect shape of Jesus' body (See
John 19:39).
Note # 1: The King James Version says 100 pounds
while the New International Version says 75 pounds. For
this post, we have chosen to go with the King James Version.
Note # 2: The Israelis learned this mummification process
from the Egyptians during their 400 plus years of captivity in Egypt.
In accordance with Jewish burial customs, they then laid a burial
cloth over Jesus' head.
When they had finished, they had a very large round stone rolled over
the entrance of the tomb to seal it.
THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE TOMB
Jesus lay in the borrowed tomb for three days and three nights.
Wednesday night, Thursday night, and Friday night and all day
Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Sometime after sunset on Saturday and
before sunrise on Sunday, the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead.
JESUS IS RISEN
Very early on Sunday morning, just after sunrise, Mary
Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome
went to the tomb so
that they might anoint Jesus’ body.
When they got there, they saw an opened tomb and an angel who told
them that Jesus was no longer there and had risen.
Next, they saw the risen Jesus who told them to go and tell His
disciples to meet Him in Galilee.
So
the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and
ran to tell his disciples.
As soon as they heard that Jesus had risen, Peter and John ran to the
tomb. When they got there and went into the tomb, they saw the
untouched Myrrh and Aloe covered shell that was empty and the neatly
folded head cloth laid on the bench. For the first time, they
understood that Jesus had actually risen from the dead just as He
told them He would.
For all the details, read Mathew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24 and John 20.
THE
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESURRECTION
The
resurrection of Jesus Christ was the beginning of Christianity. If Christ had not been resurrected, Christianity would not exist today
and we would have “No
Hope”
of having our sins forgiven, of being saved, or of spending eternity
in Heaven.
1 Corinthians 15:17-20
says “And
if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in
your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are
lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all
people most to be pitied.
But Christ has indeed been
raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen
asleep.”
RESURRECTION APPEARANCES
Over a period of 40 days after His
resurrection, Jesus made twelve appearances to over 500 people and
gave many convincing proofs that he was alive:
1. His first appearance was to Mary Magdalene, on that early
Sunday morning. (Mark 16:9; John 20:10-18);
2. Jesus appeared to the women returning from the tomb.
(Matthew 28:9-10);
3. Jesus appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus.
(Luke 24:13-32; Mark 16:12-13);
4. He appeared to Peter in Jerusalem. (Luke 24:34; 1
Corinthians 15:5);
5. He appeared to his disciples and other followers in a
locked room in Jerusalem. The apostle Thomas wasn't there at that
time. (Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-23);
6. A week later, Jesus again appeared to his disciples behind
locked doors, and this time Thomas was present. (John 20:24-29);
7. Jesus appeared to seven of his disciples on the shore of
the Sea of Galilee. (John 21:1-24);
8. Jesus was seen by 500 believers at one time. (1
Corinthians 15:6);
9. He appeared to James. (1 Corinthians 15:7);
10. He appeared to eleven disciples on a mountain in Galilee.
(Matt. 28:18-20);
11. He walked with his disciples along the road to Bethany, on
the Mount of Olives, and then ascended into Heaven. (Luke
24:50-53);
12. He was seen by Paul on the road to Damascus. (Acts
9:3-6; 1 Corinthians 15:8).
JESUS ASCENDS INTO HEAVEN
40 days after His resurrection, Jesus left His disciples and ascended
into Heaven.
Mark
16:19-20 19
says
“After
the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he
sat at the right hand of God.
Then
the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked
with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.”
End Of Post