You Tube Theology

When investigating the resurrection, an important area to explore is the empty tomb... but before you can know whether Jesus ever left the tomb, you have to know whether Jesus' corpse ever even entered a tomb. So the questions now becomes, "Was Jesus given a proper burial?" Dr. Craig Evans is a leading expert on this topic, with various lectures and academic publications on burial traditions as they relate to Jesus. So in our discussion together, I offer some questions and objections: what were the Jewish customs surrounding burial? Did Roman officials respect those customs, or did they require crucifixion victims to remain on the cross? What's the positive case for Jesus' burial, and what are the strongest objections?

We also covered an alternative explanation for the empty tomb (besides resurrection): grave robbers. Is it plausible to suggest that necromantic tomb-robbers stole Jesus' body? Would they have been too afraid to approach a cemetery at night? Were there soldiers guarding Jesus' tomb? We discuss all this and more in this fourth episode of The Life Discussion.

RESOURCES

"Jewish Burial Traditions and the Resurrection of Jesus" (article by Dr. Craig Evans) --
https://www.academia.edu/9929736/Jewish_Burial_Traditions_and_the_Resurrection_of_Jesus

""Was the Body of Jesus Placed in a Known Tomb?" (lecture by Dr. Craig Evans) --
https://youtu.be/JMd5THZA9-Y

"The Burial of Jesus in Light of Archeology and the Gospels" (article by Dr. Jodi Magness, Jewish archaeologist) --
https://www.jstor.org/stable/23630927

How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee* (book by Dr. Bart Ehrman, New Testament scholar) --
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I8ON7XM/
*in chapter 4, he argues against Jesus' burial

How God Became Jesus: The Real Origins of Belief in Jesus' Divine Nature* (response book with various contributors, ) --
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0310519594/
*in chapter 4, Dr. Craig Evans argues for Jesus' burial

The Empty Tomb: Jesus Beyond the Grave* (book with various contributors) --
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002IC05LC/
*in chapter chapters 9 and 10, Dr. Richard Carrier argues for the historicity of burial AND the plausibility of theft

"Does the New Testament Provide a Reliable Portrait of the Historical Jesus?" (debate between Dr. Craig Evans and Dr. Bart Ehrman) --
https://youtu.be/ueRIdrlZsvs