Yes, Jesus Really Died

Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before. And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. John 19:38-42 (New Living Translation, NLT)

Once Jesus had died, two men of prominence who had secretly followed Jesus now used their influence and money to bury Jesus in a rich man’s tomb, which was a fulfillment of Isaiah 53:9. The body of Jesus was handled by them extensively as they carried it to the tomb, prepared it with myrrh and aloe, and wrapped it in linen, which was used in Jewish burial. They knew, without a doubt, that there was no life in the body of Jesus. However, God made sure that there were multiple witnesses to the fact that Jesus was truly dead. Let’s look at them.

As we just saw, Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus took Jesus’ body to the tomb, prepared it, and rolled a stone across the tomb entrance, verifying that He was dead.

As his body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb where his body was placed. Luke 23:55 (New Living Translation, NLT)

Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus’ body was laid. Mark 15:47 (New Living Translation, NLT)

These two women watched Jesus’ body be transported and laid in the tomb. The word translated in Luke 23:55 as saw in the NLT is the Greek word theaomai, which means to gaze upon, to fully see, to look at intently. These women were not casual observers- they were looking intently at the body, its preparation and where it was laid. They were inspecting everything to make sure it was properly done. These women surely would have known if Jesus was still alive.

The next day, on the Sabbath, the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate. They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.” Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can.”  So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it. Matthew 62-66 (New Living Translation, NLT)

The next witnesses are interesting, because among them were the ones who had demanded Jesus’ execution. An official of Rome, accompanied by chief priests and elders, had to first verify the body was in the tomb before it was officially sealed. Also in attendance would have been some of the soldiers posted to stand guard outside the tomb to prevent the body from being stolen. All of these people saw that the body belonged to Jesus and that He was truly deceased.

There is no doubt that Jesus’ death was not a hoax. There is no way that His resurrection was the result of a near-death experience in which a nearly dead body was resuscitated. No, because of the love of His followers and the paranoia of His murderers, we know for a fact that Jesus truly died and His body was in the tomb. Therefore, we know for certain that the Lord was raised from the dead, and the resurrection was truly a miraculous display of the power of God.

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For more in-depth information about this topic, read Rick Renner’s insighful book, PAID IN FULL: AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT THE DEFINING MOMENTS OF CHRIST’S PASSION.