The Sources of the Story of the Burial of Jesus' body and the Rolling Stone

Chapter III

The Sources of the Gospels and the Way of Writing Them

Section VI

The Texts which were quoted from the Old Testament, but they have not been attributed directly to it

In this section will examine the texts which were quoted from the Old Testament, but they have not been attributed directly to it, as is the case in the previous sections, which I call it Storyline or Plot-story or screenplay of the Gospels, where we will review the most of the events and stories and sayings that mentioned in the Gospels, and comparing them with the Old Testament and with Jesus as was portrayed in the Gospels, and his attributes in the laws of the faith of the churches as well.

28 - The Sources of the Story of the Burial of Jesus' body and the Rolling Stone

After the story of the crucifixion, the Gospels authors mentioned that Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus in the tomb, and rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb in which Jesus stayed until rose from the dead, as in the following texts:

Matthew 27:57 Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.

Matthew 27:58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him.

Matthew 27:59 When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,

Matthew 27:60 and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed. 

Matthew 27:61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.

Matthew 27:62 On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate,

Matthew 27:63 saying, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise’.

Matthew 27:64 "Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead’. So the last deception will be worse than the first."

Matthew 27:65 Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how."

Matthew 27:66 So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.

Mark 15:42 Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

Mark 15:43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

Mark 15:44 Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time.

Mark 15:45 So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

Mark 15:46 Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.

Mark 15:47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.

Mark 16:1 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.

Mark 16:2 Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.

Mark 16:3 And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"

Mark 16:4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away — for it was very large.

Luke 23:50 Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man.

Luke 23:51 He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God.

Luke 23:52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

Luke 23:53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before.

John 19:38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus.

John 19:39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.

John 19:40 Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.

John 19:41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.

John 19:42 So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.

I had discussed these texts in detail in the book "Jesus the Son of Joseph the Carpenter ... Confusing Questions", because they contain many errors and contradictions that confirm that they were not written by the revelation or through seeing or hearing the real story of Jesus, including the following issues:

The first is the saying that Jesus has died and was buried; this is a clear evidence that he has nothing to do with the LORD the Creator in terms of divine attributes and equality with HIM; unlike what say the churches concerning him, because the Lord the Creator of the heavens and the earth lives forever, and heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him, as in the following texts:

Deuteronomy 32:39 ‘Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.

Deuteronomy 32:40 For I raise My hand to heaven, And say, "As I live forever,

2 Chronicles 6:18 "But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!

The second is about what Matthew wrote that an earthquake has happened, when the angel has rolled back the stone from the door, as in the following text:

Matthew 28:1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.

Matthew 28:2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.

Matthew 28:3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.

Matthew 28:4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

This text contradicts what is written in the other Gospels about how disclosure of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, as well as it is inconsistent with the nature and the reality, because rolling away a stone from the door of the tomb doesn't cause an earthquake, regardless of the size of the stones as it is well known! Even it was a large as Matthew says or very large as Mark said, or even its weight was one or two ton as some churches claim! Particularly as it is written that Joseph of Arimathea alone has rolled back the same stone against the door of the tomb; however did not occur earthquake as Matthew wrote about the angel when he rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb!

Moreover, that John wrote about taking away the stone from the tomb of Lazarus, when was risen from the dead, and didn't happen an earthquake, (John 11:38-44)!

The third is about what Matthew wrote that the Jews made the tomb secure, and sealed the stone and setting the guard, as in the following text:

Matthew 27:62 On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate,

Matthew 27:63 saying, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise’.

Matthew 27:64 "Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead’. So the last deception will be worse than the first."

Matthew 27:65 Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how."

Matthew 27:66 So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.

This story contradicts the state of the disciples as it is written in the Gospels, because all of them had deserted Jesus and fled and left him alone when the soldiers arrested him, and then disowned him, and they did not believe that he rose from the dead; even that they were not knowing that he will rise from the dead! So how the Jews afraid of them to come by night and steal him away, and say to the people, ‘he has risen from the dead’?!

Matthew 26:56 "But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.

Matthew 26:73 And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, "Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you."

Matthew 26:74 Then he began to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the Man!" Immediately a rooster crowed.

Mark 14:50 Then they all forsook Him and fled.

Mark 14:51 Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body. And the young men laid hold of him,

Mark 14:52 and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.

Mark 14:66 Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came.

Mark 14:67 And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, "You also were with Jesus of Nazareth."

Mark 14:68 But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you are saying." And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.

Mark 16:10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.

Mark 16:11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

Mark 16:14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.

Luke 24:10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.

Luke 24:11 And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.

John 20:9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.

John 20:19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you."

From all this, and many others, we find that the story of Jesus' burial and the Rolling Stone contradicts with the attributes of the LORD the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and the state of the disciples as well, which raises doubts about its reality, so what is the source of this story?

Let's read the following texts:

Joshua 10:26 And afterward Joshua struck them and killed them, and hanged them on five trees; and they were hanging on the trees until evening.

Joshua 10:27 So it was at the time of the going down of the sun that Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees, cast them into the cave where they had been hidden, and laid large stones against the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day.

Joshua 10:18 So Joshua said, "Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and set men by it to guard them.

Daniel 6:17 Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed.

This similarity between what is written in the Old Testament and what is written in Gospels confirms that the story of the Gospels was quoted from the Old Testament; as is their method and approach of writing the Gospels as is shown in this book, away from the Revelation and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, as well as away from the reality of the state of the disciples as it is written in the Gospels, which means that the law "do not accept the lying and false" applies to this story!