Islam - The Summit of Religious Evolution — Page 92
92 again. Command, therefore, that the sepulcher be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: So the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them: Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as you can. So they went, and made the sepulcher sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch This shows that Pilate was indifferent and left the priests and Pharisees to take such precautions as they thought fit; but their precautions were rendered nugatory, as there was a great earthquake: For the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. 61 'For fear of him the keepers did shake and became as dead men’. 62 The Bible states that Joseph of Arimathaea had prepared the sepulcher for himself and his family and that it belonged to him and therefore he had right of free access to it. Besides, it is unthinkable that after having obtained Pilate's permission to obtain Jesus’ body, he should have placed the body in the sepulcher and should not have taken any further care of it. The same applies to Nicodemus, who had provided himself with a large quantity of aloes and spices with which to minister to the body of Jesus. There is thus left a great deal of room for conjecture and speculation. An attempt is made in the Inquest on Jesus Christ to reconstruct the events, relying greatly on the Biblical accounts: 63 Mary of Magdala found the sepulcher open, hurried back to tell Peter and John who ran to the sepulcher as fast as they could. They saw the linen clothes lie, and the napkin that was about his head'. There were obviously several cloths: 64 the cloths were there but Jesus was gone. 'They discussed it; then the disciples went away again unto their own home'. Jesus was practically naked. His clothes had been taken from him, and all he had were the linen cloths with which he had been covered in the sepulcher. He just managed to wrap one of these cloths around his body to cover his bareness; but he could not go to Emmaus like this nor could he, so inadequately clothed, go to the city to obtain proper clothes. He solved the problem very simply. He found the garments of a gardener - most likely in a garden shed nearby - borrowed them and went into town and obtained more suitable clothing. Later, he returned the gardener's outfit. While still wearing gardener's clothes Jesus was evidently observing closely what was going on by the empty sepulcher, when he saw two Apostles, Peter and John, inspecting it. He let them go away unto their own home. Mary Magdalene remained behind, helpless and crying. She cried because they had taken away her lord, and she knew not where they had laid him'. 65 'When she had thus said, she turned herself back and saw Jesus standing and knew not that it was Jesus because he was wearing gardener's clothes. Jesus saith unto her, woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne