‘Look, the place where they put him’ (Mk 16:6): The space of Jesus’ tomb in early Christian memory

Daniel A Smith

doi:10.4102/hts.v70i1.2741

Abstract

The tomb of Jesus posed two main problems for early Christians: firstly, the earliest memory of the tomb seems to recall it as the site of the dishonourable burial of a man executed as an enemy of the Roman imperial system; and secondly, the narrative of the empty tomb stood for several reasons in an ambiguous relationship to the announcement of the resurrection. Yet within three centuries, that ‘place’ had been rehabilitated both architecturally and ritually (memorialised together with the site of the crucifixion) as ‘sacred space’ in the Church of the Resurrection (the typical Eastern designation for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre). For discussion, see Morris 2005:33–34). By about 380 CE, Cyril of Jerusalem could thus pronounce this place ‘the very centre of the world’ (Cat. 13.28). The present article argues that ‘the place where they put him’ was not originally venerated as ‘sacred space’, but rather was remembered as a place of shame; and also describes several different narrative and theological strategies, introduced in the canonical gospels and interpreted by early Christian readers, that changed how the tomb of Jesus was remembered and that allowed for it eventually to be regarded as ‘sacred space’.

Highlights

At first glance, Mark 16:1–8, the earliest version1 of the empty tomb story, seems to display little interest in the ‘space’ of the tomb itself
The present article details these problems, and argues that the story of the empty tomb was rehabilitated in early Christian memory by means of four different narrative and theological strategies
Mark 16:1–8 is the earliest form of the empty tomb story, it might be based on an earlier tradition; and a Q-saying that refers to the disappearance of Jesus (Q 13:35) might reflect a similar idea

Summary

Introduction

Mark 16:1–8, the earliest version1 of the empty tomb story, seems to display little interest in the ‘space’ of the tomb itself. The question of the origin of these additions need not delay us, for the important thing is how they altered the meaning of the tomb in early Christian memory.18 the variations and subsequent interpretations and re-presentations of the story are numerous, the main narrative additions will be treated under the following headings: (1) additional witnesses of the empty tomb, including the guard (Matthew) and apostolic figures (Luke, John); (2) the presence of the graveclothes inside the tomb (Luke, John); (3) adaptations of the angelophany (John); and (4) an appearance of the risen Jesus at the tomb (Matthew, John).

Results

Conclusion