Title

‘Look, the Place Where They Put Him’ (Mark 16:6): The Space of Jesus’ Tomb in Early Christian Memory

Authors

Daniel A. Smith, Huron University CollegeFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2014

Journal

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies

Volume

70

Issue

1

URL with Digital Object Identifier

https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v70i1.2741

Abstract

From the publisher's website:

"

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’."

Notes

Publisher's website: https://aosis.co.za/publishing/scholarly-journals

Citation of this paper:

Smith, Daniel A. “‘Look, the Place Where They Put Him’ (Mark 16:6): The Space of Jesus’ Tomb in Early Christian Memory.” HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 70 (2014).