If there were guards outside Jesus’ tomb, how did Jesus get past them if he was resurrected?

Very simple: he did not get past them because He was no longer there in the tomb. Sounds strange? Well, let’s unravel it. Gospels are notorious for presenting different versions (how many Marys? how many angels? etc.) but as strange as it sounds this serves even more to solidify my point. The accounts of the four Gospels are obviously different and contradicting each other on petty things but they are united on the main fact: Jesus Christ was not in the tomb. So. let’s begin.

1. Gospel of Mark

It gives the most concise report, so we begin from here even though the guards are not mentioned. But if they were there, Jesus obviously would not get past them for he was not in the tomb from the very instant of resurrection as argued below:

a) Women came very early, at the sunrise (please read the original Greek, not the godless NIV translation or other like that). If so, the resurrection should have happened only moments before women came, so Jesus simply wouldn’t have enough time to leave the tomb unnoticed by them.

b) The very big stone was already moved by the angel, so as to expose the tomb to the outside world, not for Jesus to escape. Otherwise what’s the point for the angel to linger there? If the body was stolen, the same question applies.

c) It’s very weird but in the circumstances when it is already obvious that Jesus is not there, angel still bothers to point to the place where Jesus’ body was placed. Why? Maybe so they paid attention to what was left there (burial cloths left in order) and this will become clearer when we read the Gospel of John.

d) According to the angel, the reason for Jesus not being here is the very resurrection, not that somebody took him away or that he left the place himself. Angel is basically saying this: no resurrection - body here, resurrection - body not here. In other words body disappeared.

d) Angel inform them that Jesus is already walking to Galilee. This is an indirect indication that he started his walk from a different location than this one if they haven’t met him.

The final lines of this Gospel has a big issue of authenticity. But even if they were authentic, the point is not lost. We read that on the same day Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene. This would not be possible if Jesus left the tomb before women arrived because how they would meet then unless Mary was a marathon sprinter and could catch up with him while he was walking. More natural is to expect Jesus going from another location which is very probable for their paths to cross when she was coming back after visiting the tomb and Jesus was on his way from the garden of Gethsemane.

2. Gospel of Mathew.

a) The text is explicit: the earthquake and angel cause the guards to “shake and become like dead men.” If Jesus had staggered out of the tomb, it would be far more terrifying than an angel. Silence about seeing Jesus emerge is strong circumstantial evidence that He was already gone before the stone was moved. When guards report to priests they don’t say: “We saw Jesus alive.” They report the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. Their embarrassment is clear because they failed in their assignment — without a fight, the stone was moved, and the body was gone. The priests’ cover story (“say you were asleep and disciples stole him”) would only make sense if the guards did not claim to see Jesus.

b) In this gospel the fact of Jesus meeting women on their way back from the tomb is authentic and all I said before applies to it: this would not be possible if Jesus left the tomb before women arrived because how they would meet then? He must have been a way ahead of them at any given time.

3. Gospel of Luke

Guards are not mentioned here. The men in glowing clothes (angels again?) ask the women why are they looking for the living among dead. This indicates the resurrected living Jesus couldn’t be in the tomb even for a split second. From the very instant of the resurrection he was elsewhere. And women were supposed to know this and do not foolishly go all this way. If Jesus was resurrected in the tomb and stayed there even for a moment their coming would not be rebuked as pointless, as meeting the resurrected Jesus would be a solid cause for their walk. Now angels clearly indicate there was not a slightest reason to come here.

4. Gospel of John.

This one is the best. We read that Mary Magdalene having found no body in the tomb had time to run back to the disciples and come back, and only then she meets Jesus. Even more importantly, Jesus was not inside (angels were there) but addressed her from outside of it. She even had to turn 180 degrees to see him. We can presume that he had just arrived there from somewhere else.

And another good point is that the disciples found the burial linen and head cloth lying neatly in their places. Clearly Jesus was not resurrected in the tomb as otherwise he would have left a mess of scattered linen and cloth. Unless we think that the main concern of his was to tidy up the place, then run to the convenience store for some beer (while disciples inspected the place) and come back only when Mary was already there for the second time. I do not believe so!

So, you can believe the Gospels or not, but if you believe them, then please be true to yourself and admit that Jesus Christ was not in the tomb from the very instant resurrection happened. This is why he did not go past the guards. In the end, it does not not even matter if guards were there or not, the real thing that should bother us is the fact that Jesus Christ was bodily relocated to a different place during the resurrection. That place is the garden of Gethsemane. From there he was on his way to the Galilee, to visit the tomb, to meet the disciples.