When Jesus Christ died and was taken off the cross, Joseph of Arimethea was given permission to take his body and put him in a new sepulcher that had never been used before. Nicodemus also went with Joseph, and he brought spices and linen clothes. These men took and wrapped the body of Jesus in the linen clothes as was customary for the Jews, and laid him in the tomb:

A large stone was rolled in front of the tomb, and guards were placed at the tomb to guard it. In the book of Matthew, we are told "a watch" was set up at the sepulcher. A watch is a group of Roman guards or soldiers:

Three days later, the two angels and a resurrected Jesus appearing at the opening of the sepulcher, and those watching the tomb were extremely frightened. Obviously had nothing more to watch, so they went running back into the city to tell the chief priests what had happened:

We also read that Mary Magdalene was the first to speak with the risen Jesus Christ. This occurred in the garden where the tomb was, and Mary turned around and thought he was a gardener. Obviously, Jesus was clothed, and probably clothed as a gardener:

We also read that the disciple whom Jesus loved looked into the tomb, and when Simon Peter went into the tomb, he saw the linen clothes lying on the ground, and a head napkin folded in a place by itself. Jesus had shed his graveclothes:

Let's look at the parties named in this story again:

1. Mary Magdalene

2. Simon Peter

3. Nicodemus

4. Joseph of Arimethea

5. the disciple whom Jesus loved

6. the guards

7. the two angels

8. Jesus

Here's the mystery to be explored: where did Jesus get the clothes he was wearing when Mary Magdalene met him in the garden? Which of those parties listed above could have given him the clothes he was wearing when Mary saw him? Unless he was standing there naked, he had to have been clothed, and Mary mistook him for a gardener. We know from the previous verses that Jesus was NOT wearing the clothes which Joseph and Nicodemus had wrapped him in. Nor are we told that Joseph left behind a change of clothes for Jesus in the tomb, thinking he would need them after he raised from the dead.

The prison guards didn't flee back to the priests naked, so Jesus did steal their clothes from them. Peter and the other disciple came after Mary Magdalene saw him clothed in the garden, and Mary saw him clothed. So, the only possible explanations of wear Jesus got his clothes are:

1. He just got them supernaturally, from God, or

2. The angels brought him the clothes

In Jesus time, the gardeners of those days dressed very similar, in linen, to how the high priest on Yom Kippur would when he entered the Holy of Holies once a year. It is very possible that the angels brought him his NEW HIGH PRIESTLY GARMENTS FROM HEAVEN, and Jesus was dressed as the high priest would be dressed on Yom Kippur. Why? Because, again, the priesthood at this point was completely transferred to Jesus Christ, and he was now functioning as the high priest of our profession:

Moving to the most important and interesting section of this teaching, we will now explore the statements Jesus made just after his resurrection when appearing to Mary and to his disciples. When Mary saw Jesus, but didn't recognize him, in the garden, he said something very interesting to her:

Jesus told her he could not be touched, because he hadn't yet ascended to heaven. Well, the casual reader would think Jesus was talking about his public ascension from the Mount of Olives forty days later. But this was NOT what he was referring to. How do we know? Because a few verses later, we read that Jesus appeared to the disciples only eight days later and said the following:

Now wait a minute: eight days earlier, Mary could NOT touch Jesus because he had not yet ascended to his Father in heaven. Eight days after the encounter with Mary, he tells Thomas to touch his body. Apparently, it is all right to touch him now, and he MUST HAVE ascended to his Father. This is how we know that he was NOT referring to his public ascension from the Mount of Olives forty days later! Sometime, during the eight days between the encounter with Mary where she could not touch him, and the encounter with the disciples where Thomas COULD touch him, Jesus SECRETLY ASCENDED to heaven!

But not only to heaven, but down to hell! Is there any proof of his descent to hell elsewhere in the scripture? Most definitely. But first, let's explore what he did when he ascended to heaven. In the book of Hebrews, we read the following:

An explanation of the importance of these verse is necessary. Verse 12 tells us Jesus "entered . . . the holy place" after he had obtained eternal redemption. As has been shown, the holy place in Jerusalem, the Holy of Holies was NOT what was being referred to. God tore his garment in tearing the veil, and the priesthood as completely transferred to Jesus on Calvary. No, this "holy place" was the one that is in heaven. Remember above we listed several verses that tell us there IS CURRENTLY a temple in heaven.