Did the Body of Jesus Rot or Decompose?

(By Pastor Mark Fontecchio)

Question: Did the Body of Jesus rot or decompose?

Answer: This question can be answered directly from Scripture. We remember that on the day of Pentecost Peter began to preach to the Jews in Jerusalem (Acts 2:14). Peter quoted from a Messianic Psalm that was written centuries before by David.

Specifically, Peter was quoting from Psalm 16 when he stated, “For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption” (Acts 2:27). The Greek word for corruption is διαφθοράν and means, “the condition or state of rotting or decaying, destruction, corruption of the body.”¹ It is for this reason that the New American Standard Bible correctly translates verse 27, “Nor allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.”

This was certainly a miracle. Lazarus had been dead four days, prepared for burial with equal care, and was expected to have the normal stench that goes along with a decomposing body (John 11:39). Even though our Lord’s body was in the grave for three days, His body did not suffer the effects of decay. This wonderful Messianic promise was fulfilled in Jesus the Christ.

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¹ William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker, and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 239.