I think the answer can be found in the words of the apostle Paul, as recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:17, “… if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins”. Verse 19 of the same chapter goes on to say “If we have hoped in Christ for this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied”. Thus, the death and resurrection of Jesus are central to the Christian faith. Without it, we have an illegitimate faith.

With that in mind, let’s briefly dissect 3 of the most common theories and how to refute them.

The Swoon Theory

What is it? – According to this theory, Jesus did not actually die, but merely lost consciousness. In the mistaken belief that He was dead, the soldiers buried Him and guarded His tomb. Some time later Jesus regained consciousness, wriggled out of His grave clothes and then, single-handedly, pushed a large boulder out of the way. He walked straight past the guards who were either asleep or singularly unobservant and hobbled off into the night to meet His disciples at a prearranged venue. His disciples then helped Him escape. At the heart of this theory lies the premise that Jesus was not resurrected because He never died in the first instance.

What is wrong with it? – To the critical eye, this theory immediately presents a number of problems. In the first instance, the theory discounts the weakened physical condition which Jesus was in as a result of the entire crucifixion experience. Jesus suffered a beating at the hands of Jews the night before the crucifixion (Mathew 26:67) as well as a “scourging” at the hands of the Roman soldiers just prior to His crucifixion (Mathew 27:26). According to history, a “scourging” at the hands of the Romans involved a severe whipping with a cat-o’-nine-tails. The cat-o’-nine-tails was a whip consisting of 9 individual thongs, each of which had a piece of bone tied into the end to make the whipping more severe. It was common practice for the Roman soldiers to whip the condemned person until they fainted from either pain or loss of blood. After this brutal scourging, Jesus was forced to carry His own cross for some distance (John 19:7) before finally having nails driven though His hands and feet and hanged on the cross.

Secondly the theory discounts the fact that the Roman soldiers were trained executioners and were not likely to make a mistake of this magnitude. If the condemned person did not die on the cross, it was common practice for them to break his legs and place him in a tomb to die there. The Gospel of John records that the soldiers broke the legs of the 2 men hanging either side of Jesus, but when they got to Jesus they saw that He was already dead and did not break His legs (John 19:33). Instead, they thrust a spear into His side, upon which a mixture of water and blood flowed out (John 19:34). The mixture of water and blood is possibly an indication that the pericardium (the membrane enveloping the heart) was pierced. We must remember that the Gospel of John records that Jesus had died prior to the spear being thrust into His side (John 19:30). However, for the sceptics out there, it may be useful to mention that if Jesus was not dead prior to the spear episode, the thrust of the spear into His side would most certainly have ended His life.

Thirdly, the theory relies on a totally implausible escape from the tomb. The theory will have us believe that after Jesus regained consciousness, he wriggled out of His grave clothes and, in His weakened physical condition, pushed the boulder aside. Once outside, He walked straight past the Roman soldiers, who were guarding the tomb, without them seeing or hearing Jesus. Moving the boulder and getting past the soldiers would have been no mean feat, given that the guards were instructed to make the grave as secure as they knew how (Mathew 27:65). Even if Jesus had sufficient strength left after His crucifixion ordeal to push the boulder away unaided, it is highly improbable that these trained soldiers would not have heard the noise or noticed Jesus walking past.

The Conspiracy Theory

What is it? – This theory is as old as the crucifixion account, having being circulated by the Jewish authorities when they first discovered that Jesus was not in the tomb (Mathew 28:11-15). According to this theory, Jesus was crucified and did die, but was not resurrected. Instead, the disciples stole His body from the grave whilst the soldiers were asleep. In later years, the reasons given to substantiate the theory were that the disciples (a) needed to keep their movement going and (b) needed to cover up the shameful fact that Jesus’ prophecies about His resurrection had failed to come true. For this reason, the disciples went about spreading the lie that Jesus had been resurrected.

What is wrong with it? – The theory hinges on a few critical assumptions. In the first instance, the theory presupposes that the disciples stole Jesus’ body from the tomb whilst the guards slept. This presupposition is ludicrous to say the very least. The night when Jesus was betrayed, the disciples scattered and, barring Peter and one other disciple who followed Him to His trial, remained in hiding in fear of the Jewish authorities. They would hardly have had sufficient faith or courage to stage such a daring attempt against an entire company of highly trained Roman soldiers, who had made the grave as secure as they knew how (Mathew 27:65). If they were stealing the body, surely they would have carried the body away, grave clothes and all. Why would the disciples take the time to unwrap Jesus’ body and leave the grave clothes behind? If the disciples were responsible for stealing the body, why were they not arrested and prosecuted straight away. Furthermore, if the guards were asleep, how could they know that it was the disciples who stole the body? Rolling the stone away from the tomb would have made a noise, why did the soldiers not wake up? If they were awake, why would they allow the body to be stolen? According to Roman military law, any guard found neglecting his duty would face execution. It is interesting to note that on another occasion, guards were actually executed by Herod after Peter had escaped from their custody (Acts 12:19). Thus, it is reasonable to assume that if these guards had truly neglected their duty, they would have been executed.

Secondly, it is noteworthy that the disciples did not initially believe the news that Jesus had been resurrected, despite the fact that He had told them on numerous occasions (Mark 16:11; Luke 24:11; Luke 24:25).

Thirdly, if the disciples stole the body and if Jesus was not resurrected, what was it that transformed them from a cowardly, fearful bunch of men hiding from the Jewish authorities, into a group of men boldly proclaiming the death and resurrection of Jesus? The conspiracy theory cannot explain this phenomenonal transition.

Lastly, the theory cannot explain why a group of men who stole Jesus’ body and lied about His resurrection were willing to die for their lie. Apart from Judas, who hanged himself, and the apostle John, each one of the disciples died a martyr’s death. It is highly improbable that they would suffer such gruesome deaths for a lie.

The Hallucination Theory

What is it? – According to this theory, the disciples did not actually see Jesus Christ, but merely thought that they did, i.e. they were hallucinating. What they saw was real to them, but to nobody else. Although this theory does acknowledge Jesus’ death, it does not acknowledge His resurrection, but rather the disciples’ belief that what they saw was the resurrected Jesus. By only acknowledging the disciples belief that they saw Jesus, this theory remains a thinly veiled attempt to disprove the resurrection of Jesus.

What is wrong with it? – The most obvious problem with this theory is the empty tomb. If the disciples were merely hallucinating, then Jesus’ body should still be in the tomb. If the disciples were merely hallucinating, then anybody wanting to disprove the resurrection of Jesus, using this theory, should be able to point to the body in tomb. But there is no body in the tomb!

Secondly, the hallucinations were experienced by different people, on different occasions and in different locations. Think specifically of Mary Magdalene at the tomb (Mark 16:9; John 20:14); the ladies at the tomb (Mathew 28:9); the 2 disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-15); the 10 disciples in the upper room, Thomas being absent (John 20:19); 8 days later the 11 disciples in the upper room, Thomas being present (John 20:26-28); the 7 disciples at the sea of Galilee (John 21:1-7); the 500 believers (1 Corinthians 15:6); James (1 Corinthians 15:7) and finally, the apostles just before Jesus’ ascension (Acts 1:3-11). If we were to believe this theory, then we would have to accept that there was a whole lot of hallucinating going on amongst the early disciples.

Summary

In a nutshell, all 3 theories are all totally implausible attempts to disprove the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Quite frankly, it takes more faith to believe one of these theories than it does to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

What then shall we say to all of this?

“But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, for it was impossible for Him to be held in its power” (Acts 2:24).

“For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every other name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of those who are in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the father” (Philippians 2:9-11).

The article has been based on extracts from the book “The Ever Loving Truth” written by Voddie Baucham, Jr. This exceptional book examines whether or not faith can survive in a post-modern world. The book is available locally from Augustine Bookroom or at Amazon.com.