Seven Theories that Oppose the Physical Resurrection of Jesus Christ
Many theories of opposition to the resurrection of Jesus Christ have arisen through the years. These claims that Jesus did not have a physical resurrection from the dead are as empty as the grave of Jesus Christ. Below I wrote seven empty oppositions that were dreamed up by unbelievers. As you will see they have no validity.
Stolen Body Theory:1 The first of these theories arose through a secret conspiracy. After the dead body of Jesus was put in a tomb the chief priests and Pharisees wanted to place a guard at the stone of the tomb. They remembered when Jesus was alive that He said, “After three days I will rise.” The priests and the Pharisees were worried that within three days that His disciples might come at night and steal the body. Then they figured His disciples would say “He has risen from the dead.” These men voiced their concerns to Pontius Pilate governor of Judea. Pilate told the men, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” So, they sealed the stone of the tomb and had soldiers guard the tomb. See Matthew 27:62–66 for all the details.
The Roman guards saw the resurrection happen before their very own eyes but did not believe it. There was a great earthquake. An angel descended from heaven and rolled the stone from the door of the tomb. When the guards saw the angel, they were almost scared to death. An angel told the guard and disciples at the tomb to not be afraid. The angel said that this Jesus who was crucified is raised from the dead. See Matthew 28:1–8.
The guard went back to Jerusalem to tell the chief priests about what they had just witnessed. The reason that they went to the priests was that they knew the Jewish rabbi had some political influence over Pontius Pilate. These priests along with their other colleagues held a special secret meeting. The plan was to bribe the Roman soldiers. The priests gave a large sum of money to these Roman soldiers. They told these soldiers to say, “His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.” The priests further stated, “And if this comes to the governor’s ears, [Pontius Pilate] we will appease him and make you secure” (Matthew 28:14 NKJV). There was an interesting movie produced in 2016 known as RISEN, directed by Kevin Reynolds. The Roman protagonist, Clavius, was played by actor Joseph Fiennes. This movie mentions this conspiracy about the stolen body.
Josh McDowell in his book, The Resurrection Factor asks the question “If the Roman guard had fallen asleep, how could they have known it was ‘the disciples who had stolen the body’”? The Roman guard would have never fallen asleep on the job for fear of punishment. Punishment was a torturous death. One method the Roman authorities used for punishing their soldiers was to burn them alive. Their clothes were stripped off them and the executioners ignited those clothes to start the fire which was used to burn them alive.
Here is another Stolen Body theory that unbelievers dreamed up that would involve either the Jewish or Roman authority. The Jews or Romans decide to steal the body before Jesus’ disciples can get to it. Then Jesus’ disciples could not steal the body and say that Jesus rose from the dead. However, the disciples would hear that the tomb was empty and would proclaim a resurrection. Now the only thing that the Jews or the Romans would have to do is parade the body of Jesus through the streets and the entire religion of Christianity would have been dead. The only reason why Christianity has survived is because of the empty tomb of Jesus Christ. The supernatural resurrection of Jesus Christ proves what Jesus said in His ministry here on Earth. He was who He said He was. He is God who became flesh and since Jesus Christ rose from the dead the true born-again Christian saints will rise from the dead too. As the Apostle Paul quotes, “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” (1 Corinthians 15: 55 NKJV). Born-again Christians have the victory and the eternal heavenly glory of Christ.
Unknown Tomb Theory:2 The disciples and others did not know where the body of Jesus was buried. This idea rose out of the knowledge that many men who were crucified were buried in a pit or mass grave. The only people that would believe this theory is someone who does not believe the Bible. The Bible destroys this theory completely.
A wealthy man from Arimathea by the name of Joseph who became a believer asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. He wrapped the body in an opulent linen cloth. Joseph laid the body of Jesus in a new tomb that he owned. See Matthew 27:57–60. The Jews and Romans also knew where the tomb of Jesus was. They had placed a Roman guard there and sealed the stone of the tomb.
Wrong Tomb Theory:3 This theory sounds remarkably like the unknown tomb theory. Early the first day of the week Mary Magdalene and the other Mary mother of James and Salome brought spices to anoint the body of Jesus. These women became disoriented and went to the wrong tomb. They found an empty tomb.
This theory evaporates very easily. An angel at the tomb talked to the women. “But the angel answered and said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay’” (Matthew 28:5-6 NKJV). An angel would not have directed the women to the wrong tomb. If anybody thought that these women went to the wrong tomb all that anybody would have to do is direct them to the right tomb. Once again, the Bible destroys the “Wrong Tomb Theory.”
Swoon Theory:4 Instead of dying on the cross from crucifixion Jesus fainted and did not revive until He was in the tomb. Next, He gets up pushes the heavy stone away from the entrance of the sealed tomb and attacks the Roman guard. He knocks them out and walks away from the tomb. He then meets up with His disciples and declares, “See I rose from the dead within three days just like I said I would.”
Many people do not understand what the torture of crucifixion does to the body. It was a slow painful process of asphyxiation. All victims were severely beaten before they were nailed to the cross. When a man would hang on the cross with his arms extended his pectoral muscles in his chest along with other muscles in the chest cavity would become paralyzed. When this happened, he could not normally inhale or exhale to breathe. The only way to breathe would be to push himself up with his feet to breathe. Since the nails were in his wrists and heals of his feet, every time he pushed himself up, he would feel great pain from the pressure of the nails. When the victim’s leg muscles were too tired to lift him up, he died of suffocation. The reason why the Roman soldiers broke the legs of the two criminals on the cross next to Jesus was to cause death by asphyxiation. The Jews did not want the men hanging on the cross during the Sabbath. When the Roman soldiers came up to Jesus, they saw that He was already dead. They wanted to make sure by stabbing Him with a spear.
Besides all of this, the victim would suffer traumatic fever from hanging for such a long period of time. During crucifixion, within twelve minutes the blood pressure drops by half and the pulse rate doubles. This is caused by all the blood entering the lower part of the body. Fainting would occur because not enough blood was getting to the heart.6
If He was revived like the swoon theory says, then He would have to eventually die. When the revived Jesus would die someone could present the body and the worship of Jesus Christ would have ended right there. Christianity cannot survive without the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Hallucination Theory:7 The apostles and others who saw Jesus as resurrected after His death were hallucinating. They never saw a resurrected Jesus; they only thought they saw a resurrected Jesus. These followers of Jesus only saw what they wanted to see.
Like the swoon theory above, this theory is not medically possible. Hallucinations are very personal. They are linked to an individual’s past experiences and come out of his subconscious mind. This makes it very unlikely that any two individuals could share the same hallucination at the same time. Those who hallucinate have a psychological problem. Most individuals who hallucinate are schizophrenic. Hallucinations require an anticipating spirit. After the death of Jesus Christ, his own followers were not looking for a resurrected Christ. They thought their religious hero was dead. “For as yet they did not know the Scriptures, that He must rise again from the dead” (John 20:9 NKJV). Hallucinations occur over a long period of time. So why did the hallucinations stop after Jesus’ Ascension? It is because there were no hallucinations. Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day just like He prophesied He would.
The apostle Paul said that the resurrected Jesus was seen by His disciples and five hundred others. Not all these people could experience the same hallucination at the same time. “…and that He was seen by Cephas, [Peter] then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remains to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles” (1 Corinthians 15:5-7 NKJV).
Legend Theory:8 Even the most liberal scholars of today believe that there was a Jesus Christ that lived. They may not believe many parts of the Bible, but at least they acknowledge that such a person lived. The Legend Theory states that the whole story of Jesus is all make-believe—it never happened. If you want to believe Jesus is just a legend, you can believe that, but there is much evidence that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh and can save you from sin and an eternal death. Look at the writings of first century authors who may not have believed that Jesus was God in the flesh, but they write that He existed. You can also look at archaeological evidence.
The Bible is the best proof against any doubts about who Jesus is and that He was resurrected from the dead. The New Testament gospels were written shortly after the event. The date of the writing of the original autographs of the gospels was probably around A.D. 45-63.9 Chances are most of the New Testament was written before A.D. 70. I say that because during that year Jerusalem fell. The Romans also destroyed the Jewish temple. If the gospels were written after the destruction of Jerusalem along with the temple, the authors of the gospels would have acknowledged this fact as fulfilled prophesy. For instance, Jesus prophesied about the destruction of the Jewish temple. See Matthew 24:1–2. The New Testament could not have been written two or three hundred years after the event either. Today we have New Testament manuscripts dated as early as A.D. 125.
Spiritual Resurrection Theory:10 Yes, there was a resurrection some say, but it was spiritual, not physical. The body of Jesus decayed in the grave just like everybody else. This is blasphemous. We Christians worship a risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The grave is empty. His body or bones will never be found. You cannot be a Christian and believe this. The Bible speaks of a physical resurrection in the Gospels. However, if you do not believe in the Bible, you are not a Christian and it doesn’t matter.
There have been many attacks against Christianity and Jesus Christ that deny the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ. I remember a blasphemous accusation made early in this century. Simcha Jacobovici and James Cameron in their 2007 film, The Tomb of Jesus claimed the bones of Jesus Christ were found. In the documentary they claimed they had found the ossuary of Jesus with His bones in it. This could not be true, because only wealthy Jews could afford an ossuary, which is a bone box that held the bones of the deceased which would have been taken from a rock-cut tomb. Jesus’ family was poor. Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus in a rock-cut tomb so He could be buried under Jewish law which stated a burial within 24-hours of death. Also, Jews were usually buried in their hometown. If the family of Jesus had a tomb it would have been in Nazareth.11 The film claims the tomb that Jesus was buried in was in Talpiyot Mizrah located in Israel. This city is about 9 miles southeast of Jerusalem. Jesus was a common name during the first century. The Bible tells us about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, so we know that the tomb is empty Just as empty as these blasphemous claims.
Even legitimate archaeology exposes the lies in this film. The original archaeologist, Amos Kloner who excavated this ossuary and wrote the original excavation report to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) called the claims of these idiotic filmmakers “nonsense.” Archaeologists Amos Kloner said, “I published all the details in the Antiqot journal in 1996, and I didn’t say it was the tomb of Jesus’ family,” Mr. Kloner, is now a professor of archaeology at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University. Going back to the film, the film makers claimed that in their movie they have information in the movie that has never been reported. These are all lies that the IAA will attest to. So, it seems that Jacobovici and Cameron made this up out of thin air. This just proves anyone can make a film, all you need is money. The Bible proves this wrong. “Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have” (Luke 24:39 NKJV). This is all the proof we need. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was physical.
Oppositions to Physical Resurrection Page: End Notes
1. Josh McDowell. The Resurrection Factor; Here´s Life Publishers, Inc.; San Bernardino, CA 92402 (1981) pp 92-95.
2. Ibid. pp 77-78.
3. Ibid. pp 78-80.
4. Josh McDowell. The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict; Thomas Nelson Publishers; Nashville, TN 37214 (1999) pp 258-263
5. Archaeological Study Bible; Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI 49530 (2005) [notes on John 20:1] p 1760.
6. Dr. D. James Kennedy. The Resurrection; radio transcript; Truths That Transform [Dr. D. James Kennedy interviews Dr. C. Truman Davis on the medical aspects of crucifixion]; Coral Ridge Ministries; (1987) Fort Lauderdale, FL 33302 pp 14-23.
7. Ibid. The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict; pp 272-279.
8. Ibid. The Resurrection Factor; pp 80-81.
9. www.godandscience.org/apologetics/bibleorigin.html. [this page was taken down]
10. Ibid. The Resurrection Factor; pp 81-82.
11. www.bib-arch.org/bswbKCtombmagness.html. [this page was taken down]