What is the best explanation of the facts?
- Jesus didn’t die theory
The Discovery Channel recently had a special where “scholars” identified an herb that could mask the death of Jesus and hide the fact he was still alive. They believe he was taken down off the cross only appearing to be dead; for them this would explain the bodily resurrection of Jesus. Is this a believable theory?
I previously explained how crucifixion works (part 6) and how easy it would have been for the guards to recognize Jesus was dead. It would not take a rocket scientist to notice him hanging in a downward position and observe he wasn’t pushing upward for a long period of time. As I previously wrote, if the person is not able to push upward it is as if their head is held underwater. How long does it take for someone to drown? Who wouldn’t be able to deduce the person was dead? Second, the Roman soldiers were experts at death. Based on the Biblical account, in order to speed up the death of the two thieves hanging on crosses on each side of Jesus, the guards broke the legs of the thieves to prevent them from pushing upwards. Why didn’t they break the legs of Jesus? For the simple reason he was already dead. Third, a spear was stabbed into his side to confirm his death. Fourth, the whipping he endured before he went to the cross was so brutal it would have assured a quick death on the cross. The Mel Gibson movie, The Passion, clearly depicts the brutality of a Roman whipping. Fifth, even if he did survive, with all his wounds, how could he have convinced anyone he was alive and had overcome death?
This is why the vast majority of scholars reject this claim. People who watch these programs on television usually are unaware that only a few skeptics believe Jesus somehow survived and then convinced his disciples he was the risen savior. If they are right and Jesus didn’t die, this also means Jesus lied when he told them repeatedly he would have to suffer and die. He also lied after the resurrection when he told his disciples he had risen from the dead. Another liar would be the angel who spoke to the women at the tomb saying Jesus had risen from the dead. I wonder how many of those so-called scholars would be willing to call Jesus either a liar or a lunatic. My guess is none; but if Jesus didn’t die and didn’t rise from the dead, this has to be their conclusion. It is easy to see why almost no one believes Jesus didn’t die on the cross.
