Thursday, April 13, 2006

Theories that require faith

There are skeptics of the resurrection who will agree that the tomb of Jesus was indeed found empty. Yet, many false theories still exist that try to explain this by natural causes.

The Stolen Body theory = The disciples stole the body of Jesus and went on to die a martyr’s death for a lie. It is hard to believe that this group of men who were so scared that they were hiding out in the upper room would now muster enough courage to take on a group of Roman Soldiers guarding the tomb whose very lives depended on the success of their mission. And then all but one of them would go on to be murdered for a lie?

The Moved Body theory = The authorities moved the body of Jesus. Again, if this were the case all they had to do to prove it was show everyone the dead body of Jesus.

The Passover Plot = Christ staged His death with the plan to return later claiming to have been crucified and resurrected. Unfortunately, He didn’t count on the guards sticking Him with the spear that killed Him. This is too ridiculous to even comment on.

The Swoon theory = Christ never really died. He just passed out and the cool tomb revived Him. This is not the case. He didn’t just pass out…He died. The soldiers did not break His legs because He was already dead (Jn 19:32-33). Christ “gave up the ghost” or breathed His last (Mt 27:50; Lk 23:46). When the spear punctured the sack around His heart, a mixture of blood and water poured out proving He was in fact dead (Jn 19:34). For this theory to be true, Jesus, so badly beaten that He could not even be recognized (Is 52:14) and couldn’t even carry His own cross (Mk 15:21) had to:
  • Fool the expert guards into thinking He was dead
  • Survive the burial process including 100-200 pounds of spices
  • Recover from the great amount of blood loss
  • Keep the dampness of the tomb from causing pneumonia
  • Shed the grave clothes
  • Roll away a 2,000-4,000 pound stone
  • Fight off Roman guards whose lives depended on their success
  • Convince others that His mutilated body was a “new spiritual body”

The truth is obvious. It takes more faith to believe one of these theories than it does to believe that Jesus was indeed the Messiah and that He did in fact rise from the dead.

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