Refuting Hypotheses that Deny Jesus' Death & Resurrection
Did Jesus really die on the cross? Was Jesus really raised from death?
Easter is a Sunday that all Christians across the world celebrate. It is widely accepted that Jesus was resurrected on the first Easter Sunday. However, there are still some who deny that. And in today’s blog, we’ll deal with three of those hypotheses.
Swoon Hypothesis
Stolen Body Hypothesis
Hallucination Hypothesis
Let’s try to explore what the proponents of each of these hypotheses have to say and we’ll try to refute such claims.
1. Swoon Hypothesis
In 1780, Karl Friedrich Bahrdt proposed that Jesus did not actually die on the cross. Instead, he survived the floggings and the other punishments. However, “Jesus allegedly fell unconscious (“swooned”) on the cross, survived the crucifixion, and then regained enough strength to appear before them while he was still alive.”1
Medical Science to the Proponents of Swoon Hypothesis:
Refutations to the Swoon Hypothesis:
This claim can be rejected on medical grounds. “Modern skeptics of swooning claims, such as diagnostician Dr. Alexander Metherell, assert that Jesus having survived crucifixion is “impossible” and “a fanciful theory without any possible basis in fact.” ”2 “A further example may be found in a thorough analysis conducted by the Journal of the American Medical Association, which concluded Jesus was very probably dead even prior to the spear being thrust into his side, and that any swoon hypothesis is entirely irreconcilable with contemporary medical science.”3
Secondly, as David Strauss rightly notes, “It is impossible that a being who had stolen half dead out of the sepulchre, who crept about weak and ill and wanting medical treatment... could have given the disciples the impression that he was a conqueror over death and the grave, the Prince of life: an impression that lay at the bottom of their future ministry."4
I’ll leave you to think more about it and come up with more refutations to this hypothesis. You can even reply to us either via email or in the comments.
2. Stolen Body Hypothesis
This hypothesis postulates that Jesus did die on the cross. However, soon after he was buried, the disciples came and stole the body. This story is mentioned even in Matthew’s Gospel along with its refutation.
While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day. Matthew 28:11–15 (NRSV)
The Roman Government to the Chief Priests & Elders:
Refutations to the Stolen Body Hypothesis:
Firstly, Matthew not only mentions this plan that was devised by the chief priests and the elders, but he also tells us that this was without any evidence and just a false claim. Secondly, if the Disciples did steal the body, the powerful Roman governors could issue a warrant to search Jesus’ body and find it if Jesus did not resurrect.
I’ll leave you to think more about it and come up with more refutations to this hypothesis as well. You can even reply to us either via email or in the comments.
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3. Hallucination Hypothesis
David F. Strauss proposed this theory (also known as ‘Vision Theory’) in the 19th century. It states that the disciples did not see the actual resurrected Jesus but that it was just a hallucination. Since all the disciples rooted for Jesus to rise, they all had a vision that Jesus was resurrected. And based on that, they were propagating that Jesus is risen.
Each Witness to this hypothesis:
Refutations to the Hallucination Hypothesis:
If they have to come up with such a hypothesis, it shows how badly they want to reject the supernatural element that Jesus actually rose from the dead. That said, let’s move on to the refutations we can offer. Firstly, hallucinations don’t occur to a large number of people about the same thing/person at the same time. However, Jesus appeared to 500+ people after his resurrection. This is recorded in 1 Cor 15:6-8.
Secondly, as I’ve mentioned previously if Jesus had not risen bodily, his dead body would still have been in the cave. The Chief Priests and Elders along with the Romans could have just presented the body and the disciples' claim would have been silenced.
I’ll leave you to think more about it and come up with more refutations to this hypothesis as well. You can even reply to us either via email or in the comments.
Satan & Death to the Risen Jesus:
Jesus (probably): Yes!
Have a blessed Resurrection Day! May the Lord grant us faith to trust the risen Jesus.
God bless you!
Stevens, Jennifer (2010). "The Fifth Gospel of Oscar Wilde". The Historical Jesus and the Literary Imagination, 1860–1920. Cambridge and Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. p. 160.
Strobel, Lee (1998). The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. pp. 200–201.
Edwards, M.D., William; Gabel, M.Div., Wesley; Hosmer, M.S., Floyd (21 March 1986). "On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ". Journal of the American Medical Association. 255 (11): 1455–63.
David Strauss, The Life of Jesus for the People, vol. 1, 2nd edition (London: Williams and Norgate, 1879), p. 412.