What Happened to Jesus' Body

The two most compelling strains of evidence Christians use to prove Jesus rose from the dead are the empty tomb and the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus.¹ Destroy these and Christianity crumbles.

Over the past two millennia, many have attempted to provide alternative explanations for these two lines of evidence. This article summarizes the most significant of these explanations and the basic critiques of their reasoning.

Was the Tomb Empty?
The first evidence given that Jesus rose from the grave came forth minutes after the event occurred. According to the earliest accounts of the resurrection,^2,3 some of Jesus' followers went to His tomb to complete the burial process (which was interrupted by the Sabbath). Upon arriving at the tomb, they encountered angelic beings who said, "He is not here, He is risen. Come and see where He was buried." Angels pointed to the empty tomb as proof Jesus was alive. Throughout history no one has set forth a credible argument that the body was still in the tomb. History accepts that it wasn't. Even Jesus' contemporaries failed to argue the fact.⁴ So we must ask, "What happened to the body?" Several propositions have come forth.

His Disciples stole the body.
In Matthew 28:11-15,⁵ soldiers who had guarded the tomb told the Jewish religious leaders that Jesus arose. Those leaders bribed the guards to tell people that, while they were sleeping, Jesus' disciples came and stole the body. The premise continues by stating that His disciples hid the body and told people that Jesus was alive.

Two main problems present themselves with this view. First, what judge would listen if you told him that, while you were sleeping, Joe Smith entered your house and stole your valuables? We don't know what goes on while we sleep, only the results after we awaken. And these guards were professional soldiers who, if caught sleeping on duty, faced execution.
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Also, Jesus had a dozen disciples and countless friends. If there were a conspiracy to perpetrate a lie, why did the secret never spill out, even when the conspirators faced trials, beatings and death?

Charles Colson, Chief Counsel to President Richard Nixon and one of the Watergate Seven conspirators, discovered the answer through the Watergate scandal. Only he and a few of Nixon's closest advisors knew the Watergate details. They agreed to a cover-up. Only two weeks later, one conspirator could hold the secret no longer. Colson says, "The real cover-up, the lie, could only be held together for two weeks, and then everybody else jumped ship in order to save themselves."⁶ He continues, "The Watergate cover-up reveals the true nature of humanity. Even political zealots at the pinnacle of power will, in the crunch, save their own necks, even at the expense of the ones they profess to serve so loyally."⁶ But save their necks from what? Embarrassment and possibly prison! None faced a death sentence for their actions. Yet the disciples were beaten, tortured and killed. Colson asks, "Don't you think that one of those apostles would have cracked before being beheaded or stoned? That one of them would have made a deal with the authorities? None did. You see, men will give their lives for something they believe to be true -- they will never give their lives for something they know to be false"⁶ (emphasis added). This experience ultimately helped persuade Colson of the truth that the disciples didn't take the body, Jesus rose from the dead.

Simon Greenleaf, one of America's greatest legal mind and famous Harvard law professor, taught attorneys how to determine if a witness was lying. After studying the case of the disciples he concludes, "It was ... impossible that [the disciples] could have persisted in affirming the truths they narrated, had not Jesus actually risen from the dead, and had they not known this fact as certainly as they knew any other fact."⁷
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The Jewish or Roman Authorities Stole the Body
A second theory accuses the Jewish and/or Roman authorities of stealing the body. These same authorities, fearing a theft of the body, arranged to seal the tomb and station guards at the grave to prevent such a theft.⁸ When the disciples went around proclaiming a resurrection, why did the authorities not produce the body to refute the claim? In fact, they had the perfect opportunity to quell the rumors. While the disciples were preaching that Jesus had risen, the authorities arrested two of the preachers.⁹ These leaders were intent on quelling the movement which had gained more than 8000 followers in a couple of months. What would be the best way to silence the disciples? Display the body they had removed. But all they could do was threaten the disciples and order them not to preach any more of Jesus.¹⁰ They had not taken the body.

The Distraught Followers of Jesus Went to the Wrong Tomb
Some have claimed that because of their emotional state, the first visitors to the tomb actually went to the wrong location and found a different, unused tomb. This line of thinking also requires that each subsequent visitor to the tomb was mistaken on the location. If so, when the followers of Jesus claimed a resurrection, why did the authorities not say, "Hey, look over there where the soldiers were standing guard. He's in that grave."? Jesus' enemies not could produce His body, verify its identity and squash the thought of a resurrection because the visitors went to the correct tomb. It was empty.

Jesus Didn't Actually Die (He Swooned)
In this explanation, Jesus passed out on the cross. He appeared to have died, but had actually entered some state of unconsciousness. Laying in the coolness of the tomb for three days, He revived from this unconscious state, left the tomb and appeared to His followers. Though on the surface a plausible theory, it is fraught with problems.
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First, professional executioners, who knew their job, executed Jesus. When the request came to bury Jesus, Pilate was surprised that death had occurred so soon. To verify the completion of the execution, he summoned the centurion overseeing the process. Pilate questioned the soldier to determine if, in fact, Jesus was dead. Satisfied with the centurion's report, Pilate released the body.¹¹ Even the enemies of Jesus were satisfied He was dead.¹²

Then we must consider the condition of Jesus. During the last day of His life Jesus experienced a sleepless night of anguish¹³ interrupted by His arrest.¹⁴ He was tied up and marched to several locations around the city for various trials.^{15,16,17,18,19} During His trials He was spit at, punched randomly and slapped;²⁰ severely beaten with a leather strap embedded with metal nails;²¹ mocked;²² had thorns stuck in His scalp;²³ was beaten on the head with a stick;²⁴ punched in the face;²⁵ forced to carry His cross toward the place of execution until He could no longer endure the weight;²⁶ nailed to a cross with thick, heavy nails driven through both hands and feet,²⁷ causing a great loss of blood and the most intense of pains; suffered for six hours hanging on the cross where death came by excruciatingly slow suffocation;²⁸ and, to assure His death, received the stab of a spear stuck into His side.²⁹ Then, He laid in a stone tomb for three days without food or water.

After experiencing this, the swooned theory asks us to believe that Jesus was revived by the coolness of the tomb, escaped His tight burial windings,³⁰ moved aside the stone door³¹ wide enough for people to go in and out³² (by one second-century calculation, a stone so large that 15 men could not have moved it³³); overcame or avoided the guards;³⁴ immediately appeared to and spoke with some of His followers;³⁵ walked (on feet that had had spikes driven through them) seven miles where He met, walked and talked with two more disciples;³⁶ then found a secret way into a locked room, appearing to several others.^37,38 And He did this all in one day with enough physical vitality that He convinced His disciples He had conquered death and the grave, and was in the peak of health.

Can one honestly say that such thinking rationally handles the facts of the case?

The Hallucinations

For any of these theories to carry any validity, one must also account for the second strain of resurrection evidences that Christians point to, the appearances of Jesus. Following His death, Jesus appeared to others on at least ten separate occasions, at one point to more than 500 at one time. How does one account for this? The only theory with any weight says that these were hallucinations or visions.

At first blush, this appears reasonable. Yet it runs contrary to the principles that science knows about visions. One usually finds hallucinations in people who are emotional by character. While we might classify some of those Jesus appeared to as "emotional women," He also stood before hardened fishermen and others not fitting an emotional mindset.
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Science tells us visions are quite subjective and individual, yet Jesus appeared to individuals,³⁹ small groups,⁴⁰ larger gatherings,⁴¹ and more than 500 at one point (with an invitation for the authorities to interview them).⁴² While hallucinations usually occur at specific times and places intimately associated with the subject of hallucination, Jesus' appearances were at various times of the day,^43,44,45 inside⁴⁶ and outside,⁴⁷ in towns⁴⁸ the countryside⁴⁹ and by the lakeshore.⁵⁰ And people usually encounter these experiences with regularity over a long period of time. In the case of Jesus, His appearances occurred over a forty-day period then stopped.

Probably the most telling contradiction to the hallucination theory is that, to have a vision like these, one must intensely want to believe what he/she imagines. Such visualizations happen with, for example, the sudden loss of a loved one. The individual so longs and expects to see their loved one that some circumstance, similar to one in the deceased's life, triggers the imagination to see and speak with the loved one. The contrary was true of the followers of Jesus. They were convinced of the appearance of Jesus against their wills. They knew He was dead and didn't expect Him to leave the grave. When some of their number began delivering reports of seeing Jesus, the others disregarded those experiences.⁵¹ When He did appear to these others they were frightened,⁵² didn't recognize Him⁵³ or mistook Him for a ghost.⁵⁴ Doubting Thomas said he would not believe until he put his finger into the nail holes in Jesus' hands and placed his hand in the wound in His side. And only when Jesus showed him the scars did he accept the fact of the resurrection.⁵⁵

If not hallucinations, we must face the conclusion that these 500-plus people actually saw Jesus standing before them.

Did Jesus rise from the dead? What it comes down to is, "What do you believe?" You can accept the truth of the biblical record or believe one of the alternatives with their many difficulties. The choice is up to you. Jesus came to this earth to die for your sins and rose from the dead that you might be made right with God.⁵⁶ For more information, visit Josh McDowell's website.

Also by this author:"Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?"
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FOOTNOTES:
¹Wise, Timothy R.; "Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?".²Matthew 28:1-6. ³Mark 16:1-6. ⁴Matthew 28:11-15. ⁵Matthew 28:11-15.⁶Colson, Charles; "An Unholy Hoax?;"Breakpoint Commentary, March 29, 2002. ⁷"Hide and Seek," Josh McDowell website. ⁸Matthew 27: 62-66. ⁹Acts 4:1-3.¹⁰Acts 14:13-22.¹¹Mark 15:42-45.¹²Matthew 27: 62-66. ¹³Matthew 26:37-45.¹⁴Matthew 26:47-56. ¹⁵John 18:12-24. ¹⁶Matthew 26:57-68. ¹⁷Luke 23:1-7. ¹⁸Matthew 27:11-16.¹⁹Mark 15:1.²⁰Matthew 26:57-69.²¹Matthew 27:11-26.²²Matthew 27:27-30.²³John 19:2.²⁴Mark 15:19. ²⁵John 19:3.²⁶Matthew 27:31-32. ²⁷John 20:25. ²⁸Mark 15:25,34.²⁹John 19:34. ³⁰John 20:6-7.³¹John 20:1.³²John 20:1-9. ³³McDowell, Josh; "Resurrection Factor Part 3," Josh McDowell website. ³⁴Matthew 27:66.³⁵John 20:11-18.³⁶Luke 24:13-31. ³⁷Luke 24:36-43. ³⁸John 20:19-20. ³⁹Mark 16:9. ⁴⁰Matthew 28:1-10. ⁴¹John 20:26-29.⁴²1 Corinthians 15:6.⁴³John 20:14. ⁴⁴Luke 24:34. ⁴⁵John 20:19. ⁴⁶Luke 24:36-43.⁴⁷Luke 24:13-16. ⁴⁸Luke 24:28.⁴⁹Luke 24:13-33. ⁵⁰John 21:1-23. ⁵¹John 20:24-25.⁵²Luke 24:37.⁵³Luke 24:13-16.⁵⁴Luke 24:37.⁵⁵John 20:24-29.⁵⁶Romans 4:25.

SOURCES:
The Holy Bible
Morrison, Frank; Who Moved the Stone; Faber and Faber Limited.
Little, Paul E.; Know Why You Believe; Inter-Varsity Press.
McDowell, Josh; Evidence that Demands a Verdict; Campus Crusade.
McDowell, Josh; "Resurrection Factor Part 3;" Josh McDowell website.
McDowell, Josh; "Hide and Seek," Josh McDowell website.

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