Rediscovering The Truth About Creation

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In Chapter Eighteen, reference was made to the awful ordeal of death by crucifixion. In responding to the Swoon theory, an understanding of Jesus' death is significant. In the book, The Resurrection Narratives and Modern Criticism by Mr. T. J. Thorburn, a special summary is offered to show all that the Lord had to endure during His terrible death [1]. Some of the cruel elements of that harsh treatment, which was inflicted against Him, are listed below in Table 12.

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Table 12. The Cruel Elements of Jesus' Harsh Treatment.

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To begin with, Jesus was beaten when He appeared before the High Priest. Matthew 26:67 indicates that they spit in His face and hit Him with their fists. Then, prior to His actual crucifixion, He was ordered by Pontius Pilate to be scourged! Many do not understand the cruel nature of a Roman scourging, but because of its severity, this form of torture often killed the victim, itself, many times even before any other form of torture could be administered.

Scourging consisted of whipping the person up to and sometimes more than forty times. The Roman guards, of course, were not especially concerned about having an accurate count, so the number of stripes could vary. Unlike what many may think, this unique form of whipping was not just an ordinary beating with an ordinary leather strap. To exact a more punishing, more cruel blow, the Roman whip had pieces of stone, broken glass, and other sharp objects actually woven between the strands. As the whip would strike the victim's back, those sharp objects would literally pierce the skin, dig into the body, and inflict a far worse injury! As the guard would pull back the whip, the victim's flesh would be ripped from his body. After a few blows, the whip would begin to leave open wounds and sores. After a few more, the whip would begin to penetrate vital organs and literally start to pull the individual apart. Though this probably did not happen to Jesus, stories have been recorded about other victims who were actually required to pick up their own organs which had fallen to the floor.

After being scourged, it is highly likely that Jesus was beaten beyond recognition. Anyone who has ever suffered any kind of severe beating, such as in a fight or something similar, knows of the tremendous fatigue which overcomes the whole body. What Jesus had to endure was far worse! Yet, despite the agony which He must have already been feeling, He then had to pick Himself up from that horrible whipping and carry His own cross to the site where He was to be hanged.

Once there, His hands and feet were nailed, with real nails, to that cross! I often think that most people speak quite casually and very much in a matter of fact manner about Christ's death on the cross, but this whole episode was real! He was beaten or scourged with a real whip! He was nailed to that cross with real nails! The blood which fell to the ground was real! And He really died! The Roman guards prided themselves on their precision and efficiency. The victim of their brand of punishment was not expected to walk away. Clearly, the intent of the Romans on that day with our Lord was to kill, but not until after they had first tortured!

After all of that he endured prior to His Crucifixion, Jesus was then pinned to the cross for a period of six hours. His body would have been racked with pain. His blood would have just about streamed completely from His body because of all the open wounds, and His ability to fight off death would have been almost totally diminished. Death by crucifixion was slow and agonizing, but the Romans intended it to be! However, just hanging on the cross, by itself, did not kill the individual. As the body hanged, the legs would become weary. Then, the body would begin to sag. In that state of midair suspension, the victim would be able to inhale, but he would not be able to exhale! As a result, he would have to muster up all his strength just to push himself up to a more erect position so that he could expel the previously inhaled breath. Under the weight of his own exhausted body, plus the pain of the nails and the general deterioration which would have already set in over time, he would again sag and find himself back in the original dilemma, inhaled air which needed to be exhaled. Eventually, the victim would not be able to push himself up, and at that point, he would simply die of asphyxiation.

Occasionally, a sufferer would have the internal strength and fortitude to fight off death for some time. For example, an earlier account in Chapter Fourteen shared the story of the Apostle Andrew, who was hanged for three days before his life finally left his body. In such instances, the body would continue to sag, yet the individual would continue to push himself up to exhale the inhaled air. When a crucifixion lingered too long, the Romans had a nice, clean solution. They simply broke the legs of the victim! After that, the person obviously would not be able to push himself up, and death would quickly follow! In Jesus' case, breaking His legs was not necessary because He had already died after the first six hours, but just to make sure, a Roman guard grabbed his spear, went over to where He hanged, and thrust it into His side. At that point, the guard not seeing any movement concluded that Jesus was dead, and considering all that He had been through, there was no reason for anyone else to reach any other conclusion.

According to Swoon theory proponents, Jesus either faked being dead, or He passed out from exhaustion and was then revived once inside the tomb. However, even if either of these scenarios were true, the Swoon theory still would not be plausible. The reason is simple! In order for an average-sized person to get in and out, the opening of the tomb would have had to have been at least several feet high and wide. Based on the actual size of the tomb where Jesus lay, plus various other estimates, Mr. Day reported that the stone of Jesus' grave would have been exceedingly large [2]. Some estimates have, in fact, placed its weight at about three thousand pounds.

Had Jesus been a mere mortal and had He really endured the rigors of a scourging and a Roman crucifixion, then no one can possibly believe that He would have been able to do all that would have been necessary. He would have had to roll away that large, heavy stone. He would have had to fight off the Roman guards who were watching His tomb. Then, He would have had to have made Himself presentable for others. All of this, He would have had to have done in just three days. Such expectations of anyone, except God, are total ridiculous! Therefore, the Swoon theory is unreasonable for a mere human being and cannot possibly be considered valid.

Next is the Hallucination theory, and this theory also fails to follow rational thinking. First, Dr. Habermas tells us that hallucinations are not contagious and that they cannot be passed from one disciple to another, much less to hundreds of people at the same time [3]. Then, Mr. McDowell adds that hallucinations are usually linked in a person's subconscious by a particular past experience [4]. Given these facts, it is highly unlikely that any two people, much less the hundreds who were reported, could have had the same hallucination at the same time. Since Jesus was seen by many on several different occasions, this theory also is not reasonable.

The third Resurrection refutation theory is the Legend theory, and this theory, too, fails for three reasons. First, as Dr. Habermas reports, there were many eyewitnesses who saw Jesus after the Resurrection. Second, many of the people who had lived during those early days of the New Testament Church readily recognized and accepted the Resurrection as truth [5]. Lastly, recall the earlier comments by Josephus, who had written in the late First Century and was very much aware of the Resurrection.

Not only was the fact of the Resurrection well accepted during Josephus' days, but it had been since the time of Christ's death. Therefore, in light of all the information to the contrary, the suggestion that this event had somehow been added over time just to spice up Christianity is just not logical! Because both secular and non-secular historical evidence shows that the Resurrection was reported and accepted from the beginning, this anti-Resurrection theory, like the others, also cannot be taken seriously.

The final theory which attempts to challenge the validity of the Resurrection is the Stolen Body theory, and ironically, this belief finds its origin in the Bible, as the Apostle Matthew wrote: 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 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 Jews to this very day [6].

Obviously, Matthew did not reject the Resurrection of Christ, but he did report the attempt of others to distort the truth. As we shall see, though, this theory, just like the other three, fails when really put to the test.

According to Mr. F. F. Bruce in his book, The Expositor's Greek New Testament, even the language of the chief priests plan did not make sense. Those "sleeping" Roman guards in the above passage would not have known who, if anyone, had stolen the body [7]! Consequently, this whole scheme was obviously a hoax right from the start.

Despite that, though, try to imagine such a scenario! The guards would have been highly trained, well-disciplined troops. Someone is supposed to believe that military personnel of that caliber could have or even would have actually slept while some or all of the disciples rolled away a three thousand pound stone, unwrapped Jesus body, and then carried Him away. Even the biggest skeptic would have to chuckle at such a notion. Sleeping on duty under normal circumstances would have meant certain death for the guards. According to Mr. McDowell, those men would have been foolish to have committed such a crime and then even more foolish to have actually confessed to it [8]. Right from the beginning, there is not much reason to seriously believe the Stolen Body theory.

Some additional evidence exists which also counters this idea that Jesus' body was stolen, namely the condition of the empty tomb at the time that it was discovered. Things were not in disarray as one might expect following a robbery. To the contrary, the wrapping which had been placed on Christ's body, and which had weighed approximately seventy-five pounds, was neatly folded. As Mr. Merrill Tenney, in The Reality of the Resurrection, indicates, what thief would have been so meticulous as to have carefully cleaned up after the job, especially under the obvious circumstances [9]? If the guards had been asleep and if the Stolen Body theory really were true, then one would think that the disciples would have tried to get in and get out as quickly as possible. That certainly makes sense! They would not have wanted to linger and risk getting caught because their lives, too, would have then been in jeopardy.

There is a final piece of evidence which demonstrates the foolishness of this theory. It is the evidence of Resurrection Fact Number Six which was stated in Chapter Eighteen. According to Mr. James Rosscup, Dr. Habermas, and many others, the behavior of the Apostles changed dramatically following the discovery of Christ's Resurrection [10]. Just a few days earlier, after Jesus had been taken prisoner, the disciples had fled for their lives. They were scared to death, afraid that they would be next. They had gone into hiding.

For someone to suggest that those frightened men could have somehow pulled together the courage and nerve to charge out against a trained Roman guard to steal Christ's body is absurd enough! But then, if one traces their lives past the Resurrection, an entirely different picture is seen. Each Apostle, with the singular exception of the Apostle John, suffered persecution and a hard death because of his faith in the risen Lord. To believe that those once frightened, cowardly men could have somehow stolen the body and then would have been willing to play out the charade of a resurrected Christ right up until their own persecution and death is also not very sensible!

Any one of the Apostles might have been able to spare himself simply by admitting to the theft, but none of them ever did! Instead, they each preached and faithfully served the Lord for the remainder of their days. Ultimately, each died for Jesus simply because of their personal faith and hope in Him. To believe that such faith and hope could have ever existed over a dead, defeated Master, whose own body the disciples had stolen away, is simply not logical.

What does make sense is that those men had been tucked away in hiding until the two Marys apprised them of Christ's Resurrection. Then, surprised like everyone else, they rushed to the tomb and saw for themselves that Jesus was gone. Sometime after that, they saw Jesus in His resurrected, glorified body, and that experience, along with the subsequent indwelling of the Holy Spirit, changed them forever, just like Criteria Three and Four in Chapters Fourteen and Fifteen indicated. Meanwhile, as those events were unfolding around the tomb and in the disciples' lives, the Chief Priests and the Roman guards, just as the passage from the Book of Matthew states, were cooking up a clever scheme of their own in an attempt to cover up what had really happened!

It is important to remember the Gamaliel factor, which was discussed in Chapter Twelve and identified as Criterion One! How correct he was when he advised his Council that this whole movement, if of God, could not be stopped. The Chief Priests could not stop it even with their lies. The Romans could not stop it through much persecution. The teachings of Christ have not been destroyed by time. And last of all, the scientists and educators of this day have not and will not stop the Lord's work with their fancy, sophisticated theories. The Big Bang theory and the Theory of Evolution attempt to tell the people of this world that God is not needed and that He probably is not real. Many are listening to these hallowed words of science, but many are not! Despite the conflicts and controversy over theological and scientific matters, many still believe in and serve God, even in the 1990s.

Before concluding this chapter, a final remark must be made. Trying to prove God's existence in a current setting is a somewhat reasonable endeavor which at least makes sense! If He does not exist in the here and now, then not much else matters concerning the Lord and the Biblical perspective. But why is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ so critical to the context of all that is being discussed? Scientists frequently challenge the existence of God, but they almost never say a word about Jesus as Lord, about His death and Resurrection, or about His singular uniqueness to religion. Why is there so much concern here for Jesus and His Lordship? There are three reasons why His role is so important.

In the work referenced earlier, Mr. Sparrow-Simpson made an observation which shows two of the reasons why Christ and His Resurrection are so important. The first is very subtle but still necessary. When life was restored to Jesus beaten, battered, and persecuted body, it signaled to the world a final, decisive stamp of approval on His life by God [11]. Had God not been totally pleased with His Son, then He would not have endorsed such a dramatic restoration of life. The Resurrection is a symbol of victory over death, and as we shall see in Chapter Thirty-Five, that victory was and is important!

Second, the Resurrection also proves the Lordship of Christ. This means that one can trust what Jesus said and did! In the next several chapters, when the validity of Scriptures will be considered, that ability to trust Jesus will be critical to being able to accept the Bible. Mr. Sparrow-Simpson further indicated that the uniqueness of Christ and His position before God, as were demonstrated through the Resurrection, gives each individual the needed confidence to accept the Lord's teachings and actions. Since having such confidence is important, Christ's inclusion in this part of the discussion is also important.

The final reason why Jesus is important and why He must be considered in this discourse is that He reduces the set of valid theologies. No other religion in the world or in the history of time can boast of a risen Saviour! If the above two explanations for His importance are correct, then the implications of this third are both dramatic and profound! If the Resurrection demonstrates the Lordship of Christ, then the lack of something similar in other religions shows in them an element which is missing. In Christianity, the empty tomb is vital! No other religion can produce the same, and no other religion can offer the hope to its followers which the empty tomb offers to Christians. Therefore, Christianity should not be treated as or confused with any of the various man-made religions of the world. It is unique, and it stands alone!

Christ's Resurrection is important, and history confirms the accuracy of the event. To the world, the Resurrection of Jesus proves that He is Who He said He was. He is the Son of God! He is Lord! He claimed to be both, and God raised Him from death to show the world that it is so. The Resurrection also forms the basis for Christianity. It shows people like you and me that we can believe the words of Jesus, and it shows that Christianity is a divinely-made, not man-made religion. The statement made at the beginning of this examination of Jesus is true. Without the Resurrection, Christians have nothing. With it and with Him, we have everything!