What are the possibilities of resurrection of Jesus?
Death is a universal human experience, yet our understanding of it remains limited, primarily because those who undergo it cannot share their testimonies because sadly they are dead..
However, an exceptional case stands out in history — a man who not only died but rose from the dead three days later, witnessed by a substantial crowd who even dined with him. Could this event be the most ingenious marketing strategy for a new religion that would eventually transform the Roman Empire? What if Jesus had not risen from the dead? Did his disciples fabricate the story, or did they hide his body? Is such a scenario plausible?
Let’s explore the various possibilities surrounding the resurrection of Jesus.
First Possibility: Mass Hallucination
Imagine a group of people who had just experienced the traumatic events of seeing their beloved teacher, Jesus, arrested, crucified, and killed. The grief and emotional turmoil they must have felt would be immense. In this state, some might argue that they collectively hallucinated, believing they saw Jesus alive again.
However, for this theory to hold, we’d have to believe that multiple individuals, not just one or two, experienced these shared hallucinations over an extended period. Moreover, these hallucinations included not only seeing Jesus but also touching him, conversing with him, and even sharing meals. Such an elaborate and consistent hallucination across multiple people is highly unusual.
Second Possibility: Coordinated Deception
Following Jesus’s crucifixion, his disciples could have convened privately and decided to perpetuate his teachings by spreading a fabricated story of his resurrection, aligning with his previous statements.
However, we will encounter several challenges. First, these followers were deeply shaken and fearful after Jesus’s crucifixion. The idea that they would have the courage and coordination to maintain such a deceit, especially under the looming threat of Roman authorities, is improbable. Second, they would have had to convince every follower to stick to the same fabricated narrative. Even one person breaking ranks could unravel their story. Given these difficulties, this theory becomes less convincing.
This is a funny video for this possibility made by The Babylon Bee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23UNLLbOS3w
Third Possibility: Stolen Body
The notion that Jesus’s followers stole his body from the tomb runs into historical obstacles. Roman soldiers guarded the tomb, and Roman seals marked it, making unauthorized access nearly impossible.
The consequences for touching a sealed tomb were severe, including the risk of execution. Moreover, the followers were neither known for their courage nor their ability to evade Roman authorities, especially in the wake of Jesus’s death. Considering these factors, it’s challenging to believe that they managed to steal the body undetected.
Fourth Possibility: Emergence of a New Religion
The idea of starting a new religion by claiming Jesus had risen from the dead is intriguing. However, historical evidence tells a different story. The accounts of Jesus’s resurrection were documented in texts that date back to as early as AD 70. These texts predate any significant development of a formalized Christian religion and cannot be dismissed as a later invention.
Additionally, early church fathers, who lived in close proximity to the events, such as Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp, and others, attested to the resurrection narrative. These historical facts make it challenging to argue that the resurrection story was a calculated invention for religious purposes.
In conclusion, the resurrection of Jesus remains a historical dilemma, subject to various interpretations and theories. The possibilities of mass hallucination, coordinated deception, stolen bodies, or the emergence of a new religion all have no ground.
As historian Thomas, a professor at the University of Oxford, stated, “When I was asked to teach ancient history and examine the evidence provided by historians, I found no account so widely affirmed as the resurrection of Jesus.” The story of Jesus’s resurrection continues to intrigue and inspire, shaping the beliefs of millions of Christians and non-Christians around the world.
