Christian studies:

The
Resurrection of Jesus

By Leo Im

Jesus was a significant figure in the course of history has he had

altered the thoughts of billions of lives. He had performed numerous
miraculous conducts such as the resurrection, which is strongly
believed by many Christians and seriously questioned by others.
Various statements and theories go for and against this event of the
resurrection. Theories relating to support the unbelievable
occurrence include the witnesses that had seen the revived body of
Jesus Christ. In contrast, even though logically and scientifically
illogical, the stolen body theory and the swoon theory are
interesting perspective to explore when discussing the resurrection.
Numerous people claimed the sighting of Jesus Christ after his
death. These include those that held a close relation with Jesus
Christ. According to Paul in 1 Corinthian 15:1-8 Jesus was seen of
Cephas, then of the twelve. After that, he was seen of above five
hundred brethren at once.1Jesus was detected by Mary Magdalene,
the two travellers to Emmaus, the disciples and more than five
hundred people. Being seen by a considerable amount of people
makes the plausibility of resurrection rise. Arguments against this
proof are mainly the fact that the disciples and apostle telling this
story might be a hoax they have created in order to gain attention,
fame and money. This however is irrational, as the disciples gain no
such things; instead they were greeted with hatred and public
shame. The disciples were risking their lives delivering such
information on Jesus, which states that there is a minute possibility
that the disciples were lying. Another proof that relates to the
people who had seen Jesus resurrected is that the first group of socalled eyewitnesses women. The two women outside of Jerusalem
were told by the angels he is not here: for he is risen, as he said.
Come, see the place where the Lord lay2. This is largely as women
were thought less than men and were always looked down upon. If
the story were made, in order to make it viral and believable the
witnesses would have been made a male to fit societys sexiest
perspective. Through these ideas the resurrection is made more
credible.

1 (1 Corinthian 15:1-8)
2 (Matthew 28:9-10)

The stolen body theory states a possibility for such an impossible

event. The stolen body theory states that Jesus had never
resurrected and the body was only stolen by the disciples, grave
thief or his enemy, which would explain his missing body. This idea
would not be possible as there were guards that shielded the area.
Since Jesuss statement After three days I will rise again
Command therefore that the sepulcher be made sure until the third
day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say
unto the people, He is risen from the dead. The disciples wouldnt
have even get close to Jesuss dead body yet alone steal him as the
place was heavily guarded in case of fraud. Also if the disciples did
steal the body and made the story of the resurrection, they would
not have benefited, as they would only receive harsh punishment
due to such claim. Jesuss enemies could not have stolen his body
as if such event were to have occurred, his enemies would only be
helping Jesus in the progression of Christianity. Grave robbers were
people that stole the wrappings of the body and make profit of such
acts. They couldnt have logically stolen Jesuss body as they are
only interested in to wrapping not the actually body. Instead of the
body only being left behind, the only thing left was the linen
clothes3.
Furthermore the swoon theory could also explain the resurrection of
Jesus. The theory states that Jesus never died from the crucifixion
and had only fainted, which means that he had just escaped instead
of coming back to life. The main reason why this is not achievable is
the fact that after the person seems like they had deceased the
dead body is then stabbed with a spear. In this process we are able
to tell if the person is dead or not as this tests the pressure in the
artery. If the person were not dead and had fainted the blood
would squirt out, as the heart is still operational while in contrary
the blood would leak out if the heart had stopped working. Even if
somehow Jesus were able to survive the crucifixion he would not
have been able to escape his tomb. This is mostly due to the
damage that was inflicted upon his body during the crucifixion. The
bones on his feet would have been crushed by the nail, making it
impossible for him to run and the amount of blood loss would have
resulted in paralysis of the body. He also would not have been able
to get out of the hundred metres of bandaging that was wrapped
3 (John 20:7)

around his body with his injury. This theory is therefore incredibility
absurd as scientific knowledge and logic proves it to be.

The resurrection of Jesus defies human logic, as science is not able

to prove such event, however this does not mean his miraculous
conducts did not occur. Science is not able to defy everything in the
world and even though yet not proven, Jesuss resurrection is the
most plausible option compared to the other theories created by
people. The resurrection is most likely true and had a immense
impact on societys belief.