Throughout history, there have been many attempts to discredit Christianity by denying the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Detractors often use several arguments to prove Jesus did not rise from the grave. One popular argument people use to discredit the resurrection of Jesus is that Jesus was not dead when He was removed from the cross. The notion that Jesus was not really dead is not only false, but the premise is disproven by eyewitness accounts and medical evidence.

The central tenet of Christianity is that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. No matter the other teachings in the Bible, if Jesus was not resurrected, Paul states, “your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17 New Living Translation). If Jesus did not conquer death and the grave, He was not who He said He was and could not save people from their sins. When discussing the resurrection, there are four core facts one must believe. William Lane Craig illustrates these facts:

· Jesus died and was buried

· The tomb was discovered to be empty

· Jesus subsequently appeared to his disciples

· Whatever the disciples experienced on the first Easter Sunday, it established in them an unshakable faith that Jesus was alive.[1]

While arguments have been made against all four facts, the actual death of Jesus is the focus of this post.

Many people are unaware that there is some evidence that people could survive crucifixion, although it was infrequent. The Jewish historian Josephus tells of a time when he rescued three acquaintances from their crucifixion.

I saw many captives crucified, and remembered three of them as my former acquaintance. I was very sorry at this in my mind, and went with tears in my eyes to Titus, and told him of them; so he immediately commanded them to be taken down, and to have the greatest care taken of them, in order to their recovery; yet two of them died under the physician’s hands, while the third recovered.[2]

Although Josephus could rescue three acquaintances, only one survived the ordeal. Josephus does not make clear what happened before they were crucified. The Bible recounts what happened to Jesus before his crucifixion. After the arrest of Jesus, the guards blindfolded Him and beat Him while challenging Jesus to tell who hit Him (Luke 22:63-4). The Gospel of John tells of Jesus being flogged with a lead-tipped whip (John 19:1). They then placed a crown of thorns on His head (John 19:2). Jesus was then mocked and slapped across the face (John 19:3). After this brutal flogging and beating, Jesus carried his cross to be crucified (John 19:17). They then nailed him to the cross (John 19:18). Knowing nothing of what happened to the acquaintances of Josephus, because two did indeed die, one concludes that crucifixion produces death. This fact is made even more evident in the case of Jesus. Once again, the Gospel of John accounts for Jesus’ death.

So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. (This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also may continue to believe.) (John 19:32-5).

Even if Jesus were alive when the soldiers came around, Jesus would not have been alive after the soldier pierced his side with a spear. According to Dr. Joseph W. Bergeron:

The proposition that Jesus’ death occurred by a fatal stab wound is possible. This would certainly result in immediate death and would have an appearance consistent with biblical descriptions. However, the exactor mortis, a Roman centurion supervising the crucifixion, would have credible expertise in pronouncing death of crucifixion victims. Jesus was determined to be dead, prior to receiving the chest stab wound.[3]

Jesus was dead when the Roman soldiers came by but was most assuredly dead after the soldier pierced his side.

With this evidence, why do detractors want to prove that Jesus was alive after they took him off the cross? Detractors like to use whatever means necessary to disprove the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. However, the more time that passes, the more evidence appears that corroborates what the Bible tells. Another way people deny Jesus was dead is by using the short amount of elapsed time between His crucifixion and His death. Mark records, “Pilate couldn’t believe that Jesus was already dead, so he called for the Roman officer and asked if he had died yet” (Mark 15:44). The response of Pilate led opponents to conclude that Jesus should not have been dead and was faking His death or just unconscious. However, in the next verse, the Roman guard confirms the death of Jesus. Even if Jesus were faking His death, the Roman guard would not, under penalty of death himself. This testimony of the Roman guard leads to only two conclusions: The guard did not know Jesus was dead, or he conspired with Jesus to cover up His death. Why would the Roman guard agree to lie about the death of Jesus? There is nothing in it for him. This Roman guard was an expert in carrying out crucifixions and would not risk his life to help with a cover-up. It is highly ambitious to conclude that Jesus and the Roman guard conspired to fake Jesus’ death.

Jesus was not the only body removed early after a crucifixion. Eisenberg said, “In 1968 the remains of a crucified man from the first century were found in a cave northeast of Jerusalem, with a nail still embedded in the heel. The circumstances of this find suggest the man’s body was taken down soon after death.”[4] Since evidence has now been found to show that bodies were indeed taken off the cross instead of being left for days, one can reasonably conclude that, although Pontius Pilate was shocked at the early death of Jesus, it was not unheard of. Eisenberg asserts that numerous death declarations have been made by mistake, so it is a possibility the centurion could have been wrong.[5] However, as referenced above, Dr. Bergeron states that the wound Jesus suffered from piercing His side would have been immediately fatal. What follows in the rest of Eisenberg’s article are various ways the death of Jesus could have been faked. Among them are stealing the body, burying Jesus in a different place, and a defense of the hallucination hypothesis. However, neither Eisenberg nor any other person denying Jesus’ death has concrete evidence disproving what was attested to by the eyewitnesses in the Gospels.

If one is to judge a claim, such as in a court of law, one must understand there will always be doubts. However, some doubts are not reasonable. J. Warner Wallace states, “While it’s interesting to imagine the possibilities, it’s important to return eventually to what’s reasonable, especially when the truth is at stake.”[6] This mistake happens to many people when they try to disprove the Bible. Yes, just about anything is possible, but is it reasonable? If there are multiple eyewitnesses attesting to the same thing, it would be difficult to disprove all of them.

While trying to disprove the physical death of Jesus, opponents try to rely on the fact that Jesus “died” in a relatively short time and that he was still alive after being taken off the cross. The eyewitness testimony from the Roman guard disproves this immediately. The account of Jesus being pierced in the side and then surviving has also been medically disproven. Therefore, one can reasonably conclude the idea that Jesus was alive when taken down from the cross has been disproved and that He was, in fact, dead when taken down from the cross and placed in a tomb.

Bibliography

Bergeron, Joseph W. M. D. "The Crucifixion of Jesus: Review of Hypothesized Mechanisms of Death and Implications of Shock and Trauma-Induced Coagulopathy." Journal of forensic and legal medicine19, no. 3 (2011): 113-16.

Eisenberg, Leonard Irwin. "A New Natural Interpretation of the Empty Tomb." International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 80, no. 2 (Oct 2016 2016): 133-43.

Smith, Stephen H. "‘Seeing Things’: ‘Best Explanations’ and the Resurrection of Jesus." The Heythrop Journal 61, no. 4 (2020): 689-700.

Wallace, J. Warner. Cold-Case Christianity : A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels. First edition. ed. Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2013.

[1]Stephen H. Smith, "‘Seeing Things’: ‘Best Explanations’ and the Resurrection of Jesus," The Heythrop Journal 61, no. 4 (2020): 690.

[2]Leonard Irwin Eisenberg, "A New Natural Interpretation of the Empty Tomb," International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 80, no. 2 (Oct 2016 2016): 135-36.

[3]Joseph W. M. D. Bergeron, "The Crucifixion of Jesus: Review of Hypothesized Mechanisms of Death and Implications of Shock and Trauma-Induced Coagulopathy," Journal of forensic and legal medicine 19, no. 3 (2011): 115.

[4]Leonard Irwin Eisenberg. "A New Natural Interpretation of the Empty Tomb." International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 80, no. 2 (10, 2016): 137.

[5]Ibid., 137

[6]J. Warner Wallace, Cold-Case Christianity : A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels, First edition. ed. (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2013), 34.