05 May 2025

So far, we have considered 19 known facts surrounding the empty tomb of Jesus that was found on the Sunday after Passover sometime between 30-33 AD. Most skeptics should should be able to agree with these facts. While the resurrection is not the only theory that can explain the empty tomb, I shall argue that it is the most plausible and the only one that can successfully accommodate all of the known facts.

Before we consider the resurrection as the explanation, Randy Douglas, associate professor of Christian Studies at Shorter University helps us here with eight alternative theories.

Stolen Body Theory

This is the earliest theory put forth by the Jewish religious leaders in conjunction with the soldiers who were guarding the tomb (Matt. 27:62-66). They claimed the disciples stole the body of Jesus from the tomb sometime in the night and afterwards began to spread the lie that Jesus had risen from the dead. This theory admits the empty tomb. But it is inconceivable that the Roman guard fell asleep; the penalty would have been death.  Are we supposed to believe that the disciples, mostly fishermen, were able to overpower battle-hardened Roman soldiers? Second, they were cowards because they fled for their lives when Jesus was arrested (Mark 14:50-52). Third, they were hiding in fear for their lives (John 20:19). Fourth—and most important—, why would the disciples willingly die (which they did) for a lie that Jesus had risen from the dead?

Swoon Theory

This theory gained traction with “The Passover Plot” book in 1965 and film in 1976. Jesus did not die on the cross but rather swooned or fainted. The unconscious body of Jesus was removed from the cross and placed into the tomb.  Later, He woke up and left the tomb. When the disciples saw Him, they mistakenly thought he had risen from the dead. This theory admits the empty tomb. However, consider that before crucifixion, Jesus was whipped with a cat-o-nine tails which tore open his flesh. Jesus was then nailed to the cross with large stakes and a spear was driven into his side piercing the lungs and heart. After death, he was placed in a tomb with no medical attention for 36 hours. If he did revive, how could he have gotten out of the tomb which was sealed by a huge circular rock weighing as much as 1-2 tons? How could he get past the Roman soldiers? And how could he convince his friends in the condition that he was in, that he had conquered death and was the Lord of life?

Hallucination Theory

This theory says that the disciples were so overwhelmed with their grief at the death of Jesus, that they imagined seeing and hearing him after his death. But the scientific literature on hallucinations concludes that mass hallucinations do not or cannot exist. Also, if the disciples were hallucinating and seeing a risen Christ, that would mean that the body of Jesus was still in the grave. All the Jewish religious leaders had to do to shut up the disciples would have been to put the dead, decaying body of Jesus on a cart and parade it through the streets of Jerusalem.

Mistaken Identity Theory

This theory says that someone else was crucified in the place of Jesus, either intentionally or unintentionally. Then everyone mistakenly thought this was Jesus on the cross. But how could Mary not recognize her son? Or how could John be confused by whom he saw on the cross?  Can we believe that the Jewish religious leaders would not have made sure that it was truly Jesus on the cross? They had dialogued and debated with Jesus face to face many times, so they knew him well.

Copy Of Pagan Myth Theory

This theory says the New Testament writers just copied supposed resurrection stories of mythical characters like Marduk, Adonis, and Osiris. This theory does not explain away the empty tomb of Jesus. No Greek or Roman myth spoke of the literal incarnation of a monotheistic God into human form by way of a virgin birth, followed by His death and resurrection. The parallel of a dying and rising god (such as Adonis in AD 150 and Attis in AD 200) does not appear until A.D. 150, more than 100 years after the origin of Christianity. So, who copied from whom?

Wrong Tomb Theory

This theory says that in their confusion and grief, the women on Sunday morning went to the wrong tomb. Upon seeing it empty, they assumed that this meant that Jesus had risen from the dead. But if there was a wrong tomb, then there had to be a right tomb. Who knew where the right tomb with the dead body of Jesus was?  To begin with, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, the Pharisees, and the Roman soldiers.

Twin Theory

This theory says that Jesus had an identical twin who took Jesus’ place on the cross. How could one twin convince the other twin to go through with the crucifixion? When the Bible describes the family of Jesus, it never mentions a twin brother (Mt. 12:47-48; 13:55-56; Mark 3:31-34). Finally, this theory does not explain the empty tomb.

Contradictions Theory

This theory says that the disciples made mistakes when describing how many angels were at the empty tomb (Matthew says there was one angel while John says there were two). Thus, we cannot trust anything else they had to say about the resurrection. In Matthew 28:5, Matthew does not say there was only one angel; he is focusing on the angel who was speaking.  In John 20:11-12, as John stood at the rear, he observed that there were two angels. This theory does not explain the empty tomb.

Legend Theory

There is one more theory that Douglas does not address: a theory that says the Jesus depicted in the gospels is a legend created by later generations who ascribed divinity to someone who was only a great moral teacher. Therefore, there was no resurrection. However, this theory does not explain the empty tomb. Legends take generations to develop but the gospels were written by eyewitnesses or authors who had access to eyewitnesses. New Testament scholar William Lane Craig writes, “One of the major problems with the legend hypothesis…is that the time gap between Jesus’ death and the writing of the Gospels is just too short for this to have happened.” In addition, we have the ancient writings of extrabiblical historians (i.e., Pliny the Younger)  recording that the early Christians were worshipping Jesus whom they believed had risen from the dead.

We now add the final theory . . .

Resurrection Theory

Jesus really did rise bodily from the dead on the Sunday after his crucifixion, just as he predicted. The disciples (who were not expecting a literal resurrection) were flabbergasted and finally came into the stunning realization of who Jesus really was: God incarnate in human flesh. The resurrection was the defining feature of the disciples’ faith and the foundation of church’s gospel message. The resurrection is the basis of all gospel truth claims.

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Do any of these theories satisfactorily accommodate the 19 known facts? In part 5, I will address this question using Occam’s Razor—the principle that helped seed much of modern science. First however, we must consider the question: what kind of a man repeatedly predicts that he is going to come back from the dead?

Part 5 is here.