What Are The Four Theories Of Jesus Death On The Cross And Resurrection

Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection is one of the most iconic events in Christian faith. But what If it did not happen? What if Jesus survived the cross? There have been many theories about the crucifixion and whether Jesus survived. There are four major theories that have gained momentum over the years. The first of the four theories, that will be discusses in this paper is the “Resuscitation Theory”; the theory that the Roman soldiers that gave Jesus a drink of vinegar while on the cross, the vinegar contained a poison that make it look as though Jesus had died, when in reality he was simply in a deep sleep. When he was taken to the tomb where he recovered or resuscitated. The second theory is the “Swoon Theory”, the theory that Jesus
But when he had tasted it, He would not drink” (New International Version, MT. 27:34). Gall is a Greek wording meaning poison. After hours on the cross Jesus was given “vinegar” or sour wine, after He cried out on the cross, “immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put in on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink” (MT. 27:48). It is believed that the sour wine that Jesus was mixed with gall. “Normally, the poison would take a few hours to act, but because of the ordeal Jesus has been through physically, it rendered him unconscious soon after it was administered” (Hill 2). After Jesus is taken down from the cross where he later recovered from the poison in the
Paulus searched for a scientific and biblical explanation to prove that Jesus could have survived his crucifixion. Paulus finds multiple issues in the gospels that he believes proves his position. He specifically argues in the book of Mark it states the Jesus cried out just before his death, “and at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice “Eloi, Eloi, Lama sabachthani?” (MK. 15:34). Paulus believed this proved that Jesus must have not been as close to death as he made out, Paulus believed that to call out with such intensity, it would have taken an incredible amount of strength, which He should have had if death truly proceeded. Again in the book of Mark, Paulus brings out that the amount of time Jesus spent on the cross before his death, did not seem like a sufficient amount of time compared to other crucifixion’s. He pointed out the Pontius Pilate even found Jesus’ death surprisingly quick, “Pilate was suspired to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died” (MK. 15:44-45). With this evidence Paulus concluded that the death of Jesus could not be proven, no one witnessed the decay of the body, therefore there is not proof of his death is illegitimate. (Hill