How is it that we know Jesus died on the cross? Could have the disciples pulled him down from the cross before he died? Maybe that would account for the resurrection? This has been addressed as reasonable doubt by some skeptics in the past. Today, no reasonable scholar, Christian or otherwise thinks this theory has any merit. This is known as the “Swoon theory”. Below is what I believe to be some evidences showing why this theory is false.
A. Evidence that Jesus truly died
i. We know a lot about crucifixion and what happens to someone on the cross. A number of medical doctors have asked for volunteers to study what happens on the cross. What they have found out is this. You don’t get down off of the cross alive. When you are hanging and it doesn’t have to be nails, the weight of your body pulls down on the muscles surrounding your lungs (the intercostal pectoralis deltoids). This constricts your lungs when the weight of your body pulls down on them. When the knees are bent and the body is in the “slumped” position you begin to asphyxiate. You begin to die fairly quickly. In an experiment in Cologne, Germany they tied male volunteers to 2x4’s in the crucified position who began to loose consciousness in 12 minutes. When on the cross you must push up with your feet in order to breath. This would be even harder with nails in your feet. You push up with your feet to relieve those muscles but you can’t stay there long. You could possibly stay alive as long as you can continue to push up with your feet but once that stops, your body slumps, and it’s over relativity quickly.
ii. For a Centurion guard not to be sure that Jesus died on the cross he would have to be completely unaware of what was going on around him and these guys were trained assassins in the art of crucifixion.
iii. It was common of people to take a “death blow” on the cross. There are cases of people being shot with a bow and arrow and taking blows to the head. We learn that in the Gospels the soldiers would break the ankles of the people on the cross. Why? Because you couldn’t push back up to breath. This sped up the process of dying. They did not break Jesus’ ankles but we do know he was stabbed. We have two other extra biblical cases of people being stab and crucified. We are told “blood and water” came out. The major medical explanation is that around the heart there is a sack that is called the pericardium. It holds a thin watery fluid. So many medical doctors believe that he was stabbed in the heart because that is exactly what happens. Medical experts would agree that he was dead before he was stabbed but if not it would have killed him anyway.
iv. If Jesus had survived the crucifixion the disciples would have thought he was alive but they would have never believed that he was risen. Not if he was sweating, bleeding, with multiple wounds, and dragging himself all over the place due to his great pain. The disciples would have gotten him a doctor before they would have proclaimed him risen. He could have convinced them that he was alive, but if there is no risen Jesus then there is nothing for the church to get excited about, nothing for church teachings to be based on. If he is not raised then there is no basis for the church. Could you imagine Peter watching Jesus as he stumbles into the room and saying, “Oh boy! I can’t wait to have a resurrected body”. Over 20 times in the New Testament we are told that believers will be raised like Jesus. The point is they couldn’t have believed that if he was alive but not raised.
v. For even further information please check out the following article on CARM.org.
Jesus only appeared to have died on the cross - Swoon Theory
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