"...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." - Romans 10:9
The resurrection of Jesus is, by far, the most important event in human history, of course tied directly to His crucifixion. It's literally the difference between salvation and condemnation. If you confess the resurrection, you will receive the fruits thereof; eternal life, and an everlasting fellowship with God Himself. If you reject it, you may even call Christ "Lord", yet remain in your sins, and perish forever.
With the resurrection being such a vital point in history, people from many different religions have their views on it. It had such a large impact on human history that not even the devil could conceal it, forcing him to do a little PR work. Thus, even many of the world's religions directly address what "really" happened on that glorious day, when the angels announced "He is not here; for He is risen, as He said." (Matthew 28:6).
As many tantrums as the devil may throw, and as many lies as his followers may tell, the fact remains that none of their alternative theories actually hold up to scrutiny. When we examine them, they all fall apart in some way. In this article, we'll examine a few of them.
Jesus Mythicism
Jesus Mythicism is a relatively new, and thankfully thus far still rare movement in the modern world. Although not technically a theory on the resurrection, it is worth mentioning, simply because if Jesus never existed then Jesus never rose.
As it stands, Jesus Mythicism is neither a respected, nor respectable position in the scholarly world. Ironically, one of its greatest opponents is not even a Christian. Bart Ehrman is no friend to the Christian faith, often resorting to some unacceptably shifty tactics to argue against it. Nevertheless, a low he will apparently never stoop to is denying the existence of Christ. Furthermore, Ehrman says "The crucifixion of Jesus by the Romans is one of the most secure facts we have about his life".
Of course, it would be silly to base our claims that Jesus existed entirely on the word of one single skeptical scholar. Appeal to authority is a fallacy, and of course Ehrman abuses his authority as a scholar to make some very outrageous claims about Christ that no Christian (and, frankly, no thinking person) should ever accept. But it certainly helps to show that not even Christianity's most effective foes would dare deny the historical fact of the crucifixion.
The reason for this is that even after 2,000 years, when much of the evidence for the crucifixion has perished, much of it still remains. Of course, the temptation is to go to extra-Biblical evidence, such as Josephus, or Tacitus, both of whom are well-respected historians of their time, and neither of whom were especially motivated to say "this guy whose religion we totally disagree with absolutely existed". But that is a much bigger discussion for a more specific article. In a shorter article designed to briefly address a wider range of theories on the resurrection, it seems more appropriate to instead point out that the Bible actually is evidence.
Of course, this is where the Mythicists cry foul, claiming circular reasoning, but actually, this is circular reasoning on the part of the Mythicist, simply because they treat the Bible differently according to their bias. Historical documents, by their nature, are biased. It doesn't matter what the document is, or its subject matter, it is biased towards its own truth. Yet, it is also evidence for its own truth. Your own birth certificate is the same. It is a document intended to prove your identity, but it is asinine to say "well of course it says that, but do you have evidence apart from that?"
The Bible is evidence for Christ's existence (and Christianity as a whole) if for no other reason than that it was written by contemporary eyewitnesses. Matthew and John in particular were close disciples of Christ, not only meaning they were in a position to know whether or not Jesus existed, but that they could very easily be called out if Mythicism had any credibility.
Swoon Theory
Swoon Theory is the belief that, rather than Jesus actually dying on the cross, Jesus merely swooned or fainted, and it was merely assumed He was dead. Proponents of this strange theory argue that it particularly makes sense given that Pilate was surprised Jesus had already died (Mark 15:44). Thus, perhaps a mistake was made?
There are a large number of flaws with Swoon Theory, beginning with the simple fact His death was carried out, and verified, by one of history's most efficient killing machines. The Romans were not amateurs when it came to killing. They knew how to kill, and they knew when they had killed.
It's ironic that in the same passage as Pilate expresses surprise that Jesus is already dead, verification is also received. Mark 15:42-45 reads "Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph."
Only after Pilate had received confirmation that Jesus was dead, from the centurion in charge of that fact, did he relinquish Jesus' body to the care of Joseph of Arimathea. Of course, what probably convinced the centurion of the fact that Jesus was truly dead, other than expert death merchants knowing full well what a dead man looks like, is the simple fact that Jesus was stabbed in the side with a spear (John 19:34).
Thus, in order to sustain Swoon Theory, Swoon Theorists must assert that in spite of being a particularly unpopular victim of crucifixion, Jesus somehow managed to slip through the cracks. The Romans, who knew how to kill a man and verify that death, somehow failed to kill Jesus, and erroneously verified His death. And after that, they failed again.
See, Jesus wasn't just dead, and verified to be so, but was also laid in a guarded tomb (Matthew 27:62–66). Thus, Swoon Theorists must contend that a brutally battered carpenter, having suffered enough trauma to kill a man, lay for three days with no food, water, or medical attention, rolled a large stone away from the entrance of His tomb, wasn't immediately killed by His guards, and managed to appear so unfazed by the whole experience that people assumed He had risen.
As if this wasn't intuitively unrealistic, we do actually know of at least one person who survived crucifixion. In The Life Of Flavius Josephus, Josephus tells of a time when he saw three of his acquaintances being crucified, and made an appeal for them to Titus Caesar. Titus immediately commanded that they be taken from their crosses and given the greatest care, yet "...two of them died under the physician’s hands, while the third recovered."
So, even an interrupted crucifixion, followed by the greatest medical care, still only has a 33% survival rate. Jesus, of course, was not taken down from His cross while still so clearly alive that His teary-eyed acquaintances would appeal for His rescue. His death was verified before His body was handed over to them. The first Romans He would have seen, if indeed He had merely fainted, would not have been caring doctors, but more centurions, whose task it was to ensure His dead body remained in His tomb. With medical care, if Jesus had been alive when removed, His survival chances would have been about 33%. How high do you imagine it would have been without such care?
Finally, Swoon Theory is invalid just because of how slow human beings heal. Had Jesus survived the crucifixion, He would have had many injuries to deal with. Horrendous wounds that aren't disappearing in a few days. If Jesus had crawled up to His disciples in such a pitiful state, they would not have assumed He had risen again. They would have pitied Him.
Substitution Theory
Substitution Theory is most common in Islam, which does teach that Allah simply made it appear to the Jews and Romans that they had crucified Jesus. "...But they neither killed nor crucified him—it was only made to appear so...." (Qur'an 4:157). How exactly this happened is subject to debate in the Islamic community. Many Muslims hold to Swoon Theory, but many others believe Allah substituted Jesus for someone else, who was made to appear like Jesus.
Ultimately, there isn't a lot one can do to argue against an omniscient, omnipotent deceiver making it appear Jesus was crucified when, in reality, He was not. Not because it's a reasonable position, of course, but rather, because it is reason-proof. Any arguments against it are just a part of the deception.
Of course, it does make a startling admission: Whether or not Jesus was killed by crucifixion, it really did look like it. Thus, we don't need reasons to reject Substitution Theory. Rather, we need reasons to accept it. Islam in particular struggles with this. Being a religion based on the claims of an illiterate 7th century caravan robber turned violent war criminal, who initially began piggybacking off the success of the Judeo-Christian faith, it seems wholly unrealistic to believe anything in Islam.
In fact, ironically, in both the previous and following chapter, the Qur'an affirms that the Bible is the word of God. Qur'an 3:3-4 says Allah revealed the Torah and the Gospel, and that those who reject it will suffer severe torment. Likewise, Qur'an 5:47-48 says that the people of the Gospel must judge what Allah revealed therein, and that the Book of Truth confirms the previous Scriptures. In other words, if we are to take the Qur'an seriously, we cannot take the Qur'an seriously.
Of course, Substitution Theory isn't limited to Islam. Hilariously, one variant even posits that Jesus had a twin brother. This theory seems so laughable that I only mention it because I happen to know it exists, not because I see it as worth mentioning. If Jesus had a twin, even if that fact had been concealed from the entire world, surely His own mother would have known it? And certainly, this mythical twin would not bear the holes of crucifixion. Twins share many things, but scars are not one of them.
Stolen Body Theory
This is the oldest theory attempting to cover up the resurrection, being documented in the Bible itself (Matthew 28:11-15). Although initially a Jewish narrative, even atheists, such as Richard Carrier, posit that it is at least plausible: someone stole Jesus' body.
To call this an outlandish claim is an understatement, however. To begin with, whoever stole the body was apparently history's most talented ventriloquist, because Jesus spoke to enough people post-resurrection to create a very successful sect of Judaism... Stolen Body Theory doesn't even come close to explaining the multiple appearances of Jesus.
But proponents of this theory must consider just how difficult it would be to steal Jesus' body in the first place. It wasn't as simple as swiping a packet of gum from the corner shop. See, the Jews actually anticipated that Jesus' disciples might steal His body, and claim He had risen. Thus, lest "...the last deception will be worse than the first" (Matthew 27:64), Roman guards were posted to secure the tomb.
When we read of the origins of Stolen Body Theory, we read something rather interesting: The Jews told the guards "And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure." (Matthew 28:14). Why would this be? Simply because the Roman military had a low tolerance for failure. If the disciples had managed to steal Jesus' body, these guards would be the ones to pay for it with their lives.
This, of course, is a big "if". Such a theft would require a strategy to both enter and exit the tomb without being spotted or killed. The disciples would have to sneak past the guards, moving a very heavy stone out of the way (which definitely would have woken the guards if they'd risked their lives by sleeping), and escape unnoticed.
Of course, all of that also requires them to have a decent disposal plan. In my opinion, this is perhaps the weakest point against Stolen Body Theory, but it's worth pointing out that bodies are difficult to get rid of, especially when people are actively looking for it. All of this makes it incredibly unlikely that anyone would be able to steal and dispose of Jesus' body, making it look like He rose.
The Resurrection
By far the simplest theory of the resurrection, requiring the fewest assumptions and outlandish claims, is that it really happened. This would explain all the evidence. It would explain the empty tomb. It would explain the posthumous appearances of Christ. It would explain the will of the disciples to go to an early grave (and suffer in their lives) for the testimony that He is risen. It would explain the peculiar details surrounding it, such as why women, who were not well regarded in those days, were the first to spread the report. It would explain why His enemies, be it His brother James, or His enemies, such as Paul, were converted. It would even explain why so many other weird and wacky theories have been put forward over the centuries to explain the evidence.
Of course, we needn't go as far as eliminating all the other ad hoc explanations to know that Christ is risen, because we find it in His word. As Peter says, "For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." (2 Peter 1:16-21).
The sheer strength of the witness testimony to the resurrection is enough to remove all reasonable doubt. But the resurrection was never a matter of reason, but of the heart. Jesus' resurrection bought us eternal life, but He died in the first place because we are rebels against His majesty. As the devil told us in the garden "you will not surely die", he continues to keep us in our death by telling us "He did not surely rise". But He surely did, and by confessing this historical fact, you, too, can receive eternal life.