Possibilities

As a step towards the main point of this blog (which is the examination of the possibility of Jesus' resurrection), I will now do what millions or more have done before me and attempt to outline all the possibilities for what happened after the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth.

I see three possibilities:
1.  Jesus did not actually die as a result of crucifixion.
2.  Jesus did die, but did not rise again.
3.  Jesus did die and did rise again.

It is this third outrageous possibility that Christians like me believe to be true.  Even calling it a "possibility" seems rather absurd.  But before we get into just how absurd it may or may not have been, let's look at the other two possibilities first.

1.  Jesus did not actually die as a result of crucifixion.

I did a quick google search for "how many have survived crucifixion" and found confirmation that there are some people who believe Jesus did "survive" crucifixion in the sense that he did not technically die.  For example, one web site presents the theory that Jesus did not literally die on the cross, but fell into a deep coma from which he recovered while tucked away in his tomb.  This may be slightly "less miraculous" and easier to believe than the idea that Jesus rose from the dead, but it is still miraculous to say the least that someone in the first century would fall into a deep enough coma that they were presumed dead and then spontaneously come out of it by the third day after they fell into it.

This search also uncovered the fact that at least one person has survived a crucifixion that was intended to be lethal.  This person was a friend of Josephus, but in his case, the Romans were well aware that the person was still alive when he was taken down from the cross as Josephus had pleaded for his friend's life and won.  It sounds like there was no recorded instance of a person who was thought to be dead when removed from the cross but later found to still be alive.  (Of course that doesn't mean it didn't happen, just that no one confirmed it happened.)

It was also mentioned that the Romans confirmed death before taking someone off the cross by piercing their side, which the Bible claims was exactly what happened to Jesus before he was removed from the cross.

What it means to "pierce their side" seems up for debate as one source I found claimed that "piercing the side" would NOT pierce the heart while another I read said that it likely would.  The first source also claimed that the fact that blood flowed from Jesus' pierced side as reported in the Gospels proved he was still alive, but the second source suggested that the flowing of both blood AND water from Jesus side indicated he may have suffered from hypovolemic shock and died.

Further evidence for the hypovolemic shock that would have accelerated Jesus' death include his collapse on the way to his crucifixion site and his declaration of thirst near his death.  The shock would have been caused by the whipping Jesus received prior to crucifixion, a whipping which by itself could sometimes be fatal, and would explain Jesus' relatively quick death on the cross.  (http://www.gotquestions.org/blood-water-Jesus.html)

However, the source that claims the piercing did NOT kill Jesus and in fact proved he was alive presents an alternative for why Jesus "died" relatively quickly on the cross.  In what reads like a conspiracy theory (and I admit, conspiracy theories can be true), this site suggests that perhaps the whole crucifixion of Jesus was staged.  The suggestion is that Jesus was drugged while on the cross, perhaps from the sponge that was lifted up to him when he said he was thirsty, and only appeared to be dead when taken down.  It is further suggested that Jesus was then taken to a private tomb (that part is reported in the Bible) and there he was revived.  This website claims that the perfume ingredients reported to be taken to anoint Jesus' body had medicinal purposes that could account for Jesus' revival from unconscious non-death. (http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/2006/04/Could-Jesus-Have-Survived-The-Crucifixion.aspx)

The above mentioned article further claims that when Joseph, the man who provided the tomb for Jesus, asked Pilot, the man who authorized Jesus' execution, for access to the body of Jesus, he referred to Jesus' body with a word that meant a living body.  The author of the article claims that this is the revealing evidence, reported right in the Gospel, that Jesus was still alive when taken from the cross.

Now, it seems very strange to me that Pilot would authorize Jesus to be taken down if he thought Jesus was still alive.  In fact, the same Bible passage that the above article's writer cites as "proof" that Jesus was still alive goes on to clearly state that Pilot confirmed with a centurion at the crucifixion site that Jesus was already dead.  So no matter what word Joseph may have used to describe Jesus' body, it certainly sounds as if, according the the Gospel account cited as "evidence" that Jesus was still alive, it was actually confirmed that Jesus was dead.  It doesn't seem to me as if citing this passage of Scripture proves anything about Jesus still being alive.  Even if there is an implication that he might have still been alive, it explicitly states that he was dead.  (Mark 15:43-45)  And that "implication" seems tenuous itself as the word for body (soma) that the author claims refers to a living body only might refer to a living body according to my research (http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/soma.html).

It seems to me that this theory about Jesus not really being dead is tempting, but is it the truth?  Is it even the easiest of the options to believe?  I'll consider the other options and hope to give an even more in depth analysis and comparison of them in upcoming posts.