The Case for Christ Student Response #2

In the first term of this school year my grade 7/8 class has read The Case for Christ: Student Edition by Lee Strobel. At the end of the study of the book each student was asked to answer one of the questions posed in the chapters of the book. I told that I would be sharing their responses online. So, throughout the rest of the year I will be posting their work. Please note, I have not edited these responses, they are exactly what the student handed me.

Did Jesus fake his death? I think Jesus did not fake his death but survived the crucifixion so he could rise three days later.  Usually if a person is tortured they would live on a cross for a short time and likely never be rescued.  Instead, Jesus suffered many injuries while on the cross. These injuries included a crown of thorns which was pressed into his head before the crucifixion and his hands and feet were nailed to the cross. The Roman soldiers often broke the victim's legs to quicken the death.  Jesus likely could not die from these injuries alone.  To die this quickly, the soldiers would have likely beaten Jesus with a whip or a stick as punishment or torture.  This type of torture usually leads to unconsciousness and the loss of a lot of blood which would result in a slow death.  However, theories and the gospels indicate that he was conscious and died quickly.  So excess bleeding was likely not the cause of Jesus’s death. Although the book of John 19:34 says the Roman soldiers found Jesus dead and to be sure that he was dead the Roman soldiers pushed a spear into his side.  Another theory says Jesus chose to die or perhaps God did not want him to suffer anymore and allowed him to die quickly.   I believe Jesus was not dead when the soldiers found him but rather unconscious.  Back in the Roman days they did not have doctors to confirm if a person was alive or dead or a medical report.  The Roman soldiers used their experience and judgement to determine if a person was dead.

When Jesus was removed from the cross and laid in the tomb to rest he had some time to recover.  I believe God kept Jesus alive so that he could rise on the third day and bless his followers.  After the third day Jesus most likely gave up and died.

I believe Jesus allowed the Roman soldiers to put him on the cross because he knew that God would save him and bring him off the cross and back to life to see his followers.  Jesus did not fake his death but was unconscious and God kept him alive so he could teach his followers to believe.  

Works Cited

Chaffey, Tim. "The Resurrection of Jesus Christ: Faking Death." Answers in Genesis. N.p., 29 Mar. 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.

"How Did Jesus Die." How Did Jesus Die. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.

Strobel, Lee, and Jane Vogel. The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: ZondervanPublishingHouse, 2001. Print