The Case for Christ Student Response #3

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? It’s a valid question, and one that is asked a lot when people talk about the bible. Could the assumed ‘Son of God’ been a master magician or manipulator? That’s what I’m going to trying to figure out.

One of the biggest theories is called the ‘swoon theory’. The swoon theory is saying that Jesus merely fell unconscious, was taking off the cross. And then they put him in the tum, he rested for 3 days, then pushed the rock out of the way. He then went to saw Mary and the disciples. But they’re several things that don’t line up with that theory.

First off, when Jesus died, it Matthew 27:50-53, “50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.”

This passage is showing how Jesus did in fact die, and God sent a message out to the people to show it, ripping the curtain in half and making an earthquake. This proves that Jesus did in fact die. Also, when they took him off the cross, would the guards not at least look or feel a heartbeat coming from him? Also, the rock probably would have been several feet tall and wide, meaning that no man would have been able too just straight up push it out of the way. So the swoon theory is highly improbable, so if he didn’t die on the cross, what else could’ve happened.

Another big problem that other people have is if Jesus is God, why didn’t the world just end when he died? I mean, if he’s God, then why didn’t the Earth stop functioning.  But there are some major problems with that question. First off, Jesus is not God. Jesus is the physical representation of the Son of God, one of the three parts of the trinity. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Son, so when Jesus died, God showed that one part of the trinity had died with the earthquake and the temple drapes being ripped in half. But then God revived Jesus, making the trinity whole again.

So now the question of Jesus dieing hasn’t been completely debunked, but once you explore what the theories are, you can make your own judgement call. But from the evidence I saw, I believe that Jesus is our Lord and that he did indeed rise from the dead after saving us all from our sins.

Works Cited

Strobel, Lee Patrick. The Case for Christ. N.p.: Zondervan Pub. House, 1998. Print.

"What Is the Swoon Theory? Did Jesus Survive the Crucifixion?" GotQuestions.org. Got Questions Ministires, 18 Mar. 2016. Web. 21 Nov. 2016. <https://gotquestions.org/swoon-theory.html>.

Carp, Ed. "If Jesus Is God and He Died on the Cross, How Did the World Survive for Three Days without God?" Why Didn't the World End When Jesus Died? Quora, 18 Apr. 2014. Web. 22 Nov. 2016. <https://www.quora.com/If-Jesus-is-God-and-He-died-on-the-cross-how-did-the-world-survive-for-three-days-without-God>.