On the Easter weekend Battle Lines broadcast (4/11/09), we discussed the Resurrection. As author and researcher Josh McDowell has written, “…the resurrection of Jesus Christ is either one of the most wicked, vicious, heartless hoaxes ever foisted upon people, or it is the most important fact of history.” It is common knowledge that Jesus Christ truly walked this earth. And no serious historian would deny that the tomb is empty. “No shred of evidence has yet been discovered in literary sources or archeology that would disprove this statement” (Paul L. Maier). There has to be some explanation for the fact that the tomb is empty. We believe that the explanation is supernatural. But those who don’t believe in the resurrection must posit some natural explanation. There are four such theories often used to dismiss the Resurrection. We described each theory and demonstrated how each is easily dismantled. First, “The Swoon Theory:” Jesus did not really die; He instead fainted, slipped into a coma, and later awoke in the tomb. If that is the case, Jesus would have, upon waking, been in serious need of medical attention. He would have been severely weakened and in danger of dying. He had been repeatedly lashed, hands and feet pierced by huge nails, side thrust through with a sword. He was losing blood and oxygen-deprived. Yet he would have had to get out of the grave wrapping, roll away the huge stone at the entrance, walk out, overcome the guards, and then give the disciples the impression that he had conquered death! “It is impossible that a being who had stolen half-dead out of the sepulcher, wanting medical treatment, could have given to the disciples the impression that he was a Conqueror over death. Such a resuscitation could only have weakened the impression which he made on them in life and in death… [and] could by no possibility have changed their sorrow… into worship” (David Friedrich Strauss). Second, “The Theft Theory:” The body was stolen by the disciples. This scenario is hard to imagine given the emotional and psychological state of the disciples. They had deserted Jesus before He was even tried and condemned. There was only one who was present at Jesus’ trial (Peter – and we know the state of his mind… he was chicken!). There was only one who had the courage to witness the crucifixion (John). It doesn’t seem that they would have the courage to overcome the Roman guards and steal Jesus’ body. Beyond that, this theory runs contrary to everything else we know about the disciples: the bad things (disbelief, doubt) and the good things (their morality). This theory does not explain “their dramatic transformation from dejected and dispirited escapists into witnesses whom no opposition could muzzle” (J.N.D. Anderson). Third, “The Wrong Tomb Theory:” The women, and later the disciples, had mistakenly gone to the wrong tomb. But this theory does not account for all the facts. The Jewish authorities and Roman guards both believed the fact that the tomb was empty. They did not believe that the disciples had simply gone to the wrong tomb (Matt. 28:11-15). If it was just the wrong tomb, the Jewish authorities could have easily squelched the rumors of a resurrection by producing the body and parading it around Jerusalem. This would have destroyed Christianity before it had even began. Fourth, “The Hallucination Theory:” The disciples were hallucinating when they saw Jesus. This scenario seems impossible. Jesus appeared to hundreds of people. And five hundred at one time. Is it possible that hundreds of people would have had the same stress-induced hallucination at the same time? No one has yet to offer any reasonable, naturalistic explanation of the empty tomb. There are only half-baked conspiracy theories. But Christians, throughout the centuries, have believed that the tomb is empty because Jesus died, was buried, but then walked out alive and ascended into Heaven. And that belief is not unreasonable. If there is a God, then the supernatural is quite possible.