Of the three great monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, it is only the latter that does not believe that Jesus of Nazareth died on a Roman cross outside of first-century Jerusalem. To be sure, the Islamic holy book—the Quran—is quite pointed in saying, “They killed him not, nor crucified him” (Sura 4:157). In fact, Islamic apologists often suggest that a grandhoaxwascarriedoutbyJesus’ followers where, although He was nailed to the Cross and endured much pain, He then “swooned,” was pronounced dead, and taken down before He actually died. Joseph of Arimathea requested and was allowed by Roman governor Pontius Pilate to remove the body and prepare it for burial in a tomb. Once inside the tomb, Josephus and Nicodemus applied medicines and nursed the wounded Jesus, who healed and recovered over the next three days. Then, upon leaving the tomb empty, He appeared to Mary and the apostles as if He had been raised from the dead.
Such “swoon theories” have been around for centuries but have fallen out of favor over the last several decades. Nevertheless, today most Muslim apologists still consider Jesus to have survived the Cross, theorizing instead that a substitute stood in and was crucified in Jesus’ place. Three days later, a well and fit Jesus appears before His disciples, none the worse for wear. A grand hoax indeed! But is this what really happened to Jesus? Is this really true? Christian apologist Norman Geisler, in his book Answering Islam, lists over a dozen reasons the Jesus Substitution Theory is itself just such a grand hoax. I have summarized several of the key points here.
First, considering that the crucifixion of Jesus is a historical claim, good research demands that the historical sources first be qualified. To that end, it is important to know that the Quran and its report of what happened to Jesus comprise a single account of a claimed historical event, written 600 years after the event itself. On the other hand, the synoptic Gospel accounts are eyewitness testimonies written within 25-35 years of Jesus’ life. John’s Gospel, another eyewitness account, was written within 60 years of Jesus’ life. Considering that almost without exception, earlier accounts of an event are much more reliable than later accounts, the Gospels should be regarded as the superior sources concerning what happened to Jesus. In fact, a concrete rule of historical research is that a later historical document, such as the Quran, cannot be used to reinterpret earlier eyewitness accounts like those recorded in the Gospels. Yet that is precisely what Muslim apologists would have you do.
Second, the historical evidence is not limited to the Gospel accounts alone. Numerous non-Christian sources from the first and second centuries record the death of Jesus by crucifixion, including the Jewish historian Josephus, the Roman historian Tacitus, the historians Julius Africanus, Thallus, and Lucian, the philosopher Mara bar-Serapion, the writer Phlegon, and the Jewish Talmud. All tell the same story: Jesus was crucified and died on a Roman cross.
Third,thedeathandresurrection of Jesus were all well anticipated. The Old Testament prophecies in Psalms, Isaiah, and Daniel foretold that the Messiah would die and rise from the dead (cf. Ps 16:10; Isa 26:19; Dan 12:2). In the New Testament as well, Jesus Himself predicted His own death and resurrection on several occasions (cf. John 2:19-21; Matt 12:40, 17:22-23).
Fourth, Jesus suffered great injury during His flogging before any substitute could have been put in place. The nature of Jesus’ wounds and the enormous loss of blood from His pre-crucifixion torture would have been far too extensive for anyone to heal from fast enough for Jesus to present Himself to His followers three days later upright and well.
Fifth, from the moment of His arrest, through the streets of Jerusalem and on to the Cross, Jesus was never out of sight of the Roman soldiers or the crowds to allow for a secret switch to even take place.
Finally, a word needs to be said about the character of God. It is not only Christianity; Judaism and Islam also recognize God as the omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent Creator of the universe. As the Supreme and unchanging Sovereign over all that exists, I find it sadly ironic that there are those who believe that God would need or desire to perpetrate such a grand deception as substituting His Son for another to go to the Cross in His place. Believing that He would flies in the face of monotheistic theology proper and reduces God to a liar and a hoaxer.
Join us again next time as we press ever-forward in search of the answertothequestion:IsGoddead?
Gloria in excelsis Deo! Ty B. Kerley, DMin., is an ordained minister who teaches Christian apologetics, and relief preaches in Southern Oklahoma. Dr. Kerley and his wife Vicki are members of the Waurika church of Christ, and live in Ardmore. You can contact him at: dr.kerley@isGoddead.com.