There are six common arguments used to explain or refute the resurrection event. The answers to these arguments, however, further only help to demonstrate the authenticity and credibility of the resurrection.

ARGUMENT 1

“Jesus' enemies would have taken / stolen His body.”

This scenario would be highly improbable because Jesus’ enemies would have certainly displayed His body if they could have, to humiliate His disciples, control any rumors of His resurrection, as well as cut short any new religious movement that would threaten their Mosaic traditions.

ARGUMENT 2

“Jesus' followers might have taken His body.”

It is unlikely that Jesus’ followers would have taken His body because, following His crucifixion, they were profoundly disappointed and discouraged.

They also hid away and did not believe that He would resurrect as He had promised. It is absurd to think that, given their emotional state, they would have invented a scheme wherein they would steal the body to fabricate a story that they did not believe in and would later be killed for.

Also, some claim that the apostles may have stolen Jesus’ body. However, there is a problem with this theory because the Roman cohort guarded the tomb. These men were trained military personnel. If the soldiers were found asleep during duty, they would be burned to death on the spike. Thus, it was unlikely that the disciples could steal the body of Christ while they were asleep.

ARGUMENT 3

“No one had actually seen Jesus risen and people who claimed to were just hallucinating with grief.”

Hallucinations are an individual phenomenon, not a group event.

An individual can hallucinate; however, Jesus appeared to more than 500 people after His resurrection. Furthermore, the Bible accounts for Paul’s conversion after he witnessed the resurrected Christ, and he was not even in a state of grief (but instead was on route persecuting Christians).

ARGUMENT 4

“The Conversion of Paul could have happened by him just exploring other faiths as it occurs in today’s world.”

The conversion of Paul was not based on secondary evidence (reading material or being ministered to) but was rather based on a firsthand experience with the risen Lord Jesus Christ that led to his conversion.

ARGUMENT 5

“Jesus had a twin brother who looked like him and pretended to be the Messiah after the resurrection.”

While this is possible, it is unlikely that someone would attempt such a stunt and subject himself to the torture and flogging associated with the name Jesus during that time.

ARGUMENT 6

“Jesus did not die on the cross but had merely passed out and later woke up in the tomb and escaped.”

Jesus was severely beaten, exhausted, carried a cross that had splinters, had a crown of thorns placed on His head, was nailed to the cross, and finally, He was stuck with a spear.

He was then taken down from the cross, wrapped in 100 pounds of burial cloth and placed in a tomb with a stone weighing two to three tons in front of it. There is no way a person could have regained consciousness, unwrapped Himself, and still had the strength to push the stone and escape after going through all of that.

Additionally, the guards who crucified Jesus were professional executioners, and some say an executioner would face death if he removed a victim before he died.

Concluding Remarks

In summary, the six common arguments challenging the resurrection of Jesus, when closely examined, not only fail to diminish its credibility but actually reinforce the authenticity of this pivotal event. From the improbability of Jesus’ body being stolen by either his enemies or his followers to the implausibility of alternative explanations like hallucinations, mistaken identity, or mere survival after crucifixion, each argument crumbles under scrutiny.

This thorough examination of counterarguments only strengthens the historical and logical case for the resurrection, affirming its central place in Christian faith and theology.