The Swoon Theory Error

Some liberal theologians still believe in the swoon theory. According to them, Christ just fainted on the cross. In the coolness of the tomb, they claim he revived and escaped. I've heard that there are people who figure he went to India and lived out his life there.

The Bible is quite clear about Christ dying on the cross. First of all, he underwent severe torture. Matthew 27:26 (KJV) records, "Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified."

In those days, they used whips with bits of sharp bone and mettle embedded in them. Those objects ripped away flesh from the victim. People died from such scourging due to blood loss. It's a miracle Jesus didn't perish.

Furthermore, crucifixion is the most brutal method of execution. The victim has to push up on his or her impaled feet to get a breath. Muscle spasms and cramps added to the torture. Victims often lived for a few days in this agonizing condition. And Christ's gashed body rubbed up against the splintery wood of the cross, adding to his agony.

The proof which explodes the swoon theory is in John 19:34 (KJV). "But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water."

The Roman soldiers were experts in killing people. They wouldn't be fooled by an unconscious victim. And the blood and water coming out of the Lord's side proves that the spear went into his heart which had stopped beating. No one would survive that.

In Matthew 27:60 (KJV),  Joseph of Arimathaea took Christ's body , "And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed."

Adding to the exploding of the swoon theory is that Christ couldn't have rolled the stone away from the tomb's mouth by himself. So how did he exit it? Matthew 28:2 (KJV)says, "And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it."

Additionally, the Roman soldiers would have been executed for sleeping on duty. The Pharisees paid them a large amount of money and instructed them, as Matthew 28:13 (KJV) records, "Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept."

Whole books have been written about Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. I won't reinvent the wheel, so to speak, but I'll add this post to my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? People, especially intellectuals, refuse to believe the eye witness evidence provided in Holy Scripture so they invent excuses to salve their guilty consciences.