After the death of Jesus on the cross, he was buried in a nearby tomb. This was paid for by one of his disciples, Joseph of Arimathea, after asking for the body from Pilate. He took care that Jesus was placed in a brand-new tomb that had never been used, and the female disciples were aware of which tomb he was placed in([[Blinzler1937-jr]]). When he was alive, Jesus made it known that he would rise again after 3 days. Fearing that his disciples might steal his body, the Pharisees had Pilate secure the tomb with armed guards and blocked the entrance with a giant stone. Despite these precautions, on the third day, the tomb was found open, the soldiers were unconscious, and the body of Jesus was missing. What could have been the reason that it was taken? # Was The Body Of Christ Stolen? It is historically factual that the tomb was found empty; the question arises as to how the empty tomb came about. Aside from a supernatural explanation, the stolen/moved body is the most obvious answer and the oldest alternate theory against the Gospels, recorded by Matthew in his account ([[Price2005-mq]], Matthew 28:11-15) and in other much later works such as the [[Habermas1996-vi|Toledoth Yeshu]], [[Williams1930-ad|Justin Martyr]] and [[Schaff2017-mm|Tertullian]] and the so called [[Cassels2016-md|Gospel Of Peter]]. However it is clear based on textual critsum that this tradition predates Matthews account ([[Vincent1890-pr]], [[Robinson2000-kz|Robinson, John]]) According to the Christians, Jesus's authenticity as the Son of God rested on his miracles performed, with his claim to rise from the grave to be the ultimate proof; if he didn't, then he wasn't who he said he was. Jesus predicted several times in his ministry that he would rise and claimed it would be the only sign given (Mark 8:31, Luke 24:46, John 2:19, Matthew 12:40; 16:21; 17:23; 20:19) that he was God incarnate. At the time, it is estimated that he had from as low as 12 to as high as 120 disciples based on the Gospels. It is possible that a few of them would have been willing to attempt theft to fake a resurrection or to possibly vindicate Jesus as a holy man that was taken to Heaven ([[Price2005-mq]], [[noauthor_undated-ga|s There Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus? The Craig-Ehrman Debate]]). It is important to note that Jesus's support waned during his crucifixion and nearly all of his disciples left him ([[Rodkinson2018-qf]]). # Problems with this theory However, if you look deeper into the theory, we still have some objections Christians have raised over time that start to show the shortcomings of this idea. 1. A group of disciples would have planned this within 40 hours in order to overpower the guards and unseal the tomb. 2. There was a great risk for not only thieves but also the guards that failed in their duties; they would have been severely punished [[The Guards At The Tomb]]. 3. The burial clothes of Jesus were left behind ([[The Burial Clothes Of Jesus]]). 4. Jews (with very few exceptions) did not go near a dead body as was the custom and had no exception for the Resurrection [[The Jews Were Not Expecting A Resurrection Event]]. 5. The was no cultural expectation for a Resurrection event, and no one would have considered any man holy that was crucified. 6. The body would've had to have been snuck past an overcrowded Jerusalem. 7. The disciples were sincere in their beliefs about the risen Jesus, had a radical transformation after learning about the resurrection, and did not benefit. Most were persecuted and/or martyred ([[The Disciples Were Sincere In Their Beliefs]], [[The Death Of Paul]], [[The Death Of Peter]]). ## 1: A group of disciples would have planned this within 40 hours in order to overpower the guards and unseal the tomb. The grave of Jesus was highly guarded and sealed from anyone tampering with the body. Even if the guards were not present the tomb, His body would not have been able to get out of the tomb without a great deal of effort from several people due to the stone blocking the tomb. [[The Stone At The Tomb]] Based on the earliest accounts of the resurrection, Jesus was buried on a Friday, and "rose" from the grave on a Sunday. This left only 40 hours for a group of thieves to plan and steal the body before the proclamation was made that Jesus was back (Mk 15:42; 16:2, John 20:2). While possible, it is unlikely that followers of Jesus were willing to overpower guards, open the tomb, carry off the body, and then proclaim his Resurrection with 40 hours. Are we to believe that the disciples of Jesus, who just a day before totally scattered before imperial power, later rallied and defeated the Roman soldiers? ## 2: There was a great risk for not only thieves but also the guards that failed in their duties; they would have been severely punished. [[Did Grave Robbers Take The Body Of Jesus]] ### The Guards at the Tomb > [!quote] [E. LeCamus](https://www.soh.church/the-roman-guard-evidence-for-the-resurrection/# :~:text=George%20Currie%20states-%20%E2%80%9CThe%20punishment%20for%20quitting%20post,to%20duty%2C%20especially%20night%20watches%E2%80%9D.%20Think%20about%20that.) > Never had a criminal given so much worry after His execution. Above all never had a crucified man had the honor of being guarded by a squad of soldiers [[The Guards At The Tomb]] ## 3: The burial clothes of Jesus were left behind ![[The Burial Clothes Of Jesus]] ## 4: First Century Jews (with very few exceptions) did not go near a dead body as was the custom. [[Jews Considered Corpses Unclean]] While grave-robbing professionals don't care about ritual purity, it lowers the chance that a random passerby or one of the disciples would want to touch the body in the first place. ## 5: The was no cultural expectation for a Resurrection event, and no one would have considered any man holy that was crucified. [[The Jews Were Not Expecting A Resurrection Event]] The Gospels show us that the disciples did not think Jesus would literally die and rise from the dead. It wasn't until they had the gift of hindsight after the event that they realized what Jesus meant. Aside from that, it was considered a sign that one was "accursed by God" if they were hung on a tree (Deuteronomy 21:23). This lowers the possibility that they would steal the body to attempt a fake resurrection. ## 6: The body would have been snuck past an overcrowded Jerusalem. Jesus was killed and buried during Passover, and the Disciples found the empty tomb just a few days later while Jerusalem still was being swarmed with possibly 3,000,000 Jews ([[Josephus2018-gw]]) traveling to the holy city to celebrate. Any grave robber would run the risk of being seen, and the stench of a rotting corpse would have drawn attention to the ones carrying the body away. Many occupants could have been forced to sleep in the streets due to the overpopulation. Craig Keener states that: > [!quote] [[Keener2012-jw]] > carrying off the body was so rare that it would shock those who heard of it. And From William Lane Craig: > [!quote] [[Douglas_Geivett1997-sj]] > Given the tumultuous confusion at Jesus' public trial and execution--and during Passover time no less--this sort of derring-do strains credulity. ## 7: The Disciples Were Sincere In Their Beliefs The disciples were sincere in their beliefs about the risen Jesus, had a radical transformation after learning about the resurrection, and did not benefit. Most were persecuted and/or martyred (See [[How Did The Apostles Die]]). [[The Disciples Were Sincere In Their Beliefs]] Those that opposed Jesus and the early church were not able to produce his dead body after the Resurrection took place. But it was not because the body was stolen.