DEBUNKING THE MUSLIM RED HERRING OF AN OPEN TOMB TO SUPPORT THE “SWOON THEORY” EXPLANATION FOR THE RESURRECTION
On another thread the Muslim Akinola Ade said: “Jesus was placed in an open chamber, if he was buried underground in a six feet like today, he’ll surely die, but there’s no assurance he died right from the cross, so there’s possiblity he survived and recovered not #resurrection.”
To which I responded:
“Akinola Ade do you know that Jesus body was wrapped in burial cloth by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus? That action alone is enough to suffocate a healthy fully alive person to death! Your desperation is frankly shocking and, if it wasn’t such a serious matter, your objections are frankly laughable.
Check out this source that, while it’s main purpose is to establish that the Shroud of Turin is not authentic, serves to illustrate my point:
□ THE MATERIAL AND METHOD OF WRAPPING THE BODY
“Combining the accounts of the historical record of the New Testament teaches us that several pieces of cloth were used to wrap the body of Christ and they were in the form of “strips,” and “wrappings,” or “linen bandages” SUCH AS WERE USED IN THE PREPARATION OF MUMMIES.
Note the word “wrappings” is plural in the following passage:
John 19:39-42 “And Nicodemus came also, who had first come to Him by night; bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. [40] And so they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. [41] Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been laid. [42] Therefore on account of the Jewish day of preparation, because the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.”
“Linen wrapping” is the Greek word sidon meaning fine linen cloth used for swathing dead bodies or as a single garment or wrap as in the passage here:
Mark 14:51-52 “And a certain young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they seized him. [52] But he left the linen sheet behind, and escaped naked.”
“Linen wrappings” is the Greek word othoniois (plural of othonion) meaning “a piece of fine linen, a linen cloth.”
John 19:39-42 “And Nicodemus came also, who had first come to Him by night; bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. [40] And so they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. [41] Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been laid. [42] Therefore on account of the Jewish day of preparation, because the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.”
Matthew and Luke use the Greek word entulisso meaning “to wrap up,” or “to fold,” or “roll or coil about.”
Matthew 27:59 “And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth”
Luke 23:53 “And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain.”
Mark uses the Greek word eneileo meaning “to roll in,” or “wind in.”
Mark 15:46 “And Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.”
John uses the Greek word deo meaning “to bind,” or “tie with the results of imprisonment.”
John 19:40 “And so they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.”
The Gospel accounts are all in agreement that the body was wrapped or enfolded. It is important to compare these accounts with John 11:42-44.
John 11:42-44 “And I knew that Thou hearest Me always; but because of the people standing around I said it, that they may believe that Thou didst send Me.” [43] And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” [44] He who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings; and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
This was the Jewish custom. Even though when Christ was buried they had to hurry because of time, Joseph along with Nicodemus (and probably some servants since Joseph was a rich man) would have followed the Jewish custom of washing the body and wrapping it in mummy-like fashion with the spices between the folds of the wrappings.
Edersheim, the great biblical scholar and historian, wrote in his monumental work, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah:
It seems as if the `clean linen cloth’ in which the Body had been wrapped, was now torn into `cloths’ or swathes, into which the Body, limb by limb, was now `bound,’ no doubt, between layers of myrrh and aloes, the Head being wrapped in a napkin (Vol. 2, p. 618).
In a footnote to the above statement Edersheim further explained:
The Synoptists record, that the Body of Jesus was `wrapped’ in a `linen cloth’; St. John tells us that it was `bound’ with the aloes and myrrh of Nicodemus into `swathes’ or `cloths,’ even as they were found afterwards in the empty tomb, and by their side `the napkin,’ or soudarion, for the head. I have tried to combine the account of the Synoptists and that of St John into a continuous narrative (p. 618).
It is evident that the Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, give us the general statement of the burial. But John (who with Peter went to the empty tomb and saw the results) gives us the details of what was done with the linen cloth.
The evidence of Scripture makes it clear that Jesus was wrapped in cloth when taken down from the cross. That cloth was torn into strips, and then Jesus was bound with these linen strips, but He was not wrapped with a single piece of cloth like the Shroud.
“The words regarding the cloth clearly indicate it. The verbs used warrant it, and the specific choice of words makes it inescapable” (Answers to Tough Questions, McDowell and Stewart, p. 166).
The biblical authors of the Gospel accounts of the burial of the Lord never used two Greek words, kalutto (1 Kings 19:13) and periballo (Gen. 38:14). These words were used of garments such as the Shroud. Their failure to use these words is very significant and provide further evidence against the Shroud.”
Source: bible.org/article/shroud-turin-and-resurrection-christ
Please explain how a flogged and crucified body that has suffered massive blood loss, wrapped in burial cloth, as described above, survives for 3 days in a tomb and then miraculously revives and unwraps itself and still has the strength to remove the stone? I will wait.”
CONCLUSIONS
From the above it is plainly obvious that being placed in an “open tomb” rather than buried 6 feet underground, is a non point and a red herring. Because wrapping in burial cloth both immobilises as well as asphyxiates anyone with life left in them, such that the tomb and its dimensions becomes an immaterial moot point.
By this little publicised fact alone, (see how little emphasis is made of it in the following analysis) therefore we can easily dismiss another Muslim theory to explain away the resurrection.
□ POSTSCRIPT
~ The Apparent Death (or Swoon) Theory ~
This theory, which emerged in the late 1700s and evolved through various liberal German theologians, posits that Jesus did not die on the cross, but only appeared to die. A modern version of this theory was popularized in The Passover Plot, a 1960s book by Hugh Schonfield.
▪︎ Details of the Theory
This theory states that Jesus merely fainted on the cross, from pain, shock, and loss of blood. He was removed from the cross, alive but unconscious, and placed in the tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Jewish leadership. Jesus supposedly revived at some point, in part because of the coolness of the tomb. Despite not having access to desperately needed medical care and nourishment, Jesus then supposedly managed to unwrap His dressings by Himself and then, in the total darkness of the tomb, locate and roll away the mammoth stone that sealed the tomb entrance. And then, still unnoticed by the guards, Jesus supposedly walked a significant distance, on feet punctured by the cross nails, to rejoin His disciples and declare Himself the risen Lord.
▪︎ Response
Serious scholars don’t support this theory because it fails to account for the known facts. Evidence, both historical and medical, argues against the possibility of survival. We have at least ten reasons to be confident that Jesus did, in fact, die on the cross:
The nature of His injuries. He was brutally whipped, beaten, and crowned with deep thorns, all of which resulted in enormous blood loss and tissue damage. He collapsed while carrying His cross beam (approximate weight to be believed around 100 pounds) to the crucifixion site. The nature of crucifixion virtually guarantees death from asphyxiation. In an attempt to bolster their view, skeptics cite the historian Josephus, who describes an extremely rare case in which one person survived crucifixion, overlooking the fact that his account describes three crucifixion victims who were alive when taken down, but two of which died shortly thereafter, despite receiving excellent Roman medical care. The piercing of Jesus’ side, from which came “blood and water” (John 19:34), indicating serum separated from clotted blood, gives medical evidence that Jesus had already died. Jesus said He was in the act of dying while on the cross: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). The Roman soldiers, well trained executioners, were charged with making sure He was dead before taken off the cross. When they went to break Jesus’ legs, to hasten His death, they found Him already dead. Pilate summoned the centurion to make sure Jesus was, indeed, dead before surrendering the body to Joseph for burial. Jesus’ body was wrapped in about a hundred pounds of cloth and spices, and placed in a tomb that was sealed with a massive stone. From inside the tomb, Jesus would have had no way to leverage the stone to roll it away, let alone push it back enough to slip past it. Medical experts who have studied the circumstances surrounding the end of Jesus’ life have concluded that He did actually die on the cross, most likely from a combination of factors: hypovolemic shock, exhaustion asphyxia, and even acute heart failure. Non-Christian historians from the 1st and 2nd centuries, such as Tacitus and Josephus, recorded Jesus’s death in their writings.The earliest Christian writers after the time of Christ, such as Polycarp and Ignatius, verify that Jesus died on the cross.
In his article, A Lawyer Examines The Swoon Theory, Texas attorney Joseph “Rick” Reinckens satirically unpacks this theory. Just a snippet:
“Jesus has been whipped, beaten and stabbed, is hemorrhaging, and hasn’t had any food or drink for at least three days. Does He just push the stone open enough to squeeze through? No, He pushes the stone door COMPLETELY out of the way!!!”
The theory asserts that Jesus got past the guards undetected — and then somehow traveled seven miles to Emmaus, to rejoin His disciples. Again, let’s look at Jesus’ physical condition, to decide if this sounds feasible:
Jesus would have had nothing to eat or drink for more than two days, as it has been over 48 hours since the Passover meal. Jesus would have been severely dehydrated from losing massive amount of blood and fluids. Jesus’ entire body would have been a pulpy mess, because of the severe beatings and scourging by the Roman guards. The gaping wound in His side, from being pierced by the Roman guard’s sword, would have likely perforated a lung and/or Jesus’ heart. Jesus crumpled under the weight of the crossbeam as He made His way to the crucifixion site. Yet now He manages to roll aside a tomb stone that scholars estimate weighed more than 400 pounds?
If Jesus had managed to get Himself to His disciples, are we to believe that they viewed Him, in His near-death state, to be their triumphant, risen Lord? And consider this: if Jesus had survived the crucifixion, why would His disciples create the idea of His resurrection? Would they not have thumbed their noses at Rome more by simply stating that Rome’s best efforts at torture were no limit to Jesus, the man and Messiah from Galilee?
If it crossed your mind that Jesus could have healed Himself in the tomb — as historical records tell us that He healed so many others — ask yourself why He would do so. If He didn’t die, His own predictions about Himself were untrue. If He didn’t die, His promises to us are, as Paul states, worthless. Would any of us follow Jesus if we thought Him a liar and fake? I certainly wouldn’t.
Get Outlook for Android<aka.ms/AAb9ysg>