Did they fake Jesus' crucifixion to stay out of trouble?

Answer 1

Christians present several arguments that make the idea that the crucifixion of Jesus could have been faked seem quite preposterous. Some of the strongest:

1. The Jewish leaders of the time had a vested interest in disproving the resurrection of Christ; if they had been able to come up with any evidence that any part of either His crucifixion or His resurrection was faked, they would certainly have publicized it widely, but there is no historical evidence that this ever happened.
2. There were several Romans who stood in risk of losing their lives if his crucifixion was found to have been faked, and they would never have allowed such a thing.
3. Based on a variety of extrabiblical historical documents, Christians believe that all twelve of the apostles (who were intimately acquainted with Jesus and the circumstances surrounding His death) were tortured, and that eleven of them were murdered, for their beliefs. Many people are willing to die for what they believe, but only if they genuinely believe it to be true; these twelve men, of all in the world, would certainly have known if anything they said about Jesus's death and resurrection was fabricated, yet not one of them recanted. For all twelve of these men to be willing to be tortured and die for something they knew to be a lie is inconceivable.

For more detailed discussions of this topic, consider reading Josh McDowell's very brief book More Than a Carpenter and Lee Strobel's much longer book The Case for Christ. Both of these authors started out determined to prove that the Bible could not possibly be true, and ended up convinced that it could not possibly be false.

AnswerThe Counter Argument from the Book: What Da Vinci Really Didn't Want You To Know - The Jesus Conspiracy. Why did Jesus have to die?a.) According to Paul: Because of the sin of the 1st Adam, according to the scriptures, Jesus came to redeem us from that first original sin. (I Corinthians 15:3, I Corinthians 15:45, Romans 5:12).

b.) Thus Paul's assertions are:

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· Adam was the first Man;

· Adam brought sin into the world;

· We all inherited his, Adam's sin; and

· In order to redeem us from this "original sin" of Adam, - Jesus, the second Adam, had to DIE.

c.) Adam wasn't first according to the scriptures:

· God REPLENISHED (Maw-Lay Hebrew) mankind on earth according to Genesis 1:27-28. Replenish suggests there were people on earth prior to Adam thus he could not be responsible for bringing sin to the earth on all mankind which negates Jesus reason for dieing for our sins. See Genesis 1:20 - 23 Compare to Genesis 1:27 - 28 (Replenish or Maw-lay) Occurs 121 times in the Bible with various meanings: to replenish (See Jeremiah 31:25 "and I have replenished (Maw-lay) every sorrowful soul) , to fill, also means a pregnant woman (See Ecclesiastes 11:5 "of her that is with child"). Genesis 9:1 Noah also REPLENISHES the earth.

· Genesis 4:11-17 - People of Nod: A clear indication of Pre-Adamic people.

o Problems with Incest argument - 1.) Genetic defects 2.) Not enough genetic diversity (Inbreeding can cause Genetic bottle necking) 3.) Even if the so-called first generation was genetically pure, then when did God prohibit incest? It was prohibited in Babylon before Moses enforced this prohibition in Mosaic law. 4.) Genesis 4:17 Cain, his wife, & child could not build a city alone 5.) According Gen. 5:3-4 - Adam did not have any more children until 130 years later, after Cain built the city of Enoch.

o Trees in the Garden of Eden are Family trees or people (Ez. 31:3-9) EDEN in verses 9.

a.) We COULD NOT inherit Adam's sin & Jesus CAN NOT carry our sins

· No one can be put to death by someone elses's sin, neither father for a son or a son for a father - Deuteronomy 24:16.

· No one can bear the iniquities of another, including Jesus - Ezekiel 18:20.

· Every soul shall die for its OWN iniquities - Jeremiah 31:29-30

b.) We are all saved by GRACE - even before Jesus thus his death unnecessary.

· The word "sin," or "CHAIT, meaning, to miss the mark, has no connection with the endless guilt and eternal damnation. But it has a lot to do with archery."

o Judges 20:16, the slingers from the tribe of Benjamin are described as being so good with their weapon that they can "aim at the hair and not chait"

c.) There was GRACE in the Old Testament.

o Genesis 6:8 "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord"

o Exodus 33:12, 17 "…you have also found grace in my sight…for you have found grace in my sight…."

o Judges 6:17 "…and now I have found grace in your sight…"

o Jeremiah 31:2 "The people … found grace in the wilderness…"

o Proverbs 16:6 "By grace (Chesed) and truth iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil"

CONCLUSION: I conclude therefore, if the reasons for Jesus dying on the cross is invalid - in that there is no such thing as an original sin because Adam wasn't first, there was already GRACE on earth prior to the first advent of Jesus, and Sin could not be inherited anyway - he therefore did NOT have to die on the cross, thus I have to question if he really died.

Did_Jesus_die?">Did Jesus die?

a) Judas Iscariots betrayal is questioned?

· The Gospels of John 13:25-27 and Mark 14:42-44 both contain passages that suggest that Jesus not only picked Judas to betray him but actually encouraged Judas to hand himself (i.e. Jesus) over to those he knew would crucify him.

· According to St Matthew - acknowledged that Judas had a divine function to fulfill, saying to him during the arrest,Matthew 26:49-51 "Friend, do what you are here to do" and adding that "the prophecies of the Scriptures must be fulfilled".

· Jesus' promises that each of his twelve followers would come to occupy a throne judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Luke 22:21,30; cf. Matthew 19:28). Thus the scriptures about Judas condemnation for the betrayal must have been a later addition.

· An early Christian manuscript recently discovered called the Gospel of Judas where Jesus asked Judas, as a close friend, to sell him out to the authorities, telling Judas he will "exceed" the other disciples by doing so. This all points to a pre-planned conspiracy to fake his death.

b) The Jesus conspiracy?

· They did not Break Jesus' bones (Psalms 34:20, John 19:31) Thisis called the slow method of cucifixtion, where the victim stayed on the cross for several days and died from affixation. By the Romans not breaking his legs Jesus could've survived several days. In the Philippines, they enact Jesus's death annually by actually nailing themselves on the cross, never resulting in a causulaty of death.

· The Roma Solider's that pierced Jesus side assumed Jesus' death: According to the book of Mark (15:25) Jesus was crucified in the "third hour" which is the 3rd hour of daylight or about 9:00 am. While John (19:14) records this incident at the sixth hour or noon (12 pm). These are contradictory statements … Therefore they SAW different things it seems. (See: John 19:33-34) .

· According to John 19:33-34 the Blood going "forthwith" (spraying) indicates Jesus heart was still beating cause blood coagulates after death within 15 minutes. John 19:33-34. Which contradicts John 19:30 which would mean he would've dead for several hours thus his blood would've already coagulated. But the Blood going "forthwith" undermines John 19:30.

· Why was Pilate so surprised of Jesus Death, MARK 15: 43-45, Didn't the Jews ask Pilate for the Fast Method of crucifixion in John 19:31 unless the Pilate denied the request and he ordered the slow method…otherwise why would be so surprised?

· Joseph of Arimathaea secretly asked for Jesus body (which was the family's responsibility according to Jewish tradition) John 19:38.

· Nicodemus brought 100 pounds of healing herbs instead of embalming herbs to rub on Jesus' body. John 19:39.

Ø Myrrh: a very effective disinfectant; it also increases circulation, heart rate & power.

Ø Aloe Vera: repairs damaged tissues & accelerate healing by stimulating cell replication.

· According to Jewish Burial practices the person that hangs on the cross/tree stays on all night then the family members come and take the body down and anoint it with spices and oils. (Deuteronomy 21:23, Joshua 8:29.) Mary & Mary Magdalene (Luke 24:1, Mark 16:1) came to perform the rites but Jesus was missing. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathaea had already taken him down John 19:38-39.

· Jesus prayers were answered…. Mark 11:22-25, Psalms 34:17-20, James 5:16, & Mathew 7:7-10.

· Jews were concerned, since they did not break his legs that he would fake his death & resurrection. MATHEW 27:62-65.

· The prophet Jonah was alive, which is sign that Jesus was alive. Mathew 12:38-40

Ø Jesus was crucified on Good Friday either at 9 am (Mark 15:25) or 12 noon (John 19:14). And supposedly died in 3 in the afternoon (Luke 23.

Ø Jesus was taken down off the cross before the Sabbath ended which is 6 pm (Luke 23:54, John 19:31). So Far we only have Friday (1 day & 1 night)

Ø Sabbath was ended Saturday at sunset, and the first Day of the week (Sunday) began 6pm Saturday. Jesus was found missing from his tomb while it was still dark (BEFORE SUNRISE) Sunday Morning. (John 20:1; Mathew 28:1) So we have Saturday and Saturday night (1 day & 1 night). Before Sunrise Jesus was gone. Jesus was only buried 2 days and & 2 nights thus contradicting Matt. 12:38-40.

Ø According to the book of Jonah 2:1-10; Jonah was alive praying while in the belly of the sea creature. He prayed to be spared from death and gave up praises and Thanksgiving to God. Likewise, Jesus was alive.

Conclusion: The evidence suggests that Jesus, with his disciples, in a conspiratory fashion, preorcharastrated to make it APPEAR that he died on the cross but actually did not die. In other words, he faked his death.