"Is it possible that Jesus simply
fainted on the cross, and revived while He was in the
tomb?"
Jesus had been whipped
and beaten, and was bleeding from His head, back, hands,
and feet for at least six hours. While he was on the
cross, a soldier pierced His side with a spear and blood
and water gushed out. Professional soldiers would certainly
have completed their assigned task and ensured his death.
"It is impossible that
a being who had stolen half-dead out of the sepulcher,
who crept about weak and ill, wanting medical treatment,
who required bandaging, strengthening, and indulgence,
and who still at last yielded to his sufferings, could
have given to the disciples the impression that he was
a conqueror over death and the grave, the Prince of
Life: an impression which lay at the bottom of their
future ministry. Such a resuscitation could only have
weakened the impression which he had made upon them
in life and in death, at the most could only have given
it an elegiac voice, but could by no possibility have
changed their sorrow into enthusiasm, have elevated
their reverence into worship." Strauss, New
Life of Jesus (quoted in Who Moved the Stone?
by Frank Morison)
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