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Reasons the Thief Theory Fails
A. The guards would not take a bribe like this. Their neglect of duty would have been punishable by death.
B. The disciples would not have suffered all of the persecution that they suffered for a dead body. Someone would have said, "Listen, I'm not going to get beaten and persecuted for stealing a dead body."
The disciples were a frightened bunch. They fled the scene when Jesus was arrested. They were huddled, defeated in the upper room until the resurrection.
D. If the soldiers were asleep, how did they know that the disciples stole the body?
E. The disciples couldn't have stolen His body and His enemies wouldn't
Hoax Theory
This theory states that the resurrection story was actually a hoax pulled off by the disciples in order to gain popularity and maintain religious control after their beloved Messiah had died. Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-9. How many people saw Jesus alive after His resurrection?
Reasons the Hoax Theory Fails
It would be difficult to get over 500 people to go along and not reveal the hoax
Who would die for a lie? People will die for a lie if they believe the lie. They will not, however, die for a lie they know to be a lie.
3. Swoon theory
This theory suggests that Jesus did not actually die. He became unconscious and while he was in the cool air of the tomb, he was revived and escaped. Read John 19:31-42. Did the soldiers think Jesus was dead? What evidences does the text give to indicate that Jesus was dead? Could a person in Jesus' condition remove the sealed stone from the sepulchre and escape the guards?
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