The Resurrection of Jesus: Another Look at the Conspiracy Theory

Along with the prophetic scriptures, Jesus repeatedly foretold his own death and bodily resurrection. He was then violently killed, his death confirmed, and the place of his burial secured with guards posted to ensure the corpse was not stolen (Matt. 27:62-66). On the third day after the burial, the tomb was found empty and multiple eyewitnesses reportedly saw Jesus alive.¹

Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. (Matt. 28:11-15, NKJV)

The earliest attempt to explain away the resurrection of Jesus was a conspiracy theory, accusing the disciples of stealing the body. The story was still being propagated years later as Matthew produced his Gospel, continued in the second century,² and even in modern times.³ This popular explanation, however, is seriously flawed. 

Major Challenge #1

Roman law decreed that tomb defilement (violatio sepulchri) was a crime punishable by death. A document from Roman Egypt (BGU IV 1024) contains court rulings prescribing the death penalty for disturbing the bodily remains of a tomb.⁴ A marble tablet from the first half of the first century AD, acquired from Nazareth and called the Nazareth Inscription, preserves an edict of Caesar ordering those who disturb graves or tombs or move sepulcher-sealing stones or remove corpses “to suffer capital punishment under the title of tomb-breaker.”⁵ Challenging the authority of Caesar was itself a grievous offense.⁶

Under these circumstances, why were the disciples of Jesus not arrested and promptly executed, unless the indictment was false? The Romans were very serious about enforcing their laws, verifying charges (Acts 25:5, 16), even by means of torture (Acts 21:34; 22:24-25), while dismissing unsubstantiated allegations (Acts 24:13; 25:7, 11, 25; 26:31; 28:18). 

Major Challenge #2

In the first-century Roman world, the penalty of death was also enacted in the case of a soldier’s dereliction of duty.⁷ If the initial Jewish explanation of the empty tomb were true, why was the matter not investigated, why was the alleged crime not exposed, and why were the guards not punished? 

Major Challenge #3

Contrary to the unproven speculations of liberal critics, the gospel story did not gradually evolve as a legendary tale over several decades. Eyewitness testimonies about the resurrected Christ began immediately and publicly, and wherever the message spread it was met with harsh opposition.⁸ It was not the empty tomb itself that convinced people, the apostle John notwithstanding (John 20:8), but encounters with and reports of Jesus seen alive (John 20:2, 14-18, 25; et al.).⁹

Conclusion

It is hard to believe that a handful of dejected and terrified disciples, whose inspiring leader had just been brutally killed by the Romans, would so blatantly defy the powerful and merciless regime, or willingly suffer and die for something they knew was a lie. And if early believers were as simplistic and gullible as many critics claim, how did they pull off such an elaborate hoax incapable of realistically explaining the global Christian movement of the past two millennia? The evidence more readily supports the biblical account of Christ’s resurrection and exposes significant flaws in eager attempts to deny it.¹⁰

--Kevin L. Moore   

Endnotes:

     ¹ See K. L. Moore, “The Resurrection of Jesus Christ (Part 1),” Moore Perspective (30 Nov. 2022), <Link>.

     ² Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 108.

     ³ Richard Carrier, “The Plausibility of Theft,” in The Empty Tomb: Jesus Beyond the Grave, eds. Robert M. Price and Jeffrey J. Lowder (Amherst: Prometheus Books, 2005): 350-52.

     ⁴ James G. Keenan, Roman Criminal Law in a Berlin Papyrus Codex (Chicago: Loyola University, 1989): 17-18. 

     ⁵ Clyde E. Billington, “The Nazareth Inscription: Proof of the Resurrection of Christ?” Artifax (Spring 2005), <Link>. The reference to sealing stones comes from the Greek κάτοχος, applicable to holding something “constrained.” See

Henry G. Liddell and Robert Scott, A Lexicon Abridged: Greek-English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1944): 368. Archaeologically, sepulcher-sealing stones have only been discovered in Israel.

     ⁶ Matt. 27:11; Mark 15:2; Luke 23:2-5, 14; John 18:33; 19:12-15; Acts 17:7; 25:8.

     ⁷ Polybius, The Histories 6.37; Tacitus, Annals 3.20-21; cf. Acts 12:19; 16:27; 27:42. See also Donald G. Kyle, Spectacles of Death in Ancient Rome (London: Routledge, 1998): 143-44.

     ⁸ Acts 4:1-21, 29; 5:17-42; 6:8–8:4; 9:1-2, 13-16, 20-30; 12:1-6; 13:6-8, 45-51; 14:1-20; 16:19-24, 37; 17:5-14, 18, 32; 18:6, 12-17; 19:23-41; 21:27-36; 22:22-25; 23:1-6, 12-15; 24:21; 25:2-3, 24; 26:8-11; 28:22; 1 Cor. 4:9-13; 2 Cor. 4:8-18; 6:4-10; 11:23-33; 1 Thess. 2:2; et al.

     ⁹ See K. L. Moore, “The Resurrection of Jesus Christ (Part 2),” Moore Perspective (7 Dec. 2022), <Link>.

     ¹⁰ See K. L. Moore, “The Resurrection of Jesus Christ (Part 3),” Moore Perspective (14 Dec. 2022), <Link>.

Related Posts: Harmonized Timeline of Christ's Resurrection

 

Image credit: Wall mosaic at Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burial_of_Jesus#/media/File:Mosaic_-_Entombment_of_Jesus.JPG>.