4.7 Fraud 2: Someone other than the disciples stole the body

Published by 1c15 on 25th November 201925th November 2019

This theory cannot account for the majority of the known facts, virtually all critics recognise this.

1. Paul would not be convinced

An empty tomb by itself would not have convinced Paul, he would have suspected foul play. Paul converted because he believed he had seen the risen Jesus.

2. James would not be convinced

An empty tomb by itself would not have convinced James, he also was convinced by a physical appearance of the risen Jesus.

3. The body not being there only convinced John, missing body only confused them

The empty tomb alone did not persuade anybody except for John. The gospel of John reports Mary Madeline immediately jumped to the conclusion someone stole the body when she discovered the empty tomb. Peter also was unconvinced by the empty tomb, Thomas was unconvinced by empty tomb and the testimony of the fellow disciples. It was the risen appearances that led the disciples’ belief that Jesus had risen from the dead. Fraud 2 fails to account for these appearances

4. At best, calls into question the empty tomb

Even if true, this theory can only bring into question the cause of the empty tomb, not the resurrection itself. The strongest evidence for Jesus’ resurrection is the appearances to the disciples, Paul and James. The theory that someone else stole the body does nothing to disprove the claim that many persons had actually seen the risen Jesus. On its own, this theory is far too weak.

Structured response

1. Paul the church persecutor was convinced based on the appearance of the risen Jesus
2. The conversion of the sceptical brother James was convinced based on the appearance of the risen Jesus
3. Disciples really believed they had seen the risen Jesus, they were not lying. Scholars agree with this that they believed they saw something
4. At best, this theory only questions the cause of the empty tomb, the tombs still empty.

Sources for ‘Fraud 2’

• John empty tomb — Luke 24: 9–11; John 20: 8.
• Mary’s response — John 20: 2, 13–15.
• Peter’s response — John 20: 3–9. In Luke 24: 10–12, we also are told the disciples rejected the women’s story of the empty tomb.
• Thomas unconvinced — John 20: 24–25. The only disciple who seemed to believe was John. See John 20: 8, which reports that John “saw [that the body was not in the tomb] and believed.”
• The appearances led to belief — Matthew 28: 17; Luke 24: 34–53; John 20: 15–20, 24–28