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We can know! by Norman Childs

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CHAPTER TEN

DID JESUS REALLY DIE?

Before we examine the testimony of the resurrection of Jesus we must examine the evidence that he really did die. If Jesus did not die on the cross, all the efforts to prove his resurrection are meaningless. If Jesus did die, and was resurrected, all the other Bible claims become easy to accept.

DID JESUS REALLY DIE?

1. Jesus sweat blood (Luke 22:44). Blood sweating has caused death and causes most people to go into shock, thus Jesus’ body was extremely weakened before his enemies laid a hand on him.

2. Jesus was tortured. He was crowned with thorns which were beaten into his head. He was slapped, beaten with fists and whipped. The Romans’ goal was to continue a whipping until the convict was at the point of death.¹Thus the body of Jesus was greatly weakened before he was crucified.

3. Jesus was nailed to a cross and he hung there for over six hours. He had to push hard against the nails in his feet and pull hard on the nails in his hands every time he took a breath. Thus his body was weakened drastically by the pain.

4. The soldier recognized that he died; therefore, he did not break his legs to hasten his death.

5. To be absolutely sure that Jesus was dead—a sword was shoved through his side, John 19:32-37.

6. A centurion, a man with so much experience he was given charge over 100 men, no doubt having much experience along these lines, pronounced Jesus dead, Mark 15:44, 45.

7. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus worked for an extended period of time with the body of Jesus and saw no signs of life. These men were intelligent men, whose daily duty was to analyze facts and pronounce judgments for the nation of Israel.

8. The method of wrapping dead bodies would have prevented Jesus from breathing and having the mobility and ability that would be necessary to remove the huge stone door.²

9. The body was wrapped with 100 pounds of spices (John 19:39 KJV). Consider the difficulty of moving with 100 pounds of weight wrapped around you. For Jesus to get up, hop to the door, move that huge stone and overcome the guards² would require a miracle as big as the resurrection itself.

10.The mangled body of Jesus could not have been nursed, or fed during the time of burial, nor could he even have a sip of water. Jesus was extremely thirsty on the cross but was denied anything but gall and wine vinegar to drink. If Jesus was not dead when he was placed in the tomb, after the three days, he would have died of thirst.

11. The tomb was sealed³ and guarded. The law provided for the death of the guards if they allowed their prisoners to escape³ (see Acts 16:27). We can safely conclude the guards did not naturally fall asleep at their post. If the disciples had overpowered them they would have used this as their defense, Matthew 28:13.

12. The stone was huge and very heavy.⁴ It, no doubt, was moved only by the exertion of several strong men. If Jesus was a mere physical man, with all these buises, he would not have had the strength to move the stone away.

13. Only the death and resurrection of Jesus could motivate the phenomenal growth of the church immediately following his crucifixion.

THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. JESUS DIED!!!

STUDY GUIDE

CHAPTER TEN

1. Name something that happened to Jesus’ body that weakened it before his enemies laid a hand on him.

2. What torture did Jesus receive to his head?

3. What did the Romans often used as a guage to determine how many times they would whip a person?

4. What did Jesus have to do to breathe while on the cross?

5. Why didn’t the soldiers break Jesus’ legs?

6. What did the soldier do to make sure that Jesus was dead?

7. What was a third thing that was done so they would be absolutely positive that Jesus was dead?

8. If Jesus was still alive when he was taken down from the cross, who would have recognized it?