In Post #36 I discussed whether Jesus may have suffered a Near-Death Experience (NDE), either on the cross or perhaps earlier in his life. In that post I mentioned what is called the Swoon Theory. This is the idea that on the cross Jesus passed out, but did not die. When he was taken down from the cross and placed in the cool tomb he gradually revived or was resuscitated by the women or his disciples, thus accounting for the empty tomb and his “resurrection” appearances. This theory goes back at least to 1780 and a German theologian Karl Friedrich Bahrdt and many others since then, one of the more popular accounts being found in The Passover Plot, a 1965 book by British biblical scholar Hugh J. Schonfield.
The idea may even show up in the Quran, the holy book of Islam:
That they said (in boast), “We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah”; but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not.
Quran 4:157 (English Translation by Yusuf Ali)
Muslim scholars debate whether this refers to Jesus not really dying as in the swoon theory or that someone else died in Jesus’ place. There are Gnostic texts such as The Second Treatise of the Great Seth from the third century which claim that Simon the Cyrene who the Gospels say carried the cross for Jesus was actually crucified instead of Jesus. The group of British scholars known as Monty Python (ha!) used this idea in their film Life of Brian if you remember the scene. Others suggested that the disciple Thomas was crucified in Jesus’ place, as his name means “twin.”
As a doctor I do find the Swoon Theory interesting to consider. There have been many cases throughout history where someone revived after an incorrect diagnosis of death. It is relatively rare, but has happened enough that it has been given the name “Lazarus Syndrome,” after the Bible character raised from the dead by Jesus, and documented in various medical journals. (Wikipedia has an entry about this syndrome if you want to read some specific cases.) Some people in previous centuries were so afraid of being buried alive they had devices built into their coffins to call for help if they woke up in the grave!
IMPROVED BURIAL-CASE
US Patent No. 81,437 Issued: August 25, 1868 Inventor: Franz Vester, Newark NJ
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Is there anything in the Gospels that might support such an idea? If you read the crucifixion accounts there is no detail about how they determined that Jesus was dead. (Check his pulse, his corneal reflex, the old mirror under the nose trick, or did he just ‘look’ dead?) But there is one (and only one) passage that might provide some detail, if factual:
…after they came to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. Yet one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
John 19:33, 34
Only the 4th Gospel records this, but if it is accurate, why blood and water? It may be a theological invention, to “prove” that Jesus is the fulfillment of Scripture, specifically Zechariah 12:10, which the Gospel quotes as “they will look at him whom they pierced.” Further, that Gospel mentions water a number of times, such as when Jesus told Nicodemus “unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). So perhaps this scene is also supposed to get the reader to connect the idea of water and Jesus’ blood (as in the gospel hymn speaking of baptism as being “washed in the blood of Jesus”). But is there a medical explanation?
There is naturally some fluid around the heart, but in certain conditions such as infection or chest injury that fluid can build up to excess, putting pressure on the heart and impeding its function, basically causing a form of heart failure. This would cause Jesus to pass out and perhaps even appear dead and unresponsive. If the soldier’s lance pierced the pericardium perhaps it would give the appearance of blood and water coming out. And if this released the pressure building up around the heart then perhaps normal heart function would be restored, so that even as Jesus was being taken down from the cross he was already beginning to revive. This would have continued as he was laid horizontal in an empty tomb, especially if the rough-hewn tomb put Jesus in the Trendelenburg position, in which the head is slightly lower than the legs, sending more blood to the brain.
A similar condition would be a pleural effusion, which is a build-up of fluid around the lungs. As with the heart, an excess of fluid compresses the lungs inhibiting proper respiration, which could cause Jesus to pass out. So, the lance could have pierced the pleural cavity and released this fluid, mixed with blood, allowing the lungs to re-expand. One problem with this is that if a hole is left going into the pleural space then air can leak in and also cause compression of the lungs, but I suppose it is possible that after the fluid leaked out the tissue around the wound came together to prevent air from leaking in. With the activity of taking Jesus down from the cross and transporting him to the tomb it might be easy to miss his shallow breathing, especially if you are convinced he is dead and not looking for signs of life. And I doubt his disciples knew how to properly take vital signs.
As I mentioned, only one Gospel mentions Jesus being pierced by a lance, and there may be theological reasons to add this detail. Still, even without the lance piercing Jesus the idea of Jesus spontaneously reviving in the tomb is not without medical precedent, as in the Lazarus Syndrome incidents. Sometimes the people who survive still have underlying medical problems or injury, so they die some time afterwards. So, Jesus could have survived, appeared to and talked with some of his disciples, and then eventually died as a result of complications from his injuries. His final death could have been interpreted as returning to Heaven, his mission complete, especially if he was not with his disciples when he died, and they were left to assume what had happened to him. Even so, I think few scholars put much faith in the Swoon Theory, even though we have many more cases of Lazarus Syndrome than we have of people actually returning from true death after several days.
I think there is a simpler medical explanation, and I mentioned this in Post #33. Although the New Testament writings are a bit ambiguous on this point (see Post #41) most commonly Mary Magdalene is said to be the first person to see Jesus after his resurrection. This is about all we know about her:
The twelve were with Him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out…
Luke 8:1b, 2
Not much to go on, but in the Gospels it seems that mental illness (Mark 5:1-20) and seizures/epilepsy (Mark 9:14-29) were often attributed to evil spirits. Both of these conditions can be associated with hallucinations, i.e., “visions.” (An upcoming post will be an article about whether Paul had such a condition.) It may be that Mary had such a condition, and it may be that Jesus had to “exorcise” her seven different times, which is why they thought she had seven demons. This makes sense if she had either a psychiatric condition or epilepsy, as the symptoms can be intermittent and recurrent. So after each apparent healing she eventually relapsed and had to be exorcised again (again, review Post #33).
Well, if Mary was prone to hallucinations, what might have happened after her Lord and Master was brutally crucified? It would not be surprising at all to think that she “saw” Jesus again. In fact, in some cultures, like some Native American tribes, it is considered normal to be visited by the spirits of deceased loved ones. Just look at how common the belief in ghosts is even in today’s “enlightened” public. So, when the mind is conditioned to expect to see your loved ones after death, your mind accommodates. No doubt it can be a source of comfort for the grieving mind to see the deceased person again, and to know that they safely made the transition to the afterlife.
So, Mary “sees” Jesus after his death, she believes he is alive, and she tells the other disciples about it. They also want to see and believe, and so some of them experience their own visions of Jesus, or at least believe Mary’s report. (Next week’s post examines the question of whether all the disciples actually believed in the resurrection reports.) Once people start proclaiming that Jesus has been raised from the dead and has ascended to Heaven, one day to return and bring His Kingdom, then Christianity is born. (So, is Mary Magdalene the real founder of Christianity?)
You might find it unlikely to think that people started believing in Jesus’ resurrection just based on reports by some of his disciples, but that is exactly what has been happening over the past 2,000 years. There are about 2 billion Christians in the world today, and virtually all of them believe in Jesus’ resurrection based on a few varying accounts written over 1900 years ago, not because they themselves have seen the resurrected Jesus. (Granted, there are some people today who think they have actually seen Jesus, but that is the rare exception, not the rule.) People have an amazing capacity to believe what they want to believe. And sometimes to see what they want to see.
You may be a faithful believer, or you may be an extreme skeptic. Either way I think it is worth reviewing the reports of Jesus’ death and resurrection and examining them from an objective perspective, and even applying modern medical knowledge. You may find your faith strengthened as a result. Or you may find your skepticism justified. I believe we should all understand why we believe what we believe or don’t believe what others believe. Mindless faith and mindless skepticism are both a form of mindlessness, and that is not good for anybody.
(Be sure to leave comments or questions below…)
Thinking Exercises
1. Have you ever been visited by a dead loved one? The problem with hallucinations is that they seem entirely real to your mind. So how would you ever know if you actually saw that loved one, or if your mind simply imagined it?
2. Paul claims that fewer than 600 people saw the resurrected Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:3-9). The official registry of Loch Ness records twice (2x) as many people seeing Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster. About ten times (10x) as many people have offered credible sightings of Bigfoot. Why do people believe so easily in Jesus’ resurrection while being skeptical of Nessie and Bigfoot?
3. We have well-documented cases of people being declared dead only to revive. What about Jesus? Do you think the Swoon Theory is plausible? Why or why not?