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Thursday April 2 2026
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Matthew 27:50-And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.
Over the years, I have worked with friends from lots of different religious backgrounds. Many of these folks were non-Christians, and we often discussed questions relating to the resurrection of Christ. One of the more interesting theories that people have come up with is known as the Swoon Theory, which states that the Lord did not really die on the cross. Instead, this theory maintains that Jesus simply passed out on the cross and the Roman soldiers (and everyone else) believed that He had died and so took Him down, placing His body in the tomb. Three days later, Jesus awoke and then convinced everyone He had risen from the dead.
So we are told that Jesus never died, and simply revived: hence no resurrection from the dead.
What shall we say to this?
First, people did not pass out from crucifixion and then wake up later! When you understand the terrible nature of crucifixion, you see how foolish this theory is. This is one of the reasons that the researchers of the prestigious magazine, Journal Of The American Medical Association, after carefully examining the facts on crucifixion, stated clearly and publicly for the record:
“Clearly, the weight of the historical and medical evidence indicates that Jesus was dead before the wound to his side was inflicted. . . . Accordingly, interpretations based on the assumption that Jesus did not die on the cross appear to be at odds with modern medical knowledge.” (William D. Edwards et al., “On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ,” Journal of the American Medical Association (March 21, 1986), 1455–63).
Second, the Romans were experts at their work. They knew how to crucify people, and they assuredly knew how to make certain that the ones that they crucified were actually deceased! This is especially true when we consider that they would have faced the death penalty themselves if they had been negligent in their duties.
Third, John makes this important observation in describing the death of Jesus:
John 19:34-But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
What is especially fascinating here is the reference to how John observed “blood and water” coming out of Jesus’ side. One physician points out how this demonstrated Jesus was already dead at this time:
“Tradition implied the wound was on the right side. The Ethiopic version of John’s Gospel and the Acts of Pilate (B recension 11:2) depicted the right side as the one pierced. [52] Early church fathers such as St. Augustine also agreed with this tradition. [53] [54] There were some reasonable facts lending credence to this tradition of the piercing the heart through the right side. First, the fencing schools of the Roman army taught this fatal thrust— puncturing the heart to produce immediate death. The right side was usually unprotected in combat because shields protected the left side. Renowned French surgeon Dr. Pierre Barbet recalled Caesar’s use of the expression, “ latus apertum the side being opened,” to denote classically the right side. [55] [56] [57] A legionnaire delivered this joust with deadly accuracy. The ancient sculpture The Dying Gaul immortalized this wound, for it depicted the death of an enemy warrior struck just beneath his right breast in battle. [58] [59] This particular sculpture dated to Pergamum between 240 and 200 BC, demonstrating the deadly thrust’s usage even prior to the maneuver being taught in the Roman military academies. Medical science has demonstrated more blood flows with perforation of the distended, thinner- walled right atrium and ventricle than from any other body part. [60] Blood normally would not spill easily from the dead unless the lance perforated the right atrium, for blood pooled in this chamber with death after the heart stopped pumping. [61] In an erect corpse (for example, on a cross), gravity drains the blood above the heart to the right atrium without clotting. [62]…The question of “how” still remained until physicians investigated it. Barbet performed experiments on autopsies by inserting a syringe beneath the fifth intercostals space (between the fifth and the sixth ribs) toward the heart. He first noticed serum (watery fluid). [64] In cases of excess fluid such as heart failure, the fluid was more diluted and thus clearer. As the surgeon inserted the needle further, Barbet then noticed blood when he penetrated the right side of the heart. Barbet followed these experiments by the use of a knife instead of a syringe with the same results. If he vigorously thrust the knife into the side, the clear, serous fluid of the lungs and pericardial sac flowed along the edges of the blood from the right atrium. American surgeon Dr. Harold Blanton reported similar findings in studies performed by a pathologist in Birmingham, Alabama. [66] A pericardiocentesis (aspiration of the pericardial sac surrounding the heart) followed by a cardiocentesis (aspiration of the heart) then confirmed scientifically what John saw was indeed plausible. For these reasons, forensic scientists believed the flow of water was excess pericardial fluid and excess fluid in the lungs from pulmonary edema. In a case of “an exceptionally painful death- agony, as was that of the Savior, this hydropericardium would have been particularly abundant.” In Jesus’ case, the severe loss of blood and the other portions of His Passion caused His heart to fail. Congestive heart failure resulted from His agony, and this condition caused the building up of excess fluid not only around the heart, but also in the lungs with pulmonary edema. Because the heart failure worked like a dam, the excess fluid seeped from the vessels to pool in the lungs and chest. This burden of excess fluid made it easier to identify with the piercing of Jesus’ side. It proved Jesus died an agonizing death— even one causing His internal organs to fail.” (J. Shan Young, M.D., Crushed: A Physician Analyzes The Agony Of Jesus, 4577-4614 (Kindle Edition); Glass Road Media)
Fourth, if Jesus had simply passed out, then how could He have gotten out of the tomb? Remember the stone that was in front of the entrance.
Mark 16:3-4-And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” 4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large.
Numerous studies document just how large this stone was, and why the women were so concerned about how they would move it away from the tomb.
“The Scriptures portray angels as extremely powerful and mighty beings. Indeed, Psalm 103: 20 calls them “mighty ones who do his bidding.” Second Thessalonians 1: 7 refers to God’s “powerful angels.” We see an example of angelic strength in Matthew 28, where we read that an angel rolled away the giant stone at the sepulcher of Jesus (verses 2-7). Some people have estimated that a wheel of granite like the one that guarded the tomb—about eight feet in diameter and one foot thick—would weigh more than four tons (8000 pounds). 20 Yet an angel flipped the stone out of the way as if it were a mere pebble.” (Ron Rhodes, The Secret Life of Angels: Who They Are and How They Help Us, 85 (Kindle Edition): Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers)
Fifth, if Jesus had gotten outside of the tomb, then how would He have gotten past the Roman soldiers?
Matthew 27:65-66-Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.
How many guards are we talking about?
“Supercilious pictures of the tomb of Christ show one or two guards standing around with wooden spears and miniskirts. That’s really laughable and could not be further from the truth. Many excellent resources attesting to the discipline of the Roman army tell us that a Roman guard unit was a 4-to-16-man security force. Each man was trained to protect 6 feet of ground. The 16 men in a square of 4 on each side were supposed to protect 36 yards and hold it against an entire battalion. 24 Normally a unit charged with guarding an area would work in this way: 4 men were placed immediately in front of what they were to protect. The other 12 would sleep in a semi-circle in front of them with their heads pointing in. To steal what these guards were protecting, thieves would first have to walk over the guards who were asleep. Every four hours, another unit of four guards was awakened, and those who had been awake took their turn at sleep. They would rotate this way around the clock. To illustrate, historian Dr. Paul Maier wrote of the incident in Acts where Peter had been imprisoned. “Peter would be guarded by four squads of four men each when imprisoned by Herod Agrippa (Acts 12), so sixteen would be a minimum number expected outside a prison. Guards in ancient times always slept in shifts, so it would have been virtually impossible for a raiding party to have stepped over all their sleeping faces without waking them.” 25 Even Matthew indicated a multi-man force when he wrote that “some of the guards went into the city and told the leading priests what had happened” (28: 11, emphasis added). Thus both the biblical account and independent history tell us that the military unit guarding Jesus’ tomb was a significant number of men, all highly trained and disciplined.” (Josh McDowell & Sean McDowell, Evidence for the Resurrection, 2991-3007 (Kindle Edition); Ventura, CA: Regal from Gospel Light)
The Swoon Theory is irrational and does not account for the facts of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.
The truth is simple: Jesus died on the cross of Calvary, and three days later, He arose.
Lord, thank You for Your resurrection from the dead that gives us hope in You. Amen.