Mrs. Clark’s 7th Grade Bible Class Discusses:

Hide ‘n’ Seek: The Stolen Body Myth

When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 

telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 

If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”

So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed.

And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

Matthew 28:12-15

Study Sessions

Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-8.

What four things does Paul say are “of first importance?”

How many people (at least) does Paul mention who actually saw the risen Christ?

Why did Paul mention that most of the five hundred brothers (in verse 6) are still alive?

This Myth is about how Jesus “disappeared” from the tomb.
The Roman guard was paid to not tell anyone what actually happened. They were to say that the disciples came and stole the body at night (Matthew 28:12-15).
If they were to say that then, whoever they were telling that person should ask, “ Why were the guards not awake?”

If I was there when Jesus body apparently “disappeared,” then I would have asked the Roman soldiers, “didn’t you seal the tomb?” Also, I would ask “didn’t the stone weigh 2 tons?”

Another thing that the book points out is that the Roman soldiers would have heard the movement of the huge stone. The book also points out that the Roman guards were well trained and also heavily armed and had good armor, so I don’t know how a force that was trained and armed couldn’t win verses people who were not trained and just wanted to see that Jesus would raise from the dead.
The myth also says that the Roman guards who were awake would have been overpowered by the disciples. Sure one of them could; but can’t people hear when others fight?
In the book, Simon Greenleaf, said that “It is impossible for that to happen.”

In the end, Jesus body wasn’t taken–He rose from the dead, and we give thanks on Easter.

Josh, age 13

 The “Stolen Body Myth” is a myth, that says the disciples on the eve of Easter went and stole the body of Jesus and hid it–Hide ‘N’ Seek.
This myth can be debunked by many Scriptures. 1 Corinthians 15 :1-8 says, that He appeared before Cephas and then to the twelve and then to 500 brothers. It also tells how He rose on the third day and that before that He was buried.
Also the disciples were locked in a room because they were so scared of the Pharisees.

They all, except John, died a martyr’s death. Why would a person die for something that is not real?  I wouldn’t die for a fake religion and I don’t even think I could die for a real religion, much less a fake one.

The “Stolen Body Myth” can be debunked by the fact that they would never die for a lie or a myth.

Jonathan, age 12

The tomb of Jesus was protected by at least 4 guards of the emperor, in front of a two ton circular stone, but the body of Jesus still got stolen… this is truly a one-of-a-kind resurrection myth.

Even if the guards were asleep, it would be impossible to move or lift a 2 ton stone without the guards waking up.

The guards were equipped with a 6 feet Roman pike on their right hand, a shield on their left hand, and a dagger on their left side. The disciples would not try to steal the body of Jesus while fearing being slain by one of these Roman guards.

Even if they stole the body of Jesus, they would never preach across the world knowing everything they are teaching is a lie, and would not die for this lie they made up.

If they knew it was a lie, 11 of the 12 disciples wouldn’t have died for a lie they made.

Paul, age 12

 The stolen body myth says that Christ was taken from the tomb by the disciples so that they could say he had risen. This is not possible and is a myth.

It would have been impossible for the disciples to move the stone without the guards hearing. The stone was tall and weighed about two tons.

If the guards would have seen them they would have easily killed the disciples. The guards wore iron helmets and were armed with a Roman pike, a sharp iron head fixed in a shaft. They also held a shield and a sword.

It takes more faith to say that the disciples were able to steal Jesus’ body than it does to say that Jesus rose from the dead.

There is no other logical explanation to Jesus’ missing body.

Rial, age 13

Just as mentioned in the 17th chapter, the “stolen body myth” was established in the Bible itself. The Bible says a soldier was sent by a chief priest to spread word the disciples had stolen the lifeless body from the tomb.

Even the most illogical human could identify this statement as highly flawed.

The two ton vast stone that sealed the tomb, is where I’m focusing in on. Factually, the average trained male can lift about 155 lbs. That is for a modernly trained middle aged male. The disciples, for one, where ranged in many different ages, and were also not modern age trained lifters. Two tons is about 4000 pounds.
Even if all the 12 disciples could have even made it past the HEAVILY armed soldiers guarding the tomb, 12 trained men from the 21st century could barely lift 1,800 pounds, so it’s COMPLETELY illogical for the disciples to be capable of lifting 4,000 pounds on their own.

As well, some argue that the disciples could have done it because they had God on their side and God could do anything, but if God could do anything than why can’t he raise Jesus from the dead?

It’s also quite difficult, at least I believe, to get past 16 highly trained, armed, and tough soldiers. I’d say, nearly impossible. These men carried 6 foot long javelins, a sword, and a dagger. Along with these items were also shields, supported by a strap around the shoulder. I’m pretty sure these soldiers had to be extremely strong to be able to fight, or battle with pounds of metal weighing them down, so they were most likely lively and brutal men.

On top of it all, if these soldiers were to fail at guarding the tomb they would be put to death, all of them. I know that’s NOT a risk I’d be even remotely willing to take, if I were a soldier.

So, in conclusion, I couldn’t imagine anyone’s logic and persuasion behind the “stolen body myth” because it is just so ridiculously obvious what the true story was using just common logic.

Tessa, age 12