Do you think Jesus might have been in a coma, rather than dead when he was taken of the cross?

Question

I have read numerous reports of people being hung (the old fashioned way i.e. suffocation) and being cut down "dead" only to revive some time later. Do you think this might have happened to Jesus? Crucifixion was death by suffocation and he was cut down early (most crucified people were NEVER cut down but were left to rot), so what do you think? Possible, probably? I'm sure you will only be too keen to tell me.

I am a catholic and an archaeologist. I know all about what it says in the bible. However there are historical records of people being taken off the cross early when friends paid for their release and they were able to recover. Also many of those who were hanged and had been pronounced dead only woke up the next day sometimes after having hot nails stuck into them, or having fingers cut off to prove they were dead, and didnt revive.
Its possible that people in biblical times believed he was dead and reported it sincerelly believing it to be true, while he was actually in a coma. It has happened to other people, why not Jesus?

The Bible is NOT a perfect text! Judas is described as killing him self in several ways, the old testament also details how to treat your slaves. How can you accept that without questioning? It was written over many generations by different people. I have no problems with Jesus being crucified and being very very near to death, but being cut down before he actually died. They didnt have heart monitors 2000 years ago.

Blood dosent flow from dead people, it is congealed.

If you were to just look at the facts and not the fact that I'm talking about Jesus, I think I have a very reasonable argument!

I was hoping for more objective answers, I'm not being sarcastic, I just feel that many people who have answered have not considered my argument fully. It is not true that people were always dead when cut down from the cross, as I said most were never cut down at all. However others were removed as the torture was considered to be their punishment and not death.

Jesus DID exist, there are numerous independant(from the bible) historical(Roman) texts which state this.

Answer 1

Don't mess with Christians. They burn you alive.

Answer 2

Theres a theory that the sponge soaked in vinegar was really a drug to send him to sleep, a theory that Joseph of Arimathea had concocted a plan with the Roman authorities to have Jesus taken from the cross before he died. There are theories that it wasn't really Jesus on the cross but someone who took his place. Lots of theories

However the best bet is that none of them are true because Jesus didn't exist. I was brought up in a Christian environment and would never have thought to question the existence of Jesus. But having an enquiring mind I eventually began looking into the whole question and quickly discovered that there is no first hand evidence for Jesus' life either before or during his ministry.

Think about that - heres a man who is followed by vast multitudes, he upsets the Jewish Elders, he stirs up trouble in Jerusalem. he performs miracles, he attracts thousands. Yet not one contemporary chronicler has a single thing to say about him Infact nobody says anything about him until about 70 years after his supposed death and resurrection. Even then the gospels don't agree with each other and when they do it is because they have copied from the same source. Add to this that the story of Jesus is identical in many respects to various Greek heroes like Heracles and Dionysus and you begin to see a vast myth in the making. Jesus sayings are powerful and inspiring, but I fear that as a real life human being he didn't ever exist. If he had I dread to think what he would make of all the horrors that have been perpetrated in his name and I bet he would be gob smacked at the very idea of Christianity.

Answer 3

You ask a very good question! If Jesus did not die on the cross, but died after He was taken down, then the Christian faith is false and has no basis for its existence, does it? While Jesus did suffocate in his own body fluids while He was on the cross, remember that He had been severely beaten and the guard speared Jesus in the side. Not only is it impossible for anyone to survive this, we also have the following account:

The Roman soldier charged with watching Jesus while He was on the cross saw Jesus take His last breath and said, "Truly this Man was the Son of God!" Then Joseph of Arimathea went to Pontius Pilate and asked for Jesus' body so it could be prepared for burial. Pilate wasn't sure that Jesus was truly dead, so he asked the soldier who was watching Jesus if Jesus was indeed dead and had been for some time, and the soldier said yes. Then Pilate gave permission for Joseph to remove Jesus' body.

Why is this significant? Because under Roman law, when someone was hung on the cross, they were not allowed to be taken down until they were dead. The Romans were very careful about executing their means of punishment, and that's why Pilate wanted to make sure Jesus was dead before he allowed Joseph to remove the body from the cross. And remember that Pilate asked the soldier if Jesus had been dead for some time? Pilate did that as extra insurance to make sure that Jesus was really, really, dead.

I appreciate your question, and like I said, it's a good one. God knew that one day men would question whether Jesus really died on the cross, and so He made sure that we were given a good historical account of the events that happened.

I noted some sarcasm in your question, though, and the bottom line is if you don't want to believe in what happened to Jesus or what He did on the cross, that is your choice. I am not trying to convince you otherwise, only answer your question. I wish you the very best, and thank you for such a great question.

Answer 4

All the blood ran out of His body - when the Roman soldier jabbed his spear into Jesus Christ's side, blood mixed with vinegar came out. Additionally, the stone that blocked His tomb was huge, and there were Roman guards standing in front of it - how did Jesus open that tomb? If He woke from a coma, as you think, He would be in a severly weakened state. Just getting up, let alone walking, after the injuries He sustained, would be a miracle. But that is not what happened. He was dead and came to life again.

Answer 5

If you read about the entire crucifixion, you will notice that it started to get late in the day so the Roman soldiers went to the men hanging at the left and right of Jesus and broke their legs in order to speed up the death process. When they go to break Jesus' legs, they notice that he is "dead." So they stick a spear in his side. Romans at that time were experts at killing people and knowing when they were truly dead. They stick a spear in the person's side, piercing the lungs and ends up either in the heart or by it. If blood oozes out, then they are alive from being stabbed. If they are dead, blood AND water will come out. The blood from piercing the lungs and water from around the heart. When they pierced Jesus, both blood and water flowed out. Therefore, he was dead. If he was stabbed while alive, they would've broken his legs, which they didn't. Because the Romans knew what they were doing when it came to crucifixions, we are guaranteed that Jesus was dead before they brought him down from the cross.

Answer 6

Check out my question on 'James the Just'. Manuscripts found with the dead sea scrolls suggest that the individual who was presumed to be Jesus resurrected was in fact his brother, who was also a holy man and in the service of God. There is historical evidence (written during the life time of Jesus, before the bible) which suggests that Jesus could not have been nailed to a conventional cross due to severe curvature of the spine (or scoliosis).

Answer 7

When the Bible speaks of Jesus being stabed with a spear while on the cross, both blood and water came out...

fluid built up arround Jesus heart... because He was dying... it became impossibe for Him to breathe, He died

The Roman soldiers wouldn't be caught dead without making sure that those that they crucify were dead...

There is no way that Jesus could have survived....

History proves it, the Bible conferms it....

Answer 8

Good question: but He really was dead.

Go to the library, or a bookstore, and read the book The Case for Christ... in it is a chapter of an interview with a doctor [I don't remember his name, but he's from Newport Beach]. This chapter addresses your question from the point of view of a medical doctor, who also has a lot of other degrees.

Just check out that chapter; there are soooo many details from an expert's point of view, you will get the answer with details.

But, basically, there is no way Jesus could have survived what He went through: if the loss of blood didn't kill Him, then the collapsing lungs from the way He was hung would've suffocated Him.

Answer 9

Let's see,

Beaten to a bloody pulp, dragging a heavey timber through the up and down streets of Jerusalem, nailed thru His arms and feet to a cross and then stabbed in the heart with a spear. Hmm, so you think He only fainted and then woke up, move a huge rock away from the tomb entrance and then casually walked away (probably with virtually zero blood left in His body, His feet crushed and a hole in His heart and side).

I highly reccomend you read Lee Strobel's "A Case For Easter". He provides a medical look at Jesus;' torment on that wonderful day.

Jesus died that day. He now Lives!

Answer 10

ROFLMAO

Crucifixion was NOT death by suffocation, are you stupid? It was death by torture, pure and simple. He was NOT ALLOWED water, or any other drink, he was given vinegar (yeah, nasty), and that's all. I have no idea where you got suffocation from, but your way off. Why was he taken down? Because they begged to be allowed to bury him, and YES, the Romans were Masters at crucifixion, sometimes crucifying 1,00's at a time, so they were NOT going to let a 1/2 dead guy go by mistake. No way, no how.

Besides, this would make the BIBLE A LIE. PURE AND SIMPLE.

Christ would NOT have died for our sins and we would NOT have forgiveness!

Answer 11

Well I don't believe he rose from the dead but then I don't think he went into a coma and got up later...although it is possible. The problem with that is they describe precisely how he died, and the way they describe it requires modern day medical knowledge if they were to make it up. Of course they might just be some crazy people who really kept good track of all the different symptoms of death but... I just think it is unlikely. But possible. Any argument works for me except the "hallucinations" one I find that one boring and lame.