rakovsky Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 Q2. On the theft theory, what motive might the disciples have to take Jesus' body? What motive might the Romans have? The Jews? Joseph of Arimathea? The disciples' material motive to take the body would have been so that they could lead a religious sect and gain followers and tithes. This is the same motive that Charismatic preachers and televangelists have when they claim mistakenly that they cause frequent miracles, ask for donations, or even on rare occasion make outrageous claims like they themselves are actually Jesus reincarnated. If the body was taken, then the sect could continue even without the Messianic leader himself. James and the other disciples could take over as leaders of the Church. In Acts 5, Peter rebuked two people (A husband named Ananias and his wife), because they did not reveal their financial transactions to Peter. It sounds as if the Christian leadership expected followers with cash to make serious financial contributions to the Church, ie. in practice the leadership. And when Ananias and his wife didn't, it is said that they died because supposedly God killed them. That sounds like a pretty strong directive to hand money over to the disciples. Then in one of his epistles, Paul mentions that he took up a donation for the Jerusalem Church. So the motive would be financial and the desire to lead a sect like Charismatic leaders do today, some of whom are not ethical. The counterargument by apologetics is that persecution would be too much to risk stealing Jesus' body. But in reality persecution has not stopped some people from doing unethical things. A charismatic preacher I suppose could go to a very dangerous third world country to gain followers, even if he is making up many of his charismatic claims. The Romans' motive would be if they wanted to support the Christian movement as a law abiding counterbalance to the other Messianic movements of the day. The Romans had a real danger of Jewish rebellion and weren't politically poised enough to avoid Jesus' crucifixion because the Sanhedrin pressured Pilate into it. But they still could make his death look like the body rose again in order to promote the Christian movement as an alternative to the other Messianic rebels. Personally I don't believe this Conspiracy Theory about the Romans though. The Jews' motive would be to steal the body in case there were riches with the body that could be resold on a black market. Grave robbery existed at the time and the tomb guards weren't posted for a day (until Saturday). Joseph's motive would be to foster the Christian movement if he was secretly close to it and was a secret sponsor and expected kickbacks from the disciples. But I don't think any of these alternatives are very likely, because Joseph was not considered a Christian leader, and if the Romans wanted to help the Christians in the first place, they wouldn't have killed Jesus. I think the most realistic possibility is that the disciples took it secretly, such as when the guards were not posted. For that matter, they could have even made up the story about the guards and about the pharisees knowing of the third day resurrection prediction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Jerry Posted April 26, 2016 Report Share Posted April 26, 2016 The only motive that the disciples might have had to take Jesus’ body was to prove that He was resurrected. But then there would have the problem of them being martyred for a lie and I don’t think they would have done that. There would have been no motive for the Roman soldiers to take the body nor the Jews nor Joseph of Arimathea. The Jews were the ones that wanted a guard put on the grave to prevent the body from being stolen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elaineer Posted April 25, 2017 Report Share Posted April 25, 2017 The disciples could not have stolen the body because they hid away in a room,and when Mary Magdalene ran and told them she saw Jesus they ran to the tomb to see for themselves. No one acts in the manner they did after hearing the news if they hid the body.The tomb was closed and the Roman seal put on.Joseph of Arimathea donated his personal tomb.The bottom line is no stole the body Jesus Christ is the Risen Lord. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haar Posted June 6, 2019 Report Share Posted June 6, 2019 Q2. On the theft theory, what motive might the disciples have to take Jesus' body? What motive might the Romans have? The Jews? Joseph of Arimathea? A. The disciples had no motive to steal the body of Jesus neither did the Romans, the Jews or any other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carol tuggle Posted March 18, 2023 Report Share Posted March 18, 2023 I cannot think of a valid motive. But I assume they could be motivated to see that Jesus was cared for before he ascended. The Romans might want the story to be questionable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niyonka16 Posted February 27 Report Share Posted February 27 Q2. On the theft theory, what motive might the disciples have to take Jesus' body? ANSWER: If people believed God had taken Jesus’ body up to heaven, this would "prove" Jesus was a true holy man and vindicate his name. What motive might the Romans have (to take Jesus’ body)? ANSWER: A possible motive for such would be the usage of Jesus's body in necromancy; several rites of the time required "one untimely dead" or the body of a holy person. What motive might The Jews (have to take Jesus’ body)? ANSWER: Potential reasons include wishing to bury Jesus themselves; believing that Jesus would soon return and wanting His body in their possession; a "pious deceit" to restore Jesus's good name after being crucified as a criminal; or an outright plot to fake a resurrection. What motive might Joseph of Arimathea (have to take Jesus’ body)? ANSWER: Mark 15:43 notes his, Joseph of Arimathea, motive for this action as “waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God.” Joseph wished to prevent the body from hanging on the cross overnight and to secure for it an honorable burial, thereby offending Jewish law, which allowed only a disgraceful burial to the executed. Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy Jewish man who buried the body of Jesus Christ after the Crucifixion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crissy464 Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 The disciples had no motive to steal His boy,d and if the roman soldiers had fallened aspeep they woud have benn put to death. Other than this I dont see any reasons to steal is body Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kayla M Posted March 28 Report Share Posted March 28 On 2/28/2007 at 11:53 PM, Pastor Ralph said: Q2. On the theft theory, what motive might the disciples have to take Jesus' body? What motive might the Romans have? The Jews? Joseph of Arimathea? The disciples’ motive may have been to prove that what Jesus was saying was true; that he would die and on the third day rise again. I think this would be a rather weak motive because they were all in shock when they heard he was alive. They didn’t believe until they saw him. Why would they be in shock and running about if they stole the body? The Romans: to prove that Jesus was a liar in fact just another man, dead. The Jews: not sure Joseph A: not sure what gain he would have for a dead body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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