Body
David Mirsch’s hypothesis of a clandestine use of drugs to render Jesus comatose on the cross is an ad hoc claim. He offers no supporting data, and the assertion cannot be proven. Beyond that, all swoon theories should address the most critical question: Could He have survived? The evidence seems clear; there is no amount of liniment or spice or, as Brandht suggests, “nutriment from the tomb,” that could heal his contusions, mainly the ankle bones of Jesus, in such a timeframe (if ever) to allow him to be seen upright and walking a mere few days after the crucifixion. In fact, biblical scholar Michael Licona concludes that even if Jesus had been removed from the cross prematurely and medically assisted, his chances for survival would have been very bleak.” David Strauss, the nineteenth-century liberal theologian, presented the unrealistic nature of the swoon claims, stating, “It is impossible that one who had just come forth from the grave half dead, who crept about weak and ill, in need of medical treatment, of bandaging, strengthening, and tender care, and who at last succumbed to suffering, could ever have given to the disciples that impression that he conquered over death and the grave.”
