Faked Own Funeral

“Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise’.” [Matthew 27:63]

A 45-year-old Bosnian named Amir Vehabovic wanted to find out how loyal his friends were (he obviously had his doubts), so he faked his own death and arranged his own funeral. Then Amir hid in the bushes to count the attendees. Only his mother turned up. Incensed, he sat down and wrote an angry letter to all 45 of his mates. “I paid a lot of money to get a fake death certificate and bribe undertakers to deliver an empty coffin,” he wrote. “I really thought a lot more of you, my so-called friends, would turn up to pay your last respects. It just goes to show who you can really count on.” There is no word on exactly what his former friends didn’t like about him. Perhaps they found him a bit needy.

In another interesting story, a man supposedly died to protect his family from… his death? That was the intention. Graham Cardwell was a dockmaster who supposedly disappeared in September 1998. Eight months later he was discovered. Someone asked him, “What were you thinking?” His response: “I thought I had cancer and wanted to spare my family.” Cardwell had never even been to a doctor. His supposed sickness was “just a hunch.”

Still another man faked a drowning when he went canoeing in March 2002, even though the weather was calm and a massive search for his body turned up nothing. Five years later the man, John Darwin, walked into a London police station and claimed to have no memory of the previous seven years. But his wife told on him when she explained that he showed up at their house to collect money from a life insurance policy. He had actually been living at home for three years. After her confession they were both arrested.

The chief priests and Pharisees had successfully carried out their plot to have Jesus crucified. But they were concerned that Christ’s body might be stolen and the disciples would “claim” that the Lord rose from the dead. So, they sent a delegation to Pilate asking for the tomb to be guarded. But after three days Jesus rose from the dead. There was nothing fake about Christ’s death. Even His enemies knew He was dead and wanted Him to stay dead. Jesus had other plans!