With the Passover weekend approaching and Christians everywhere getting ready to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, you can count on social media being full of jokes and memes about “Zombie Jesus.” With zombie culture so prevalent in today’s society, it’s actually quite understandable that when the secular mind hears “raised from the dead” they immediately are filled with visions of the walking dead. I, myself, used to be a horror fanatic and loved zombies in particular (see HERE), so I may be more sympathetic to this thought process than I should be.
First, let me state that I understand this is meant as satire. It is in very poor taste, but it is satire. I am not aware of anyone that thinks Christians actually believe Jesus was a zombie. So since I understand that this is meant as a joke, am I just taking the whole thing too seriously? There are a couple of reasons why I feel this deserves our attention. First of all, as in the example below, there is usually some text that goes with the picture, and it usually makes a theological statement. It’s that statement that has a wider and greater impact than the cartoon itself. Secondly, from the Christian worldview, we’re talking about an offensive joke aimed at the creator of all life and God himself incarnate in the flesh. Lastly, the line of thinking represented in this cartoon has become so prevalent that I find people use this type of information as an argument against Christianity. People actually begin to accept that this is a relatively accurate view of what Christians believe. So with that in mind, let’s press on.
I’ve seen the following image crop up over the last couple of years and even had a co-worker send me this once, so I imagine it will keep making its rounds through the internet. A quick Google search of “zombie Jesus” brought up many similar pictures with the identical text.
For such a short amount of text, there are an amazing amount of inconsistencies, misunderstandings, and ignorance that will take some time to address. In order that we can properly examine the text, we are going to have to look at almost every word individually.
1. Cosmic
The term cosmic is insufficient and misleading. It situates Christ within the created order rather than confessing Him as the Creator of that order. Scripture does not present Jesus as a religious figure operating inside the cosmos, but as the eternal Son through whom the cosmos itself exists.
“ For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through Him and for Him.” Colossians 1:16 Cosmic has its root from the Greek kósmos. The other use of kósmos in the Bible is used as a way of describing the secular belief system and the bible repeatedly separates the Christian believer from this.
“You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world (kosmou) is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world (kosmou) makes himself an enemy of God.” James 4:4 For the Christian, cosmic is much too small of a word to use and actually tries to place the Creator inside the creation.To describe Christ as cosmic subtly collapses the Creator–creature distinction, a distinction Christianity has always guarded as foundational. While this may seem like a small detail for the non-believer, it represents a chasm between the claim and the actual belief represented. Christians do not view God as Cosmic but rather as the creator of the Cosmos.
2. Jewish
Jesus was indeed Jewish, not merely by ethnicity but by covenantal necessity. He was born under the Law in order to fulfill the Law (Gal. 4:4), standing as the promised Messiah anticipated throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. His Jewish identity is not an incidental biographical detail but the means by which God fulfilled His redemptive promises to Israel. The New Testament cannot be rightly understood apart from its first‑century Jewish context, covenantal expectations, and Messianic hope.
3. Zombie
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
While Jesus was a Jew, he was not a zombie. This point is highly offensive to the Christian believer and demonstrates a lack of understanding of what the Bible teaches in regards to the resurrection. The concept of zombies are nothing new and has existed in many different cultures in a variety of forms. However, we owe a large part of our modern view of zombies to George Romero and his movie, ‘Night of the Living Dead’. This has exploded in resent years with movies and shows, such as, 28 Days later, Zombieland, World War Z, Resident Evil, and The Walking Dead. However, none of these current cultural beliefs about zombies fit with the story of the resurrection.
The claim that Jesus was a “zombie” fundamentally misunderstands the Christian doctrine of resurrection. Zombies, as imagined in modern culture, represent reanimation under decay—a return to life corrupted by death. Scripture presents something categorically different: resurrection unto incorruption. Jesus did not return from death diminished or decaying; He was raised bodily, glorified, and victorious over death itself (1 Cor. 15:42–44). These categories are not comparable—they are mutually exclusive.
Rather than basing our understanding of the Bible on current pop-culture and pagan lore, let’s just look at what the bible says about the resurrection.
I. Jesus actually died –
“Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “ It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him; but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out” John 30-34 For those not familiar with Roman crucifixion, it’s an extremely brutal way to die. As you would hang on your arms, you would slowly suffocate. The only way to breathe clearly would be to push up with your legs against the nails to draw a breath. As you can imagine, this would be extremely painful and you could only hold yourself up for so long before falling against your arms. This would eventually lead to fatigue and suffocation. If the Romans wanted to speed up the death, they would break your legs. This would prevent you from taking any further breaths.
When the soldiers came to break Jesus’ legs, they found him already dead. Just to be on the safe side, they stabbed him with a spear (This is all after the beatings/lashings he took prior to being crucified). He was flogged, beaten, crucified, and stabbed. He wasn’t almost dead. He didn’t simply pass out. He actually died.
II. He was buried in a tomb –
“When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.” Matthew 27-57:60
“After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.” John 19:38-42 We see clearly that Jesus was prepared for burial and sealed in a tomb. Proper Jewish burial rights were preformed, and he was placed in a tomb with a large stone. Theses tombs were not intended to be opened easily, and it would take many men to push the stone away from a tomb to re-open it once it had been sealed.
III. He was resurrected –
“Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first; and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.” John 20:1-9 To the avid horror movie fanatic, this may sound like the opening to a pop culture zombie film. Jesus was dead, burred, and then there was an empty tomb. However, there is actually a huge difference. First off, he did not escape death. He did not return to life. He was not reanimated. He was resurrected. There’s a big difference here, and the Bible is clear about the nature of Jesus after the resurrection.
“and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. ” 1 Corinthians 15;4-9 Jesus appeared to people from the day of his resurrection until his ascension forty days later. Ten distinct appearances are recorded in the Scriptures. They were at different places, times, and to different people. Jesus spoke, ate, drank, and embraced people. The Bible tells us that about 500 people saw Jesus after the resurrection. This is not sounding very zombie like.
“But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,” 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 Furthermore we get a glimpse of the doctrine of the resurrection. If you would like an in-depth look at this verse, it can be found HERE. We understand that there is a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked (acts 24:15) and that we get an image of this from the resurrection of Christ. I will come back to this later, but we see that he was certainly not a zombie by any definition.
An interesting thing to note here is that when George Romero needed a reason for zombies coming back from the dead in his films he came up with “When there’s no room in hell the dead will walk the earth.” Not only is this concept of hell not biblical in its understanding (something I won’t go into in this post), it also doesn’t make sense in relation to what happened to Jesus. In today’s pop cultures, zombies are the dead who get up and walk. They are in some limbo state where they are not fully dead but they are not alive either. In the case of Jesus, he defeated death(2 Timothy 1:10). He was raised to life and is our hope in the life to come.
“He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 25:8
4. Was his own father
This is an oversimplification and mis-assertion of trinitarian doctrine. Christians believe that God is one being made up of 3 persons (Father, Son, and Spirit). These 3 persons are co-eternal and co-existent in the one being of God. So while we believe that both the Father and the Son are the same being, they are different persons. The Father is not the Son, nor is the Son the Father. There are not three Gods, but a single God represented in three divine persons. The Father is God and the Son is God, but the Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Father. So the Son is not his own father although they are both God. This is not an easy concept to start examining but I hope that clears up what the Christian position is on this subject.
This has been a main premise of Christianity right from the early church, and if you want Christians to take you seriously, you should be able to properly articulate Christian belief. I know this can be a confusing doctrine to wrap your head around, but it is no excuse for misrepresenting the Christian position on the Trinity.
For a closer look at this, read James White’s book, ‘The Forgotten Trinity.’
5. Can make you live forever
This ties back to our discussion of the resurrection. The Bible is clear that Jesus is the “first fruits” of the resurrection and that all people, both good and bad will be resurrected.
“having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.” Acts 24:15 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” Hebrews 9:27 “and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” John 5:29 The Bible teaches that all men will be resurrected after death to face the judgment of God. If they are not found to be righteous(only through Christ), they will be cast into the lake of fire.
“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.” Revelation 20:12 When Christians speak of eternal life, it’s only as an opposition to eternal death (which should not be confused with non-existence). So while it is true that Christians believe in life after death, saying that Jesus will make you live forever is a massive oversimplification of the issue.
IF YOU (Conditional statements)
The next two points is what the text says Christians are to do in order to “live forever”. Now, assuming the author meant eternal life with God, then we would be taking about justification. Justification is being justified, or seen as righteous, in God’s eyes. According to the Bible, in order to be justified, we have to turn away from our sins and turn towards God. We need to repent of our sin and truly believe that Jesus was the Son of God who paid the price for our sins on the cross. Repent and believe. The Bible is VERY clear that this has nothing to do with works (things that you do), so what we should see following the “if you” statements should be describing repentance and belief. So what does the cartoon say we must do?
6. Symbolically eat his flesh
This is in reference to communion or the last supper. The first thing we need to note is that we have already established that participation in communion is not required for justification to occur, and that is not its function. It is in remembrance of the cross and the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. Remembering his body which was broken for us and his blood which was poured out for us as a sign of the new covenant.
“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 If you take out the fact that the cartoon implies this is required for salvation, this may actually be one of the more accurate parts of the text. Jesus does indeed tell us to symbolically eat his flesh(John 6:35-58). But it’s important to accurately represent what that means to the Christian. Not only does this graphic get it wrong in placing it as a means of justification, but it fails to represent it meaningfully to the Christian position.
7. Telepathically tell him you accept him as your master
This is another piece of the text that is very close to the truth that is represented in the Bible. However, it still falls short of accurately articulating Christianity.
“and saying, “ The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”” Mark 1:15 As I previously mentioned, there must be an act of repentance that goes along with the belief in God. Yes, you must make God lord and master of your life, but this goes way beyond a “telepathic” statement. It must be a visible and outward change in your life that comes from making God your Lord. Just saying a silent prayer in your head and continuing to live your life the same way isn’t really making him your master.
“And he answered, “ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”” Luke 10:27
HE WILL (Action Statement)
Now, the graphic tells us what He (Jesus) will do if we “eat His flesh and telepathically accept Him as master”. So assuming we are now talking about repenting of our sins and believing in the finished work of Christ on the cross, then the answer to this would be that we have Christ’s righteousness imputed to us. The debt from our sins is paid in full by Jesus on the cross, and we can enter into a relationship with God because there is no longer sin that separates us. We are indwelt by the holy spirit and come into direct relation with the most high God. Since we are seen as righteous, due to Christ’s sinless sacrifice, we can come into fellowship with God and gain an inheritance as sons and daughters of the most high King. Now, let’s see what the cartoon tells us.
8. Remove an evil force from your soul
The text here is referring to the Christian concept of sin. Sin is not an evil force. Sin if our willful rejection of God and our direct disobedience of God’s laws. The origin of the word sin comes from an understanding of being found guilty, or a criminal, and should be understood as being found guilty of breaking the laws of God. Christians understand that God’s law sets such an impossibly high bar that every single person has failed to reach.
“as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”” Romans 3:10-12 Sin is what separates us from the holiness of God. God is completely holy and cannot tolerate any sin, and since God is also completely just, he must find us guilty. The crimes have been committed, and there is nothing we can ever do to pay the penalty or make restitution. No amount of good works can make up for our sin.
“We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” Isaiah 64:6 So sin is not a force that infects our soul, but it is being found guilty of crimes against the most high God. Jesus does not simply remove Sin from us. He took our debt and paid it as a perfect sacrifice. Our sin was placed on Him, and His righteousness was placed on us. He took our guilt and brought us into the adoption of the Father.
”For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” Colossians 2:13-15 The depth of this act cannot be fully comprehended. God died for your sins. Even when we were enemies of God, he died for us.
“For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Romans 5:7-11 The difference between this reality and the idea of “removing an evil force from your soul” are miles apart.
9. Present in humanity
Sin is indeed present in humanity, and I find it very interesting that we find these words in this block of text. This certainly sounds like we are taking about a global effect, but saying “remove an evil force from your soul” sounds very individual. The Bible is clear that we are all born with sin that must be addressed to have a right relationship with God.
“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Psalm 51:5 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9
10. Because of
Now, the cartoon will tell us why an “evil force” (sin) is present in humanity. Now, this (like much of what we’ve already addressed) is very clear in the Bible so there should be no problem accurately representing what Christians believe.
11. A Rib-Woman
This short word pairing actually says a lot and gets a lot wrong. First of all, it refers to Eve from the Genesis account as a “rib-woman”. This is due to the fact that God creates Eve from Adam’s rib. However, there are a few things to note here. Since this is the creation account and the record of the first humans, it simply is telling us the Biblical account of how the first woman was formed. There would be nothing physically different about Eve from a present day woman. Secondly, there is good reason to believe that the word side would be a better translation than rib. There is a case to be made that side may be more accurate due to the use of the Hebrew word tsela (see HERE). This would means that God used half of Adam rather than just a rib to create the first woman. This idea certainly causes us to look at the Genesis account a little bit differently. Even if that is not the case, the emphasis on the text was to make a complementary creature for Adam.
The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Genesis 2:20-23 Now, the second part of this is that it says sin is present because of Eve. Let’s take a quick look at the Biblical account of this story:
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate” Genesis 3:1-6 It seems pretty straight forward. The serpent deceived Eve, and Eve in turn gives the fruit to her husband, Adam. So clearly Eve is to blame for the whole mess and we’ll see this throughout the Bible, correct?
“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—”Romans 5:12 “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.” 1 Corinthians 15:21 It is very interesting to note that while the Bible does acknowledge that Eve was deceived before Adam (1 Timothy 2:13-15) it places the blame of the fall on Adam. This is due to how the Bible views the family unit. In the Bible, the man is seen as the head of the household which means that the responsibility lies with him. Notice the story again. Adam was present during this whole encounter with the serpent. There is no mention of him trying to stop Eve, and he even partakes in her sin. This is why sin entered into the world through one man and not one woman.
12. Convinced By a Talking Snake
Well, we’ve already seen above that the Bible does indeed say that there was a talking serpent (representative of Satan and not necessarily a snake), and I understand this can be a real issue for non-believers. I often hear this verse brought up by atheists trying to illustrate how ridiculous the Bible is, but this isn’t nearly as hard to believe as Genesis 1:1.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 If you can believe that there is a god and that God created everything, then the miracles in the Bible are not a big leap. Rather than focusing on the miracles the Bible talks about, it would be better to carefully examine the text itself to see if it is true. Focus on careful examination of the resurrection of Jesus first. If you can prove that God entered into his creation to atone for the sins of man, then a talking snake is not a big problem.
There are many resources available to really dig into the resurrection account of Jesus to see for yourself if it’s real. Spend the time to carefully examine the evidence before making a conclusion.
13. Eat From a Magical Tree
The Bible certainly does talk about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but it does not call it “magical”. It’s true we are dealing with a supernatural story, but the answer is not magic. The answer is God. While it is easy to just say everything is “magic,” it does not work within the Christian worldview. God created the universe, the earth, Adam and Eve, as well as, the tree in the garden.
“And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Genesis 2:16-17 While there is a great deal that could be discussed about the nature of the tree and what partaking in its fruit may have meant, the emphasis in the Biblical text is not on the tree itself. Adam and Eve dwelt in the presence of God. God gave them a direct command, and they disobeyed that command. This is what caused sin and death to enter the world, not the power of a “magical tree.” Like so many other elements of this cartoon, the emphasis is on the wrong part of the text, and the focus becomes obscure and obfuscated. It is through this method that the true beliefs of the Christian are distorted.
In Summary
After reviewing the text of this image, we can see that it is a complete misrepresentation of Christianity. Almost every word in the graphic twists the core beliefs of the Christian faith. While we must remember that the intention of the cartoon is satire, it is still important to understand the gross misrepresentation of the Christian beliefs that it represents. It would go a long way to know that the person who created this cartoon had an actual understanding of Christian beliefs before mocking them and making it seem ridiculous. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case. Showing Christians that you have really taken the time to do research into what they actually believe before outright rejecting them goes a long way to foster meaningful discussion on the issue. If you are attempting to show me how foolish I am for believing what I believe, then at least show me you actually understand what I believe.
For the non-Christians who may be reading this, please remember that posting pictures of “zombie Jesus” is highly offensive to the Christian. To the Christian, you are not only mocking God, but also the most important and amazing event in all of history. This is when God entered into his creation and provided the means of restitution for sinful man. Take some time to understand what this means to the Christian. If you really feel Christians are believing nonsense, then make sure you know and can accurately articulate what we believe. Mockery will never change my mind but only shows me that you are willing to engage in childish antics. If you value reason and skepticism, then please use your intellect to engage the issue.
So much more could be said about these topics. If you want to see more information on a particular topic, make sure you comment below for future articles.
“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” 1 Corinthians 1:18