Can we believe the Bible?, page-57

There were many beliefs and ideas.  One being the substitution hypothesis;




''The substitution hypothesis or twin hypothesis states that the sightings of a risen Jesus are explained not by physical resurrection, but by the existence of a different person, a twin or lookalike who could have impersonated Jesus after his death, or died in the place of Jesus on the cross. It is a position held by some Gnostics in the first to third century, as well as some modern Mandaeans, Muslims, and many Japanese Christians.''

''The Book of Thomas the Contender, a Gnostic text thought to have been written in the late second or the third century,^[1] cites Jesus as stating, when speaking to Thomas the Apostle, "t has been said that you are my twin and true companion."^[2]. Additionally, the third century text Acts of Thomas (not to be confused with the Gospel of Thomas) contains an episode in which the risen Jesus appears "in the likeness of" Thomas the Apostle, and is subsequently mistaken for Thomas by a king.^[3] However, these early texts do not expressly put forward any sort of substitution hypothesis with respect to the death and resurrection of Jesus.''

Mark 6:14-16
King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
Others said, “He is Elijah.”
And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”
But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”

Mistaken identity hypothesis.

Appearances Were Mistaken Identity.
''One naturalistic theory made more visible by Schonfield’s The Passover Plot is that the post-death appearances that were the heart of the disciples’ belief in the resurrection were all cases of mistaken identity. This is allegedly reinforced by the fact that the disciples themselves even believed at first that the person appearing was not Jesus. Mary thought she saw a gardener (John 20). The two disciples thought it was a stranger traveling in Jerusalem (Luke 24), and later they supposed they saw a spirit (Luke 24:38-39). Mark even admits the appearance was in “a different form” (Mark 16:12). According to Schonfield, the disciples mistook Jesus for different people at different times (Schonfield, 170-73).''