Could the disciples have stolen Jesus' body?

This was the very first counter-explanation - Matthew records that the authorities claimed "his disciples came... and stole him away" (Matthew 28:13). Notice what it already concedes: the tomb really was empty.

But the theory collapses on motive. The disciples went on to suffer beatings, imprisonment, and execution for proclaiming the risen Jesus. People will die for something they sincerely believe is true. They do not die for something they know is a lie - and conspirators inventing a hoax would know. A stolen body explains the empty tomb but not the transformed, fearless, suffering witnesses who refused to recant.