Yes! The reality of Jesus’ resurrection is strongly supported by historical evidence.
- Jesus died on the cross and was buried.
- Jesus’ tomb was empty, and no one ever produced his body.
- Jesus’ disciples believed that they saw Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
- Jesus’ disciples were transformed (into bold believers of Jesus who were willing to die for their faith) following their alleged resurrection observations.
How do we explain these facts?
People who doubt the resurrection offer five common theories to account for the four facts above.
- Jesus never died. They claim that Jesus was mistakenly believed to be dead and was placed in a tomb, but he recovered and walked out of the tomb on his own. This makes no sense at all. Most scholars agree that Jesus really died. The Romans knew how to execute prisoners and checked to make sure Jesus was dead when He was on the cross. Before He was crucified, He was beaten within an inch of His life. Even if Jesus had somehow survived his crucifixion, he would have died when they put Him in the tomb. No one lives through a beating like that, and a public crucifixion, then walks out over their tomb after being in there for 3 days.
- The disciples lied about Jesus’ resurrection. People claim that Jesus’ followers stole His body and made up the story that Jesus was alive. This fails to account for the transformed lives of Jesus’ disciples (Fact #4). These men had no motive to lie. They gained nothing for what they preached. In fact, they were persecuted and killed for their beliefs. Also, a lie this big would be a conspiracy involving hundreds of people who would claimed to be witnesses of the risen Jesus. Large-scale conspiracies of this size simply do not work. (Watch this video.) Finally, it would have been impossible for this small band of disciples to defeat the armed guard of Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb with their lives.
- The Disciples Were Fooled by an Imposter. People claim that a third party stole the body of Jesus and tricked the disciples into believing that Jesus was alive. Who would do this? Not Rome: Jesus was killed to prevent a religious uprising. Not the Jews: They had just demanded Jesus’ execution. Not some random criminal: there was nothing to gain. Not some random believer: see the problems with the “disciples lied” theory above. Even if someone stole the body, how would they manage to convince Jesus’ extremely skeptical disciples that this imposter was actually him?
- The disciples had a hallucination that Jesus was alive. People claim the disciples had a hallucination, like people sometimes have when they are on drugs. This fails to account for the reality of the empty tomb (Fact #2). If Jesus did not really rise, any of Jesus’ enemies could have easily proven that he was still dead by checking the tomb. If only a single disciple saw a vision of Jesus, would it really have been possible for him to convince all the rest? It is unlikely. And large numbers of people do not have the same hallucination at the same time and on repeated occasions.
- The Resurrection is a legend. People claim the resurrection was made up by later Christians. This theory does not account for any of the facts above, so it is the weakest all of these options. It is also contradicted by the early manuscripts of the New Testament and early church leaders who taught right away that Jesus rose again. This was not something made up a hundred, or hundreds of years later. This is what Christians believed since the days right after Jesus' crucifixion.
All four facts are cleanly explained by the resurrection of Jesus:
- The resurrection theory agrees that Jesus really did die.
- The resurrection theory explains why the tomb was empty and a body was never produced.
- The resurrection theory explains why the disciples became convinced that they had seen Jesus.
- The resurrection theory explains why the disciples were transformed into bold believers who were willing to die for their faith.
If a person wants to discredit this theory, an alternative theory that successfully addresses all four facts still needs to be offered as a better explanation.
The only significant objection to the resurrection theory is that it requires accepting a miracle. After all, it would seem like common sense that for any other investigation into a death, assuming a resurrection wouldn’t be a possibility that would be considered.
We would argue that the necessity of a miracle is actually part of the strength of this position due to the religious context of Jesus’ death. Seeing as Jesus claimed to be God, a powerful miracle was necessary as evidence for Jesus’ claim to be vindicated. Because there is no other feasible way to explain the resurrection, it is powerful proof that a miracle really did happen. Seeing as Jesus claimed to be God, such a miracle was necessary as evidence for Jesus to really be believed as God.
The ancient world regarded Christianity as a miniscule religion that was nothing more than a cultish offshoot of Judaism. However, it would quickly become the dominant religion in the world and shape world history. The truthfulness of the resurrection was the fire that motivated the message of Jesus being spread and believed at such a rapid rate in the earliest days of the church.
Even one of the greatest persecutors of early Christians, Saul of Tarsus, became a Christian and one of the most prominent leaders in the early Christian movement after witnessing the resurrected Christ for himself.
The resurrection also explains the astonishing reality of so many Jews becoming Christians. One of the central beliefs of Judaism is that there is only one God to be worshipped. How did they transition from this belief to the belief that their one God was actually represented by three persons (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), and that the man Jesus was actually God in flesh? Apart from the truthfulness of the resurrection, it is hard to imagine devout Jews being convinced of such seemingly heretical ideas.
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Yes! The reality of Jesus’ resurrection is strongly supported by historical evidence.
- Jesus died on the cross and was buried.
- Jesus’ tomb was empty, and no one ever produced his body.
- Jesus’ disciples believed that they saw Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
- Jesus’ disciples were transformed (into bold believers of Jesus who were willing to die for their faith) following their alleged resurrection observations.
How do we explain these facts?
People who doubt the resurrection offer five common theories to account for the four facts above.
- Jesus never died. They claim that Jesus was mistakenly believed to be dead and was placed in a tomb, but he recovered and walked out of the tomb on his own. This makes no sense at all. Most scholars agree that Jesus really died. The Romans knew how to execute prisoners and checked to make sure Jesus was dead when He was on the cross. Before He was crucified, He was beaten within an inch of His life. Even if Jesus had somehow survived his crucifixion, he would have died when they put Him in the tomb. No one lives through a beating like that, and a public crucifixion, then walks out over their tomb after being in there for 3 days.
- The disciples lied about Jesus’ resurrection. People claim that Jesus’ followers stole His body and made up the story that Jesus was alive. This fails to account for the transformed lives of Jesus’ disciples (Fact #4). These men had no motive to lie. They gained nothing for what they preached. In fact, they were persecuted and killed for their beliefs. Also, a lie this big would be a conspiracy involving hundreds of people who would claimed to be witnesses of the risen Jesus. Large-scale conspiracies of this size simply do not work. (Watch this video.) Finally, it would have been impossible for this small band of disciples to defeat the armed guard of Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb with their lives.
- The Disciples Were Fooled by an Imposter. People claim that a third party stole the body of Jesus and tricked the disciples into believing that Jesus was alive. Who would do this? Not Rome: Jesus was killed to prevent a religious uprising. Not the Jews: They had just demanded Jesus’ execution. Not some random criminal: there was nothing to gain. Not some random believer: see the problems with the “disciples lied” theory above. Even if someone stole the body, how would they manage to convince Jesus’ extremely skeptical disciples that this imposter was actually him?
- The disciples had a hallucination that Jesus was alive. People claim the disciples had a hallucination, like people sometimes have when they are on drugs. This fails to account for the reality of the empty tomb (Fact #2). If Jesus did not really rise, any of Jesus’ enemies could have easily proven that he was still dead by checking the tomb. If only a single disciple saw a vision of Jesus, would it really have been possible for him to convince all the rest? It is unlikely. And large numbers of people do not have the same hallucination at the same time and on repeated occasions.
- The Resurrection is a legend. People claim the resurrection was made up by later Christians. This theory does not account for any of the facts above, so it is the weakest all of these options. It is also contradicted by the early manuscripts of the New Testament and early church leaders who taught right away that Jesus rose again. This was not something made up a hundred, or hundreds of years later. This is what Christians believed since the days right after Jesus' crucifixion.
All four facts are cleanly explained by the resurrection of Jesus:
- The resurrection theory agrees that Jesus really did die.
- The resurrection theory explains why the tomb was empty and a body was never produced.
- The resurrection theory explains why the disciples became convinced that they had seen Jesus.
- The resurrection theory explains why the disciples were transformed into bold believers who were willing to die for their faith.
If a person wants to discredit this theory, an alternative theory that successfully addresses all four facts still needs to be offered as a better explanation.
The only significant objection to the resurrection theory is that it requires accepting a miracle. After all, it would seem like common sense that for any other investigation into a death, assuming a resurrection wouldn’t be a possibility that would be considered.
We would argue that the necessity of a miracle is actually part of the strength of this position due to the religious context of Jesus’ death. Seeing as Jesus claimed to be God, a powerful miracle was necessary as evidence for Jesus’ claim to be vindicated. Because there is no other feasible way to explain the resurrection, it is powerful proof that a miracle really did happen. Seeing as Jesus claimed to be God, such a miracle was necessary as evidence for Jesus to really be believed as God.
The ancient world regarded Christianity as a miniscule religion that was nothing more than a cultish offshoot of Judaism. However, it would quickly become the dominant religion in the world and shape world history. The truthfulness of the resurrection was the fire that motivated the message of Jesus being spread and believed at such a rapid rate in the earliest days of the church.
Even one of the greatest persecutors of early Christians, Saul of Tarsus, became a Christian and one of the most prominent leaders in the early Christian movement after witnessing the resurrected Christ for himself.
The resurrection also explains the astonishing reality of so many Jews becoming Christians. One of the central beliefs of Judaism is that there is only one God to be worshipped. How did they transition from this belief to the belief that their one God was actually represented by three persons (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), and that the man Jesus was actually God in flesh? Apart from the truthfulness of the resurrection, it is hard to imagine devout Jews being convinced of such seemingly heretical ideas.
Links
