April 9, 2023

The resurrection is a true historical event. At least 12 non-controversial facts show the resurrection is a true historical event.

While we do not have a video of Jesus emerging from the tomb, the evidence shows the best explanation of the facts is that Jesus rose from the dead on the first Easter Sunday, the third day.

Today is Easter and we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, the central event of not only the Christian faith but also of world history. While we do not have a video of Jesus emerging from the tomb, the evidence shows the best explanation of the facts is that Jesus rose from the dead on the first Easter Sunday, the third day.

In the first post in this series I established that the resurrection of Jesus was:

• A historical event. It was not an imagined or spiritual event. It really happened on the first Easter morning at a tomb near Jerusalem in 33 A.D.
• Jesus rose bodily from the tomb. It was a physical event.
• The resurrection of Jesus is the central truth of Christianity. If it didn’t happen, Christianity is false (1 Corinthians 15:17-19).
• Many, including some professing Christianity, deny Jesus rose bodily from the tomb.
• It is a mistake for Christians to say, “I don’t need any evidence. I have faith! I know what I believe.” Rather, there are good reasons for believers to know the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus.
• Finally, I listed 12 Known Historical Facts for the Resurrection of Jesus.

In this post, we will consider the first 6 facts supporting the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus.

Jesus died by crucifixion.

First, all four Gospels tell us Jesus was crucified and died.

Second, several non-Christian sources also attest that Jesus died by crucifixion. They include:

• Jewish historian Josephus
• Roman historian Tacitus
• Greek satirist Lucian of Samosata
• Stoic Roman Philosopher Mara Bar-Serapion
• The Jewish Talmud

Third, Jesus Seminar critical scholar John Dominic Crossan writes, “That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever be.”

Fourth, for those who believe Jesus somehow survived the crucifixion, revived in the tomb, and lived for many more years, ala The DaVinci Code. (The “swoon theory.”) There are at least two reasons few critical scholars (including those who deny the resurrection like Crossan) do not accept this as a viable theory.

1. The Roman soldiers who crucified Jesus knew what they were doing. They were professional executioners, and they knew death when they saw it. If they had failed to kill Jesus, their own lives would be forfeit.
2. A modern study of the effects of scourging followed by crucifixion shows how death was the certain outcome. They did not publish this in a biased Christian magazine. They published it in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA, Apr. 1986, vol. 255, no. 11: 1455-63. Accessible online.) You can read a recap of this article here.

They buried Jesus, probably in a private tomb.

All four Gospels agree that Jesus’ body was buried in the rock tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Jewish high council (the Sanhedrin).

This is an unlikely Christian invention, because Christians blamed the Sanhedrin for their role in having Jesus executed.

The Liberal Christian scholar John A. T. Robinson, skeptical of many gospel claims, wrote, “one of the earliest and best-attested facts about Jesus is his burial in the tomb.”

Jesus’ death caused the disciples to despair and lose hope. 

Next, consider how the disciples, men who had been close companions with Jesus for three years, reacted to the events as they unfolded beginning Passover night.

They fled, leaving Jesus to the authorities.

⁵⁶ But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled. (Matthew 26:56 ESV)

Peter denied knowing Jesus.

⁷⁵ Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly. (Matthew 26:75 ESV)

The disciples hid.

¹⁹ On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” (John 20:19 ESV)

Considering that the apostles fled and even denied knowing Jesus following his initial arrest makes their courage in the face of persecution and execution even more surprising. The apostles credited the strength of their newfound courage to their direct personal encounter with the resurrected Christ. In Christ’s resurrection, the apostles found their ultimate reason to live and die.

The tomb was empty.

One of the most accepted facts surrounding the resurrection of Jesus is the empty tomb.

Most New Testament scholars, even some liberal scholars, agree historical fact support the gospel claim that witnesses found Jesus’ tomb empty on that first Easter morning.

Indeed, if the Jews or Romans had produced the body of Jesus, Christianity was based on a lie. Therefore, the disciples could not have proclaimed a bodily resurrection unless Jesus’ tomb was truly empty.

Next, the four Gospels all agree that the first persons to find the tomb empty were Jewish women, including Mary Magdalene. It is highly unlikely that anyone would make up such a story. First, because a woman’s testimony wasn’t as valuable as a man’s. And, second, because Mary Magdalene was a formerly demon-possessed woman.

William Lane Craig provides more reasons this is an important fact.

• In that culture, they did not regard women as reliable witnesses.
• Women occupied a low rung on the Jewish social ladder.
• “So given their low social status and inability to serve as legal witnesses, it’s quite amazing that it is women who are the discoverers of and principal witnesses to the empty tomb!” (On Guard, 228.)

Finally, the earliest response from the High Priest to the proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus presupposes the empty tomb.

¹¹ While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. ¹² When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, ¹³ telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵ So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day. (Matthew 28:11–15 ESV)

The disciples had experiences they believed to be authentic appearances of the risen Christ.

The Bible records many people had intimate, physical encounters with Jesus Christ after his death on the cross.

Many people interacted with him at various times and places. Witnesses of the resurrection claimed to have seen, heard, and touched the resurrected Christ.

The same person whom they saw executed three days before was now alive and in their midst.

Reports of these physical appearances began soon after the actual encounter, too early for the development of a myth. Additionally, there is no reasonable basis for dismissing them as psychological or hallucinatory.

Paul Writes:

³ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸ and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. (1 Corinthians 15:3–8 ESV)

Let’s list those Jesus appeared to after the resurrection.

• Peter
• The Twelve Disciples
• 500 Brethren
• James, the brother of Jesus
• All the apostles
• Saul of Tarsus

Next, the gospels also give us multiple reports of the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus.

• Luke 24:34
• Luke 24:36-53
• John 20:19-31
• Matthew 28:9-10; 16-20
• John 20:11-17
• Mark 16
• John 21

Disciples transformed from doubters afraid to identify with Jesus to bold proclaimers of his death and resurrection.

These authentic encounters with the risen Jesus transformed the disciples, even to the point be being willing to die for their faith.

Michael Kruger considers this to be One of the Most Overlooked Arguments for the Resurrection.

His thoughts are worth quoting at length.

And that brings us to another fact that I think is harder to challenge. It is an often overlooked fact that provides the necessary context for the discussion. That fact is simply this: the earliest Christians came to believe, against all odds and against all expectations, that Jesus of Nazareth had been raised from the dead.

Notice the distinctive nature of this claim. The claim is not that Jesus rose from the dead (though, I think he did). The claim is that the earliest followers of Jesus came to believe—and very strongly believe— that he did. And that is a wholly other matter. Why? Because it is a historical fact that is not disputed. And it is a historical fact that requires a substantive explanation. Even Bart Ehrman agrees: “It is indisputable that some of the followers of Jesus came to think that he had been raised from the dead, and something had to have happened to make them think so” (How Jesus Became God, 182-83).

But here it might be helpful to know that Jesus was not the first would-be messiah to be killed by the Romans. In fact, even in the same era, there were two other potential messiahs: Simon bar-Giora (AD 66-70), and Simeon bar Kochba (AD 132-135). After they both were killed by the Romans, the same thing happened: their messianic movement came to an abrupt and tragic end. In other words, the historical record shows that the death of would-be Messiahs is so counter-intuitive to the Messianic expectations of the day that movements can never recover from it. In the minds of first-century Jews, the death of the would-be Messiah shows that he was definitely not the Messiah.

And that requires a serious explanation. Consider the words of N.T. Wright: “We are forced to postulate something which will account for the fact that a group of first-century Jews, who had cherished messianic hopes and centered them on Jesus of Nazareth, claimed after his death that he really was the Messiah despite the crushing evidence to the contrary” (Resurrection, 562). Wright’s point is key. We cannot just have any ol’ explanation for how the disciples came to believe Jesus was Messiah even though he had died. It can’t be just a possible explanation. It has to be an explanation that has the weight and power to overturn the entrenched expectations of the disciples—indeed, one might say, the expectations of all of ancient Judaism.

The Resurrection of Jesus—6 More Facts

In the next post in this series, we will look at six more facts that provide evidence for the resurrection of Jesus.

1. This message was central to the preaching of the early church. The early gospel message centered on the death and resurrection of Jesus.
2. The disciples especially proclaimed it in Jerusalem, where Jesus died and buried only a short time before. Thus, it was easy to disprove the resurrection if it wasn’t true. This began soon after the resurrection. The disciples proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus early in the very city where the Romans crucified him.
3. Because of the preaching, the church was born and grew.
4. Sunday became the primary day of worship. This is especially powerful, considering the early believers were all Jewish.
5. James, formerly a skeptic, converted to faith when he also met the risen Jesus.
6. A few years later, Paul, likewise, converted by what he believed to be an appearance of the resurrected Jesus.

Resources Consulted

Internet Resources

Five Strands of Evidence for Jesus Christ’s Resurrection

Reasonable Faith

History, Philosophy, and Christian Apologetics: Specializing in Resurrection-of-Jesus Research  

Books

Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics, revised edition Wheaton, IL: 1994), by William Lane Craig

On Guard, (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2010), by William Lane Craig

The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2004), by Gary Habermas and Michael Licona.