Resurrection
The resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Evidence for the resurrection of Jesus is built on a cumulative case of historical, textual, and data accepted by many scholars. Key evidence includes the certainty of Jesus's death by crucifixion, the empty tomb discovered by women, numerous eyewitness appearances to individuals and groups, and the sudden transformation of the disciples from fearful to bold witnesses willing to die for their belief. The Roman soldiers guarding the tomb were unable to keep Jesus in the tomb. Roman soldiers and a Roman seal were placed on Jesus’ tomb to prevent theft of the body, but they failed to keep Him inside .
Eyewitness Testimonies: Many individuals (including skeptics like James and Paul) and groups encountered Jesus alive after his death. These appearances were varied, physical, and occurred over a 40-day period. Jesus let them touch the wounds on his hands and side.
The Apostles' Martyrdom: The sudden change in the apostles, who went from hiding to boldly proclaiming the resurrection, is often cited as evidence. Many faced martyrdom for this testimony, which many believe they would not have done for a known lie. People do not die for a lie, only for the truth they cannot deny. The apostles who were willing to die for their testimony.
Conversion of Skeptics: Paul, a persecutor of Christians, and James, a skeptic of his brother Jesus, both converted after reporting appearances of the risen Jesus.
The gospel accounts highlight women as the first witnesses, which is strong evidence because women's testimony was not considered valid in that historical context; therefore, a fabricated story likely would not have included them.
The Empty Tomb: The inability to produce the body was a fatal flaw in the arguments of the early Jewish and Roman authorities.
The early church's rapid growth, due to the many Eyewitness Testimonies, is also strong proof.
Jesus is still changing life for the better. See the Testimonies page
The resurrected Jesus appeared to the disciples both individually and collectively, and eventually to 500 of His followers. After the His resurrection, Jesus told the disciples to proclaim the gospel (good news) to the entire world. They succeeded beyond their wildest expectations, based upon telling people that Jesus had risen from the dead. If Jesus had not risen, the Jewish leadership could have produced the body and ended the spread of the new following (the way).
Skeptics Claim - Alternative Explanations:
Skeptics have proposed theories like the "swoon theory" (Jesus never actually died), the "stolen body theory,". This fails: Romans did not fail at killing people. The apostles, hiding in fear, their leader had just been killed, could not have overcome Roman soldiers.
Reliability of Sources: The primary records are biblical, which some argue are biased by the authors' faith. This fails: Jews and Romans also wrote about the event.
Flavius Josephus, a Roman–Jewish historian, wrote about Jesus: Josephus records that Pontius Pilate, at the urging of Jewish leaders, condemned Jesus to be crucified. He notes that followers did not abandon their discipleship and reported that Jesus appeared alive again three days later, causing the movement to persist. Josephus record the death of James, identifying him as the "brother of Jesus, who was called Christ. Roman historians and officials, like Tacitus, Suetonius, and Pliny the Younger, wrote about Jesus and early Christians in the early 2nd century. Tacitus recorded that "Christus" was executed by Pontius Pilate during Tiberius's reign. These sources confirm that Jesus was a historical figure with many followers.
The "Hallucination Theory": Fails: Many people do not have the "same" Hallucination. People do not die for hallucinations. They are killed for not rejecting what they know is the truth.
Naturalistic vs. Supernatural: The core debate hinges on whether a miraculous, supernatural event is historically plausible. This fails: We now know that the origin of the universe is a supernatural event. Jesus is the Creation and holds all things together. see Space-time page
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If you are an honest seeker, you will find. Several prominent skeptics, journalists, and investigators have historically set out to disprove the resurrection of Jesus Christ, only to become believers after researching the evidence: The 7 Atheists went seeking:
Lee Strobel: The former legal editor for the Chicago Tribune and a staunch atheist, Strobel set out to use his investigative journalism skills to "shred Christianity's central claim". After researching historical documents and evidence surrounding the resurrection, he concluded that the evidence was too compelling to deny, leading to his conversion. Wrote: The Case for Christ. (2016)
Josh McDowell: Originally aiming to write a book disproving Christianity, McDowell researched the resurrection and found the historical evidence persuasive. Instead of a debunking book, he wrote Evidence That Demands a Verdict. (2017). His son Sean McDowell has continued his dad's work.
J. Warner Wallace: A cold-case homicide investigator in California, Wallace approached the resurrection with the same techniques used to solve decades-old murders. He concluded the evidence for the resurrection was stronger than many cases he solved in court. Wrote: Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels (2023) and Person of Interest: Why Jesus Still Matters in a World that Rejects the Bible (2021)
Simon Greenleaf: A very successful lawyer. A legendary Harvard law professor, he applied legal rules of evidence to the Gospels to prove it a hoax, but concluded instead that the evidence was sufficient to prove the physical resurrection as fact. Wrote: The Testimony of the Evangelists: The Gospels Examined by the Rules of Evidence (2019)
Frank Morison: A writer and amateur astronomer, started by wanting to disprove Jesus and the four Gospels, but after finding faith, wrote: Who Moved the Stone (1987)
Lord George Lyttelton and Gilbert West: In the mid-18th century, these two intellectuals set out to disprove Christianity—Lyttelton focusing on the conversion of Paul, and West on the resurrection. Both converted, with West famously writing Observations on the History and Evidences of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (1747). Lyttelton had a political career in London. Gilbert West was a Treasurer and r clerk to the Privy Council in London.
See page Who is Jesus, also God of the Bible
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Another proof is that hundreds of years before Jesus Christ's birth, His life, death, and resurrection were foretold by the prophets.
Jesus was foretold by the prophets hundreds of years before His birth.
Isaiah 53 700 BC, Jesus whole life was recorded. He is the Lamb of God. (The Dead Sea Scrolls are proof this was written before Jesus ' birth)
1) Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression[a] and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes[c] his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans[a] of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to[a] them, declares the Lord. 33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickednessh and will remember their sins no more.”
Isaiah 42:1-9 Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. 2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. 3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; 4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.” 5 This is what God the Lord says—the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: 6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. 8 “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols. 9 See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”
Psalm 22:16 Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet.
There are over 100 prophecies in the Old Testament that gave the characteristics of the Messiah, written hundreds of years before the arrival of Jesus. These prophecies describe the circumstances of His birth, ministry, and death.
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The Bible is not the only source of Messianic prophecies. Rabbis have been writing about the Messiah thousands of years. Although these sources are not considered inspired by most Christians, they do provide valuable corroboration of the Bible's claims. One from the Sibylline Oracles is particularly striking:
"And being beaten He shall be silent lest any one should know what the word is, or whence it came, that it may speak with mortals; and He shall wear the crown of thorns." Sibylline Oracles (B.C. 184-117)
The Sibylline Oracles make it clear that the Son of God is God Himself: "Know him as your God, who is the Son of God. " Sibylline Oracles (Lactantins p. 10 s.)
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The Old Testament prophecies and their fulfillment in the person of Jesus of Nazareth make it clear that Jesus was the promised Messiah of the scriptures. These same scriptures, along with those of the New Testament state quite emphatically that the Messiah, Jesus, was God, who took on human form to both teach us and provide the ultimate sacrifice to erase our sins, so that we could have a personal relationship with Him. The teachings and miracles Jesus performed and His resurrection from the dead testify that Jesus is God. Since Jesus is God, it is imperative that we do what He told us. Jesus told us we were to follow Him that whoever believed in Him would have eternal life (John 3:16). Those who reject Jesus after knowing who He is, have rejected the only provision to cleanse us from our sins in order to live with God in heaven. Do not put off a decision to follow Jesus, your God. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Now is the day of salvation!
For He says, "In the time of My favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2)
Romans 10:9–10 " If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."
Hebrews 2:3 "how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him."