Is There Any Evidence That Jesus Rose From The Dead?

Growing up as a kid, we used to sing a song that goes like this… “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so…” For some people, it isn’t hard to believe something if the Bible tells them so. For others, there is a desire to have evidence that backs up what the Bible says. A good scientist or historian knows that if one document is found to be contrary to the majority of the evidence, it is unlikely that the document is a credible source. So when it comes to whether or not Jesus rose from the dead, if the only evidence for it comes from the Bible, skepticism is to be expected.

Thankfully, there is enough historical evidence for Christ’s life, death, and resurrection that we can make a strong case that the Biblical accounts are accurate. There are at least four historical facts about Jesus that nearly all scholars (Christian or not) believe to be true. I will briefly deal with each of them below and then link you to resources for more information.

Fact #1: Jesus Died By Crucifixion 

Outside of the Bible, several ancient (non-Christian) documents talk about Jesus. It is clear that he was a real person, not just a legend. No credible historian would say otherwise.  Two of the most well known sources are by the first century historians Josephus (Jewish) and Tacitus (Roman). Both of these men write about Pilate condemning Jesus to be crucified.  If Jesus was crucified, it can also be certain that Jesus really died because the Romans were experts at killing.  These documents, in addition to the Biblical records lead the vast majority of historical scholars (Christian or not) to believe that Jesus died by crucifixion.  Bart Ehrman, (non-Christian religion professor at UNC) says, “One of the most certain facts of history is that Jesus was crucified on orders of the Roman prefect of Judea, Pontius Pilate.”

Fact #2: The Tomb Was Empty

There are at least three reasons to believe the tomb was empty. First, Jesus was buried in a known tomb by a Jewish leader named Joseph of Arimathea.  There were also guards placed at the tomb, and the Jewish and Roman leaders knew where the tomb was. If you wanted to see the tomb, all you had to do is ask Joseph or one of the people who helped him bury Jesus. 

Second, the Biblical accounts say that the empty tomb was found by women.  In that time, the witness of women was not seen as credible. It was a patristic society; the word of a man was trusted and a woman’s was not. If you were one of Jesus’ followers and wanted to make up a story that Jesus rose from the dead, you probably would not choose a member of the council that condemned Jesus to death to be the one to bury Jesus’ body; and you definitely would not say that the first witnesses of his resurrection were women. You would likely say that one of the disciples buried Jesus, and he appeared to one of them first.

Third, even the Jews admitted that the tomb was empty; they spread the rumor that the disciples stole the body (Matthew 28:11-15). In historical documents, when your enemy agrees with you on something, it is extremely likely to be true.  The tomb must have been empty.

Fact #3: Multiple People Claimed Jesus Appeared To Them 

Jesus appeared to the women at the tomb, and 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 says he appeared to Peter, Saul, James, the twelve disciples, and over 500 people at once. Two people to note are James (Jesus’ half brother) and Saul (persecutor of Christians). Neither of these men initially believed that Jesus was the messiah or that he had risen from the dead.  Then they did a complete turn around and started proclaiming that Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to them. Could all of these people have hallucinated the same thing? Surely they saw something…

Fact #4: The Origin And Spread of Christianity 

The Jewish people were looking for a messianic king, not a crucified messiah like Jesus.  Jesus was very different from what the Jews (including Jesus’ disciples) were expecting in a messiah. No Jew would have made up a crazy story about the messiah being killed on a cross. It just wouldn’t have made any sense to them at all!  Not only did this crazy belief spring up out of such an unlikely group of people, but then the message spread like wildfire throughout the same area and time period where all of these events took place.

This means that the people who had witnessed these things were still alive. If it was a lie, you could ask them; surely someone would have cracked or produced a corpse!  Jesus’ disciples would have surely known whether or not it was true. Many of those who claimed he had risen (including James and Saul) went on to be martyred. Throughout history, many people have died for what they believed to be true, but not for what they knew to be false!

Conclusion:

Believing in the resurrection of Jesus should not be compared with belief in Santa Clause or the Tooth Fairy. There is credible historical evidence that backs up such a belief, which makes it logical and rational. If you believe in Jesus’ resurrection, I encourage you to share these facts with others. If you do not, I encourage you to explore this topic more in depth. Christianity stands or falls on the resurrection. If Jesus rose from the dead, Christianity is true. “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” – The Apostle Paul

Resources:

For more information on this topic please see the video and resources listed below!

Michael Licona wrote a phenomenal book that covers the historical evidence behind the resurrection called The Resurrection of Jesus.  It is pretty long, but extremely thorough.  Another shorter one by Gary Habermas and Licona is The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus.  I have put links to both below.

Here is also a helpful video that puts a lot of what I have said into pictures.