Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
by Owen Borville
April 13, 2019
Bible
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest and most important event in the history of Christianity and a crucial part of the Christian faith. Strong historical evidence exists for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ after being crucified and placed in the tomb.
The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ is a historical event detailed in the accounts of the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John along with the Epistles of the New Testament, and many Old Testament prophetic references. Crucifixions were a common method of execution in the Roman Empire. In addition, many other ancient writings and artifacts confirm the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, including non-Christian sources. The historical writings of Jewish and Roman historians confirm the Crucifixion, in addition to many more historical Christian sources. The Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus included mention of Jesus in his writings in the 1st century A.D., where James is mentioned and called the "brother of Jesus, the so called Christ." Therefore, even first century non-Christian historians of the time knew that Jesus existed and that his followers believed him to be "the Christ." In the second century A.D., the Roman politician and author Tacitus wrote about Jesus being executed. Another second century Roman politician and author, Pliny, described in his writings how Christians worshiped Christ as a god.
The Empty Tomb: After the Crucifixion, a great earthquake caused the stone covering the tomb to be removed. According to Matthew 28:2:
And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. Matthew 28:2.
The empty tomb is one of the greatest evidences for the Resurrection. No one can explain what happened to Jesus' body other than with the explanation of the Resurrection. In Matthew 28:11, the Jewish chief priests and elders made a deal with the Roman soldiers to
"Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept." Matthew 28:11-13.
Therefore, the story of the stolen body was invented in order to cover up or hide evidence for the miracle of the Resurrection. The priests also agreed to "cover up" for the soldiers in exchange for telling the story of the stolen body. (Matthew 28:14)
Could Jesus have survived the Crucifixion and escaped? The swoon theory is the proposed theory that Jesus somehow survived the Crucifixion and escaped. The theory is commonly given by skeptics and non-Christians in order to discredit the Bible and the Christian faith. However, little evidence exists for the theory. First of all, the Roman authority would not have allowed Jesus to survive the Crucifixion, as standard Roman procedure required that the person being crucified to be totally dead. Jesus suffered through multiple trials where he was beaten to the point of blood. He was forced to wear a crown of thorns on his head. Nails were inserted into his hands and feet so that he could hang on the cross. The soldier ripped his side and blood and water was ejected out. Jesus hung on the cross for several hours until he was totally dehydrated. Jesus said "I am thirsty." (John 19:28). His body was wrapped up very tightly in linen (Matthew 27:59) and placed into the tomb, which reportedly was very cold. His body laid in the tomb for three days with no food or water. Even if Jesus could have physically survived this suffering, could he have removed the large stone covering the entrance to the tomb, the same stone that several strong men were needed to move and that the Book of Matthew (28:2) records an angel removing the stone after an earthquake? If he could remove the stone, he would still have to get through Roman security, who heavily guarded the entrance. Allowing a prisoner to escape would likely be a death sentence for the security guards. The Roman authority did not want Jesus to escape as they viewed him as a threat to their ruling establishment and would want to do everything possible to make sure Jesus' body stayed inside the tomb (Matthew 27:65-66). Even if Jesus could have escaped the tomb alive and gotten through security, where would he go? Wouldn't someone recognize him? Would he be physically capable of walking into the wilderness and surviving after so much suffering? Surviving the Crucifixion would be just as miraculous as the Resurrection itself. The larger question is why would Jesus want to survive the Crucifixion? His surviving the Crucifixion would contradict everything he said during his life and ministry. His mission was to die for the sins of mankind and be Resurrected in three days just as he predicted.
Some skeptics claim that the witnesses of the Resurrected Jesus were hallucinating. The emotional trauma of knowing their Lord and Messiah just experienced a terrible death was very traumatic for the disciples and the followers of Jesus, in addition to Jesus' own family members. However, historical accounts refute claims of hallucinations. Many people witnessed the Resurrected Jesus as the scriptures explain, including one event where over 500 people came to see him (1st Corinthians 15:3-8). The likelihood of 500 people hallucinating at the same time and at the same place is very unlikely and therefore this account greatly supports the reality of the Resurrection. Many others also witnessed the Resurrected Jesus at other times and locations. The likelihood that all of these people were hallucinating is very slim.
The possibility of Jesus' body being stolen from the tomb is very unlikely. The tomb was heavily guarded by Roman security and a large stone was covering the entrance to the tomb. The Roman authority was well aware of who Jesus claimed to be, including his promised resurrection in three days, and his rising popularity among the people was considered a serious threat to the ruling establishment. Jesus' followers called him the "King of the Jews," the Messiah, and the Son of God. Both the Roman authority and the Jewish authority viewed the rise of the popularity of Jesus Christ to be a threat to their ruling establishment and therefore did not want the body to be stolen (Matthew 27:62-66). The many miracles performed by Jesus Christ only increased his popularity among the people and the ruling establishment increasingly viewed Jesus as a threat to their authority. The likelihood of anyone escaping security, moving the boulder, and stealing the body is simply and virtually impossible and defies explanation. Who would want to steal the body? The Roman authority had no interest in stealing the body and therefore helping the Christian cause, just as the Jewish leaders had no interest in stealing the body and helping the Christian cause. In addition, if the body was still in the tomb, wouldn't the Romans and Jews have taken the body to the streets of Jerusalem and shown everyone the body to once and for all end the young Christian movement? Or the Roman authority could have invited visitors to come and see the body in the tomb and remove all evidence for the Resurrection. Why didn't they do this? Because the body was not there. The only explanation for the missing body is that the body was resurrected just as Jesus predicted and the scriptures confirm. Would Jesus' disciples or family attempted to steal the body? The same disciples that were afraid to even confess to the authorities of being a disciple of Jesus before the Crucifixion would simply not have the courage to attempt to risk their lives trying to steal the body. Jesus' family may have had interest in stealing the body, but it is difficult to explain how they could have stolen the body, including passing security and moving the stone from the tomb entrance. Skeptics of the Resurrection have a difficult time explaining how the body could have been stolen from the tomb and the historical evidence indicates that there is no explanation for the disappearance of Jesus' body from the tomb other than resurrection from the dead, just as the scriptures explain.
The Apostle Paul describes the many who witnessed the Resurrected Christ, including the Twelve Disciples, James the brother of Jesus, the apostles, and to a crowd of more than 500 (1st Corinthians 15:3-8). All of these accounts give strong evidence for a real event where more than 500 people attended at the same time and the same place to see the Resurrected Jesus.
The first witnesses of the Resurrected Jesus were women, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. The culture at the time did not value the testimony of a woman and if the Resurrection story was made up, it is very unlikely that women would be named as the first witnesses of the Resurrection. A fabricated story would have much more likely named some of Jesus' male disciples as his first witnesses. The fact that women were the first witnesses makes the Resurrection account unique, genuine, and very unlikely to be a fabricated account.
Jesus' disciples dramatic transformation from unbelief before the Resurrection to strong belief after witnessing the Resurrected Jesus is strong evidence that the account of the New Testament is real and genuine. The disciples of Jesus knew him better than anyone else and would not give their life for a lie or a false account. Upon seeing the Resurrected Jesus, the disciples were instantly transformed from skeptical and weak followers to devout believers that would willingly suffer persecution and ultimately give their lives for their faith. Ten disciples were executed for their faith in Jesus Christ while scholars believe that Judas killed himself out of guilt for turning in Jesus. Only one of the 12 disciples of Jesus, John, lived to old age and died a natural death, but John was severely persecuted for his faith like the other disciples. How can anyone explain the dramatic transformation of Jesus' disciples unless the Resurrection account is true?
Paul, also known as Saul, was a former Pharisee and persecutor of the Christian faith that suddenly experienced a miraculous transformation and became a devout advocate of the Christian faith. He was transformed from a persecutor of Christians to a Christian being persecuted. After Paul's conversion to Christianity, his fellow colleagues severely persecuted him just as he previously did. Paul knew some of the disciples and therefore his conversion is a strong account of a genuine change. How can anyone explain this sudden conversion if it was not real and genuine? How can anyone explain why a Jewish Pharisee living a comfortable life would want to become a Christian and suffer the great persecution as he did. Who would choose to do this unless the conversion was real? Paul's intense persecution of Christians is documented in the Acts of the Apostles of the New Testament, including Acts (7:57-8:3) as he participated in the stoning of Stephen, a Christian follower. Paul's conversion is also discussed in the Pauline Epistles of the New Testament. In addition to his conversion, Paul also describes the many who witnessed the Resurrected Christ, including the Twelve Disciples, James the brother of Jesus, the apostles, and to a crowd of more than 500 (1st Corinthians 15:3-8). Scholars date Paul's birth at 5 A.D. and his conversion at 33-36 A.D. Paul's conversion is discussed extensively in the New Testament writings, many of which are attributed to Paul himself. Skeptics would attempt to explain that Paul converted based on a false account, but the fact that Paul lived at the same time as Jesus' Disciples and knew them gives stronger evidence for the account. The Disciples knew Jesus personally and witnessed Jesus in the Resurrected form, and therefore Paul's relationship with the Disciples gives stronger evidence for the account.
Christian scholars explain that the Resurrection accounts in the New Testament were written too soon to be a fabricated story. Therefore, accounts of the Resurrection must have been a real and genuine. There simply was not enough time for a "myth" or "legend" to develop less than 40 years from the Resurrection date of 30 to 33 A.D. to the writings of the Gospel accounts of the New Testament. The Gospel of Mark is believed by scholars to have been written by A.D. 70, which is less than 40 years after the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Scholars believe that the Gospel of Mark is the oldest written Gospel and therefore this short time period from the writing of this account from the Crucifixion and Resurrection events gives strong evidence of its genuine accuracy as a real historical event and not a fabrication or myth. Scholars once believed that the Gospel of Matthew was the oldest gospel and that is why it is listed first in the New Testament. However, more recent historical research has given evidence for the Gospel of Mark as the oldest gospel. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke are believed to have been written by 90 A.D. and the Gospel of John by 110 A.D.
The writings of secular and non-Christian writers of the first century confirm the existence of Jesus Christ and that his followers believed what is written in the New Testament. The Gospel accounts simply could not have been fabricated because the accounts were written too soon after the Resurrection event. Secular and non-Christian writers had no interest in promoting Christianity but their writings acknowledge and confirm that Jesus Christ was a real person that lived in the first century and that his followers believed what is written of him in the New Testament.
True Faith: Many devout Christians will say that they do not need evidence for the Resurrection. In other words, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is a spiritual belief supported by the Holy Spirit that does not require historical evidence. There may be strong historical evidence for the Resurrection and Christian scholars and historians give strong evidence for the Resurrection accounts of the New Testament, but many followers of Jesus Christ are satisfied by accepting the Resurrection by faith and that belief in the Resurrection is truly a spiritual matter. Skeptics will always attempt to find an explanation that refutes or contradicts the Resurrection account. Many of these explanations are weak and are not backed by historical evidence. Those who do not like Christianity will always attempt to find contradictions in the scriptural accounts of the New Testament. However, devout believers in the Christian faith say that their spiritual faith is the best assurance of the truth of the Resurrection.
by Owen Borville
April 13, 2019
Bible
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest and most important event in the history of Christianity and a crucial part of the Christian faith. Strong historical evidence exists for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ after being crucified and placed in the tomb.
The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ is a historical event detailed in the accounts of the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John along with the Epistles of the New Testament, and many Old Testament prophetic references. Crucifixions were a common method of execution in the Roman Empire. In addition, many other ancient writings and artifacts confirm the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, including non-Christian sources. The historical writings of Jewish and Roman historians confirm the Crucifixion, in addition to many more historical Christian sources. The Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus included mention of Jesus in his writings in the 1st century A.D., where James is mentioned and called the "brother of Jesus, the so called Christ." Therefore, even first century non-Christian historians of the time knew that Jesus existed and that his followers believed him to be "the Christ." In the second century A.D., the Roman politician and author Tacitus wrote about Jesus being executed. Another second century Roman politician and author, Pliny, described in his writings how Christians worshiped Christ as a god.
The Empty Tomb: After the Crucifixion, a great earthquake caused the stone covering the tomb to be removed. According to Matthew 28:2:
And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. Matthew 28:2.
The empty tomb is one of the greatest evidences for the Resurrection. No one can explain what happened to Jesus' body other than with the explanation of the Resurrection. In Matthew 28:11, the Jewish chief priests and elders made a deal with the Roman soldiers to
"Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept." Matthew 28:11-13.
Therefore, the story of the stolen body was invented in order to cover up or hide evidence for the miracle of the Resurrection. The priests also agreed to "cover up" for the soldiers in exchange for telling the story of the stolen body. (Matthew 28:14)
Could Jesus have survived the Crucifixion and escaped? The swoon theory is the proposed theory that Jesus somehow survived the Crucifixion and escaped. The theory is commonly given by skeptics and non-Christians in order to discredit the Bible and the Christian faith. However, little evidence exists for the theory. First of all, the Roman authority would not have allowed Jesus to survive the Crucifixion, as standard Roman procedure required that the person being crucified to be totally dead. Jesus suffered through multiple trials where he was beaten to the point of blood. He was forced to wear a crown of thorns on his head. Nails were inserted into his hands and feet so that he could hang on the cross. The soldier ripped his side and blood and water was ejected out. Jesus hung on the cross for several hours until he was totally dehydrated. Jesus said "I am thirsty." (John 19:28). His body was wrapped up very tightly in linen (Matthew 27:59) and placed into the tomb, which reportedly was very cold. His body laid in the tomb for three days with no food or water. Even if Jesus could have physically survived this suffering, could he have removed the large stone covering the entrance to the tomb, the same stone that several strong men were needed to move and that the Book of Matthew (28:2) records an angel removing the stone after an earthquake? If he could remove the stone, he would still have to get through Roman security, who heavily guarded the entrance. Allowing a prisoner to escape would likely be a death sentence for the security guards. The Roman authority did not want Jesus to escape as they viewed him as a threat to their ruling establishment and would want to do everything possible to make sure Jesus' body stayed inside the tomb (Matthew 27:65-66). Even if Jesus could have escaped the tomb alive and gotten through security, where would he go? Wouldn't someone recognize him? Would he be physically capable of walking into the wilderness and surviving after so much suffering? Surviving the Crucifixion would be just as miraculous as the Resurrection itself. The larger question is why would Jesus want to survive the Crucifixion? His surviving the Crucifixion would contradict everything he said during his life and ministry. His mission was to die for the sins of mankind and be Resurrected in three days just as he predicted.
Some skeptics claim that the witnesses of the Resurrected Jesus were hallucinating. The emotional trauma of knowing their Lord and Messiah just experienced a terrible death was very traumatic for the disciples and the followers of Jesus, in addition to Jesus' own family members. However, historical accounts refute claims of hallucinations. Many people witnessed the Resurrected Jesus as the scriptures explain, including one event where over 500 people came to see him (1st Corinthians 15:3-8). The likelihood of 500 people hallucinating at the same time and at the same place is very unlikely and therefore this account greatly supports the reality of the Resurrection. Many others also witnessed the Resurrected Jesus at other times and locations. The likelihood that all of these people were hallucinating is very slim.
The possibility of Jesus' body being stolen from the tomb is very unlikely. The tomb was heavily guarded by Roman security and a large stone was covering the entrance to the tomb. The Roman authority was well aware of who Jesus claimed to be, including his promised resurrection in three days, and his rising popularity among the people was considered a serious threat to the ruling establishment. Jesus' followers called him the "King of the Jews," the Messiah, and the Son of God. Both the Roman authority and the Jewish authority viewed the rise of the popularity of Jesus Christ to be a threat to their ruling establishment and therefore did not want the body to be stolen (Matthew 27:62-66). The many miracles performed by Jesus Christ only increased his popularity among the people and the ruling establishment increasingly viewed Jesus as a threat to their authority. The likelihood of anyone escaping security, moving the boulder, and stealing the body is simply and virtually impossible and defies explanation. Who would want to steal the body? The Roman authority had no interest in stealing the body and therefore helping the Christian cause, just as the Jewish leaders had no interest in stealing the body and helping the Christian cause. In addition, if the body was still in the tomb, wouldn't the Romans and Jews have taken the body to the streets of Jerusalem and shown everyone the body to once and for all end the young Christian movement? Or the Roman authority could have invited visitors to come and see the body in the tomb and remove all evidence for the Resurrection. Why didn't they do this? Because the body was not there. The only explanation for the missing body is that the body was resurrected just as Jesus predicted and the scriptures confirm. Would Jesus' disciples or family attempted to steal the body? The same disciples that were afraid to even confess to the authorities of being a disciple of Jesus before the Crucifixion would simply not have the courage to attempt to risk their lives trying to steal the body. Jesus' family may have had interest in stealing the body, but it is difficult to explain how they could have stolen the body, including passing security and moving the stone from the tomb entrance. Skeptics of the Resurrection have a difficult time explaining how the body could have been stolen from the tomb and the historical evidence indicates that there is no explanation for the disappearance of Jesus' body from the tomb other than resurrection from the dead, just as the scriptures explain.
The Apostle Paul describes the many who witnessed the Resurrected Christ, including the Twelve Disciples, James the brother of Jesus, the apostles, and to a crowd of more than 500 (1st Corinthians 15:3-8). All of these accounts give strong evidence for a real event where more than 500 people attended at the same time and the same place to see the Resurrected Jesus.
The first witnesses of the Resurrected Jesus were women, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. The culture at the time did not value the testimony of a woman and if the Resurrection story was made up, it is very unlikely that women would be named as the first witnesses of the Resurrection. A fabricated story would have much more likely named some of Jesus' male disciples as his first witnesses. The fact that women were the first witnesses makes the Resurrection account unique, genuine, and very unlikely to be a fabricated account.
Jesus' disciples dramatic transformation from unbelief before the Resurrection to strong belief after witnessing the Resurrected Jesus is strong evidence that the account of the New Testament is real and genuine. The disciples of Jesus knew him better than anyone else and would not give their life for a lie or a false account. Upon seeing the Resurrected Jesus, the disciples were instantly transformed from skeptical and weak followers to devout believers that would willingly suffer persecution and ultimately give their lives for their faith. Ten disciples were executed for their faith in Jesus Christ while scholars believe that Judas killed himself out of guilt for turning in Jesus. Only one of the 12 disciples of Jesus, John, lived to old age and died a natural death, but John was severely persecuted for his faith like the other disciples. How can anyone explain the dramatic transformation of Jesus' disciples unless the Resurrection account is true?
Paul, also known as Saul, was a former Pharisee and persecutor of the Christian faith that suddenly experienced a miraculous transformation and became a devout advocate of the Christian faith. He was transformed from a persecutor of Christians to a Christian being persecuted. After Paul's conversion to Christianity, his fellow colleagues severely persecuted him just as he previously did. Paul knew some of the disciples and therefore his conversion is a strong account of a genuine change. How can anyone explain this sudden conversion if it was not real and genuine? How can anyone explain why a Jewish Pharisee living a comfortable life would want to become a Christian and suffer the great persecution as he did. Who would choose to do this unless the conversion was real? Paul's intense persecution of Christians is documented in the Acts of the Apostles of the New Testament, including Acts (7:57-8:3) as he participated in the stoning of Stephen, a Christian follower. Paul's conversion is also discussed in the Pauline Epistles of the New Testament. In addition to his conversion, Paul also describes the many who witnessed the Resurrected Christ, including the Twelve Disciples, James the brother of Jesus, the apostles, and to a crowd of more than 500 (1st Corinthians 15:3-8). Scholars date Paul's birth at 5 A.D. and his conversion at 33-36 A.D. Paul's conversion is discussed extensively in the New Testament writings, many of which are attributed to Paul himself. Skeptics would attempt to explain that Paul converted based on a false account, but the fact that Paul lived at the same time as Jesus' Disciples and knew them gives stronger evidence for the account. The Disciples knew Jesus personally and witnessed Jesus in the Resurrected form, and therefore Paul's relationship with the Disciples gives stronger evidence for the account.
Christian scholars explain that the Resurrection accounts in the New Testament were written too soon to be a fabricated story. Therefore, accounts of the Resurrection must have been a real and genuine. There simply was not enough time for a "myth" or "legend" to develop less than 40 years from the Resurrection date of 30 to 33 A.D. to the writings of the Gospel accounts of the New Testament. The Gospel of Mark is believed by scholars to have been written by A.D. 70, which is less than 40 years after the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Scholars believe that the Gospel of Mark is the oldest written Gospel and therefore this short time period from the writing of this account from the Crucifixion and Resurrection events gives strong evidence of its genuine accuracy as a real historical event and not a fabrication or myth. Scholars once believed that the Gospel of Matthew was the oldest gospel and that is why it is listed first in the New Testament. However, more recent historical research has given evidence for the Gospel of Mark as the oldest gospel. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke are believed to have been written by 90 A.D. and the Gospel of John by 110 A.D.
The writings of secular and non-Christian writers of the first century confirm the existence of Jesus Christ and that his followers believed what is written in the New Testament. The Gospel accounts simply could not have been fabricated because the accounts were written too soon after the Resurrection event. Secular and non-Christian writers had no interest in promoting Christianity but their writings acknowledge and confirm that Jesus Christ was a real person that lived in the first century and that his followers believed what is written of him in the New Testament.
True Faith: Many devout Christians will say that they do not need evidence for the Resurrection. In other words, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is a spiritual belief supported by the Holy Spirit that does not require historical evidence. There may be strong historical evidence for the Resurrection and Christian scholars and historians give strong evidence for the Resurrection accounts of the New Testament, but many followers of Jesus Christ are satisfied by accepting the Resurrection by faith and that belief in the Resurrection is truly a spiritual matter. Skeptics will always attempt to find an explanation that refutes or contradicts the Resurrection account. Many of these explanations are weak and are not backed by historical evidence. Those who do not like Christianity will always attempt to find contradictions in the scriptural accounts of the New Testament. However, devout believers in the Christian faith say that their spiritual faith is the best assurance of the truth of the Resurrection.
