The Resurrection
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
60-Second Answer
Jesus’ resurrection is the cornerstone of Christian faith. The historical case asks which explanation best accounts for the witnesses’ claims.
- Paul records an early tradition of Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection and appearances.
- Jesus’ execution, the disciples’ conviction, the conversions of Paul and James, and the empty tomb invite an explanation.
- Christianity’s answer is that God raised Jesus from the dead.
Scripture1 Corinthians 15:3, 4, 5, 6, 17, 20 · Acts 2:32 · BSB
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
1 Corinthians 15:3 · BSB
that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
1 Corinthians 15:4 · BSB
and that He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve.
1 Corinthians 15:5 · BSB
After that, He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:6 · BSB
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
1 Corinthians 15:17 · BSB
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:20 · BSB
God has raised this Jesus to life, to which we are all witnesses.
Acts 2:32 · BSB
Objections & replies
Isn’t this just the Bible quoting itself?
The historical case reads the New Testament as ancient testimony and compares its claims with other sources. Inspiration is the Christian conviction; it need not be the first premise of every historical discussion.
Could the witnesses have been sincere but mistaken?
Yes, sincerity alone cannot establish truth. The argument asks which explanation accounts for the content, timing and range of their claims, not merely whether they believed them.
Does the empty tomb have the same level of agreement as the crucifixion?
No. This study distinguishes the empty tomb from claims that attract broader agreement. Its evidence must be assessed separately.
What does this mean for me?
Christianity invites you to examine the witnesses’ claim and the person they proclaimed: the crucified and risen Christ. An argument serves that encounter; it does not replace it.
Full study
Why this matters
- Christian hope rests on the risen Christ, rather than the power of an argument or an uplifting story.
- The resurrection connects Christian teaching about forgiveness, judgment and new life.
The method: compare explanations
- The minimal-facts approach begins with historical claims that can be examined without first assuming biblical inspiration. Gary Habermas and Michael Licona are associated with this approach.
- Agreement varies by claim. The empty tomb is debated more widely than Jesus’ crucifixion; the evidence should not be described as unanimously accepted.
- An explanation needs to address the evidence together, rather than answering one detail while leaving the others untouched.
The testimony is early
- Paul describes a tradition he received and passed on in 1 Corinthians 15:3–8. It names Cephas, the Twelve, James and Paul among the witnesses.
- Paul’s letter is a source for what early Christians proclaimed. Dating the tradition more precisely requires a specific scholarly argument; its wording alone does not settle the date.
- The reference to people still living invites attention to the witnesses, while remaining a claim made by the letter rather than an independent verification of every appearance.
Five exhibits to examine
- Jesus’ death by Roman crucifixion: the Gospels report it, and Tacitus describes Christus being executed under Pontius Pilate.
- The disciples’ conviction that Jesus appeared to them: the New Testament presents their proclamation and willingness to suffer. Sincerity matters, but sincerity alone does not prove a belief true.
- Paul’s conversion: Paul describes an appearance to himself after his previous opposition to the church (1 Corinthians 15:8; Galatians 1).
- James’s change: John 7:5 describes Jesus’ brothers’ earlier unbelief; Paul includes an appearance to James. Josephus later records James’s execution. These sources do not supply every step of James’s experience.
- The empty tomb: the Gospel accounts describe it. Matthew also records a rival story about a stolen body. This is evidence within Matthew’s narrative, not a separately preserved statement from the guards.
The positive empty-tomb claim
- Mark 16:1–8 names women who go to a specific burial place and find it empty. Luke 24:1–12 likewise presents a concrete discovery, followed by the disciples’ response. These narratives connect the resurrection claim with the fate of Jesus’ body, rather than describing only an inward impression.
- Acts 2 locates the early proclamation in Jerusalem. The argument connects the message with the setting where Jesus had died and been buried; it does not give us an independently preserved official investigation of the tomb.
Non-Christian sources and their limits
- Tacitus, Annals 15.44, refers to the execution of Christus under Pontius Pilate. He is useful for the execution claim; he is not an eyewitness to the resurrection.
- Josephus, Antiquities 20.9.1, identifies James as the brother of Jesus who was called Christ and describes his execution.
- Antiquities 18.3.3 contains a passage about Jesus that has a disputed transmission history. Its Christian-sounding material should not be cited as though every word were an uncontested independent testimony.
Test the theory: survival
- The swoon theory proposes that Jesus survived crucifixion. It has to address the sources’ presentation of an execution and explain why the witnesses proclaimed resurrection, rather than recovery from wounds.
- Consider whether survival explains the resurrection faith the sources report, rather than only whether survival can be imagined.
Test the theory: theft or fraud
- A stolen body could explain an absent body, but it does not by itself explain the reported appearances or the experiences attributed to Paul and James.
- Willingness to suffer supports sincerity. It does not prove that every disciple’s death is documented, or that sincere people cannot be mistaken.
Test the theory: visions
- A vision theory needs to explain the nature and variety of the reported appearances, Paul’s experience and the empty-tomb tradition together.
- The argument here does not rest on the absolute claim that shared unusual experiences are medically impossible. Psychological explanations and the historical reports both require careful evaluation.
Test the theory: legend
- Paul’s received tradition puts the resurrection claim early in the Christian movement. A legend theory must explain that early proclamation rather than assuming the claim first appeared much later.
- The existence of an early claim does not, by itself, establish its truth. It supplies a historical constraint on the explanation.
The Christian conclusion
- The witnesses’ explanation is that God raised Jesus from the dead. Christians judge this the best explanation of the death, appearances and transformed witnesses together.
- The conclusion remains a Christian historical and theological argument. Present the alternative fairly, identify disputed points, and invite the reader to examine the sources.
- The goal is to bring a person to Christ, not to humiliate someone who finds the argument unpersuasive.
Speak with gentleness and respect. Examine a teaching carefully; treat the person before you with dignity.
Sources & further study
These studies present a Protestant Christian response. Source links are provided for closer reading; inclusion is not an endorsement of every position a source takes.
- Berean Standard Bible — official text
Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain.
- The resurrection testimony — 1 Corinthians 15
Read the early testimony and Paul’s argument together.
- The empty tomb — Mark 16
The discovery narrative in verses 1–8; later verses have a separate textual history.
- Tacitus, Annals 15.44
Loeb Classical Library text hosted by LacusCurtius; see chapter 44 for the execution of Christus, not an eyewitness resurrection account.
- Josephus, Antiquities, Book XX, chapter 9
Whiston translation; the account of James’s execution.
- Josephus, Antiquities, Book XVIII, chapter 3
Whiston translation; the passage concerning Jesus has disputed later additions.
Providence: Faith · Stand Firm · Apologetics
Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain.
https://providencefaith.com/stand-firm/resurrection/