Historical evidence to support the resurrection of Jesus

The evidence of Jesus dying on the cross and rising from the dead is overwhelming.

Roman historian Tacitus in his Annals, the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in his Antiquities of the Jews, and the pagan Greek author Lucian of Samosata in his The Passing of Peregrine provide historical certainty that Jesus of Nazareth existed and was executed.

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Even the enemies of Jesus admitted His tomb was empty. The Apostle Paul hunted and murdered Christians but after seeing Jesus Paul became a Christian. 

For two thousand years, lives have been changed for the better when people make the time to learn Jesus really did exist.

The highest proof of Jesus's resurrection is the disciples went from hiding in fear and being despondent before the resurrection to boldly proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus.  

No where else in the historical record do we see twelve people attest to the accuracy of an event even when imprisoned, tortured and facing death. The disciples Peter, Andrew, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, James the son of Zebedee, James the son of Alphaeus, and Matthias proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus.​​ The disciples led exemplary lives to help people learn about the resurrection of Jesus. This is another why reason historians agree the disciples sincerely believed Jesus resurrected from the dead. 

All the disciples were killed for their faith with the exception of John who died from old age. My understanding is by having John die from natural causes, God reminded us that He is in control of the timing of our death.

The Apostle Paul received a creed written within months to three years of Jesus's resurrection. This creed is shared by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15: 3-8 explaining Jesus's death, burial and subsequent appearances to eyewitnesses.

​"For I delivered unto you first of all, which I also received: how that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures: And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, according to the scriptures: And that He was seen by Cephas; and after that by the eleven. Then He was seen by more than five hundred brethren at once: of whom many remain until this present, and some are fallen asleep. After that, He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. And last of all, He was seen also by me, as by one born out of due time."

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1 Corinthians 15:3-8

Five independent sources, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Paul describe the multiple appearances of Jesus after His death. Paul reminded people that many of the eyewitnesses of the resurrection were alive during his lifetime.​

A Jewish Pharisee named Gamaliel argued that if following Christ was of human origin it would fail and if it was from God it could not be stopped.

Support for the resurrection of Jesus is the fact that the forces of death and evil have not been able to destroy His church. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus declared: "And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

Today, women as primary witnesses means nothing special. Two thousand years ago women as foundational witnesses for an important historical event was highly unusual.

The reason is in the first-century Jewish and Greco-Roman legal systems the testimony of women was generally not accepted as valid evidence before a court of law.

If a person or group were creating a false story to deceive people, first-century writers would have likely identified men as the primary witness of the empty tomb. The fact four Gospel writers report women at the empty tomb is a detail that supports a historical event was recorded.​

Naturalistic theories and claims Jesus never died are not supported with facts.

False claims fail to account for Jesus had the power over death. Multiple people witnessed and reported Jesus bringing the 12 year old daughter of Jairus, the son of a woman from Nain, Lazarus, and other people who died back to mortal life. The truth is Jesus could resuscitate a person to mortal life and He was able resurrect Himself to immortal life.

False claims that Jesus never died fall flat for several reasons including the Roman soldiers were expert executioners and confirmed they killed Jesus. In addition, Roman and Jewish authorities accused the disciples of stealing Jesus' dead body. This is known as the "rule of embarrassment." The enemies of Jesus confirmed the empty tomb in Jewish writings like the Toledot Yeshu. The Toledot Yeshu was written in Aramaic around the 4th to 5th centuries. The book accepts Jesus performed supernatural acts but ignores the hundreds of Old Testament prophecies to foretell the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus (e.g., Psalm 34:20 not one of His bones will be broken, Isaiah 53:9 He will speak the truth, die among criminals and be buried in the tomb of a rich man, and Psalm 16:10 He will not experience decay and will be raised from the dead). ​

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By accusing the disciples, the Roman authorities shined light on another false claim. A claim that the guards fell asleep means they would not have seen one or more disciples taking away the body of Jesus. The stolen body claim lacks historical credibility for multiple reasons. Roman guards did not work long shifts and were frequently rotated three times at night. This stolen body claim means a detachment of Roman guards would fall asleep, with the penalty being a capital offense, is unbelievable. The punishment of a single sentry falling asleep during an important assignment was the death sentence, often at the hands of his fellow soldiers. 

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Jesus did return from the dead. Jesus conquered sin and death. Jesus now offers eternal life to all those who believe.​ The resurrection is real and Jesus is the Risen One!

Jesus said: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me." John 14:6

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