Did Jesus rise from the dead? What are the proofs of Jesus resurrection?
We have spoken at length in this post to prove the historicity of Jesus as a real person who lived and died in Jerusalem.
So, if Jesus was a real person, crucified, and died on the cross, the next question is:
Did Jesus come back from the dead?
Jesus resurrection is the foundation of Christianity.
If this were not true, Christianity would collapse. That is why skeptics over the years have been attacking the Bible and discrediting the resurrection as mere myths and legends. Skeptics reject the resurrection because they just cannot accept anything supernatural.
Today, we will investigate the resurrection claim to see whether Jesus, beyond reasonable doubt, did indeed rise from the dead. Or, if not, the evidence to support the claim that Jesus did not resurrect at all.
But before we dig into the evidence, let's summarise the burial account of Jesus. They can be found in John19 38-42, Matthew 27:57-61 - 66, Luke 23:50-56 and Mark 15:42-47
"And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.
And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.
Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.
Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.
There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand."
John19 38-42 KJV
Summary of the burial account of Jesus:
- Joseph of Arimathea was a rich man and a council member of the jewish leaders
- Joseph was adisciple of Jesus who came to ask Pontius Pilate the body of Jesus
- Nicodemus (John19:39) who was a believer and also a member of the council (John3:1-16), brought about 100 libras or about 34kg or 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes which was considered extravagant
- Joseph of Aritmathea bought a newly cut tomb and laid Jesus' crucified body in it. There was no one else in the tomb.
- Everyone knew who Jesus was and where the tomb was.
- A large stone was rolled over the entrance of the tomb
- Jesus was wrapped in linen cloth with spice and a face cloth
- The Jewish leaders feared that the disciples would steal Jesus' body. Hence, they requested Pontius Pilate to secure the tomb. Roman soldiers and temple guards sealed the tomb. (Matthew 27:62-66)
- The women who were followers of Jesus prepared additional spice to anoint the body of Jesus immediately after Sabbath.
- These women were the first to discover the empty tomb (John 20:1)
- The stone at the entrance of the tomb was rolled away, and the seal was broken (Matthew 28:2). The guards trembled like dead men (Math 28:4).
- The guards reported the incident but were bribed to say that the disciples stole the body of Jesus. (Mathew 28;12-15)
- Disciples and believers were instructed to go to Galilee (Math28:10, Mark16:7)
Let's try something different.
What if Jesus did not resurrect from the dead at all?
What evidence is there to support this claim?
The Empty Tomb Argument
#1 The disciples stole the body of Jesus.
Do you think it is reasonable for the disciples, who were fishermen and lay persons, to overcome trained Roman soldiers or temple guards (war veterans) and break the Roman seal (Matthew 27:66) placed on the stone to the entrance of the tomb?
The Jewish leaders knew about Jesus' claims of resurrection. They did not want Jesus to fulfill his prophecy, in which they claimed "the last error shall be worse than the first" (Matthew 27:64), because many believed in him.
The chief priests assured the soldiers that they would not get into trouble (Matthew 28:14) because the punishment for failure in their duty was death. In Acts 12:19, we saw Herod execute the 16 soldiers guarding Peter in prison because the prison was empty.
How then could simple peasants and fishermen like the disciples and his brothers overpower these fearsome fighting men?
It would not have been one or two soldiers, but a minimum of about 4 to 16 soldiers would have been on duty. How come? The chief priests would not want to take the chance of anyone stealing Jesus' body. They knew that Jesus had garnered a huge following, and the disciples would have easily been able to recruit many people to overpower the guards and steal the body if there were only a few soldiers.
So how could the Jewish leaders explain the stealing of the body? Simply put, the soldiers were asleep! They would have to find a reason to inform the governor to cover their "incompetence." (Matthew 28:14)
What would the soldiers do?
I am sure some would have told the truth if the chief priest had not intervened. But the Jewish leaders bribed the soldiers to tell the public that the disciples stole Jesus' body while they were asleep (Matthew 28:12-13).
Do you think that the public would believe such a story that the disciples would steal Jesus' body when the soldiers fell asleep on duty? They would have found the story ridiculous!
And instead, by the grace of God, the story of the resurrection would convince more people to believe in the resurrection of Jesus! I am sure many would have been curious enough to make a trip to Galilee to see the resurrected Jesus firsthand!
How do you think disciples would have felt when they heard the soldiers accusing them of stealing Jesus' body during their guard?
The disciples would be terrified, of course!!
And it was because of this that the disciples were afraid and hid themselves in their houses for fear of the soldiers.
If the accusation was true that the disciples had stolen the body, wouldn't the Roman soldiers and guards have arrested the disciples then? Wouldn't they have tortured them to produce the body even before the disciples started their ministry?
They couldn't and wouldn't. Why?
The chief priests and soldiers knew that following up with the arrest of the 11 disciples would likely open up further inquiry into the matter and possibly expose their lie. Why would the chief priests and soldiers take that risk? I am sure the penalty for lying to the governor would have been death. So the only way to move forward is to hush up and not make a scene about the incident.
Furthermore, since the chief priests and soldiers knew that the story was a fabrication and something supernatural had taken place, torturing the disciples would be pointless because they knew the disciples was innocent.
The Nazareth Inscription
And it was about 50 AD when the Roman government passed an edict (the artifact was unearthed in Jerusalem and was known as the "Nazareth Inscription"). The edict issued capital punishment for those who stole bodies from graves.
Isn't this absurd?
Tomb robbers would take valuables from the grave, not dead bodies. What could they possibly do with the dead body? Use it as a door stopper? Furthermore, won't it be unbearable for the robber to move the foul-smelling decaying body from the tomb? So why would they do such a ridiculous thing?
The Nazareth Inscription also mentioned "moved sepulcher-sealing stones". This obviously refers to the sealed stone at the entrance of the tomb of Jesus! Doesn't it?
It is therefore beyond reasonable doubt that the edict was created because the Jewish leaders wanted to suppress the growth of Christianity in the region during that time. They pressured the Roman governor to pass the edict about stealing dead bodies, hoping to change the opinion of the public about Jesus, whom the Jews in Jerusalem were familiar with.
If Jesus had not resurrected from the dead, wouldn't the chief priests have found the body and bones of Jesus already? They would certainly have loved to drag Jesus' dead body into the streets to demonstrate people's false belief in the resurrection of Jesus! Everyone in Jerusalem knew who Jesus was. They saw his miracles and heard his teachings. The residents who saw Jesus crucified and died on the cross would also know where he was buried.
The chief priests were considered the elite of society. They were the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and were considered the most intelligent Jews in the city. Couldn't they have found a way to track the stolen body of Jesus?
Were the unschooled disciples more intelligent than the chief priests that they were able to hide from the police, soldiers, and rabbis a dead body in a city without anyone else ever noticing it? Possible but improbable.
It is therefore unlikely that the disciples stole the body of Jesus.
500 Witnesses
According to Paul's letter to the Corinthians, which was written sometime in 54 AD (consensus of most scholars), Jesus appeared in front of at least 500 people (1 Corinthian 15:6) after his death. What hallucination or drug could have caused these people who knew him to say that Jesus was alive?
Sceptics had argued that this letter to the Corinthians would not benefit the believers because the 500 witnesses were in Jerusalem and no one was able to verify the claim.
Fair point!
However, since the distance between Corinth and Jerusalem was about 800 nautical miles, it would not have taken a long time (about 20 days) for anyone in Corinth to verify this supernatural claim via merchant ships.
Something supernatural must have occurred that caused the spread of Christianity after the death of Christ. Many believed and passed down the story of this impactful supernatural event in subsequent generations.
#2 Jesus fainted on the cross and did not die
There are a few problems with this argument. If Jesus only fainted and was revived later in the tomb, how would you explain:
- How could this fake Jesus move the large boulder and escape the rock tomb?
- How could he escape the tomb with the Roman soldiers guarding the entrance of the tomb?
- How could this faked Jesus survive the scourge and torture and still be able to overcome the Roman guards and soldiers at the entrance of the tomb to get away?
- How is it that the chief priests or Roman soldiers were not able to arrest him for fraud when he was on earth for 40 days after his resurrection?
- Since the fake Jesus would have eventually died, why couldn't the Jewish leaders produce the dead body of this fake Jesus?
- According to medical experts, how could this faked Jesus survive the spear into his side (part of the heart and lungs)? Medical experts attested that water and blood coming from the side of the body when pierced, were signs that the person had died.
- How could this faked Jesus, after being tortured and beaten, be able to easily recover from his wounds and appear normally to his followers?
Hence, it is very unlikely that Jesus only fainted on the cross and later revived three days later.
#3 Someone else took Jesus' place on the cross and died?
Muslims love this argument against Christianity, as it was recorded in the Quran. We can discuss the reliability of the Quran in another post. There are many problems with this argument.
In addition to all the counterarguments listed in #2, how could the Roman soldiers and witnesses around them not recognise that the replacement was not Jesus on the cross?
It is definitely unlikely that someone took the place of Jesus on the cross.
Embarrassing Fictional Stories
#4 The Fabrication and Conspiracy Argument
Some believed that the entire resurrection story was completely fabricated and perhaps a conspiracy.
There are problems.
- Since Jesus died and didn't rise from the dead, what happened to the body? Who took the body? All arguments listed in #1 and #2 apply.
- If this was a conspiracy, then how could the lie be kept for so long and with so many people? In time, someone would have spilled the beans. But no one did.
- If this was a fictional story, then why would the story include women as the first people to witness the resurrection? In those days, women's testimony was not significant compared to men's.
- Why would the disciples die for a lie that they knew was not true? What were their motives for the lie? So that they can be tortured and die gloriously in front of people? Records show that Christians were persecuted and killed mercilessly. And yet Christianity flourished. Why?
- If the story is fictional, why would the author include the names of rich and powerful high priests like Joseph ben Caiaphas (14BC - 37AD) who led Jesus to be tried and crucified? The story would have circulated at least after 37 AD. Why didn't Ciaphas or his descendants refute the story? They couldn't, because the story was true!
- Jews believe that the resurrection will only occur at the end of time. They did not believe that anyone could be resurrected, including Jesus. None of the people involved (the women, Joseph, or Nicodemus) during the burial account of Christ thought that Jesus would resurrect. They wrapped Jesus in linen, together with spice according to Jewish customs, to slow down the decay so that his followers could come and pay his respects after the sabbath. If the story had been written during that time, they would have painted Jesus as a conquering king who would come to save the Jews from the Romans. But instead, a story of a king who died as a common criminal?
The argument that the resurrection account is fabricated just doesn't make sense.
Supernatural Event
#5 Unusual Behaviour of Disciples
The early Christians must have experienced something supernatural that caused them to behave abnormally.
If Jesus didn't resurrect, then how do we explain the following?
- How would the disciples, being uneducated (Acts4:13) and timid, yet after the resurrection, instead of cowering away in fear, speak boldly and eloquently? They did not fear death and died for their beliefs even under torture.
- How would you explain the conversion of Paul who was a powerful pharisee who hated and persecuted Christians, but gave up all that power and money, to die a humble, poor man (tent maker) but a believer in Christ?
- How would you explain the conversion of James, the brother of Jesus, who initially did not believe in Jesus' deity but later believed when he saw Jesus alive? James died for his belief in Jesus.
Conclusion
We have investigated the claim of Jesus resurrection.
The above arguments demonstrate the lack of evidence to reasonably support and explain the claim that Jesus did not rise from the dead.
Instead, it goes beyond reasonable doubt that Jesus did rise from the dead.
The resurrection of Jesus is real.
If the resurrection of Jesus is true, then what are you waiting for?
Jesus is God, who came in the form of man, sinless and pure. He followed the will of the Father and was willing to be tortured and die on the cross for all our sins. As prophecised,
Jesus was made the sacrifice and atonement for our sins so that all, that is, you and me, can be made righteous in the eyes of God.
All have sinned, and all deserve death and to be burned in hell.
But for those who believe in Jesus, they will find eternal life.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
John 3:16
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me"
John 14:16
"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." Matthew 16:24-25
"I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."
John 10:28-30
"But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
John4:14
If you want to find out more about Christianity and search for the truth, you may head to the resource section for links to other websites that may prove useful.
Do you think that the Jesus resurrection is true?
Are there any proofs to disqualify the claims above?
Please let me know in the comments below.
