Jesus of Nazareth is arguably the most influential person to have ever existed. If you consider yourself an honest thinker and a truth-seeker, don’t you owe it to yourself to at least look into this?
Christianity is based on empirical evidence, and the evidence compels the honest truth-seeker to believe in Jesus. In this lesson, we will see 5 undeniable proofs for the physical, historical resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.
The life and death of Jesus of Nazareth is a historical fact. Even skeptics of Christianity concede there is plenty of evidence that anyone who denies the historicity of Jesus really is not being honest with the facts.1 For example, Bart Ehrman said in 2012, “He certainly existed, as virtually every competent scholar of antiquity, Christian or non-Christian, agrees.”2
Of course, Christians take it further. We don’t just believe Jesus lived and died in the first century. We also believe He rose from the dead, giving everyone who fully trusts in Him and obeys His gospel hope of their own resurrection and rest. Why? Because the Bible says so.
Sure, Christians are supposed to believe what the Bible says, right? Yes. But remember: Christianity is based on evidence, and the evidence confirms what the Bible says about Jesus. That’s why we believe the Bible. The historian in the Bible named Luke says Jesus “presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3). What are some of those infallible proofs?
1. The Tomb Was Found Empty
Chapters 27 and 28 of Matthew hold some important information about Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. I recommend you read them yourself. For now, let me highlight some moments that are vital to our study.
- As Jesus died on the cross, many women looked on from afar, “among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons” (Matthew 27:56).
- A rich man named Joseph requested the dead body of Jesus, was granted it, and then he buried Jesus’ body in his (Joseph’s) own tomb. As he did so, “Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb” (Matthew 27:61).
- The Pharisees reminded Pontius Pilate that Jesus had predicted His own resurrection. In order to prevent any funny business, like the disciples stealing the body, they suggested protecting the tomb. Pilate responded, “‘You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.’ So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard” (Matthew 27:65–66).
- While the trained guards protected the tomb from anyone going in (or coming out), without warning, the massive stone rolled away from the entrance of the tomb, and an angel appeared. “And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men” (Matthew 28:4).
- The women, hoping to pay their respects to Jesus’ dead body, appeared at the tomb, and found it open and empty.
- They began to spread the word, and both individual and groups of disciples began seeing and conversing with the raised Jesus.
- The guards “came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened” (Matthew 28:11).
- The distraught religious leaders, having no other immediate solution, paid the guards to begin spreading the rumor that Jesus’ disciples had stolen the body from the tomb. The soldiers, who had failed at their job, would have had a death sentence from their superiors, so, the chief priests offered, “if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure” (Matthew 28:14).
Before it was the Bible as we know it, the twenty-seven books that make up the New Testament were historical letters (albeit inspired by the Holy Spirit), written to historical people. The authors were originally using these letters to prove the resurrection, among other things. In Matthew 27 and 28, Matthew proved to his audience that the tomb of Jesus was empty, even though it had been occupied a few days prior, and despite the fact that it had been sealed and guarded by trained professionals.
Trying to dispel all claims of miracles, some people have suggested that the tomb was found empty because the women went to the wrong tomb. Yet, the women were there at Jesus’ death, as well as at His burial. They knew well where He had been buried.
Others have tried to perpetuate the idea that the disciples, indeed, stole the body of Jesus. Really? Think through this:
- The tomb was professionally sealed. This was common practice in the first century, for a variety of reasons, including concealment of odor, respect for the dead, preservation, and ritual purity. The primary reason in this case was to prevent anyone from stealing the body. The tomb was sealed.
- The tomb was professionally guarded. As we saw in Matthew 28, the Roman soldiers who were stationed at the tomb had two options: succeed or die. The tomb was guarded.
- The disciples had no reason to steal the body. Although they heard on multiple occasions Jesus’ prediction of resurrection, the Bible also tells us they all ran away at His arrest, and they went into hiding after His death. Why? If the Romans had killed the leader, then it was only a matter of time before they came after the followers. The disciples were banking on locked doors to keep them safe, the resurrection of their Teacher far from their minds. Plus, what would they have gained from stealing the body? We’ll discuss this more in a few minutes, but for now, consider this accusation ludicrous. The untrained disciples did not overcome professional Roman soldiers to steal the body of Jesus.
Instead, the tomb was found empty, and the dead body of Jesus was never seen again after that tomb was closed.
2. Jesus Was Seen Alive After His Death
Although no-one ever saw the dead body of Jesus again, they did see the living body of Jesus! We’re not talking about some spiritual, ghostly resurrection. Jesus’ body rose from the grave, and it was seen as clearly as yours and mine. People touched Him and ate with Him.
Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”
Luke 24:36–39
Years later, still fully convinced of the resurrection of Jesus, despite the persecutions and threats, notice how John described his experience:
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
1 John 1:1–4
Yes, John had a poetic way of introducing his writings, but did you catch that sensory terminology? The disciples were not hallucinating. They saw and touched Jesus’ resurrected body.
1 Corinthians 15 contains some of the earliest Christian literature ever penned. Just a few years (some scholars even say months) after the death of Jesus, some of the following words were circulating among Christian communities in the world:
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, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
1 Corinthians 15:3–8
These words were believed and repeated among the earliest Christians. Don’t let that fact escape your notice. In religions where the leader supposedly did miracles, those claims come from sources generations and centuries after the events supposedly happened, giving followers sufficient time to develop legendary tales, exaggerations, and embellishments. Yet, only a few days after Jesus publicly died, people began publicly proclaiming He had risen.
Even in the twenty-first century, eye-witness testimony is taken seriously when people and courts of law are trying to deduce the truth of an event. Yes, Paul was an apostle of Jesus, and he was expected to claim Jesus had died, was buried, and was resurrected. But not only was there not enough time for the resurrection story to have become legend, but witnesses of the resurrection, like Paul, effectively also said, “Don’t just take my word for it; here’s a list of over five hundred other witnesses who also saw His resurrection. These people are still living today. Ask them too!”
To try to explain away this historical record, some skeptics have claimed that these five hundred plus “witnesses” were simply hallucinating. What a pitiful explanation. Hallucinations, like dreams, happen in individual minds. They’re never shared by multiple people.
So, what’s a more reasonable response to 500 people, many of whom with no previous connections, claiming to have witnessed the same thing? Believe them. They saw the risen Jesus.
3. The Disciples Were Transformed Overnight
Imagine you and your friends make up a story and start spreading it around town. Before you know it, the entire neighborhood has heard the story. Some believe. Some don’t. It gets out of hand, and the government gets involved. Since you and your friends are the ones who started this chaos, they arrest and interrogate you. They say, “Admit you made it up, and you’re free to go. However, keep spreading these lies, and we will imprison, torture, and finally kill you. And then we will go after your families.” What would you do? Would you hold on to something you knew was fake at the cost of your and your family’s lives?
After news of the resurrection of Jesus began to spread, the disciples of Christ were accused of making it up. They were given this ultimatum: stop preaching or suffer. What did they do?
So they [the council] called them [the apostles] and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
Acts 4:18–20
Next, they prayed for boldness to continue preaching, because they knew it was only going to get worse. Indeed, it did. In the next chapter, they were arrested again and beaten. For the rest of the book of Acts, the disciples were arrested multiple times, beaten by the authorities. They were persecuted by the common people almost everywhere they went. As open-minded people listened, some even believing, they didn’t pad the preachers’ pockets. They did, however, helped them escape the mobs with their lives—at least when they could. But as persecution ramped up from the religious communities, the government weighed in and began putting the eye-witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus to death, which leads us to:
4. Both Average and Esteemed People Died For Their Testimony
The first person on record to die for proclaiming what He had seen was Stephen at the end of Acts 7. He was the first of many, many people who died for their testimony of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.
Now Saul was consenting to his [Stephen’s] death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.
Acts 8:1–3
Saul became a terrorist against Christians. He was also a devout Jew and Roman citizen, educated at the highest levels.
He dedicated everything he had to putting an end to the “rumors” of some risen Christ. Then, on his way to destroy even more Christians, the risen Christ appeared to him in the beginning of the next chapter. Afterward:
Immediately he [Saul] preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. Then all who heard were amazed, and said, “Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?” But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ. Now after many days were past, the Jews plotted to kill him. But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him. Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket.
Acts 9:20–25
In Acts 8, Saul threw himself at the destruction of Christianity. In Acts 9, Saul threw himself away for the sake of Christ, risking his own life to proclaim boldly that Jesus had risen bodily. That was just the beginnings of his sufferings for the gospel of Christ. Read 2 Corinthians 11:22–29 for a longer list.
Would you die for something you thought had even a small chance of being a hoax? Saul was one of hundreds and thousands of people in the first century who did not believe the resurrection was a legend or a hoax. They put their lives and their family’s lives on the line by saying Jesus had risen from the dead. People are still doing that today.
5. Enemies of Jesus Became His Disciples After His Death
In the first century, it was in the political and religious leaders’ highest interests to put an end to Christianity as soon as possible. An easy task, right? Simply produce the dead body of Jesus, and you destroy Christianity. But they couldn’t. There was no dead body. The news of the resurrection spread faster than the powerful religious and political people could muzzle the mouths of the witnesses.
As we saw, it wasn’t just the original disciples who claimed to have seen the risen Jesus. Saul of Tarsus—enemy number one of Christianity—not only stopped his persecution of the church, but he also became a disciple, desiring more than anything else for others to believe in the post-death life of Jesus.
Someone’s religion is meant to define everything about them. It’s supposed to affect each and every thought, action, and decision. Everyone knows this, which is made clear every time the world fulfills their self-appointed job to call inconsistent Christians hypocrites. Jesus Himself valued integrity over practically every other attribute. To be a person of integrity means to follow the evidence wherever it leads, no matter what.
Yet, the “no matter what” part is different for everyone. What would it mean for you if evidence was compelling you to change your diet? Your relationships? Your career? Where you live? Your religion? For first century Hebrews, Judaism was their politics, their religion, their reason for living, and even their diet. They stood on millennia of heritage, believing themselves to be the people of God. In the past, neither famine, exile, slavery, war, nor harsh persecution could get the faithful to abandon their posts. They stood unmoving for Yahweh. Then, a carpenter’s son from insignificant Galilee came and began preaching the kingdom of God. He proved Himself by miraculous works, finally culminating in His own resurrection from the dead. Where natural disasters, bloodshed, and kings had failed in the past, a crucified, scarred, and living Messiah succeeded.
In the book of Acts, we see the open-minded people of society turning to Jesus. Get this:
Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.
Acts 6:7
These priests were the leaders of all of Judaism in Jerusalem, the city of God. It was their job—their career—to perform the religious ceremonies, offer the prayers, and mediate between the people and Yahweh. Then, they left it all behind to follow the great High Priest Himself: Jesus of Nazareth, risen from the dead. Of course, this is only the natural course of action for the ones following the evidence. Jesus was born as a Jew, and it was He who the Hebrew texts prophesied of. These priests became His disciples, knowing that it meant leaving their esteemed position in Judaism and everything else behind and facing persecution.
Yet, it was the closed-minded of the same group who had handed Jesus over to be crucified. There’s a group of people in Acts 2 who give us hope, where Peter preached to them:
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 2:36–38
Although these people had been enemies of Jesus, they were willing to become His disciples after hearing and weighing the evidence. This is still happening today. We don’t just believe in Christianity because it’s the religion we were born into or the one we have chosen to have faith in among so many other religions. Even if we were “born into it,” we must all go through the process of surveying the evidence ourselves and following the truth wherever it leads. Read 1 Corinthians 15 in full and see that the historical bodily resurrection of Jesus:
- Gives us confidence.
- Gives us hope.
- Motivates us.
- And directs us.
Additionally, Jesus’ historical resurrection:
- Proves that He is the Prophet, King, Messiah, and Savior the Bible claimed Himself to be (see Matthew 12:38–42).
- Proves He is who God says He is (see Romans 1:4).
- Proves His power over Satan (1 John 3:8; Hebrews 2:14–15; Revelation 1:18).
The stakes of Christianity rest on Jesus’ resurrection being physical and historical. All of the claims of the Bible were vindicated when the resurrection was proven.
Depending on where you are right now on your journey, figure out which one of these two calls to action applies to you:
- Because we are so interested in the truth, here’s a challenge for the enemies (or skeptics) of Christianity: Provide the body of Jesus, and we will deny our faith. Check out this article.
- Or, if the truth compels you to look into the gospel a little bit further, check out this series. God bless you. Go with God.
- For example, Bart D. Ehrman. Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth. 2012; Gerd Lüdemann. Jesus After Two Thousand Years: What He Really Said and Did. 2000; Maurice Casey. Jesus: Evidence and Argument or Mythicist Myths? 2014; Michael Grant. Jesus: An Historian’s Review of the Gospels. 1977; Albert Schweitzer. The Quest of the Historical Jesus. 1906. ↩︎
- Ehrman, Bart D. Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth. HarperOne, 2012, p. 12. ↩︎