Evidence for the Resurrection
Did Jesus Rise?
One of the reasons we can trust the Bible is true is the resurrection of Jesus. If Jesus is alive and came out of the tomb then everything He said must be trusted.
Can I prove the resurrection? Let me give you several good reasons that the resurrection really did happen:
It was Unexpected: No one expected the resurrection. A crucified-and-risen Messiah wasn’t in anyone’s plan. Thomas’ skepticism towards Jesus in John 20, shows the disciples weren’t primed to make it up.
The Empty Tomb: Even opponents of Jesus recognized that the tomb was empty and no one could come up with Jesus’ body.
Early Sources: The New Testament documents were written early and the data within them is even earlier. Why is that significant - The resurrection message could not have been a legend. Legends take decades to form. We even have ten ancient non-Christian writers who lived within 150 years of Jesus's life whose references to Jesus and the apostles are congruent with the New Testament accounts.
Eyewitness Details: The texts contain numerous details that only eyewitnesses would know, and the chief witnesses of the empty tomb were women. Courts in the first century did not give validity to women' s testimony. If the disciples wanted to propagate a legend about the empty tomb, their story should have involved a male disciple discovering the tomb because it carried stronger validity to the non-believing culture.
Explosion of the early church: How do you explain rapid and widespread growth of Christianity, originating from Jerusalem where Jesus's tomb was known. If the opponents of Christianity wanted to put it out, they could have just got the body, but they didn’t because they couldn’t.
Excruciating Deaths: The apostles, including Paul and many early Christians were willing to die horrific deaths for their beliefs, which suggests a strong conviction in the truth of what they witnessed. In other words, the resurrection profoundly changed and transformed people’s lives.
Experiential Evidence: The fact that today there are still thousands of people who claim to have a personal encounter with Jesus. And they claim that this experience is grounded in the Bible. How do we explain the evidence of the ongoing experience of thousands of people who say they have met Jesus.
