Did Jesus Really Rise?
Christian hope rests on something that happened, and what happened can be examined.
Christianity makes a claim that most religions do not. It stakes everything on an event in history. Paul put it bluntly: "And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain" (1 Corinthians 15:14). If Jesus did not rise from the dead, the Christian faith collapses.
That is a bold thing to say. It means Christianity is not merely a set of inspiring teachings or a helpful way of life. It is a claim about what actually happened outside Jerusalem in the first century. And because it is a historical claim, it can be examined.
Peter told believers to be "ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15). Here are some of the reasons Christians have long given for believing that Jesus rose.
The Earliest Testimony
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul passes on a summary of the gospel that he himself had received: "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 of Cephas, then of the twelve: after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present" (1 Corinthians 15:3–6).
Most historians, including many who are not Christians, date this letter to the mid-50s AD, about twenty-five years after the crucifixion. Many scholars believe the summary Paul quotes is even older, received by Paul within a few years of the events themselves. That is remarkably early for ancient history.
Notice too that Paul says most of the five hundred witnesses were still alive. In effect, he was inviting his readers to go and ask them. That is not how someone writes when inventing a legend.
The Empty Tomb
All four Gospels report that the tomb of Jesus was found empty. The first Christian preaching took place in Jerusalem itself, the city where Jesus was buried. If His body had still been in the tomb, the authorities could have ended the movement simply by producing it.
Instead, the earliest counterclaim admitted that the tomb was empty. Matthew records that the story was spread that "His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept" (Matthew 28:13). The opponents of Christianity did not deny the empty tomb. They tried to explain it.
The Gospels also say that women were the first witnesses to the empty tomb. In that culture, a woman's testimony was often given little weight. If the early church had been inventing the story, it is unlikely they would have chosen women as the key witnesses. The detail makes the most sense if it is simply what happened.
Transformed Disciples
On the night Jesus was arrested, His disciples scattered. Peter denied knowing Him three times. They hid behind locked doors "for fear of the Jews" (John 20:19). They were not expecting a resurrection. They were grieving a defeat.
Within weeks, those same men were standing in public in Jerusalem, boldly declaring that Jesus had risen. They endured threats, beatings and imprisonment. According to early church tradition, many of them died for their testimony.
People sometimes die for something they believe is true but is actually false. But the disciples were in a unique position: they were the ones who would have known whether they had seen the risen Jesus. People do not willingly suffer and die for what they know to be a lie.
The change in skeptics is also striking. James, the brother of Jesus, did not believe in Him during His ministry (John 7:5). Yet he became a leader of the church in Jerusalem. Paul, a determined persecutor of Christians, became its greatest missionary. Both point to a resurrection appearance as the reason (1 Corinthians 15:7–8).
Alternative Explanations
Over the centuries, people have proposed other explanations. Some suggest the disciples went to the wrong tomb, but the authorities could have pointed to the right one. Some propose that Jesus did not actually die, but Roman soldiers were experts at execution, and John records that a spear was thrust into His side (John 19:34). Some suggest hallucinations, but hallucinations are private experiences, and the appearances included groups of people, meals and conversations.
Each alternative explains one piece of the evidence and leaves others unexplained. The resurrection accounts for all of it.
Evidence and Faith
None of this means that faith is merely the conclusion of an argument. The evidence can clear away obstacles and show that belief is reasonable, but trust in Christ is ultimately a response to God's work in the heart. Jesus said to Thomas, "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed" (John 20:29).
Still, Christian faith is not a leap in the dark. It is trust grounded in what God has done in history. Luke wrote his Gospel to Theophilus, "That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed" (Luke 1:4).
If Jesus rose, then everything He said is true. Death has been defeated, sin can be forgiven and those who trust Him will rise too. "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept" (1 Corinthians 15:20). That is a hope worth defending.
