Resurrection Evidence: 5 Reasons to Believe that Jesus Really Rose

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#1 Jesus Certainly Died on the Cross

Over the years, some have thought that Jesus only faked his death on the cross, swooning in order to make it appear as if he died. This is completely implausible. The Romans were efficient, trained executioners. They made sure Jesus was dead. There is no way he could have survived his flogging, his crucifixion, and the wound from the spear that pierced his side. Jesus died.

#2 The Testimony of the Female Disciples

The gospel accounts tell us that some of Jesus’s female followers were the first to find the empty tomb. This is a remarkable historical detail because in the first century, Jewish women were viewed as second-class citizens and their testimony was generally unacceptable. If you were creating a story about the resurrection of Jesus, you would have someone like Peter, James, or John find the empty tomb, not a group of women. The only reason this detail is in the Bible is that it reflects what actually happened. If the story were made-up, it would make more sense to have chosen a “reliable” witness.

#3 The Testimony of Eyewitnesses

After the resurrection, many people saw Jesus. If only one or two people claimed to see the risen Jesus, then perhaps we might think that they were fabricating the story. But the evidence shows us that Jesus appeared to hundreds. According to 1 Corinthians 15:5-8, Jesus appeared to the twelve disciples, a group of over five hundred followers at one time, Jesus’s brother James, all the apostles, and finally Paul.

#4 The Changed Lives of the Disciples

Before the crucifixion, the disciples were living in fear, hiding behind closed doors. In an instant, they were turned into a group of fearless people who offered themselves as public witnesses for the message of Jesus. They stayed strong in the face of opposition and imprisonment. Their number grew from a handful of faithful men and women in Jerusalem to a worldwide movement that went beyond the Roman Empire. What accounts for this change in their lives? The resurrection. The disciples were willing to die not for what they believed, but for what they knew to be true because they had seen it themselves. Jesus’s disciples died for the message of the resurrection because they knew Jesus had been raised from the dead.

#5 The Empty Tomb

If the Romans or any of Jesus’s opponents wanted to put a stop to the spread of Christianity, there was one simple solution: produce Jesus’s body. This would have shown everyone that the resurrection was untrue. But, of course, no one could produce Jesus’s body. It was gone. It couldn’t have been stolen because the Romans guarded the tomb and it was closed with a large stone. The only plausible explanation is that the tomb is empty because Jesus rose from the dead.