Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?

ByJerry Hudson

Most people have something positive to say about Jesus. They see him as a good teacher, a moral leader, or someone who cares for the poor. Even people who do not follow Christianity usually respect him.

But if we look at the historical records, calling him a nice person does not fit. Jesus claimed to be God. He told people he would die and rise again, and he said he was the only way to God. A standard moral teacher does not say these things. He was either telling the truth or he was completely delusional.

In this series, we are going to look at the central question: Did Jesus actually rise from the dead? We will look at this from a historical perspective, not a religious one.

What the Resurrection Settles

Some people view the resurrection as a religious belief that Christians accept and skeptics reject. But the implications are much larger. If Jesus rose from the dead, it answers three major questions.

First, does God exist? Resurrections do not happen naturally. If someone predicts their own death, and three days later their tomb is empty, and hundreds of people see them alive, it points to a power that controls life and death. Modern medicine still cannot raise the dead. If Jesus returned to life, the cause has to be supernatural.

Second, which religion is true? Other major religious figures did not claim to be God. Buddha pointed toward enlightenment, and Muhammad pointed toward Allah. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” He claimed to be the truth itself. He offered his resurrection as proof. If he actually rose, Christianity cannot be grouped with other religions.

Third, is there life after death? The most direct way to find out is to ask someone who died and came back. We are not talking about someone whose heart stopped for a minute. We are talking about someone who was confirmed dead, buried, and then walked around, ate food, and talked with people three days later. Jesus told his followers he was going to prepare a place for them. If he rose, that promise is reliable.

The Historical Evidence

The resurrection is not a matter of faith alone. It is a historical claim about whether an event occurred. Because of this, we can investigate it the same way historians study any other ancient event.

Sean McDowell teaches at Biola University. He notes that historical evidence for Christianity has grown stronger over the years. In the 1950s, his father, Josh McDowell, set out to disprove Christianity. He was not a believer. He sold his painting business, traveled, and researched ancient records to disprove the resurrection. He ended up writing Evidence That Demands a Verdict in 1972, which has sold millions of copies. He recently updated the book with Sean.

Many other lawyers, doctors, historians, and atheists have done the same research and reached the same conclusion. This does not prove the resurrection, but it shows the claim is worth investigating.

Your initial assumptions will affect how you view the facts. If you believe miracles are impossible, no amount of historical evidence will change your mind. You will reject the conclusion before looking at the details. A fair approach is to look at the evidence first and follow it to its conclusion.

The Upcoming Articles

In the next article, we will go over four historical facts about the death and resurrection of Jesus. Most skeptical scholars accept these facts, and any theory must account for them.

In the third article, we will examine common alternative theories. These include the ideas that Jesus did not die, that the disciples stole his body, or that the disciples hallucinated. Each theory sounds reasonable at first, but none holds up under scrutiny.

I wrestled with these questions myself. This is not a sales pitch for Christianity. I want to look at the evidence and see what it shows. Let’s start with what we know about the events.