The Resurrection
Why did Jesus need to die at the cross?
What would cause the Son of Man to do the unthinkable? What made Him give His life as a substitute for each of us? The death of Jesus is for every day of our lives, not just an event once a year at Easter.
The long and the short of it is you and me - more specifically our sin which has separated us from God. Jesus Christ paid the ultimate place of shedding His life to pay the price for our sin. At the cross, we witness both God's profound love but also the seriousness with which He regards our sin. God doesn't forgive us by turning a blind eye to our sin or by overlooking it. God being just, had to render justice (Rom 3:25–26) and the price was the sacrifice of Jesus. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood
Justice is getting what you deserve. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Grace is getting the blessings of what you don't deserve.
All three are fulfilled when you accept Jesus and put your faith in Him - He bears your punishment and you get mercy and grace!
The death of Jesus changes everything! It is my sincere hope that each of us comes to understand the profound sacrifice of Jesus Christ. God is real, He loves us and He desires a relationship with every one of us!
It is only through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross that we who repent are justified before God.
It is only through Christ's resurrection that we have victory over sin, guilt and death.
Is the Resurrection real?
The word 'resurrection' isn't merely the existence into which someone might (or might not) go immediately after death - it's the reversal of death! When the early Christians spoke of Jesus being raised from the dead, it was literal - throughout the ancient world something happened to Jesus that had never happened to anyone else! These appearances were not just mystical visions - Jesus ate with people, spoke with them and allowed them to touch His wounds. This is quite possibly the biggest thing that seals the credibility of Jesus. The resurrection testifies of Jesus' divine nature and confirms His victory over sin and death - hence the Apostle Paul clearly says that if Christ had not been raised from the dead, then nothing else matters: no hope, no future, nothing!
Because Jesus Christ was resurrected, you and I have hope for today, tomorrow and all eternity!
The Empty Tomb
The empty tomb is a symbol of hope, transformation and new life. The coming of Jesus from heaven, His crucifixion and His resurrection were prophesied hundreds of years before His birth. This often gets overlooked as evidence, even though it provides crucial testimony of Jesus' resurrection.
The empty tomb was not opened to allow Jesus out - He was spirit and could walk through walls (John 20:19-26)
It was opened so we could see in!
To set the scene, when Jesus was buried, Roman governor Pontius Pilate sealed with tomb with a 2-ton stone and then ordered guards to protect the tomb - not just one man, a 'guard' was a unit of sixteen armed soldiers. By Roman law, the punishment for quitting their post or falling asleep was death, so these men would be doing their job. In addition to this, the Jews also had Temple guards, placed in 24 stations about the gates and courts - a total of 240 Levites and 30 priests on duty every night. During the night, the captain of the Temple made his rounds and on his approach every guard had to rise and salute him. If any guard found asleep he was beaten, or his garments were set on fire. In fact, the Romans and Jewish priests did everything possible to prevent Jesus' resurrection.
Yet, despite these precautions, all of a sudden there was an earthquake, angels descended from heaven and rolled the stone not just out of the way of the entrance, but halfway up the mountain. The Roman guards see all of this unfolding and are terrified (Mat 28:4). What do they do now? All excuses lead to their death - they couldn't say someone broke the seal without them knowing, they couldn't say they fell asleep and they couldn't say Jesus rose from the dead and was raised up - that would be blasphemy! So they take a bribe from the jewish priests to falsely accuse the disciples of stealing the body. Think about it - how could twelve fishermen, possibly do this in front of all of these guards without alarming a single person? Why roll a 2 ton stone halfway up the mountain instead of just enough to get Jesus' body out? Would a full unit of armed Romans soldiers trained for battle really be fooled by timid Galilean fishermen, much less be overpowered by them (bear in mind that the disciples had a grand total of one sword between all of them)? It's simply not possible!
Not only was Jesus not in the tomb, but He moved around the region, taught people publicly for 30 days and there are over 500 eye witnesses accounts!
Roman historians
Let's say you dismiss the eyewitness accounts of the Jewish people, Jesus' followers, the New Testament, and what your Christian friends say. But can you really ignore what Roman and Syrian historians recorded? These weren't just ordinary men-they were legal experts and could think for themselves - Roman senators, and provincial governors. If anything, their testimony as hostile sources, is especially valuable and considered the most credible since they had no reason to favor Jesus or His followers.
The Romans were certainly no friends of Jesus Christ, or His followers - quite the opposite in fact! They scourged Jesus, gave Him a crown of thorns, mocked Him, crucified Him and later persecuted His followers the same way. And yet, their own historical records acknowledge Jesus Christ, the early church, and the surprising spread of Christianity.
If the resurrection of Jesus from the dead was not real, why was the message of Jesus spreading rapidly? Why were people willing to loose everything; be tortured and killed in such painful ways?
Jesus Christ - the ultimate Occam's Razor!
Flavius Josephus
Josephus, one of the most respected Roman historians of Judea, was born in 37 AD and died in 100 AD. Living shortly after Jesus and in the same region, his writings offer near eyewitness quality, offering insights into the era's cultural context. His major works, Jewish Antiquities and The Wars of the Jews, chronicle Hebrew history and the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the fall of Masada in 73 AD. With the backing of the Roman emperors (Vespasian, Titus and Domitian), Josephus had access to resources and was able to generate incredible detail in his records, far beyond what the Gospel writers (who lacked wealth) could achieve.
[63] Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. [64] And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.
Josephus also goes on to account the death of James, the brother of Jesus
Having such a character ['rash and daring' in the context], Ananias thought that with Festus dead and Albinus still on the way, he would have the proper opportunity. Convening the judges of the Sanhedrin, he brought before them the brother of Jesus who was called the Christ, whose name was James and certain others. He accused them of having transgressed the law and delivered them up to be stoned. But those of the city residents who were deemed the most fair-minded and who were strict in observing the law were offended at this. Accordingly, they secretly contacted the king [Herod Agrippa II], urging him to order Ananias to desist from any more such actions, for he had not been justified in what he had already done. Some of them even went to meet Albinus, who was on his way from Alexandria and informed him that Ananias had no authority to convene the Sanhedrin without his consent. Convinced by these words, Albinus wrote in anger to Ananias, threatening him with punishment. And King Agrippa, because of this, deposed him from the high priesthood, in which he had ruled for three months.
Another significant thing to note from Josephus' records is the destruction of Jerusalem in The Wars of the Jews, describing the 70 AD Temple siege, the plundering and burning of the Temple and the suffering that followed - famine, slaughter, slavery and then the Jewish exile from the Holy Land. Remarkably, his account aligns with Jesus' prophecy in Luke 21:5–38
Tacitus (Publius Cornelius Tacitus)
Tacitus, born in 56 AD, is widely regarded as one of Rome's greatest historians. He came from the wealthy aristocratic 'equestrian' class and rose to become a senator and consul. Tacitus trained in rhetoric and law and had the favour of Emperor Titus; and hence was granted access to imperial records and high-level sources, ensuring the accuracy of his work in meticulous detail.
In his Annals, he covers events from the death of Augustus to Nero's reign, Tacitus references Jesus while describing Nero's brutal persecution of early Christians. Importantly, there's no evidence of later tampering-his account stands as an authentic Roman record.
But all human efforts, all the lavish gifts of the emperor and the propitiations of the gods, did not banish the sinister belief that the conflagration was the result of an order. Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had it's origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus and a superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.
Tacitus' account aligns with the biblical record of Jesus' crucifixion under Pontius Pilate (Luke 23) and he notes the spread of Christianity - dismissed by him as a 'superstition' - in both Judea and Rome, likely due to claims of Jesus' resurrection.
Despite his strong anti-Semitic and anti-Christian views, Tacitus also confirms Jesus' prophecy in Luke 21:5–38 regarding the fall of the Jerusalem in 70 AD; even the miraculous which he couldn't explain! In his book The Histories, he vividly describes the 70 AD siege of Jerusalem under Emperor Titus - the famine, suffering, the city's capture and the burning of the Temple.
There had been seen hosts joining battle in the skies, the fiery gleam of arms, the temple illuminated by a sudden radiance from the clouds. The doors of the inner shrine were suddenly thrown open and a voice of more than mortal tone was heard to cry that the Gods were departing.
Suetonius (Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus)
Suetonius, born around 69 AD, was a Roman historian also from the equestrian class and he was a friend of Pliny the Younger. Like Tacitus, he is considered a hostile source to Christianity, which makes his references to Jesus all the more credible - if anything, his bias would lead him to downplay, not elevate, Jesus' significance.
Skeptical of Christians, whom he saw as crazy. Suetonius mentions Jesus in De Vita Caesarum (Lives of the Twelve Caesars), a work covering emperors from Julius Caesar who dies in 44 AD to Domitian who died in 96 AD. In his accounts of Emperors Claudius and Nero, he provides further historical context on early Christianity:
He banished from Rome all the Jews, who were continually making disturbances at the instigation of one Chrestus (anointed one)
The 'disturbances' were Jews who trying to reconcile Jesus' outrageous claims of divinity and the scandalous reports of his resurrection. Since the Jews couldn't agree, they were all expelled. We also find records of this in the New Testament:
After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them.
A sumptuary law was enacted. Public suppers were limited to the Sportulae; and victualling-houses restrained from selling any dressed victuals, except pulse and herbs, whereas before they sold all kinds of meat. He [Nero] likewise inflicted punishments on the Christians, a sort of people who held a new superstition
Pliny the Younger (Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus)
Pliny the Younger is another valuable Roman historical source for information on Jesus and the early Church. He was the governor of Bithynia and Pontus (modern day Turkey or Asia Minor as it is referred to in the New Testament) on the Black Sea coast of Anatolia. He was the representative of Emperor Trajan between 109 and 111 AD. He even writes to Emperor Trajan asking how he should deal with those in his region who are accused of being Christians. And in this letter he describes the practices of these 'criminals':
They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate and then reassemble to partake of food – but food of an ordinary and innocent kind.
... I believe it all the more necessary to find out the truth from two slave women, whom they call deaconesses, even by torture. I found nothing but immoderate superstition ...
The contagion of this superstition was spread not only through towns but also villages and even rural areas...
Emperor Trajan's response to Pliny makes it clear that being known as a 'Christian' was sufficient for judicial action i.e. execution, unless they recant their faith and worship the Roman gods.
It is believed that they hymns Pliny refers to are those quoted by Paul the Apostle in Phil 2:5-11. It is also clear that the followers of Christ were everywhere because of the impact of Jesus Christ and the eye witness accounts. In the case of the people in Asia Minor, they were not renouncing their faith in Christ even after torture and execution - if Jesus wasn't real and resurrected, why would they do that? Clearly they had nothing to gain; in fact they had everything to lose, be tortured and then executed and still they would not recant.
The Syrian - Mara bar Serapion
Mara bar Serapion was a philosopher from the Roman province of Syria. He is particularly noted as a source of truth for a letter he wrote to his son, approximately after 73 AD. The letter refers to the unjust treatment of three wise men - one of them being Jesus Christ.
What else can we say, when the wise are forcibly dragged off by tyrants, their wisdom is captured by insults, and their minds are oppressed and without defense? What advantage did the Athenians gain from murdering Socrates? Famine and plague came upon them as a punishment for their crime. What advantage did the men of Samos gain from burning Pythagoras? In a moment their land was covered with sand. What advantage did the Jews gain from executing their wise king? It was just after that their kingdom was abolished. God justly avenged these three wise men: the Athenians died of hunger; the Samians were overwhelmed by the sea and the Jews, desolate and driven from their own kingdom, live in complete dispersion. But Socrates is not dead, because of Plato; neither is Pythagoras, because of the statue of Juno; nor is the wise king, because of the "new law" he laid down
The Eye Witness accounts
The Bible records several eye witness accounts of people seeing Jesus alive after His resurrection. Some people claim these are fake because these aren't multiple individual written accounts. By that logic though, all of ancient history would be unreliable given that most common people couldn't read, write or document events - they were too poor to own things like this.
The truth is that most of the people and events known from ancient history are based on a few written accounts centuries after the events occurred - for the Egyptians, Syrians, Jews, Romans, Greeks and so on. Multiple accounts written within living memory are extremely rare. Many historical figures like Julius Caesar or Philip of Macedonia are known from a single source that appear much later. In fact, there's more historical evidence for Jesus of Nazareth than for Roman Emperor Tiberius - and they both lived at the same period in history!
There are multiple undisputed Roman references (see sections above) to Jesus written within 20 years of His crucifixion, including mentions of His brother, three named disciples, "the Twelve," and hundreds of followers. These accounts were written to third parties who personally knew the people involved, while many of them were still alive!
These accounts were not just story or legend, they are truth - they demonstrate the reality of Jesus' resurrection and His victory over death. That was the reason people were willing to be tortured and crucified, rather than recant their faith.
Even the Romans - who crucified Jesus - record His existence, death and resurrection. His followers spread across the empire, refusing to renounce their faith despite torture and execution. In Asia Minor and Rome, many were brutally killed or crucified, including being burned alive or fed to animals. If Jesus weren't real, what did they stand to gain by dying for Him?
Mary Magdalene
She witnessed the empty tomb and subsequently encountered the resurrected Jesus when she mistook Him for the gardener (Mark 16:9-11, John 20:11-18)
Other women
Several women, including those who were with Mary Magdalene, (Mat 28:9-10) seeing the resurrected Jesus.
Two disciples on the Emmaus road
They encountered Jesus in a different form and recognized him as the Messiah, as He broke bread with them (Mark 16:12-13, Luke 24:13-32)
His disciples
Jesus blessing His disciples before being taken up into heaven (Acts 1:9-11, Luke 24:50-51)
Simon Peter
The apostle Peter was one of the first individuals to whom Jesus appeared after his resurrection (Luke 24:34, 1 Cor 15:5)
James
Jesus also appeared to James, His brother, who initially doubted his claims (1 Cor 15:7)
Apostle Paul
Paul himself saw the resurrected Jesus (1 Cor 15:8), which radically changed his life - he went from hating and persecuting followers of Christ; to becoming one himself - suffering beatings, stoning, imprisonment and ultimately death for his faith. Why? He met the resurrected Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus! Paul willingly gave up power, wealth and status as a Roman citizen to follow Jesus Christ!
He also strengthens Jesus's historical credibility - naming Jesus's family, quoting Him, referencing the crucifixion, burial, the last supper and meeting His disciples and brother James. If Jesus wasn't real, why would His followers be active across the empire? Paul didn't gain money or fame - only hardship and that in no small portion! The simplest explanation? Jesus rose from the dead and Paul's life proved it.
More than 500 people:
Paul mentions in 1 Cor 15:3-8 that Jesus appeared to more than 500 people at one time. There is also Acts 2:32, 4:19-20, and 10:39-40
There are multiple sources verifying the claim of 500 witnesses - documents from the apostolic period by people outside the faith written to third parties (in this case Roman governors and Emperors, no less) For this to be fabricated, it would require an enormous, well-coordinated conspiracy involving people pretending to be Jesus's relatives and disciples, lying to intentionally create conflicting accounts and add details that worked against the core message; all while facing brutal persecution and death for their beliefs.
If it was all for wealth or power, why did they give everything away and willingly face torture and execution? So, you're left with two options:
- Either hundreds of people devised and maintained the most unlikely and self-destructive hoax in history, fooling opponents and eyewitnesses alike, including people who were alive and living in the same towns where Jesus supposedly drew giant crowds of people
- Or there really was a preacher named Jesus who lived, died and rose again.
You decide.
In Summary
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not only the cornerstone of Christian faith - it is also one of the most scrutinized events in ancient history. In short, multiple sources that conform to all of the usual checks and balances applied to historical accounts.
The Roman sources affirm key background facts that Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate, that His followers worshiped Him as divine and that the movement grew rapidly despite persecution. These statements confirm the historical framework within which the resurrection was proclaimed.
The Gospels unanimously report that Jesus' tomb was found empty by women followers - an embarrassing detail in a patriarchal culture where women's testimonies were undervalued. This lends credibility to the account, as it is unlikely to have been fabricated. Moreover, the tomb's emptiness was not disputed by the Jewish or Roman authorities, who instead claimed the body had been stolen - an admission that the tomb was indeed vacant.
Within weeks of the crucifixion, the apostles were proclaiming the resurrection in Jerusalem - the very place where Jesus had been publicly executed and buried. The Acts of the Apostles and Paul's letters cite hundreds of eyewitnesses, some of whom were still alive when the texts were written, inviting readers to verify the claims. The early church's explosive growth, in the face of martyrdom and without political or military backing, is extremely difficult to explain without a genuine, transformative event at it's core. Nearly all of the apostles, and countless early Christians, were willing to suffer and die for their proclamation that Jesus rose from the dead - not for a belief inherited or coerced, but for a firsthand claim they refused to recant. People may die for a lie they believe is true, but not for a lie they know is false. Their courage is strong evidence that they genuinely encountered the risen Christ.
The Gospels and Acts are filled with undesigned coincidences - details that fit together across texts like puzzle pieces, but which would be difficult to plan in a forgery. The documents reflect accurate 1st century cultural knowledge, local geography and authentic personal names, even though they were written after the fall of Jerusalem and under Roman pressure. These factors support their historical reliability.
From the empty tomb and early, eyewitness proclamation, to the willingness of the apostles to die and the coherent, authentic literary evidence, the resurrection stands not merely as a theological doctrine - but as a historically anchored event. When held to the same rigorous standards used to verify other ancient events, the resurrection of Jesus emerges not as myth, but as the best explanation for the birth of Christianity and the enduring hope it proclaims.
To me, the evidence is clear. I also understand that it's not that way for everyone. So I'd ask you to stay humble and pursue truth where it leads you even if you don't like it. Truth is not mine or yours - it's truth for everyone and that's what makes it truth. Follow truth!