It is crucial to think through the resurrection of Jesus Christ as a fundamental aspect of the Christian faith. Without the resurrection, the Christian’s “faith is worthless” (1 Cor 15:17). This has vast implications, considering the past 2000 years of Christianity and its dependence on the resurrection. The resurrection of Christ has never been considered a minor issue. It is not something that has only recently been questioned. The implications of the resurrection were significant from the very beginning. In 1 Cor 15:12-19, Paul wrote to the Corinthians to present logical arguments about the resurrection of Christ that we must consider. Paul addresses the denial of bodily resurrection and its implications on the faith. He says, “For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised” (1 Cor 15:16). Christ’s resurrection is so fundamental to the faith that he says, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins” (1 Cor 15:17). There is no Christianity without the resurrection. Christ’s resurrection proved the acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. It justified us into a new life by removing our sins (Rom 4:5, Gal 6:4, Gal 2:20). Because of Christ’s resurrection, we are assured of our bodily resurrection (Rom 8:11). To be a Christian is to believe in bodily resurrection. While faith is required to believe in the resurrection (John 20:29, 1 Pet 1:8), blind faith is unnecessary, as reliable evidence proves the resurrection occurred. This paper will present evidence for the resurrection surrounding the Scriptures and the early church to prove that the resurrection did happen.
The primary evidence for the resurrection is the testament of the Scriptures. One question that arises when referencing the Scriptures is whether they can be trusted as reliable. This topic has been widely researched and documented, so this paper will only briefly address this question. The reliability of Scripture has been under constant questioning and attack, but the evidence for its historical reliability is abundant. The differences are astounding when the manuscripts of the Scriptures are compared to the available manuscripts of other ancient works. Many existing papyrus fragments were written within 100 years of the autographs. There are 5,795 existing Greek manuscripts containing part or all of the NT.1 Codex Sinaiticus, dated 350 AD, contains the entire NT.2 The earliest available manuscripts for the average classical author are four hundred to one thousand years later than the original writings. Extant New Testament manuscripts were written within forty years of the autographs.3 Out of this abundance of evidence, the accuracy and reliability of Scripture can be trusted.
The appearances Christ made after His resurrection are one proof of the resurrection. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he lists the people Christ appeared to. He lists Peter, the twelve, more than five hundred at one time, James, the apostles, and himself. These witnesses stood as a living testimony at the time of his writing to the resurrection (1 Cor 15:8). Paul tells them, “He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now” (1 Cor 15:6). Paul is letting the Corinthians know that most of the five hundred people Christ appeared to are still alive. His argument for the resurrection is not limited to his testimony, but he is appealing to the many still alive who can attest to seeing Christ resurrected. These witnesses were alive and available to authenticate his claims.
When considering the resurrection, one of the defining factors is the empty tomb. The argument for the resurrection starts with the confirmed death and placement of Jesus’s body in the tomb. History tells us that the Roman crucifixion was a guaranteed, certified death. To assume that Jesus did not actually die or that the resurrected Jesus was merely a resuscitated Jesus is to ignore the magnitude of Roman crucifixion. When you consider the involved parties surrounding Christ’s crucifixion and burial, the Scriptural account of the empty tomb is consistent. Scripture tells us the chief priests and Pharisees anticipated the disciples attempting to remove Jesus’s body from the tomb, so they went to Pilate to ask for Roman protection of the tomb (Matt 27:62-64). Pilate ordered a Roman soldier to guard the tomb and a seal to be placed on it (Matt 27:65-66). Matthew tells us that Roman guards (plural) were still at the tomb when the stone was rolled away (Matt 28:4). It was at this point that the tomb was discovered to be empty (Matt 28:6, Luke 24:3). If Jesus’s body was stolen, it would have had to have been by the Romans or the Jewish leaders that employed the Roman guard. In light of the persecution and hatred seen in Acts toward the ministry of the apostles and the early church, if a party in opposition to the Christians had the body of Jesus, they could have presented the body and ended Christianity from the start. Also, the Gospel accounts show that the disciples were not expecting the resurrection or seeing Jesus again (Matt 28:17, Luke 24:37-41, John 20:19-29). The evidence surrounding the empty tomb is proof of the resurrection.
Lastly, the main proof of the resurrection is found in the lives of the disciples and the early church. As mentioned above, Jesus’s disciples and followers were not expecting the resurrection. They had prepared Jesus’s body for a typical burial (Luke 23:53-24:1). But after the resurrection and Jesus’s appearances, there was a dramatic change in everyone’s lives. Peter went from denying knowing Jesus to servant girls before the crucifixion (Matt 26:69-75) to standing before a hostile Sanhedrin and proclaiming the resurrected Christ (Acts 4:10). Luke notes the boldness of Peter and John before the Sanhedrin and that having “perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished” (Acts 4:13). Thousands of people were coming to believe the testimony of Jesus’s resurrection (Acts 2:41, 4:4, 6:7). Gamaliel, a respected Pharisee, advised the Sanhedrin that this movement would die out like others before it if it were not of God (Acts 5:34-39). However, the movement grew, and the believers’ boldness and fortitude grew. Stephen testified before the Sanhedrin and was stoned (Acts 7:1-60), causing the believers to scatter (Acts 8:1). Saul (Paul) was “ravaging the church” and putting Christians in prison (Acts 8:3). Yet, they continued to preach the resurrection of Christ (Acts 8:4). As discussed earlier, this was a time when witnesses to the resurrection were alive. If anyone doubted the resurrection in light of the persecution they were facing, there were resurrection witnesses who could testify. As Gamaliel said, if there were no truth behind the movement, there would be no reason to stand for a lie and face persecution, even death. The believers gathered, prayed, and multiplied, establishing the church and observing Sunday as a new gathering day in remembrance of the resurrection (John 20:26, Acts 20:7, 1 Cor 16:2). This new church included Jews who were not only now gathering with Gentiles but were also leaving behind the Saturday Sabbath and Judaism. This establishment of Sunday as the gathering day and the church is a testimony to the truthfulness of the resurrection. Another testimony that must be considered is Paul’s (Acts 9:1-22). He went from arresting believers to immediately proclaiming in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God after encountering the resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus. The immediate change in Paul confused Jews and Christians (Acts 9:13, 21-23, 26). In Phil 3:4-11, Paul explains that he “suffered the loss of all things” because of the resurrection of Christ. As first discussed, the resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of the Christian faith. When we consider all the evidence, we can have confidence in the truthfulness of the resurrection. Knowing its truth, we must decide where to put our faith.
- Jones, Clay. “The Bibliographical Test Updated.” Christian Research Institute. April 12, 2023. Accessed May 20, 2023. https://www.equip.org/articles/the-bibliographical-test-updated/. ↩︎
- Köstenberger, Andreas J., Leonard Scott Kellum, and Charles L. Quarles. The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament. B&H Publishing Group, 2009, 36. ↩︎
- Jones, Clay. “The Bibliographical Test Updated.” Christian Research Institute. April 12, 2023. Accessed May 20, 2023. https://www.equip.org/articles/the-bibliographical-test-updated/. ↩︎
