Did Jesus Rise?
The case for the resurrection in four steps, for a skeptic who'll weigh evidence.
Most of this rests on facts nearly all historians grant. Go in order: first what happened, then why the claim can't be a late legend, then the alternative theories, then what the Scriptures said beforehand.
The case
1. The facts nearly everyone grants
Ask
Can I lay out a few facts most historians accept, and you tell me your best explanation?
Read together
The point
Jesus died by crucifixion; his followers soon claimed he appeared to them, including skeptics like his brother James and the persecutor Paul; and they were changed from frightened to bold.
They'll say
People don't rise from the dead.
You can answer
Agreed, not naturally. The question is what best explains these facts.
Practise in the Study Hub
A13 People don't rise from the dead. The resurrection is a legend.
2. Too early to be a legend
Ask
Do you know what the earliest evidence is, and how early it's dated?
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The point
Paul quotes a creed he 'received', which scholars across the spectrum date to within a few years of the crucifixion, naming witnesses who were still alive.
They'll say
The story grew over decades.
You can answer
Legends need generations; this was being recited in Jerusalem within a few years.
Practise in the Study Hub
A28 The resurrection story grew over decades. By the time anyone wrote it down, it had turned into legend.
3. Not grief visions
Ask
Grief visions are real. Can we look at what a hallucination would have to explain?
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The point
Groups saw him, hostile and skeptical people saw him, 'raised' meant a body, and a vision can't empty a tomb in the city where he was buried.
They'll say
They were grieving and saw what they hoped to see.
You can answer
That explains one private experience, not groups, skeptics and a missing body together.
Practise in the Study Hub
A29 The disciples were sincere, but they were grieving and hallucinated. People see dead loved ones all the time.
4. Foretold in the Scriptures
Ask
If this happened, would you expect the Scriptures to point toward it?
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The point
Isaiah describes a servant who dies for others and then lives on, centuries beforehand; Psalm 16 says God's holy one won't see decay. Be honest that no verse names the third day outright.
They'll say
Christians read Jesus back into old texts.
You can answer
Some links are patterns, but Isaiah 53 is hard to read any other way. Who else fits it?
Practise in the Study Hub
A30 Christians just read Jesus back into the Old Testament. Those verses were about other things.