Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead? Part 1: The Facts
Introduction
The short answer is this: Given just a few undisputed facts that all serious historians agree upon (including non-Christians), it’s almost impossible to believe any other explanation besides a real resurrection.
Of course, a problem for many people is that a resurrection would be a major miracle. But recall that if God exists, then miracles are possible. So if we’re sincerely open-minded and honestly seeking the truth, then we should allow any possibility on the table. To reject a miracle claim outright just reveals an anti-supernatural bias.
So what do we do? We simply do what thousands of judges and juries are doing every day. We investigate the resurrection claim like any other historical event, to see if the evidence is compelling.
Abductive Reasoning
We use abductive reasoning, or what’s called “inference to the best explanation.” First, we try to establish as many facts surrounding the event as possible. Then we look at different competing theories or stories of what could have happened. And we analyze each theory to see if any of them can explain all the facts.
We know that if a theory is the truth then all the known facts will easily fit that story. Said another way, if even one fact does not nicely fit into the theory, then that theory must be rejected.
A good illustration is a puzzle. The pieces of the puzzle are the facts, and will easily all fit together to complete the picture. The picture is the correct theory or story, and the truth of what happened.
An important point to remember is that as with any argument or discussion, the one defending the theory bears the burden of proof.
Establishing Facts
Historians use sophisticated methods to establish facts. First, they assemble all the available source material and assess reliability of each account. What they like to see are early accounts, eyewitness accounts, and as many of these as possible. Next, they identify likely facts, assigning levels of certainty in those facts based on a scale of, typically, one to seven.[1]
Finally, professional historians know that everyone is biased, including themselves, and they will try to account for that.
Now, what if we were to take on a research project for a whole year to see if we can identify any solid facts surrounding the resurrection? Well, I’m not a professional historian and you probably aren’t either. So, what if we found someone who can? What if we found someone who already has?
We can do much better than that. All of this has already been done.
The Work of Gary Habermas
Since 1975 Gary Habermas has studied over 3,400 published works on the resurrection, written by professional historians and scholars, to learn what they concluded. Then, he compiled a list of facts that they all tended to agree on.
Authors of these works include both Christians and non-Christians, along with some rather critical, unbelieving skeptics, so biases are neutralized. Also, the New Testament documents are considered simply on their own merit, like any other ancient documents. That is, they are not given any privileged position as the inspired word of God.
As a result of his study, Gary Habermas has concluded that there are at least 12 facts that almost all historians and scholars agree upon, including the most critical skeptics.[2] We will consider just 5 of these facts, since they are sufficient for our purposes. This is called the minimal facts approach.
It’s worth noting that historians have a wealth of source material on the resurrection, including 10 non-Christian, secular sources of the time. In all, we have 42 writers that mention Jesus within 150 years of his life.[3]
The Five Minimal Facts
Following are our 5 minimal facts.[4] Facts 1, 3, 4, and 5 are considered “historical bedrock.” This means that all serious historians and scholars accept these to be true. Fact 2, the empty tomb, is not quite in this category, but is still widely accepted by the vast majority of experts.
1. Jesus died by Roman crucifixion.
We see the crucifixion in all four gospel accounts as well as at least four non-Christian sources: Josephus, Tacitus, Lucian, and the Jewish Talmud.
2. The tomb was found empty just a few days later.
We see no evidence in any source material that a body was ever found. The empty tomb was proclaimed in Jerusalem where Jesus had been executed, so it could have been quickly proven false. We see accusations by enemies of Christianity that the disciples had stolen the body (Matthew 28:12-13, Justin Martyr, Tertullian). And we have the testimony of women, which is not likely to have been made up.
3. The disciples believed he rose from the dead and appeared to them.
We know the lives of the disciples were changed. At first they were confused and afraid, but later became bold because they were convinced that Jesus had risen from the grave.
4. James, the brother of Jesus and a skeptic, was converted due to what he believed was an appearance of the risen Jesus.
We see James’ conversion in the gospels, early creed reports, from Paul’s writings, and in Acts. We see his suffering and martyrdom in Josephus, Hegesippus (quoted at length by Eusebius), and Clement of Alexandria (also quoted by Eusebius).
5. Paul, an enemy, was converted due to what he believed was an appearance of the risen Jesus.
We see Paul’s conversion in his own writings as well as in Acts and in early oral traditions. We see his suffering, also in his own writings, and Luke. His martyrdom is seen in Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Tertullian (cited by Eusebius), Dionysius of Corinth, and Origen (also cited by Eusebius).
Next Steps
Next we will consider all of the possible theories of what could have happened, and check to see how the 5 facts fit each theory.
We’ll do that in Part 2, our next post.
[1]A good example of this process is found in Michael Licona, The Resurrection of Jesus, A New Historiographical Approach (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2010).
[2]Gary R. Habermas, The Historical Jesus, Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ (Joplin, MO: College Press, 1996), 158. The twelve facts are: (1) Jesus died by crucifixion. (2) He was buried. (3) Jesus’ death caused the disciples to despair and lose hope, believing that his life was ended. (4) The tomb was discovered empty just a few days later. (5) The disciples had experiences which they believed were literal appearances of the risen Jesus. (6) Because of these experiences, the disciples were transformed from doubters who were afraid to identify themselves with Jesus to bold proclaimers of his death and resurrection. (7) This message was the center of preaching in the early church. (8) The resurrection was especially proclaimed in Jerusalem, where Jesus died and was buried shortly before. (9) As a result, the church was born and grew. (10) Sunday became the primary day of worship. (10) James, who had been a skeptic, was converted when he also believed that he saw the resurrected Jesus. (12) A few years later, Paul was converted by an experience which he, likewise, believed to be an appearance of the risen Jesus.
[3]Gary R. Habermas and Michael R. Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregal, 2004), 233.
[4]Ibid., 221-225.
This is wonderful Greg! Of course, you know that I believe in miracles…because I had one!
Elaine