As a child, I learned many grandiose stories about our religious holidays. I learned that a man from Spain could ride a white horse across the rooftops. His Black Petes would climb down the chimneys to give presents to good girls and boys at Christmas. I learned about the Easter Bunny who brought eggs and chocolate eggs to the same good girls and boys at Easter. As I grew older, I realized these stories were funny, but not really true—I can look back on them with a smile—but I was getting too old for them.
I also learned other “stories” about religious holidays. These stories involved shepherds and angels, wise men following a star, and a baby born in a manger—stories that form the basis for Christmas. Perhaps the most dramatic was the story of Jesus dying on a cross, only to rise again three days later—stories that form the basis for Easter.
The second series seems more fantastical than the first. The question I had when I grew older and realized the earlier stories weren’t “really” true: How do I know the others are really true? After all, all the stories were interwoven with religious festivals; they both inspire wonder—and are equally incredible! The most incredible seems the Easter story, which claims that three days after his death, Jesus underwent a bodily resurrection and thus came to life. This is probably the most incredible story of all religions, ready for a tabloid headline: Dead man rises from the dead. Could it be true? Was there reasonable evidence to support it?
These may be very difficult questions to answer. But it’s certainly worth considering because it affects our own lives. After all, the brightest, strongest, most powerful of us die in the end, and the same goes for us. If someone has died, there are consequences that demand our attention. Let me briefly share what I’ve learned by studying and reflecting on this question.
Historical Background, up to and including Jesus – outside the Bible.
Probably the best way to answer the question is to work through all the possibilities and see which of the alternatives makes the most sense—without resorting to “faith” or supernatural explanation. The fact that Jesus lived and suffered a public death, changing the course of history, is certain. One doesn’t need to go directly to the Bible to establish this. There are several references to Jesus and his influence on the world today, in secular history. Let’s look at two sources. The Roman governor-historian Tacitus made a fascinating reference to Jesus when describing how Nero tortured first-century Christians (in AD 65) as scapegoats for the fires in Rome. The following is what he said, written in AD 112:
‘Nero punished the persons called Christians with the most exquisite ill-treatment. They were hated for their excesses. Christus, from whom the name comes, had been condemned to death by Pontius Pilate, who was procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius; but the pernicious superstition, being repressed for a time, broke out again, not only in Judea, where the wantonness began, but throughout the city of Rome and the whole empire. Tacitus: Annals XV. 44
What’s so interesting is that with this observation, Tacitus confirms that Jesus: 1) was a historical person; 2) that he was put to death by Pontius Pilate; 3) that around 65 AD (the time of Nero), the Christian faith had spread from Judea to Rome across the Mediterranean with such intensity that the Emperor of Rome felt compelled to do something about it. Cornelius Tacitus says these things as a hostile witness, because he characterized the movement Jesus started as a “malignant superstition.”
Josephus was a Jewish military leader/historian who wrote for the Romans. In his writings, he recounted Jewish history from its beginnings to his own time. Through his writings, he described the time of Jesus, with these words:
“Now there lived a wise man…Jesus…good and…virtuous. And many people, both Jews and people of other countries, became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified. And those who had become his disciples continued in their discipleship. They brought back a report that after three days he, Jesus, appeared to them and was alive again. Josephus. 90 AD. Antiquities xviii. 33
From what we see in the past, the death of Christ was common knowledge. The resurrection was forced upon the Romans by the apostles.
Historical Background – of the Bible.
Luke, a physician and historian, gives us more insight into how this faith grew in the ancient world. Here is an excerpt from the Acts of the Apostles:
‘The priests and the officials… came to Peter and John… They were deeply troubled, because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus… They seized Peter and John… and threw them into prison… When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and common men, they were astonished… “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked.’ Acts of the Apostles: 4:1-16 (63 AD)
“Then the high priest and his companions… arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison… They were enraged and wanted to kill them… They summoned the apostles and flogged them. Then they were ordered not to speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go.” Acts 5:17-40
This story demonstrates that the civic leaders took considerable measures to stop this “malicious superstition” (as Tactitus called it). We must also remember that these events took place in Jerusalem—the same city where, just a few weeks earlier, Jesus had been publicly killed and buried.
Could it be that Jesus’ body remained in the tomb?
After considering all the historical data, we can work through the possible claims of Christ’s resurrection. To begin, there are only two possibilities regarding Christ’s dead body. Either the tomb was empty on Easter morning, or the body was still there. These are the only alternatives—there are no other possibilities.
Let’s assume the body was still in the tomb. Looking back at the historically recorded events, we are quickly confronted with difficulties. Why would the Roman and Jewish leaders in Jerusalem take such extreme measures to stop the exaggerations of a so-called resurrection, if the body was still in the tomb, right where the disciples (apostles) proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus? If I were one of those leaders, I would have waited until the disciples had reached the climax of their speech regarding the resurrection and then publicly paraded the body of Christ. That would have crushed the fledgling movement without imprisoning, torturing, and killing them! And consider this—thousands were converted to the belief in the bodily resurrection of Jesus in Jerusalem at that time. If I had been in one of those crowds—listening to Peter, pondering and wondering if I could believe this incredible message—(after all, this belief came with the price of persecution) I would have at least gone to the tomb during my lunch break to see for myself if the body of Christ was still there. And if the body of Christ were still in the tomb, no one would ever have joined such a hostile environment when there was such damning evidence to the contrary. Now, Christ’s body remaining in the tomb would be considered absurd. This alternative cannot be taken seriously.
Had the apostles stolen the body?
Of course, this doesn’t prove the resurrection—there are other good explanations for an empty tomb. However, any explanation for the body’s absence must also account for these details: the Roman seal over the tomb, the Roman guarding of the tomb, the large (1-2 tom) stone blocking the entrance, the 40kg of embalming media on the body, and so on; the list is extensive. Space doesn’t allow us to consider all the factors and scenarios, but the most widely considered explanation has always been that the disciples themselves stole the body from the tomb and then hid it, thereby misleading others.
Let’s imagine the following scenario, avoiding an argument about the difficulties of explaining how a group of discouraged disciples escaped arrest after Jesus’ arrest. How they reassembled and formed a plan to steal the body and thus outsmart the Roman guard. They broke the seal, moved the large stone, and took the embalmed body—all without a trace. Let’s assume they succeeded and then, on the world stage, started a new religious faith based on a lie. Many of us assume that what motivated the first apostles was to proclaim love and brotherhood—and the death of Christ (spiritual and metaphorical) was the catalyst for this message. But if you look back at what both Luke and Josephus discuss, you see that the argumentative point was “the apostles taught the people and proclaimed Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.” This theme dominates their writings. For Paul, another apostle, the resurrection was of the utmost importance:
First of all, then, I delivered to you what I also received: that Christ died for our sins…was buried, and rose again the third day…that he appeared to Peter, then to the twelve… And if Christ has not risen, then our preaching is vain, and your faith is vain… If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied… If I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus for human reasons only, what profit is it to me, if the dead are not raised? Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die… 1 Corinthians 15:3-32 (57 AD)
It’s clear that the disciples’ primary focus in their confession of faith and testimony was the resurrection of Jesus. Let’s assume this was truly deceptive—that the disciples had indeed stolen the body so that counterevidence to their new teaching couldn’t stop them. Perhaps they could have fooled the world, but they themselves would have known that what they preached, wrote, and what caused such a great uproar was a lie. Nevertheless, they gave their lives (literally) for this mission. Why would they do that—if they knew its foundation was a lie? People give their lives to movements (whether worthy or not) because they believe in the movement they’re fighting for, because they hope to gain something from it. Look at the suicide bombers in the Middle East. That is surely the greatest modern example of devotion to a movement—the culmination of which is their own death and the death of others. Now, we may not agree with their movement—but they truly believe in it and that they will go to paradise after death as a reward. They go to extremes because they believe so strongly that it becomes their reward. Just as this belief is probably not true—but they themselves believe it—otherwise they wouldn’t do such a drastic thing. The difference between the suicide bombers and the first disciples is that the suicide bombers cannot verify whether their belief is true, while Jesus’ disciples could. If they had stolen and hidden the body, they surely knew the resurrection wasn’t true. Consider, based on their own words, the price they paid for spreading the message—and ask yourself if you would pay such a personal price for something you know to be false:
We are pressed on every side…we see no way out, but we are never at our wits’ end. We are hunted, but not forsaken…Our lives are continually delivered over to death…Even though we perish, according to the outward man…hardships…need and misery…beatings, imprisonments, riots, fatigue, lack of sleep, lack of food…mourning…destitute…Habitual… Five times I received forty stripes minus one from the Jews, three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned. Three times I suffered shipwreck, I spent a whole day and a day in the open sea…dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people and from the Gentiles, in the city and in the wilderness…with toil and anxiety, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, and often going without food…in cold and nakedness. There is no one who is weak, but I am one. 2 Corinthians 4:8–6:10; 11:24-29
The more I consider the resolute heroism of all their lives (not one succumbed to it, and none gave in, until the bitter end), the more I find it incredible that they didn’t truly believe in their message. And even if they did, they certainly wouldn’t have stolen and thrown away the body of Christ themselves. One of the greatest criminal defense attorneys who taught Harvard students how to find weaknesses in witnesses said the following on this subject:
“The annals of military wars can afford us no instance of heroic constancy, patience, and stalwart courage. They had every possible motive to weigh carefully the grounds of their faith, and the evidence of the great facts and truths which they claimed.” Greenleaf. 1874. An Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence Administered in the Courts of Justice. p. 29
Related to this is the fact that the disciples’ enemies, Jews and Romans, said nothing. These hostile witnesses never seriously attempted to tell the “true” story, to show that the disciples were wrong. As Dr. Montgomery says,
“This underscores the reliability of the testimony to Christ’s resurrection, which was presented contemporaneously in the synagogues—in the teeth of opposition, among hostile cross-examiners who would certainly have destroyed the case… had the facts been otherwise.” Montgomery. 1975. Legal Reasoning and Christian Apologetics. pp. 88-89
In this short study, we haven’t yet had time to consider every facet of this question. However, the unwavering boldness of the disciples and the silence of the conflicting witnesses speak volumes about the possibility that Christ may indeed have risen. It is worthy of serious and thoughtful investigation. The resurrection is the culmination of the Gospel. To reflect more deeply on the resurrection, it’s helpful to consider it in a biblical context. A good place to begin is with the signs of Abraham and Moses. Even though they lived thousands of years before Christ, their experiences were prophetic of Jesus’ death and resurrection.