The Big Questions About Jesus 预览

Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?

The entire Christian faith stands or falls on whether Jesus did rise from the dead.

Contrary to what you may have thought before, the resurrection of Jesus is one of the best-attested events in ancient history. Historians are like lawyers. They look for evidence. However, unlike lawyers, historians can't put eyewitnesses up on the stand and cross-examine them. They have to weigh the historical record evidence and use circumstantial evidence to conclude what happened.

Circumstantial evidence isn't bad evidence. Various circumstantial evidence can come together to make a very strong case—so strong that in the USA, plenty of people have received a death sentence solely based on circumstantial evidence.

I once read a report by a law professor from an Australian state university. He argued there was sufficient circumstantial evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Jesus did rise from the dead.

Let's examine the historical evidence.

We have written eyewitness testimony; they are some of the most reliable testimonies of ancient history and some of the historical sources that are closest in time to the events they describe.

You can find this eyewitness evidence in the Bible, specifically in the New Testament. Against accusations of bias, you have to recognize that someone writes all historical sources and evaluates them on their merits. On their merits, the writers of the four gospels in the Bible stand as superior to all other written sources from ancient history.

Hundreds of people saw Jesus after his resurrection, and his appearance couldn't be denied. This is a key reason for the rapid rise of Christianity. While other religions were founded on myths and superstition, Christianity was based on abundant evidence.

In addition to the testimony of multiple eyewitnesses, we have the dramatic impact of Jesus' resurrection on subsequent history. Without the resurrection of Jesus, what had happened in the Roman empire in the first two centuries cannot be explained.

If ever a religion was set up to fail, it was Christianity. What did it offer that was attractive to the first-century mind? The idea that a criminal who had been executed on a cross was God? The claim that he had risen from the dead? The promise of the scorn of society, along with persecution and death? Ridiculous! What could a religion like that ever hope to succeed?

However, those early Christians triumphed and eventually conquered the empire itself, setting up the principle of modern civilization, which transformed the world as we know it today for the better. Right from the beginning, the evidence of Jesus' resurrection was so strong that many were willing to join this movement and even die for it.

As a student of ancient history, I am convinced there is more than enough evidence that Jesus rose from the dead. As a result, I'm one of the millions who have cast my lot in with the risen Saviour!

– Eliezer Gonzalez