Christianity stands or falls on the bodily, physical resurrection of Jesus Christ. If Jesus didn't rise from the dead, Christianity is false. If the disciples only had a 'spiritual experience' of Jesus' presence, but Jesus didn't raise bodily from the dead, Christianity is false. St Paul, one of the early leaders of the church, says this in one of his letters:
And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Corinthians 15:14-19, italics mine)
The first witnesses to the resurrection didn't need much faith to believe- Jesus stood in front of them, even if it took some of them (see John 20:24-29) a closer investigation to be convinced. For countless millions since, belief in Jesus' resurrection takes faith. It's not a wild leap in the dark, but it's still a step. That said, there are many reasons to suggest that Jesus’ resurrection is a historically reliable fact. Here are 5 of them. Look at the evidence for yourself.
1: Jesus was definitely dead. The Romans were expert executioners; the soldiers in charge of killing Jesus would have faced the most severe penalties if Jesus hadn't died. Moreover, John's Gospel (19:34) attests that when the soldiers went to check Jesus was dead, they pierced his side, and 'blood and water flowed out. The people writing it at the time did not realize this, but this is a medical sign that Jesus' dead body was already breaking down; his blood was separating into layers of heavier red blood cells and light, watery plasma.
2: The First Eyewitnesses were Women. The first eyewitnesses of the resurrection were women. All the Gospels note that the first people to discover the tomb empty were women. Women were not held in high esteem; in this culture, a woman’s testimony was not admissible in court. In Jewish circles, it took the testimony of two women to equate that of one man. If one were to invent a story, the last people one would place as the first witnesses would have been women- unless it were otherwise true.
3: Nobody could produce Jesus' dead body. If Jesus' enemies had taken Jesus' body from the tomb, they could have silenced all the reports of Jesus' resurrection by producing it. It would have been in their interests to do so. But at no point do the religious or political authorities produce a body, or even suggest there is one.
4: Post-death Appearances. Numerous accounts affirm that people had intimate, face to face encounters at various times and places with Jesus Christ after his death on the cross. Witnesses claimed to have seen, heard, and touched the resurrected Christ. These physical appearances were reported soon after the actual encounters and cannot reasonably be dismissed as mythical or psychological in nature. A mass collusion (‘let’s pretend we all saw him!’) on that scale would only have taken one person to speak out and the whole claim would have crumbled. This is also why conspiracy theories about the moon landings are highly unlikely to be true!
5: The Transformation of the Disciples. The Book of Acts describes a dramatic and enduring transformation of the eleven apostles (and various other members of the church) from being terrified and defeated immediately after Jesus’ crucifixion into courageous preachers and, eventually, martyrs. Such radical and extensive change deserves an adequate explanation; people will not transform like that for something they know to be a lie.
Assuming you find this convincing, what will you do with this? When Jesus resuscitated his friend Lazarus, Jesus said to Lazarus' sister, Martha:
“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” (John 11:25-27)
The resurrection of Jesus, requires a decision; Martha chose to trust Jesus with her life. Will you?
The Incredulity of Saint Thomas by the Italian Baroque Master Caravaggio
