Were the disciples hallucinating when they met Jesus after his crucifixion? Do psychiatric disorders explain the disciples’ belief in Jesus’s resurrection?

The resurrection of Jesus to bodily life after death by crucifixion is a foundational belief of orthodox Christianity. All of Jesus’s friends watched his ignominious and grisly death (Luke 23:49). Jesus’s disciples and many of his friends met him after his resurrection, too many to easily explain away (1 Cor. 15:3­–8). The disciples unanimously believed Jesus had resurrected. Could their belief in Jesus’s resurrection be the after-effect of hallucinations?

As a naturalistic alternative for the biblical accounts of the resurrection, some skeptical scholars propose that the disciples’ post-crucifixion meetings with Jesus were actually various kinds of hallucinatory psychological phenomena. Collectively, such explanations have become known as the hallucination hypothesis for Jesus’s resurrection.

The hallucination hypothesis has significant medical implications yet its main proponents are critical New Testament scholars, not physicians. Consequently, books and articles advocating the hallucination hypothesis have not been subjected to the specialized readership of medical peer review. As the majority of proponents of the hallucination hypothesis are outside the disciplines of medical education and healthcare practice, an examination of the hallucination hypothesis from a medical perspective certainly seems warranted.

What Are Hallucinations?

A hallucination is an experience involving one or more of the five senses in the absence of external stimuli that the conscious mind perceives as real.[1] Most proponents of the hallucination hypothesis overlook the fact that hallucinations are symptoms of an underlying illness. Hallucinations generally arise from three disease categories: (1) psychophysiological causes related to an alteration of function or structure in the brain (a brain tumor, for example); (2) psychobiochemical causes due to alteration of chemical neurotransmitters within the brain (for example, delirium tremens in alcohol withdrawal); or (3) psychodynamic causes, namely the intrusion of psychiatric illness into the conscious mind.[2]

But could Jesus’s disciples have all simultaneously suffered severe medical or psychiatric illness? This contention defies reason and probability. In Jesus’s time people with psychiatric illness were ostracized and considered incompetent or demonized.[3] Could a group of people with uncontrolled psychiatric illness have deployed such a rapid and successful expansion of Christianity in the first century? This hardly seems plausible.

It must not be overlooked that hallucinations are private experiences occurring only in the milieu of the individual’s brain.[4] No two hallucinations are identical from person to person. As such, the hallucination hypothesis offers no explanation for group encounters with the resurrected Jesus.

Mass Hysteria

Does mass hysteria explain group meetings of the disciples with the resurrected Jesus? In modern medical parlance, mass hysteria is more precisely termed mass sociogenic illness. This condition describes individuals within a group who have similar simultaneous collective psychological experiences, even visionary experiences in rare cases. The group dynamic is characterized by a heightened sense of social excitement in the context of unique cultural or social expectation.[5] But Jesus’s disciples don’t fit that profile. They weren’t expecting his resurrection. They were frightened and in hiding (John 20:19).

It is noteworthy that no two persons in a group experiencing mass sociogenic illness have identical visual hallucinations.[6] This is not surprising since hallucinations are private experiences within the individual’s mind. Thus, mass sociogenic illness fails to offer a plausible explanation for group meetings of the disciples with the resurrected Jesus.

Conversion Disorder

In Freudian psychoanalysis, subconscious conflicts are sometimes “converted” into neurological symptoms, hence the term conversion disorder.[7] Conversion disorder symptoms can be profound and can include blindness or paralysis. Symptoms are psychiatric, however, and lack identifiable pathophysiological causation.[8]

Conversion disorder is twice as likely to affect women than men and is often associated with other psychological comorbidities. It results from a psychologically painful experience. For example, a mother who finds her child has drowned may become blind. People with conversion disorder show a peculiar lack of distress about their condition, a demeanor sometimes called la belle indifference. Nevertheless, conversion disorder has a generally positive prognosis. Neurological symptoms most often subside in days to a few weeks.[9]

According to psychologist Carl Jung, the apostle Paul had subconsciously been a Christian for some time but had repressed his true faith until it broke into his conscious mind, manifesting in a vision of Jesus followed by psychogenic (psychological-in-origin) blindness. Jung believed that Paul’s transient blindness after his Damascus road experience with Jesus (Acts 9:3–9) was a conversion disorder.[10]

Jung’s idea that Paul simultaneously experienced visual hallucinations and conversion disorder is antiquated. Visual hallucinations are not part of the current clinical pathognomy of conversion disorder.[11] To propose that Paul had hallucinations and conversion disorder would require dual diagnoses.

Also, Paul doesn’t fit the profile of someone suffering from conversion disorder. He had no misgivings or psychological turmoil about persecuting Christians (Gal. 1:13–14). And he was a rising star in the Hebrew religious world of his day (Phil. 3:4–6, Gal. 1:14). Had Paul merely experienced a conversion disorder, it would be expected that he would resume his usual life activities once the symptoms had subsided.

Even skeptical scholars concede that Paul believed Jesus appeared to him bodily.[12] This would be a peculiar lifelong belief had he merely experienced a conversion disorder. Paul made a lasting 180-degree change after he met Jesus. He became the most prolific proponent of Christianity to the Gentile world in his time, despite severe persecution and eventual martyrdom. He relentlessly preached of Jesus’s messiahship and resurrection from the dead.[13] Paul’s radical, enduring change, prolific doctrinal writing, and Christian advocacy are inconsistent with the proposition that he experienced conversion disorder.

Bereavement

Hallucinatory symptoms during bereavement are common, most often experienced by a widowed spouse. Unlike hallucinations, bereavement experiences are psychologically mediated but are not considered pathological (related to disease). The most common experience is a sense of closeness with the deceased.[14] Auditory and visual experiences can occur but are less common.

The rarest type of bereavement experience is visual apparitions. Visual experiences are reported to range from 4% or less but up to 10.8% in spouses suffering severe grief.[15] Visual apparitions are typically noninteractive. Attempting to interact with an apparition causes it to disappear.[16] Visual bereavement experiences would be doubly atypical among friends and disciples. Grieving the loss of a friend and mentor is dissimilar to the grief a widowed spouse may experience.

A widowed spouse is typically reluctant to disclose such experiences. It is noteworthy that bereavement experiences neither cause the grieving spouse to believe the deceased had resurrected nor inspire them to make any particular life change. Bereavement experiences often diminish in frequency over time but can persist in some cases for months or years. Unlike bereavement experiences, Jesus’s disciples saw him only within the forty days after his resurrection.[17]

Meetings with Jesus included person-to-person visits, group and large crowd meetings, physical contact, eating together, and detailed conversations.[18] Those who met him were convinced that he had resurrected. The disciples’ meetings with Jesus are simply unlike the psychological experiences reported in bereavement literature.

Hallucination Explanations Unconvincing

Jesus’s disciples experienced something that made them believe he had resurrected from the dead. The effect on each was profound and lifelong. Proponents of the hallucination hypothesis seem unaware of the psychiatric and neurophysiological pathologies that cause hallucinations. The disciples’ belief in Jesus’s resurrection cannot be reasonably explained away as the sequelae of psychiatric illness. Moreover, psychological phenomena offer no plausible explanation for the group meetings between the resurrected Jesus and his disciples. The hallucination hypothesis fails to offer any tenable explanation for the disciples’ belief in Jesus’s resurrection.

Resources

• Joseph W. Bergeron and Gary R. Habermas, “The Resurrection of Jesus: A Clinical Review of Psychiatric Hypotheses for the Biblical Story of Easter,” Irish Theological Quarterly 80, no. 2 (2015), 157–72, doi:1177/0021140014564555.
• Joseph W. Bergeron, The Crucifixion of Jesus: A Medical Doctor Examines the Death and Resurrection of Christ (Rapid City, SD: Crosslink Publishers, 2019).

Jesus’s resurrection is at the very heart of historic Christianity. In fact, the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is both a central doctrinal belief of the faith and the primary evidence for the truth of the religion itself. Given the importance of Easter for Christians, it is appropriate for us to consider a dozen evidences for the resurrection of Jesus. For greater depth on these points, see the recommended resources at the end of the article.

1. Jesus’s Empty Tomb

According to the Gospels,¹ after Jesus succumbed to death through crucifixion, some of his followers prepared his lifeless body for burial and placed it in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb. Three days later the tomb was discovered empty, for Jesus’s body had vanished. The empty tomb is a critical part of the resurrection account, for if Jesus’s body had been recovered, then Christianity would have been falsified right as it had just begun. Since Jesus predicted his resurrection (Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22), if he didn’t rise from the dead, he would be a false prophet.

The report of Jesus’s empty tomb rings true, for the account emerges very early from a number of sources, and there is no good reason to doubt any of the people mentioned in the story. Furthermore, the tomb was owned by a particular person, so there is no good reason to think that Jesus’s followers had mistakenly gone to the wrong tomb. Also, the Jewish and Roman authorities had the resources to search thoroughly for the actual burial place had the empty tomb been a mere problem of mistaken identity.

It should also be recognized that the first alternative naturalistic explanation for the resurrection presupposed the truth of the vacated tomb. The Jewish authorities insisted that the tomb was empty because they planned to tell people that Jesus’s followers had come in the night and stolen the body (Matthew 28:13).

2. Jesus’s Postmortem Appearances

According to the apostle Paul’s letters as well as the four Gospel accounts, Jesus appeared alive after his death on numerous occasions. These appearances of Jesus were reported to be both physical and bodily in nature (he was seen, heard, and touched) and not purely spiritual or ghostlike. The resurrection appearances were also diverse and varied in that Jesus appeared to men and women, to friends and enemies, to single individuals as well as to small and large groups of people, to some persons on a single occasion and to others more than once, during the day and the night, as well as indoors and outdoors.

It is this diverse and varied nature of the appearances that makes it extremely improbable, if not impossible, to account for these encounters in terms of hallucinations. It may have been possible that the women who first encountered Jesus at the tomb succumbed to immense grief and experienced some kind of purely subjective and thus false vision of Jesus. But a purely psychological explanation is extremely implausible in the case of James the brother of Jesus, who was highly suspicious of his brother’s claims and even thought that Jesus suffered from mental delusion. And in the case of Saul of Tarsus, the hallucination theory is flatly impossible. Saul was an enemy of primitive Christianity and sought to imprison and even have Christians executed. Acting in a dismissive and violent manner against the early Christians and their beliefs, there is no way that Saul was susceptible to a false psychological experience.

It is also important to note that if one rejects the miraculous explanation of Jesus’s appearances, then two naturalistic alternative explanations are required—one to explain the empty tomb and another to explain the numerous appearances. But the more complex these alternative theories are, the less likely they are to be true and viable.

3. Short Time Frame between Actual Events and Eyewitness Claims

Support for the factual nature of Jesus’s resurrection from the dead comes from eyewitness testimonies that were reported soon after the events happened. The apostle Paul claims both that he saw the resurrected Christ (Acts 9:1–19; 22:6–16; 26:12–23) and that others witnessed the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3) prior to his personal encounter. Paul asserts in his writings that he received the firsthand testimony from Jesus’s original apostles who were witnesses of Jesus’s resurrection even before him.

In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he employs a creedal statement about the resurrection that dates to the earliest period of Christianity.² This creed is believed, even by critical scholars (those who doubt the supernatural), to be part of the original Christian kerygma (“proclamation”—representing the earliest preaching and teaching message of Christianity). This early statement of faith that Paul relays mentions by name two of Jesus’s apostles who said they had seen the resurrected Christ. These two apostles are Peter (one of the original 12 apostles and principal spokesperson of primitive Christianity) and James (the brother of Jesus who was also an early apostolic leader).

Here is that early creedal statement as the apostle Paul wove it into his first Corinthian epistle:

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas [Peter], and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

–1 Corinthians 15:3–7

Paul’s statement gives us a fourfold formula of the primitive Christian proclamation as it relates to Jesus’s death and resurrection:

1. Christ died.
2. He was buried.
3. He was raised.
4. He appeared.

This time frame evidenced in the early creed places the original proclamation by the first apostles about Jesus’s resurrection very near to the time of Jesus’s death and resurrection. This development has led even critical New Testament scholars to be amazed at the early and reliable testimony evident in Paul’s writings. In fact, distinguished New Testament scholar James D. G. Dunn states, “This tradition [of Jesus’s resurrection and appearances], we can be entirely confident, was formulated as tradition within months of Jesus’ death.”³

Therefore, given the short interval of time between the early eyewitness testimonies about Jesus’s resurrection and the actual event itself (a mere matter of months), these accounts must be considered historically credible. There was clearly no time for myth, legend, or embellishment to accrue around the initial resurrection reports.

4. Extraordinary Transformation of the Apostles

Today’s skeptics of Jesus’s resurrection sometimes state that religious people are too quick to accept reports about miracles. Those who doubt the miraculous often insist that miracle claims aren’t usually sufficiently questioned. But was this the case among Jesus’s apostles concerning the resurrection?

The New Testament describes a remarkable and enduring transformation of 11 of Jesus’s disciples. These frightened, defeated cowards after Jesus’s crucifixion soon became bold preachers and, in some cases, martyrs. They grew courageous enough to stand against hostile Jews and Romans, even in the face of torture and martyrdom. Such amazing transformation deserves an adequate explanation, for human character and conduct does not change easily or often. Because the apostles fled and denied knowing Jesus after he was arrested, their courage in the face of persecution seems even more astonishing. The disciples attributed the strength of their newfound character to their direct, personal encounter with the resurrected Jesus. In Jesus Christ’s resurrection, the apostles found their existential reason to live—and die.

According to the earliest reports concerning Jesus’s resurrection, three of the men Jesus appeared to were either initially highly skeptical of the truth of the resurrection or adamantly opposed to Jesus’s claims of being the Messiah. Those three were Thomas, James, and Saul (who would become Paul), all of whom were predisposed to dismiss the truth of the resurrection. Since Paul’s conversion will be addressed later, let’s consider the stunning impact Jesus’s resurrection had on Thomas and James.

Thomas the Doubter

While Thomas was one of the original 12 apostles, he was not among the first of Jesus’s followers to see the risen Christ. Upon hearing the report from his fellow disciples concerning Jesus’s bodily resurrection, he doubted its truth. The Gospel of John conveys Thomas’s skepticism: “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25).

Though a follower of Jesus, Thomas was highly skeptical and needed direct, empirical evidence of Jesus’s actual bodily resurrection before he would believe the claim of his fellow disciples. Thomas demanded evidence of a concrete, empirical nature. He demonstrated tough-mindedness when it came to claims of the miraculous, even when the testimony came from his close friends and associates. Yet according to John’s Gospel, Thomas soon had an encounter with the resurrected Jesus that more than satisfied his doubts:

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

–John 20:26–28

If the resurrection was merely a concocted mythical story, it is highly unlikely that it would include the claim that one of the original 12 disciples seriously questioned Jesus’s resurrection.

James the Family Skeptic

The Gospels convey that prior to the resurrection, Jesus’s brothers were highly dismissive of his messianic claims (see Mark 6:3–4 and John 7:5). In fact, Jesus’s family viewed him as suffering from mental delusion (Mark 3:21, 31–35). Yet the early creed that Paul had been given by the apostles (which included James) reported that Jesus had appeared to his brother James (1 Corinthians 15:7). James then became one of the critical leaders of the early Christian church, even holding unique authority at the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:12–21). Sources in church history convey that James was later martyred for his belief in Jesus Christ.

What accounts for James’s amazing change of heart from undoubtedly being deeply embarrassed by his brother’s claims to becoming a distinguished leader in the early church, and finally to even undergoing martyrdom? The resurrection seems to best account for this radical transformation in James’s understanding and perspective. James claimed to have seen his brother alive after his public execution, and that event changed everything.

So it appears that Thomas and James seriously questioned the actual truth of Jesus’s resurrection, the way skeptics demand.

5. The Greatest Religious Conversion Ever

Some people have had dramatic religious conversions. In fact, my three favorite Christian thinkers outside of the biblical authors—St. Augustine, Blaise Pascal, and C. S. Lewis—all experienced amazing life-changing conversions to Christianity. But there is one person whose conversion to the Christian faith changed the world forever. That individual said that his spiritual transformation was due to encountering the resurrected Jesus Christ.

Saul of Tarsus was a respected, first-century Hebrew scholar of the Torah (the Law), a member of the Jewish party of the Pharisees, and a Roman citizen (Acts 21:37–22:3). Fervent in his devotion to God and in his intent to protect ancient Judaism from what he perceived as false and heretical teaching, he became the central adversary of the primitive Christian church. Saul expressed his impassioned hostility toward Christians by having them arrested and inciting physical persecution and execution of believers, including Stephen (Acts 7:54–8:3; Galatians 1:13–14). Traveling on the road to Damascus to further persecute the church (ca. AD 31–33), Saul underwent an extraordinary life-changing experience. According to his claim, Saul saw and spoke with the resurrected Jesus (Acts 9:1–30; 22:5–13). Following his dramatic conversion to the movement he once hated, he took on the Gentile name “Paul” and became the greatest advocate of the newfound Christian faith. After Jesus Christ himself, many scholars view the apostle Paul as the second most important figure in the history of Christianity. Paul went on to become the faith’s greatest missionary, theologian, and apologist as well as the inspired author of 13 New Testament books.

What caused Paul’s conversion—arguably the greatest religious conversion ever? To understand the true impact of this conversion, let’s consider what may be the modern equivalent of Paul’s first-century conversion to Christianity. Imagine the British prime minister and statesman Winston Churchill becoming a member of the Nazi party. Or the American president Ronald Reagan embracing Soviet communism. Or German Führer Adolf Hitler converting to the religion of Judaism. Whatever equivalent one rightly accepts, Paul’s conversion to Christianity was an absolutely astounding event.

But how is this extraordinary change of allegiance to be explained? According to Paul himself, the incredible transformation of one of Western civilization’s most influential religious leaders and thinkers was due to the appearance of the resurrected Christ. The conversion of the apostle Paul, not to mention his life and accomplishments, seems truly inexplicable apart from the fact of the resurrection.

It seems the only thing that could have possibly changed Saul’s incredibly negative opinion about primitive Christianity was for him to encounter its leader, Jesus of Nazareth, raised from the dead.

6. Emergence of the Historic Christian Church

Does every historic movement emerge from a specific cause? If so, what caused the Christian religion to come into being? What initiated this religious movement that within 300 years dominated the entire Roman Empire and over the course of two millennia dominated all of Western civilization? In a very short time span, Christianity developed a distinct cultural and theological identity apart from that of traditional Judaism. According to the New Testament, the unique religion of Christianity came into being directly because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The extraordinary historical emergence of the Christian church needs an adequate explanation. According to the Christian Scriptures, the apostles turned the world upside down with the truth of the resurrection, and the historic church emerged. This is why many have called the historic Christian church “the community of the resurrection.”

But if the resurrection didn’t cause the emergence of Christianity, what did? There seems to be no other adequate natural explanation. Thus, the heart of historic Christianity is found in the remarkable happenings of Easter Sunday.

7. Emergence of Sunday as a Day of Worship

The Hebrew people worshiped on the Sabbath, which is the seventh day of the week (measured from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday). Nevertheless, the early Christian church (which was viewed initially as a sect of Judaism) gradually changed the day of their worship from the seventh to the first day of the week (see Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2; “the Lord’s Day,” Revelation 1:10). For the early Christian church, Sunday uniquely commemorated Jesus’s resurrection from the dead.

Sustained reflection on Christ’s resurrection to immortal life transformed Christian worship, uniquely influencing the formulation of the sacraments of the early church (baptism and communion), and thus it distinguished the Christian faith in its theology and practice from traditional Judaism. Apart from the resurrection, no reason existed for early Christians (as a sect of Judaism) to view Sunday (the first day of the week) as having any enduring theological or ceremonial significance. The resurrection of Jesus therefore set historic Christianity apart from the Judaism of its day. That same truth of resurrected life sets the faith apart from all other religions through the centuries.

So the happening of Easter Sunday—Jesus’s resurrection—explains two things well: (1) why the Christian religion emerged as a historical movement and (2) why Christians worship on a different day of the week than the Jews. And, in turn, both of these historical elements support the factual nature of Jesus’s resurrection.

8. Plentiful Early References to Jesus’s Resurrection in the Apostle Paul’s Letters

Some critics of Christianity have asserted that the four canonical Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) appear too long after the events of Jesus’s life to carry credible testimony. There is also the concern that there are too few claims of Jesus’s resurrection made by the early eyewitnesses.

While I addressed the short time span between the events of Jesus’s life and the eyewitnesses’ claims in my third point of evidence, a little more explanation is helpful here. First, the four Gospels are much closer in time to Jesus’s life than are other ancient testimonies to both religious figures (Gautama Buddha, Confucius) and secular figures (Socrates, Caesar).

Second, not only are Paul’s references to the resurrection early (considerably earlier than the four Gospel accounts), but they are abundant in nature. Paul’s epistles contain numerous references to and descriptions of Jesus’s resurrection.

Third, some of Paul’s statements about the resurrection reflect primitive Christian creeds and hymns (see Philippians 2 and Colossians 1) that date much earlier than even his earliest written letters. For example, Paul’s earliest epistles were written about 20 years after Jesus’s resurrection. But the creeds and hymns that he wove into his writings were being recited and sung by Jewish Christians back to within a few months or years of Jesus’s resurrection.

9. The New Testament Accounts of Jesus’s Resurrection Do Not Resemble Later Apocryphal Stories

The accounts of Jesus’s resurrection came from eyewitnesses and close associates of eyewitnesses. The recollections of these witnesses involve descriptions of historical, factual events. And the narrative of Jesus’s resurrection involves his physical body being raised and empirically examined, not merely rising as a spirit as in later apocryphal stories of subjective religious visions.

The apostolic reports of Jesus’s resurrection are early, plentiful, and very different than other so-called resurrection accounts.

10. No Tomb Was Ever Venerated as the Burial Place of Jesus

The burial places of famous people were often venerated in the ancient world. However, Jesus Christ is arguably the most famous person in all of history, and yet no grave or tomb was ever said to have permanently contained his body. According to his apostles, Jesus’s tomb is empty for his body has been raised. The unique Christian truth-claim is that the one-of-a-kind Jesus, the very Son of God, conquered death.

11. A Crucified Messiah Would Have Been Viewed by All Jewish Christians as Cursed by God

If Jesus had been merely crucified with no resurrection to follow, then he would have been viewed by all Jews as a false prophet who was obviously cursed by the Lord God Yahweh. Yet the viability of Christianity as a true faith was buttressed by Jesus’s resurrection. In other words, Jesus’s glorious resurrection from the dead made sense of his ignominious death. The resurrection that followed turned Jesus’s crucifixion into a divine atonement.

12. All the Alternative Naturalistic Explanations for the Resurrection of Jesus Prove False

If the events surrounding the resurrection of Jesus didn’t involve the supernatural, then there should be a viable natural explanation to account for the data. Yet none of the many naturalistic alternative theories hold water.⁴ On careful inspection, all of them prove false or inadequate. So the fact that all of the natural explanations fail serves as one more evidence of the truth of Jesus’s resurrection.

I invite you to read through and study these 12 brief evidences for Jesus’s resurrection multiple times. Consult the scholarly resources listed below for more information and context. Grow in your knowledge of the resurrection. Consider sharing this list with other Christians who have doubts, and be ready to talk about this evidence with nonbelievers and skeptics.

If Jesus Christ actually rose from the dead—and there is plenty of good evidence that he did—then all of his followers who know him as Lord and Savior will also rise to eternal life on the last day.

If Jesus actually conquered death, then there is no news that is more important for all human beings to hear and to reflect upon. Easter really matters.

(Originally posted in seven parts in March and April 2017: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7.)

Reflections: Your Turn

What do you consider to be the strongest evidence for Jesus’s resurrection? How would you order the evidence in making a cumulative case? Visit Reflections on WordPress to comment with your response.

Resources

• I address the resurrection of Jesus in two of my books: Without a Doubt: Answering the 20 Toughest Faith Questions (see chapter 10) and 7 Truths That Changed the World: Discovering Christianity’s Most Dangerous Ideas (see chapters 1 and 2).
• I also recommend The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas and Michael Licona and Knowing the Truth about the Resurrection: Our Response to the Empty Tomb by William Lane Craig.
• A further recommended source is N. T. Wright’s The Resurrection of the Son of God.

A common question I’m asked at speaking engagements is this: Can you identify the single most important evidence for the Christian faith? My consistent answer is the historical evidence for the bodily resurrection of Jesus. As Paul explains, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17). But, if Christ really did rise from the dead, then all who turn to Him will be made eternally alive and forever secure in their relationship with God.

Many nonbelievers, however, are not ready to listen to the evidence for Christ’s bodily resurrection from the dead, an event that occurred so long ago. They have, from their perspective, more pressing barriers to the Christian faith. Some examples include:

• Haven’t scientists confirmed that the universe and Earth are much older than 10,000 years?
• Isn’t the order of creation events in Genesis 1 flat out wrong?
• Doesn’t scientific evidence verify that humans and apes evolved from a common ancestor?
• With billions of planets in the universe, why should we believe Earth is special?
• Why would God create pre-human hominids?
• How can people in their right mind believe a global flood happened a few thousand years ago?
• Doesn’t the big bang theory disprove the biblical creation story?

The principle here is that we need to engage nonbelievers with what they consider to be their most pressing barriers to faith rather than what we think are their biggest barriers. By graciously responding to the nonbeliever’s most pressing barriers, we have built an onramp to discussing the case for Christ’s bodily resurrection.

How do we find out what a nonbeliever’s biggest barriers are? Ask and listen. Start by asking general questions then, as the situation allows, you can move on to asking more direct and personal questions to help discern the nonbeliever’s spiritual condition. As the Spirit leads, you can ask, “What would you say are the biggest reasons for not giving your life to Christ?”

By offering thoughtful replies to the nonbeliever’s objections, you will gain the right to ask, “Have you ever considered the historical evidence showing that Jesus of Nazareth rose bodily from the dead?” If a nonbeliever sees that his or her primary barriers to faith are addressed compassionately and respectfully, he or she will likely be more willing to give careful attention to the evidence for Christ’s resurrection.

Excerpted from “If Christ Has Not Been Raised: Reasoning through the Resurrection”

Jesus Christ’s bodily resurrection from the dead three days after His execution pumps the heart of the Christian gospel (doctrine) and is Christianity’s central supporting fact (apologetics). The truth of Christianity uniquely stands or falls on Christ’s resurrection. Because of this, the New Testament accounts of Christ’s resurrection warrant careful analysis and reflection.

The writers of these accounts not only report the Resurrection as a factual event but also provide a theological context for and explanation of its overall significance to God’s historical redemptive plan. Christian apologists through the centuries have appealed to five basic strands of evidence as support for the historical and factual nature of the resurrection of Jesus. ¹

The Empty Tomb

One of the most fully substantiated facts surrounding Jesus’ resurrection is the empty tomb. Most New Testament scholars, even some liberal scholars, agree that solid historical fact stands behind the gospel claim that witnesses found Jesus’ tomb empty on that first Easter morning. Far from being a myth or legend, the report of the empty tomb has a very early date, fits well with what is known of the times archaeologically (concerning burial customs and tombs), and was never challenged, let alone refuted, by the contemporary enemies and critics of Christianity.

If the Jews or Romans had produced the body of Jesus, Christianity would have been disproved immediately. Therefore, the disciples could not have proclaimed a bodily resurrection unless Jesus’ tomb was indeed empty. In ancient Judaism, the concept of resurrection was considered only bodily in nature, not spiritual. The empty tomb requires an adequate explanation. For 2,000 years, Christians have argued that the only consistent explanation for the empty tomb is Jesus’ bodily resurrection from the dead.

Jesus’ Post-crucifixion Appearances

As mentioned above, it was recorded that numerous people had intimate, empirical encounters with Jesus Christ after His death on the cross. A variety of people interacted with Him at various times and places. Witnesses of the Resurrection claimed to have seen, heard, and touched the resurrected Christ. The same person whom they saw executed three days before was now alive and in their midst. These “in time and in space” physical appearances were reported soon after the actual encounter and cannot reasonably be dismissed as mythical or psychological in nature.

The Apostles’ Transformation

The Book of Acts describes a dramatic and enduring transformation of eleven men from terrified, defeated cowards after Jesus’ crucifixion (as revealed in the Gospels) into courageous preachers and, eventually, martyrs. These men became bold enough to stand against the hostile Jews and Romans in the face of torture and death. Such radical and extensive change deserves an adequate explanation, for human character and conduct do not transform easily or often.

Considering that the apostles fled and even denied knowing Jesus following His initial arrest makes their courage in the face of persecution and execution even more astounding. The apostles attributed the strength of their newfound character to their direct personal encounter with the resurrected Christ. In Christ’s resurrection, the apostles found their unshakable reason to live and die.

Emergence of the Christian Church

What specifically caused the historical emergence of the Christian church? Amazingly, within 400 years Christianity dominated the entire Roman Empire and, over the course of two millennia, the entire Western civilization. Christianity developed a distinct cultural and theological identity apart from traditional Judaism in a short period of time. According to the New Testament, the unique Christian faith came into being directly because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. According to the New Testament, the apostles “turned the world upside down” with the truth of the Resurrection, and the extraordinary, enduring Christian church emerged.

Sunday as a Day of Worship

The Jews worshiped on the Sabbath, which is the seventh day of the week (sundown Friday to sundown Saturday). However, the early Christian church gradually changed the day of their worship from the seventh day of the week to the first (Sunday: “the Lord’s Day,” Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2).² For the early Christian church, Sunday commemorated Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. His being raised to eternal life transformed worship and distinguished the Christian faith from traditional Judaism. Apart from the Resurrection, no reason existed for early followers of Jesus to view Sunday as having any enduring theological or ceremonial significance.

Get the full-length article by visiting reasons.org/articles/if-christ-has-not-been-raised-reasoning-through-the-resurrection.

From a historic Christian perspective, both the nature and truth of Christianity rest upon Jesus Christ’s bodily resurrection from the dead.

Jesus’ being raised to new life three days after His execution pumps the heart of the Christian gospel (doctrine), and is Christianity’s central supporting fact (apologetics). The truth of Christianity uniquely stands or falls on Christ’s resurrection. The apostle Paul explains: “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Cor. 15:14). “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17).

Since the truth-claims of Christianity hinge on the Resurrection, the New Testament accounts of Christ’s resurrection warrant careful analysis and reflection. The writers of these accounts not only report the Resurrection as a factual event but also provide a theological context and explanation of its overall significance to God’s historical redemptive plan.

The entire New Testament was written in light of Christ’s resurrection. Each book therein bears witness to its reality. In fact, this testimony was the essential function of the apostles (Acts 1:22). Jesus’ resurrection was not merely a coming back from the dead (resuscitation, near-death experience, reincarnation) but a resurrection into a new type of human life eternal life with a transformed, glorified physical body no longer subject to weakness, pain, sickness, and death. By His resurrection, Jesus Christ fully and completely conquered death  .

The New Testament Resurrection Scenario

The four New Testament Gospels and various New Testament epistles reveal essential data concerning Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. The following sections summarize these intriguing events. (See Matt. 26:47-28:20; Mark 14:43-16:8; Luke 22:47-24:53; John 18:1-21:25; Acts 9:1-19; 1 Cor. 15:1-58.)

Jewish religious leaders (chief priests and elders) arrested Jesus of Nazareth and tried Him for blasphemy. The Sanhedrin found Jesus guilty and subsequently took Him to the Roman governor for sentencing. Despite finding no basis for a charge against Him, Pontius Pilate condemned Jesus to death as an insurrectionist. Roman soldiers beat, mocked, and crucified Him. His lifeless body was taken down from the cross, covered with a burial cloth, and placed in a newly cut tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea (a wealthy and prominent member of the Sanhedrin). A large boulder sealed the entrance to the tomb, and Roman guards were stationed there to ensure that Jesus’ body was not disturbed.

At dawn, three days later (on Sunday morning, “the first day of the week”), a violent earthquake shook the tomb. An angel of the Lord appeared and rolled away the stone. Terrified at the sight of the angel, the guards were paralyzed. Some women followers of Jesus subsequently arrived and discovered the empty tomb. They encountered the angel, who informed them that Jesus was not there, for He had risen from the dead. Hearing about the women’s encounter at the tomb, some of Jesus’ apostles also found the tomb empty later that morning.

Starting on that original Easter Sunday and extending over a forty-day period, Jesus appeared alive to specific individuals and to small and large groups of people. He appeared to friends and enemies, believers and unbelievers, women and men, in public and in private, at different times, and in different locations. The New Testament describes His postresurrection encounters with Mary Magdalene (John 20:10-18), Mary and the other women (Matt. 28:1-10), Peter (1 Cor. 15:5), two disciples on the way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), ten apostles (Luke 24:36-49), eleven apostles (John 20:24-31), seven apostles (John 21), all the apostles (Matt. 28:16-20), five hundred disciples (1 Cor. 15:6), James (1 Cor. 15:7), all the apostles again (Acts 1:4-8), and finally, later, to Saul, who became Paul (Acts 9:1-9).

Characteristics of Jesus’ resurrected body are also described. He still bore the marks of the wounds in His hands, feet, and side (John 20:20). He could be seen and touched as a physical body of flesh and bone (Matt. 28:9; Luke 24:37-39). He invited people to examine his body (Luke 24:39-40; John 20:20, 27). Jesus even ate and drank with his disciples after his resurrection (Luke 24:41-43; Acts 10:41). Though certainly material and physical in nature, Jesus’ resurrected body had been transformed into a glorious, immortal, and imperishable body. Jesus was capable of things that ordinary mortals are not; for example, He could appear and disappear in a closed room. Thus, Jesus’ body before the resurrection and his body after the resurrection showed both continuity and discontinuity.

Five Strands of Evidence for Jesus Christ’s Resurrection

As support for the historical and factual nature of the resurrection of Jesus, Christian apologists through the centuries have appealed to five basic strands of evidence.¹ These strands of evidence may be summarized as follows:

1. The empty tomb: One of the most fully substantiated facts surrounding Jesus’ resurrection is the empty tomb. Most New Testament scholars, even some liberal scholars, agree that solid historical fact stands behind the gospel claim that witnesses found Jesus’ tomb empty on that original Easter morning. Far from being a myth or legend, the report of the empty tomb has a very early date, fits well with what is known of the times archaeologically (i.e., concerning burial customs and tombs), and was never challenged, let alone refuted, by the contemporary enemies and critics of Christianity. If the Jews or Romans had produced the body of Jesus, Christianity would have been immediately disproved. Therefore, the disciples could not have proclaimed a bodily resurrection unless Jesus’ tomb was indeed empty. In ancient Judaism, the concept of resurrection was considered only bodily in nature, not a spiritual resurrection. The empty tomb requires an adequate explanation. For two thousand years, Christians have argued that the only consistent explanation for the empty tomb is Jesus’ bodily resurrection from the dead.
2. The postcrucifixion appearances: According to the New Testament, numerous people had intimate, empirical encounters with Jesus Christ after his death on the cross. A variety of people interacted with Him at various times and places. Witnesses of the Resurrection claimed to have seen, heard, and touched the resurrected Christ. The same person whom they saw executed three days before was now alive and in their midst. These “in time and in space” physical appearances were reported soon after the actual encounter and cannot reasonably be dismissed as mythical or psychological in nature. The postcrucifixion appearances of Jesus Christ weigh heavily in demonstrating the objective truth of the Resurrection.
3. The transformation of the apostles: The Book of Acts describes a dramatic and enduring transformation of eleven men from terrified, defeated cowards after Jesus’ crucifixion (as revealed in the Gospels) into courageous preachers and eventually, martyrs. These men became bold enough to stand against the hostile Jews and Romans in the face of torture and death. Such radical and extensive change deserves an adequate explanation, for human character and conduct does not transform easily or often. Considering that the apostles fled and even denied knowing Jesus following His initial arrest makes their courage in the face of persecution and execution even more astounding. The apostles attributed the strength of their newfound character to their direct personal encounter with the resurrected Christ. In Christ’s resurrection, the apostles found their unshakable reason to live and die.
4. The emergence of the Christian church: What specifically caused the emergence of the Christian church in history? Amazingly, within 400 years Christianity came to dominate the entire Roman Empire and, over the course of two millennia, thoroughly dominated Western civilization. Christianity developed a distinct cultural and theological identity apart from that of traditional Judaism in a short period of time. According to the New Testament, the unique Christian faith came into being directly because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. According to the New Testament, the apostles “turned the world upside down” with the truth of the Resurrection, and the extraordinary, enduring Christian church emerged.
5. Sunday became a day of worship: The Jews worshipped on the Sabbath, which is the seventh day of the week (sundown Friday to sundown Saturday). However, the early Christian church gradually changed the day of their worship from the seventh day of the week to the first day of the week (Sunday: “the Lord’s Day,” Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2).² For the early Christian church, Sunday commemorated Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. His being raised to eternal life transformed worship and distinguished the Christian faith from traditional Judaism. Apart from the Resurrection, no reason existed for early followers of Jesus to view Sunday (the first day of the week) as having any enduring theological or ceremonial significance.

Six Alternative Explanatory Hypotheses

Skeptics often attempt to explain the events surrounding Christ’s resurrection by purely natural means. Six naturalistic hypotheses have gained some popularity, but each can be critiqued by objective standards. Logical consistency, explanatory power and scope, fidelity to known facts, avoiding unwarranted assumptions, and making claims that can be tested and proven true or false characterize good explanatory hypotheses.

1. The Resurrection of Jesus is simply a legend or myth.

Many of the New Testament books (Gospels and various epistles) were written soon after the reported events occurred. Time simply did not allow for legends and myths to enter into the biblical accounts. Consider two arguments:

First, while Jesus’ death probably took place somewhere between a.d. 30 and a.d. 33, good evidence suggests that the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) were written by the early 60s (possibly the late 50s for Mark), within a generation of the events surrounding the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Gospels do not mention three significant events that transpired between a.d. 60 and 70³—namely the persecution of Christians by the Roman Emperor Nero (circa mid-60s), the martyrdom of the apostles Peter and Paul (circa 64-66), and the fall of Jerusalem under the Roman military leader Titus (70). None of these significant events—undoubtedly of great interest to Christians—were mentioned. As a result, some New Testament scholars have concluded that the synoptic Gospels already existed by the early 60s.

Second, since the Book of Acts follows the Gospel of Luke as a companion work, and since Acts does not mention the events listed previously, the synoptic Gospels may have been written even earlier, especially if one accepts the popular theory that Mark was the first gospel written.

Considering that written and oral sources bridge the gap between the time of Jesus’ death and the time the Gospels were actually written buttresses these two arguments. Some of the apostle Paul’s letters (Galatians and 1 & 2 Thessalonians) were probably written as early as the late 40s or early 50s. Source criticism (the study of sources which stand behind the written text) indicates that oral and possibly written sources stood behind the Greek Gospels, bridging the gap even more tightly between the events of Jesus’ life and the written records. New Testament scholar Craig Blomberg states that ample reasons exist to believe that Matthew, Mark, and Luke used such sources. “Source criticism cannot demonstrate that the first accounts of the various portions of Jesus’ life were entirely trustworthy, but it can suggest that those accounts arose in a time and place in which many who had personally known Jesus still lived.”⁴

The demythologizing theory (the idea that myth-encrusted facts surround Jesus’ life) only seems possible if one postulates several generations over which the mythology concerning Christ grew up.⁵ In fact, A. N. Sherwin-White, Oxford scholar of ancient Greek and Roman history, argues that myth and legend require the span of two full generations to accrue and distort historical fact.⁶ Given the short interval between Jesus’ life and the emergence of the gospel records, time would have been insufficient for legends and myths to enter into biblical accounts. Legend expert Julius Muller states that legend cannot replace fact so long as eyewitnesses remain alive.⁷

A further reason for rejecting the myth and legend theory is that the apostles of Jesus recognized the difference between myth and factual eyewitness testimony, and they solemnly asserted that they witnessed historical events (Luke 1:1-4; John 19:35; Gal. 1:11-12; 1 Cor. 15:3-8; 2 Pet. 1:16; 1 John 1:1-2). Rather than creating myth, the apostles actively attempted to squelch rumors and untruths before they could spread (John 21:22-25).

The gospel writers also gave careful attention to details. They related specific facts of Jesus’ historical time period (including names, dates, events, customs, etc.). Historically speaking, the central criterion for including the Gospels in the New Testament canon was that they emerged from eyewitnesses or associates of eyewitnesses.

The gospel accounts stand apart in style or in content from other known mythical writings.⁸ Biblical miracles are not bizarre or frivolous like other mythological literature (e.g., Greek mythology). Jesus’ miracles are always described within the context of His ministry, specifically to glorify God and meet legitimate human needs. The historical and the miraculous stand together side by side in the Gospels in a way that is clearly distinct from mythological literature.

While some have attempted to tie the resurrection of Jesus to the worship of allegedly resurrected fertility gods in ancient pagan religions (Osiris, Adonis, Attis, Mithra, etc.),⁹ such comparisons are superficial, inexact, and often the product of late sources. Thus, they demonstrate no historical connection with, or influence upon, Christianity. None of these pagan religious stories have the historical foundation that surrounds the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The typical reasoning of advocates for demythologizing (getting behind the myth) of the gospel accounts is also fallacious. They often set forth circular arguments for rejecting the Gospels as history: They reject the divinity of Christ because they reject the gospel texts. They reject the gospel texts because they think the Gospels are myth. They think the Gospels are myth because miraculous events are described which speak of God becoming man (i.e., the divinity of Christ).¹⁰ This reasoning clearly “begs the question” (its premises illegitimately depend upon the assumed conclusion) and exposes a presumed antisupernatural bias. The problem is one of presuppositions, not of historicity.

Since good evidence supports the conclusion that the Gospels are early sources, one can reasonably argue that if the gospel writers had departed from the historical facts (either by exaggeration or outright invention), hostile witnesses familiar with the events of Jesus’ life could have and would have exposed them. As textual scholar F. F. Bruce writes, it could not have been easy “to invent words and deeds of Jesus in those early years, when so many of His disciples were about, who could remember what had and had not happened.”¹¹ The apostles, confident in their testimony, appealed to the firsthand knowledge of unbelievers conversant with the facts of Jesus’ life (Acts 2:22-24; 26:25-27).

Viewing the resurrection of Jesus Christ as a legend or myth ignores the solid historical support behind the event, seems deeply rooted in unsupported antisupernatural presuppositions, and fails to reflect the short interval of time between the emergence of the gospel writings themselves and the actual events reported and described.

2. The disciples stole the body and created a hoax.

According to the gospel record, after the Resurrection, some of the Jewish religious leaders bribed the guards to say that they fell asleep at the tomb and that Jesus’ apostles came in the night and stole the body (Matt. 28:11-15). Regardless of how this story started, it became in effect the first alternative, naturalistic theory concerning Jesus’ resurrection. On that basis it deserves analysis.

Were the apostles capable of stealing the body? The need to bypass the Roman guards and move the large, sealed stone in front of the tomb makes this theft highly unlikely, especially since the apostles acted cowardly after Jesus’ initial arrest. Moreover, if the guards were asleep, then how would they know the identity of whoever stole the body?

What possible motivation would the apostles have for stealing the body anyway? They had nothing to gain and virtually everything to lose by doing so. Creating a hoax concerning Jesus’ resurrection would only have brought them meaningless hardship, persecution, martyrdom, and even possible damnation for their blasphemy. Why would they be willing to die for what they knew to be false? Such a ruse would be certain to come apart under pressure. The apostles were hated, scorned, excommunicated, imprisoned, and tortured. One might add that in the Gospels, the apostles do come across as rather simple, unimaginative folk.

If the apostles or others (later members of the church) fabricated the story of Christ’s resurrection, that story would never have included Jesus’ appearance to women. First century Israel did not consider women to be credible witnesses. And why would the apostles present themselves in such an unflattering light? Such peculiar details seem inconsistent with invention but consistent with honesty.

This extremely implausible hoax hypothesis fails to fit the facts. It lacks true explanatory power and scope. It cannot explain the dramatic change in the apostles. Nor does this hypothesis explain the Resurrection appearances to individuals other than the apostles.

3. The women went to the wrong tomb.

Grief and confusion following Jesus’ crucifixion might have caused the women followers of Jesus to mistakenly go to the wrong tomb, some skeptics suggest. According to the gospel accounts, however, the women knew precisely where the tomb was. But even if this unlikely mistake took place, it raises substantial questions. Didn’t Joseph of Arimathea know the correct location of his own tomb? Why didn’t the apostles correct such a mistake? Were the Roman soldiers guarding Jesus’ tomb also sent to the wrong one? Since Jewish and Roman officials wanted to squash Christianity, why didn’t they deploy the manpower to find the right tomb (and the body) and thus put an end to Christianity before it really began?

This wrong tomb hypothesis offers no explanation of the Resurrection appearances, the transformation of the apostles, or the formation of the Christian church. It plays fast and loose with the facts, is simplistic, and lacks explanatory power and scope.

4. Jesus wasn’t really dead (swoon theory). He only appeared dead, but then subsequently revived in the tomb and declared Himself to His disciples as the ‘risen Lord!’

Roman executioners operated under the constant threat of the death penalty if they allowed a prisoner to escape. This threat made them experts. According to the gospel accounts, the Roman soldiers thrust a spear into Jesus’ side to confirm that He no longer lived. Blood and water flowed from Christ’s pierced heart indicating He had expired (John 19:34-35). In light of the conclusion that Jesus was already dead, the executioners found no need to break His legs, the customary way to hasten suffocation (John 19:36-37).

A mere man could not survive severe torture, crucifixion, and three days and nights in a cold tomb with no medical attention. Roman guards could not have been overcome by a half-dead corpse. If only a man, Jesus could not have convinced His disciples that He gloriously and triumphantly rose from the dead when His medical condition was, at best, “critical.” And even if this incredible story were somehow true, where did Jesus go?

The swoon theory clearly violates all medical logic and makes Jesus of Nazareth out to be superhuman. Nothing is known about the historic Jesus that might lead one to believe Him a charlatan. This hypothesis clearly fails as an acceptable explanatory hypothesis.

5. The followers of Jesus suffered from hallucinations.

Hallucinations are understood to be private, subjective mental experiences (mental projections) that fail to correspond to objective reality. Typically brief experiences, hallucinations are usually induced by drugs or by extreme deprivation of food, drink, and sleep, or by an extremely volatile state of mind.¹² Since various people witnessed the Resurrection appearances at various times, in various places, under various circumstances, the hallucination hypothesis simply cannot reasonably account for such data. Grieving Mary in the garden may have been a possible candidate for a hallucination, but those not favorably disposed to Jesus, such as Jesus’ half-brother James, or the openly hostile Saul clearly were not. It seems impossible that the 500 witnesses referred to by Paul (1 Cor. 15:6) could have simultaneously experienced the same hallucination.

As orthodox Jews, the apostles did not believe in a risen Messiah. Their concept of resurrection was limited to the general resurrection of mankind in the future divine judgment. Hallucinations merely project what is already in the mind. Since the apostles had no resurrection expectations, they could never have had a resurrection hallucination. The hallucination hypothesis also fails to account for the empty tomb. Like most of the other hypotheses, it makes no sense of the existing facts and, therefore, lacks any real explanatory power.

6. Jesus had an identical twin brother who was separated at birth but later returned to impersonate the resurrected Christ.¹³

An incredible state of affairs would have existed if this hypothesis were true. This Jesus look-a-like would somehow discover his amazing resemblance to Jesus of Nazareth. He would no doubt have had to study the public ministry of Jesus and then lurk in the shadows awaiting Jesus’ death, only then to present himself as the resurrected Christ. But first he’d need to bypass the Roman guards and move the large sealed stone in front of the tomb to steal the body of Jesus. Would conspirators help him? Would the marks of the cross on his hands, feet, and side be self-inflicted? After forty days of appearances, this man would then disappear completely. How? What happened to this man? And what would motivate a man to do such things?

This new and creative naturalistic hypothesis has no clear basis in the gospel accounts. It contradicts what Luke 2:1-20 reveals about the personal details surrounding Jesus’ birth (i.e., a single child born to Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem). Like some of the other hypotheses examined, this one is in effect nothing more than an ad hoc hypothesis emerging from antisupernatural presuppositions. Some individuals may reason that since miracles don’t happen, any natural explanation, no matter how unusual and implausible, is better.

Conclusion

After almost two millennia the only genuinely reasonable explanatory hypothesis for the events surrounding Jesus’ death is that the apostles told the truth and Jesus truly rose bodily from the dead. The proper way to examine such a miraculous claim is to carefully scrutinize the evidence and follow wherever the facts lead. It is logically illegitimate to reject the Resurrection a priori based upon a preconceived commitment to naturalism. As amazing as the Resurrection may be, the bell of truth resonates on every level.

Contemplation of the inevitability and imminence of one’s death can quickly lead to existential angst, desperation, and despair. The truth and the promise of the resurrected Lord delivers all who believe in Him from this dreaded human predicament. “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26).

 

Sidebar: Ten Essential Points About the Resurrection

The following 10 points convey essential theological information about the resurrection of Christ and help one think through the most important elements of the doctrine, especially its implications about the deity of Christ.

1. The Resurrection confirms Jesus Christ’s identity as the divine Messiah, Savior, and Lord (Rom. 1:3-4; 14:9). It proves Jesus to be who He said He was. In His resurrection, Jesus Christ permanently identified with humanity and became the God-man forever.
2. By the Resurrection, God the Father vindicates Jesus Christ’s redemptive mission and message (Matt. 16:21; 28:6). Jesus’ resurrection confirms His words as true.
3. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:24; 3:15) involved all three members of the Trinity: Father (Rom. 6:4; 1 Cor. 6:14; Gal. 1:1; Eph. 1:20), Son (John 10:17-18; 11:25), and Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:11).
4. The Resurrection designates Jesus Christ as the ever-living Head of the Christian church (Eph. 1:19-22).
5. Christ’s resurrection power generates and ensures the believer’s salvation (Rom. 4:25; 10:9-10; Eph. 2:5-6; Phil. 3:10).
6. Christ’s resurrection power enables all believers to live lives of gratitude to God (Rom. 6:12-13).
7. Christ’s resurrection supplies the pledge and paradigm for the future bodily resurrection of all believers (1 Cor. 6:14; 15:20, 2 Cor. 9:14; Col. 1;18; 1 Thess. 4:14).
8. Christ’s resurrection answers mankind’s greatest predicament, the inevitability of death. The Resurrection provides hope, purpose, meaning, and confidence in the presence of death (John 11:25-26; Rom. 14:7-8).
9. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the major theme of the apostles’ original preaching and teaching (Acts 1:22; 2:31; 4:2, 33; 17:18) and the principle doctrinal tenet of the New Testament as a whole.
10. The truth or falsity of the Christian message rests squarely upon the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:14-18).