03/25/2026
Here's a very interesting article on the Resurrection of Christ. The author of this article is Josh Suggs. God is using him to dig deep and share the good news in a powerful and practical way.
Did Jesus really rise from the dead? For many, that question is the difference between faith and doubt.
Evidence for the life of Jesus is plentiful…and not just from the Gospels. In fact, the overwhelming consensus from historians, both religious and secular, is that Jesus lived, was a one of the greatest teachers to ever walk this Earth, and was crucified under Roman authority. It is the resurrection itself that is often attacked. Most of these attacks, unfortunately, are from individuals who have not examined the evidence for themselves. They simply find the resurrection to be so foreign to their understanding that they look no further and immediately dismiss it. The truth, however, is that belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ may actually be more practical than choosing not to.
Skeptics often attempt to discredit the resurrection account in the Gospels by claiming it was completely fictitious. For years, many skeptics used to claim that Pontius Pilate, the Roman Prefect who sentenced Jesus to death, never existed. It was an easy claim to make. There had been no historical evidence for his existence—that is, until 1961. In June of that year, archaeology discovered a large limestone in the ancient capital of Judea. The stone turned out to be a dedication plaque—likely for a building dedication—that named Pontius Pilatus as prefect of Judea.
What about Caiaphas—the leader of the Sanhedrin that pushed so hard for Jesus to be executed? Skeptics claimed that he was merely a literary figure meant to represent the corrupt religious establishment of the time. A chance discovery in 1990 also proved this theory wrong. His ossuary—a burial box used to place the remains of an individual after death—was found just south of Jerusalem’s Old City. Yet again, archaeology had connected the Bible to history. In fact, no significant discovery has ever raised meaningful concerns over the truthfulness of Christ’s resurrection. Quite the opposite, in fact. As time passes, more and more evidence is uncovered supporting it.
Archaeology is not alone in supporting the Gospel accounts of the resurrection. The authors to the Gospels include many details surrounding Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection that would certainly not be included if the story was untrue. Historians call this the Criterion of Embarrassment. Explained simply, when someone is trying to convince others of a lie they do not include details that may harm—or be embarrassing—to their cause. The following are only a few examples of this in the Gospel accounts:
1. Every Gospel explains that women were the first to discover the empty tomb. Someone concocting a lie during this time would have never used women as original witnesses. Thankfully today this has changed, but in 1st century Jerusalem women were seen as second-class citizens and generally unreliable. In fact, they weren’t even generally allowed to provide courtroom testimony!
2. Jesus’ own brothers did not believe in him. They thought he was insane. They even attempted to seize him once for his own benefit.
3. Peter, perhaps the most bold of the apostles who Jesus nicknamed “The Rock”, denied knowing Jesus three times.
4. Mary Magdalene was Jesus’ closest female follower. She was a woman once possessed by seven demons. Her reputation in the area was almost certainly negative.
These are only a few examples of embarrassing details that would be very unlikely to be included in the Gospels had they not occurred.
Shortly after Jesus’ death, Christianity exploded in and around Jerusalem. Think about it, it quickly spread in the very place where someone could easily determine the truth around the resurrection. Had the tomb not been empty, this rapid spread of Christianity would not have taken place.
But can we be certain the tomb was empty? As a matter of fact, yes! It is not merely possible or probable that it was empty—there is little room for doubt. The evidence that provides historical certainty actually comes from an unlikely source: Roman leadership. See, once the claims of Jesus’ body missing spread, Roman officials did not say, “No. He’s still in the tomb. Come look!” They actually said the opposite. They claimed the disciples had stolen the body. That claim admits it! The tomb was, in fact, empty!
Finally, let us examine my favorite piece of evidence for our resurrected Savior: the cost to his followers. The twelve suffered many things due to their affiliation with Christ. They were alienated. They were arrested. They were beaten. They were murdered.
Here is a good way to frame it using the terrible events of September 11, 2001. The terrorists that day died for something they truly believed in. How, then, is this any different than the disciples dying for Christ? I’m glad you asked! The disciples of Jesus claimed to have seen him after the resurrection. There are only two options: They were lying, or they actually saw him. So, unlike the terrorists of 9-11, the disciples did not only believe, they knew it…or they were liars.
And no one gives their life for something they know to be a lie.
These are only a few examples of the evidence God has given us for his son’s resurrection. Are these required for belief? Certainly not! The Bible never tells us faith requires hard evidence…but he gave it to us anyway. How great is our God?
