The answer is yes. And such a conviction fits consistently inside a plausible philosophical structure that realistically corresponds to our experience of the world and addresses the most important questions of our lives. Indeed, more than fitting into that philosophical structure, the resurrection of Jesus the Christ is the cornerstone, the linchpin, the loadstar in that philosophical structure.

Editor’s Note: The following article has been adapted from an evangelistic talk of the same name given by Nicholas Piotrowski on March 26, 2016 through the Fox Valley Theological Society.

In 1996 the rock band U2 released a song that seemed to ask some tough questions about the resurrection of Jesus, the Christ. It was called “Wake Up Dead Man.” For some long-time U2 fans, this came as a bit of a shock. They’d come to know of U2’s song writers, Bono and the Edge, as conscious Christians. What was this, a challenge to the very cornerstone of the Christian faith? Other U2 fans were not so surprised. While they knew these lyricists to be self-avowed and vocal Christians, they also knew that U2 was never the sort of artists who accepted religious dogma without thoughtful reflection. They’d always been the sort of artists who investigated and probed deeply into the mysteries of the faith. Simple answers never satisfied them.

In this way they fall right into a long-standing tradition of people inquiring into what the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth means. And to get to that meaning, historians, philosophers, poets, artists, theologians, writers, singers, and even politicians have wondered what really happened on that first Easter Sunday. The story itself is simple: Jesus of Nazareth was executed by crucifixion and then came back to life three days later; his followers saw him, proclaimed he was alive wherever they went, and a new religion was founded. But was Jesus really resurrected? If so, how? If not, what then did happen? And what does it all mean?

My goal here is to lay out some of the competing theories and discuss them.

Facts on the Ground

Before theologians or philosophers can weigh in on the meaning of the resurrection, it is important that historians get the story right. What happened on that Sunday morning? Where did this story about Jesus of Nazareth’s resurrection come from? Christians claim that he died a death that paid for their sins, and that because God raised him back to life three days later, he continues to live and has the power to give them eternal life also.

Well, did Jesus come back to life? Christians claim that this happened in history. Therefore, it is open to historical investigation. “Every conviction has the right to try to prove itself from history and to overcome its opponents on this basis.”^[1] And to that we now turn.

The methods employed by historians are simple (even if carrying out the methods to satisfactory ends isn’t). Historiography begins by getting the known, unassailable facts on the table. What do we absolutely know, that no one disagrees with? Then, the facts have to be interpreted. The theory able to make the most logical and consistent sense of those facts, without ignoring any nor exaggerating any, is the theory that wins the day. That will be the theory accepted by historians as the most plausible account of the historical events in question. But all theories are open to testing. And insofar that a theory neglects any piece of evidence, a new theory is liable to push it over. Then that theory is open to testing. Such is the way of historiography. Facts are known, theories are made, and conclusions are tested. That’s what we’ll do today.

We’ll begin with the pieces of evidence that are attested (not only in Christian texts, but in non-Christian sources as well) and are accepted as established verifiable facts by Christians, skeptics, and other religion bodies alike. These are the bare bones skeleton of the first century events concerning Jesus, his life and death, and his followers. These are the pieces everyone has to play with.

A. Facts about Jesus of Nazareth and His Disciples

There are twelve facts I want to lay on the table; I’ve tried to organize them under three headings for the sake of memory. They are:

(1) Facts about Jesus of Nazareth and his disciples (which were his closest followers during his life);

(2) Facts about the origins of the resurrection story (that is, what we know about where the story first came from and how it developed and spread); and

(3) Facts about early Christian beliefs (the teachings of the first generation of Christians).

So, to begin, some facts about Jesus and his disciples.

1. Jesus lived in first-century Palestine.

Jesus lived in first-century Palestine. There was a brief time in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when it was argued that the historical person, Jesus of Nazareth, was entirely fictional. His life and times were completely made up. That theory has run its course. It’s had its 15 minutes of fame. There is simply too much evidence (not only from Christian sources, but from Greco-Roman and Jewish sources alike)^[2] that there was a Jesus of Nazareth, that he traveled and preached, and that he accrued a following.^[3]

2. Jesus and his followers were Jewish.

Jesus and his followers were Jewish.^[4] This may go without saying, but again this the essential framework; no element can be overlooked.^[5]

3. Jesus was tried and killed by crucifixion.

Jesus was tried and killed by Roman crucifixion.^[6] Again, not only the Christian sources, but early Greco-Roman and Jewish sources attest to this fact.^[7] It is important for context. Crucifixion carried with it major negative social stigmas^[8] No one wanted to be associated with a crucified man. Jews specifically knew that “a crucified messiah was a failed messiah.”^[9]

4. Jesus’s followers did not die.

Jesus died alone. The significance of this is often overlooked. There were many Jewish messianic movements in first-century Palestine where Jesus lived.^[10] And as in the case of Jesus, they were all suppressed by Roman violence.^[11] The alleged messiahs were all killed. Their followers then had three options: die with the “messiah” (as many did whether they chose to or not), or disband and give up the dream, or anoint a new “messiah” to take the previous one’s place. Jesus’s followers did not die with him. And this brings me to the next fact.

5. Jesus’s followers carried on without a replacement messiah

Jesus’s followers didn’t die, nor did they disband. But they carried on without replacing Jesus with another “messiah.” Even the most famous early Christian leaders, Peter, Paul, John, and James were never hailed as the new “messiahs.”

B. Facts About the Origins of the Resurrection Story

Moving on, how did the story itself come about and what were its effects? Here are the facts about the origins of the resurrection story.

6. The story of Jesus’s resurrection began immediately in Jerusalem by those who claimed to have seen him alive after his resurrection.

The existence of a story about Jesus’s resurrection is an historical fact. The story was told. And it began immediately after Jesus’s death—within two months—by people who claimed to have seen the resurrected Jesus. While some would argue that the fully developed story was still years off, the beginning of the story was immediate. Had Jesus’s followers waited too long to tell their story, the charismatic, yet tragically crucified, Galilean preacher would have been forgotten, and any claims to their eyewitness testimony seriously called into doubt.^[12] Even the most critical scholars agree that the first Christian history to be written, called The Acts of the Apostles, is accurate in its basic account of the events in Jerusalem 40 days after Jesus’s death.^[13]

7. The story of Jesus’s resurrection is allegedly begun by women.

The story is said, according to the Christians themselves, to have been started by women. This may seem irrelevant, but sadly in first-century Palestinian culture women were less trusted than men. They could testify in court, but only as a last resort. They were thought to be easily swayed, too emotional, irrational, and less intelligent than men. We know today that this is entirely foolish, but that was the view of women at that time.

8. The story was then proclaimed by those who followed him during his life.

After the women gave their report, the very men who were with Jesus during his life carried the story further in Jerusalem and abroad. These men were called his “disciples.” Again, even the most skeptical scholars recognize the reliability of the early Christian history book, the Acts of the Apostles, on this point: Jesus’s disciples were the proponents of the resurrection story.^[14]

9. The story became popular and the church grew.

The story of Jesus’s resurrection became popular, and a new religious movement was off. Again, another obvious point, but one that should not be overlooked. Jesus looked defeated. As wrote earlier, no one in the ancient world wanted to follow a crucified man. But, people came to believe the story of Jesus’s resurrection, and it became the primary Christian doctrine on which the Church grew in any given area. Wherever Christians went, when they told the story of Jesus of Nazareth, his resurrection was central and primary to their message.

10. Christianity overtook the Roman Empire and outlasted it.

Christianity overtook and outlasted the very Roman Empire that first tried to stamp out the new religion. During the early years of the movement, and throughout the next 250 years, Christians faced persecution in the form of social marginalization, severe torture, and often execution.^[15] Nonetheless, it grew and grew. Eventually it took over and outlived the very empire that tried to destroy it. And note this: Constantine did not make Christianity popular. It already was popular by the fourth century; he just got in on the action for political expediency.^[16]

C. Facts About Early Christian Beliefs

Finally, the beliefs and teachings of the first generation of Christians will be helpful here.

11. Jesus’s resurrection was important to early church.

It is worth mentioning why this story was so important to the Christians. They told it everywhere they went and weren’t willing to acquiesce in the face of persecution.^[17] It’s easy to imagine that it might have been simpler for Christians to spread Jesus’s teachings on ethics and love without such a difficult and incredible story attached to it.^[18] First-century people were not stupid: they knew dead people stayed dead. Therefore, the “cause of Jesus” may not have been laughed at^[19] if it didn’t have this strange resurrection story attached to it. But it was important enough for Christians to not only mention, but to emphasize. Why?

One of the earliest Christian writings we have, called Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, tells us. Paul was one of the first Christian missionaries; he too claimed to have seen the risen Jesus. In the fifteenth chapter of that letter, Paul tells us “If Christ is not risen, [then] your faith is futile, [and] you are still in your sins” (I Cor 15:17–20)! Jesus’s resurrection is only the second part of the story. Jesus’s death came first. And the Christians believed that that death was the means by which they were forgiven of all their misdeeds before God. Jesus’s died to take the penalty for their wrongs. And the resurrection was proof of this. So if Jesus wasn’t raised, then there was no validation for his death. It was just a normal death like anyone else’s. It had no saving or forgiving power; no cosmic consequence.

Paul goes on to say “Then also those who have [died believing in Christ] have perished [for good]” (1 Cor. 15:18). That is, if Jesus wasn’t raised to eternal life, neither will anyone else. When someone dies, that’s it—no eternal life. This led Paul to conclude that “If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men [to be] most piti[ed]” (1 Cor. 15:19). That is, if Jesus makes promises to give eternal life, and he can’t deliver on these promises, then Christians are all fools, giving up things in this world for nothing.

So we see that Jesus’s resurrection was the linchpin for early Christians in the way they thought about sin, forgiveness, eternal life, and why it’s worth following Jesus. These things were precious to them and, in their minds, established by Jesus’s resurrection—the loadstar of all Christian doctrine. The entire Christian religion stands or falls on Jesus’s resurrection. Without it they knew their entire religion and all they hoped for was for naught.

12. Christians came to worship Jesus.

Lastly in the new movement, Jesus’s followers worshiped him. This is quite amazing because the first Christians were Jews who heard early and often throughout their lives that there is one God and one God only, and that no part of creation (like a man) should ever be worshipped.^[20] It is the greatest of sins deserving of nothing less than eternal condemnation. Yet, there they were: a group of predominantly Jewish men and women worshipping Jesus after his death.^[21]

13. The Day of Worship was Moved from Saturday to Sunday.

Religious traditions are the hardest to change. So something massive must have happened to convince the first Christians, many (most?) of whom were Jewish, to move the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday. In the early church, Sunday became the day that Christians would gather together for worship (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2; Rev. 1:10), a practice that continues today. What’s the best explanation that fits this massive religious change? The disciples believed that Jesus rose from the dead on the morning of that First Easter Sunday.

What Did the Disciples Think They Were Proclaiming?

Now, how do we make sense of these things? Many Christians will tell you that it’s all true, and the thing to do is believe it. But it’s not that simple. To believe that one man’s death had such cosmic consequence and that he later came back to life is a lot to swallow, to say the least. Different theories, aside from a literal bodily resurrection, have been proposed. I think the best way to navigate through them is to consider first “What did the disciples think they were proclaiming?” and then to ask “How did they come to think that?” Lets walk through possible some options.

A. The Disciples Knew They Were Lying and Stole the Body

First, what did the disciples think they were saying? It has been suggested that the disciples were making the whole thing up. It was a lie, a hoax. They stole the body from the tomb were Jesus was laid, buried him somewhere else where no one could find him, and said “Look! His tomb is empty. We have seen him. He is alive.”

Why would they do this? Well, it certainly wasn’t for power. They saw what happened to their leader, and they knew they would be next should the Romans not like the fact that the doctrines of the man they just executed are continuing in his followers. In other words, to identify with Jesus in those days was very dangerous indeed! And most of them were later killed for just that.

It wasn’t for money. They lived very poor lives, and we have no accounts of any of them throwing in the towel at any time because the dividends were not coming in.

Maybe they had idealistic political goals. We know that many people willingly accept poverty and repudiation, and risk their necks for their political ideals.^[22] We know Jesus criticized the Jerusalem leadership. Maybe Jesus’s followers were zealously encouraged by such.

This theory is not nearly as popular as it once was. While it makes some sense of some of the facts, it is very shaky upon further consideration. For example, note the fact I mentioned above about Jesus’s disciples not dying with him. Why did Jesus die alone? His disciples all abandoned him when he was arrested! We know this from their own writings—not the sort of embarrassing thing you’d say about yourself if you’re trying to persuade others that you are the spokesperson of the new political movement. Combine that with the fact above that Jesus’s story was proclaimed by those who followed him . This theory doesn’t explain how the disciples could have become so bold whereas weeks earlier, when they had their chance to fight, they fled. You’d think they’d be less courageous without their leader (crucified at that). Consider also the fact that women were the first witnesses to the resurrection. If the entire story was fabricated, why did the disciples place women at the tomb to first discover Jesus was raised? Remember, women were generally considered unreliable witnesses. That would be like betting all your chips with a bluff and only a pair of twos in your hand.

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