7 Reasons I Believe Jesus Rose From The Dead

Christianity is many things, but above all, it’s the belief that a Jesus was crucified, buried, and raised again to life.

The resurrection of Christ is the heart of Christian faith.

Belief in the resurrection separates Christianity from all other religions. The leaders of other religions are all dead and buried in a tomb.

You can visit the occupied tomb of Muhammad or Buddha, but not Jesus.

If Jesus did not rise from the dead, Christianity would be dead. As Paul said, “if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Corinthians 15:14 NIV).

I do believe Jesus rose from the dead, but I don’t believe it just because it’s a story I was told as a child. If I did, I might as well believe in fairy tales and dragons.

No, I believe that Jesus rose from the dead because I have investigated the historical evidence and found reasons to believe.

Here are seven reasons I believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

1. Jesus Was Dead

OK, this is not exactly evidence for believing Jesus rose from the dead, but many people argue that Jesus never died. No death means no resurrection.

Perhaps Jesus was mostly dead, but not all dead. So a few days later he woke up and stumbled out of the tomb.

I find this reasoning ridiculous for so many reasons.

Roman soldiers were skilled at killing people. Nobody just walked away from a crucifixion. In fact, the pain was so beyond anything we can describe that they had to come up with a new word to describe how bad it was—excruciating, which means “out of the cross.”

Even if Jesus somehow held on after a flogging, nails piercing his hands and feet, hanging on a cross for hours, and a spear piercing his side (probably puncturing his lungs), he would have bled out and died without urgent medical treatment.

My wife is an ICU nurse, and she assures me that saving a person in that condition would be a tall order even with today’s medical advancements.

Nobody lives through what Jesus went through. It’s impossible.

Jesus was dead.

2.The Tomb Was Empty

Christianity would be extinct if Jesus’ body were still in the tomb.

Yes, I know an empty tomb does not prove the resurrection, but a body would immediately disprove it.

Jesus was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy and prominent man in the city of Jerusalem. Everyone knew where to find Joseph. They knew where the tomb was. Anyone could see it.

Plus, the greatest evidence for the empty tomb is not even from the Christians, but the Jewish leaders.

If the tomb were not empty, they would have pointed to the body and settled it.

But since the tomb was empty, they claimed that the disciples must have stolen the body (Matthew 28:13).

3. Women Were The First Witnesses

Women in the first century did not enjoy the same rights as women in most countries today. They were considered lower members of society.

In fact, the testimony of a woman was not even considered reliable in court.

So here’s the question: If the disciples—a group of men—wanted to fabricate a resurrection story, who would they want to say were the first eyewitnesses?

The answer: Men. Not women. Definitely not women!

In the first century, the claim of women being the first to witness Jesus’ resurrection was almost an embarrassing detail. Some would have mocked the account and disregarded it simply because of the testimony of the women.

The fact that all four Gospels claim that women were the first on the scene is evidence that the story is true.

4. The Gospel Accounts Have “Contradictions”

Some people try to discredit the Gospels as reliable historical sources because they have contradictions in the resurrection account.

For example, how many women were present at the empty tomb?

• John says it was Mary Magdalene.
• Matthew says it was Mary Magdalene and the other Mary.
• Mark says it was Mary Magdalene, Mary, and Salome.
• John says it was Mary Magdalene, Mary, Joanna, and an undefined number of other women.

But if you look closer, you’ll notice that none of these accounts contradict another.

For example, John identifies Mary Magdalene, but he doesn’t say that others were not there.

It would only be a contradiction if John said Mary was there and Matthew said Mary was not there, or if John said Mary was there alone.

These minor differences in secondary details are actually evidence of reliability.

Imagine if you were to interview four eyewitnesses of a crime. They will give you four different stories.

They’ll describe the same event, but the secondary details will vary depending on how they witnessed the event or what details they felt were important to include or not.

The core of the story will be the same, but their descriptions will vary. That’s normal human behavior.

Now, imagine you interview these people, but their details are all the same. That’s a red flag.

The witnesses either colluded on the details or copied them from the same source (and may not be real witnesses).

Therefore, the minor variation in the number of women or angels present at the tomb affirms the historical reliability of the Gospels.

Four copies of the same story would be a reason for doubt.

5. There Were Hundreds of Witnesses

Aside from the women at the tomb, Jesus appeared to all the disciples. And Paul tells us that he too saw Jesus and so did James, other apostles, and over 500 other people (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).

We must remember that Paul wrote about these witnesses while most of them were still living. He even says so. It’s Paul’s way of saying, “If you don’t believe me, go ask them!”

If all these people did not believe that they saw Jesus resurrected, Paul would have been discredited, and Christianity might have fizzled out.

The testimonies of the hundreds who saw Jesus alive again was hard to deny, and a large reason why Christianity spread so fast.

6. The Witnesses Died for Their Testimony

Nobody can deny that something happened to radically change the disciples.

Before Easter morning, their leader was dead. They ran for their lives.

After the tomb was found empty, they went to the streets speaking boldly to all who would hear about the resurrection of Jesus.

Something must have happened to make such a dramatic shift. According to the disciples, it was because they saw Jesus.

Plus, the greatest proof of their conviction to their testimony is that they died for their faith. They went to the grave as martyrs proclaiming the resurrection.

Only John was spared martyrdom, but he still faced the threat death and was imprisoned instead.

Imagine that you committed a crime with ten of your friends and were being interrogated about it. The officials torture you and begin to execute your friends one at a time, promising to spare your lives if you’d only tell the truth.

Would you continue to lie at the threat of death to you and your friends?

The only way that you could possibly allow yourself and your friends to die is if you were so convinced of what you saw that you’d rather die than lie. Otherwise, at least one person would crack and confess.

The disciples, Paul, and many others testified their belief in the resurrection of Jesus with their deaths.

7. There Was No Motive To Lie

All crimes have a motive. Aside from the evidence, establishing the motive is one of the most important elements in a detective’s case.

When someone is murdered, detectives ask, “Who might have a reason to kill this person?”

So if the disciples were lying, what was their motive? What did they have to gain from proclaiming the resurrection?

Their claim to see Jesus alive again got them nothing but persecution, poverty, prison, and death.

Jesus wasn’t the first person who came to Jerusalem claiming to be the Messiah. There were others before him. But every time these other “messiahs” were killed, their followers disbanded and fled for their lives.

They weren’t stupid. They had nothing to gain from following a dead “messiah” or telling a lie to keep the movement together.

The disciples had no motive to lie. Their lives would have been easier if they went back home. All had professions that they could have returned to and made more money.

They could have lived long, happy lives. But they risked everything because they saw Jesus alive after they watched him die.

The disciples had no choice but to tell the world what they had seen.

The Verdict

Christianity is not an irrational faith. You don’t have to check your brain at the door to follow Christ.

Contrary to what some may say, you don’t have to deny science and reason. After all, God created humanity with the unique ability to learn and reason. He has given us the ability and reason to believe.

I have investigated the life of Jesus and discovered the truth. I have evidence to believe Jesus rose from the dead. I’ve experienced the love, joy, hope, peace, and many blessings of a life devoted to following him, and you can too.