His followers proclaimed him raised, within a few years
Research gradeHighly probable
Paul's own letters show the belief early and at its source. He persecuted a movement that already existed, "beyond measure I persecuted the church of God" (), then joined it within a few years of the crucifixion, and about three years later "went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother" (). He insists his message was theirs: "whether it were I or they, so we preach" (). The proclamation began in Jerusalem, where Jesus had died, among the people who had known him.
Highly probable. Resurrection belief existed among Jesus' followers within about one to six years of his death. It is not rated established because both lines of evidence come from one author, Paul, and because what "raised" and "appeared" meant to the first believers is still debated.
Explore the counterarguments
Early belief shows that the belief was early, not that it was true. Religious movements sometimes survive the failure of their central hope by reinterpreting it. The satirist Lucian, an eyewitness, records a story of a dead man's appearance forming within days around a sincere-seeming witness.