The resurrection.

The historical evidence behind the claim that Jesus rose from the dead, item by item: what is known, how firmly, and how the explanations compare. Each item is graded on the same scale as the rest of the site.

The resurrection What outsiders said Archaeology Dating the crucifixion

Established 2Highly probable 2Probable 4Thinly attested 1Not supported 1Turns on background 1

Mark 15; Tacitus, Annals 15.44; Josephus

Jesus died by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate

Jesus was executed by crucifixion on the authority of Pontius Pilate, prefect of Judea.

Established

1 Cor 15:4; Mark 15:42-47

Burial in a known tomb by Joseph of Arimathea

Jesus' body was placed in a known rock-cut tomb by Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Jerusalem council.

Probable

Mark 16:1-8; Matt 28; Luke 24; John 20

The tomb found empty by women

Within days of the crucifixion, women followers of Jesus found the tomb where he had been laid empty.

Probable

1 Cor 15:3-8

The early creed: "he was raised … and he appeared"

Paul hands on a formula he had received: Christ died, was buried, was raised, and appeared to Cephas and the Twelve.

Highly probable

1 Cor 15; Gal 1-2

His followers proclaimed him raised, within a few years

Within a few years of Jesus' death, some of his followers proclaimed that God had raised him and that he had appeared to them.

Highly probable

1 Cor 15:5-7

Appearances to groups

The early list includes the Twelve, "above five hundred brethren at once" and "all the apostles", but gives no details.

Thinly attested

1 Cor 15:7; Gal 1:19; Josephus, Antiquities 20.200

James, the brother of Jesus

James, apparently not a follower during the ministry, is listed among those who saw the risen Jesus and became the leader of the Jerusalem church.

Probable

Gal 1:13-17; 1 Cor 15:8-9

Paul, from persecutor to apostle

Paul, who persecuted the movement, attributed his turn to a revelation of the risen Jesus.

Established

Josephus; 1 Clement 5; Acts 12:2

Leaders who suffered and died for it

Several first-generation leaders, including James, Peter and Paul, were killed in connection with their faith.

Probable

1 Cor 15; Gal 1; Mark 15-16

Explanations the evidence counts against

Deliberate fabrication, survival of the crucifixion, pure legend, and visions alone do not fit the evidence.

Not supported

Allison 2021

The resurrection and the best natural account compared

Against the best natural account, the evidence alone comes out about even; the verdict depends on one's view of God and of Jesus.

Turns on background

← All items

Leaders who suffered and died for it

Research gradeProbable

Sources: Josephus; 1 Clement 5;

The Christian case

The first leaders paid for their proclamation. Josephus records the stoning of James; early Christian sources record the deaths of Peter and Paul at Rome and of James the son of Zebedee; Paul lists floggings, beatings with rods and a stoning. People who invented a story would have had every reason to abandon it under that pressure. Their suffering is strong evidence that they sincerely believed what they proclaimed.

What the research found

Probable (highly probable for James). This establishes sincerity, which counts heavily against the theory of deliberate fabrication.

Explore the counterarguments

Sincerity shows belief, not truth; people die for mistaken beliefs in many movements, and the Christian apologist McDowell makes the same point. Only legendary sources describe leaders being offered the chance to recant and refusing.