Did the Resurrection of Jesus Really Occur?

This weekend, Christians worldwide will commemorate the two most important events in the Christian faith: the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If these two events never occurred, the entire belief system of Christianity crumbles. We might as well close the doors of our church buildings and turn them into bowling alleys and Pizza Huts if Jesus never really died on the cross or rose from grave. Even the Apostle Paul himself wrote, "and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:14, New American Standard Bible).

Is there any way for us to know, then, that these events actually occurred and that our beliefs and practices as Christians have not all been in vain? I recall watching a video clip a while back of a popular Christian apologist by the name of Cliff Knechtle. Knechtle was speaking to a group of students on a college campus when one of the students challenged him to "prove" that Jesus was real and that Christianity was true. Without missing a beat, Knechtle asserted that he would gladly prove Jesus if the student could prove Napoleon, George Washington, or a number of other historical figures.

Knechtle's point that he went on to make was that we could never truly prove anything in life, as to prove something is to show that it could not possibly be another way. In truth, how could I prove to you or you to me that George Washington was really the first president of the United States? Afterall, you and I were not alive when he supposedly lived and no one living today was. Couldn't his very existence have been fabricated? Couldn't the George Washington of the history books be entirely made up? Or couldn't he have never really been president? Someone could have easily lied about this and then passed it down through generations, right?

We don't base anything in our lives off of actual proof. Rather, we draw conclusions based on evidence. If we have enough evidence to suggest that something is true, then it must be true; and in the same way that we have plenty of evidence to suggest that George Washington was really the first president of the United States, we also have overwhelming evidence that not only was Jesus of Nazareth a real person, but that he died on the cross under Pontius Pilate and rose from the dead on the third day, thereby defeating death and sin and providing a way for you and I to have a relationship with our Heavenly Father and eternal life in Heaven with Him.

Jesus Was A Real Person

The first logical question to ask is whether or not this "Jesus of Nazareth" even existed. After all, if he didn't exist, what's the point of even discussing his supposed resurrection? The truth is that to suggest Jesus never even existed is foolish and a complete denial of overwhelming scholarly consensus. Those are not just my words as a Christian minister, either. Those are the sentiments of Bart Ehrman, one of the most prominent atheist scholars today. Ehrman was once speaking to a group of fellow atheists and asserted that they were foolish to believe that Jesus was not a real person and that they were discrediting their own atheistic arguments by saying such a thing.

Aside from the four separate Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, there were numerous extrabiblical sources that wrote about and verified the existence of Jesus. Two of the most well known are Josephus, a Jewish Historian and Tacitus, a Roman Historian. Both of these men lived in the 1st century, neither of them were Christian, and they both wrote about the existence of not only Jesus but many of the other figures we know from the biblical accounts.

Jesus Really Died On The Cross

One of the many details mentioned in extrabiblical accounts of Jesus, including the aforementioned accounts of Josephus and Tacitus, is that he was, in fact, crucified under Pontius Pilate, just as the Gospel accounts record. Many have suggested over the years that the crucifixion never occurred; yet this is another well documented historical fact that's hard to deny outside of grasping at straws and conspiracy theories.

The Women Were the First Witnesses

Another fact that adds credibility to the biblical accounts of Jesus' resurrection is that the first witnesses to the empty tomb and the first to go and tell others that Jesus had risen from the grave were women. In the culture at that time, women were not typically as educated as men and they were, in many ways, looked down upon. The testimony of a woman was nowhere near as credible as that of a man.

If I was going to make up a story, as many have asserted was the case with the disciples and the resurrection, why would I chose the least credible witnesses available at the time? It's almost as if they were either trying to convince people to not believe their story, or perhaps that there really was something to this whole "resurrection" account.

There Was No Motive to Make Up the Story

Another reasonable assumption about a made up story, particularly such an elaborate one, would be that those making it up would need some sort of reason for doing so. To the contrary, the authors and proponents of these New Testament accounts were heavily persecuted, beaten, tortured, and martyred for their beliefs. Even if my only motive for making something up was sheer boredom, I would be insane to continue purporting that lie if my life was at risk; and if the resurrection was made up, not one but many of these early Christians continued to share a lie that ultimately got them killed. It seems far fetched to think that was the case.

There Was An Empty Tomb!

One of the earliest accusations that is recorded not only in the gospel accounts but also in extrabiblical records from the early centuries, is that the tomb was empty because the disciples had stolen the body. We could have a conversation about how preposterous an accusation that is, considering the risk factor involved and the number of guards that would have been standing at Jesus' tomb; but despite all that, these early accusations show one thing: there was undoubtedly an empty tomb on that third day!

Conclusion

There are numerous other details we could cover that support the biblical claims of Jesus's death, burial and resurrection. The simple fact, however, is that we have plenty of reason to believe that something supernatural occurred that day around 2,000 years ago. While, as mentioned earlier, we can never truly prove anything beyond a shadow of a doubt, as there will always be room for a conspiracy theory or a denial, the evidence is clear. Jesus of Nazareth was a real man who walked the face of the earth, taught and performed miracles, was crucified under Pontius Pilate and rose from the grave on the third day.

The Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the church at Rome, "But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" - that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:8 - 9, NASB).

This Easter weekend, I pray that if you haven't already, you would make the most important decision you will ever make on this side of eternity, which is to accept what Christ has done for us through his death, burial and resurrection and to invite him to become Lord of your life.

I invite you to join me on the radio this Sunday morning, April 5th, 2026, for a special edition of the Seeking Radio Show, as we dive deeper into this topic and look at the insurmountable evidence for Jesus and his resurrection. The Seeking Radio Show will air from 9:00 to 9:30 Sunday morning on 93.5 WMMG.