Jesus Christ as the risen Savior is a historical fact regardless of your feelings on the matter;
Why would someone be willing to abandon their long-held sacred beliefs and practices for a lie that would lead to their death?
Why would someone still stand on a lie if all they would have to do to save their life would be to deny their claim?
“Skeptics must provide more than alternative theories to the resurrection; they must provide first-century evidence for those theories.”
Gary Habermas (leading historian and scholar on Jesus Christ).
The New Testament was written within five to twenty-five years of the events, by contrast the history we have of Alexander the Great was written hundreds of years after his death. There are multiple known outside sources (apart from the multiple eyewitness accounts in the bible), that mention the living Jesus. The Talmud (a Jewish source) labels Jesus as being a sorcerer, and they confirm his miracles. The ten known non-Christian sources were written within a couple generations of Him ascending. By contrast, there are only nine sources that mention Tiberius Caesar, who was the Roman emperor at the time of Jesus, and these sources were written within over 150 years of his life.
Scholar and theologian J.P. Moreland explained the significance of the evidence for Jesus outside the New Testament in the two paragraphs below;
Roman and Greek historians during or shortly after Jesus’ life were geographically distant from Judea and Galilee. Moreover, this location was a remote and unimportant outpost far, far away from Rome, so there was little interest in what happened there. And there were countless numbers of religious figures, social and political movements, great unrest and instability in Judea and Galilee, and little attention is paid to many key figures besides Jesus. Further, we must recall that much of ancient literature has been lost, so it is entirely plausible that Jesus was referred to more than He is in the documents we have.
Setting aside the New Testament documents, we have clear references to Jesus made by Roman, Jewish, and Greek historians. From these we get the following picture: Jesus was a Jewish teacher who had a group of disciples; He was a wonder worker of some sort, performing healings and exorcisms; He was rejected by the Jewish leaders and crucified by Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius Caesar; the sky turned dark at the time of His crucifixion (the pagan historian Thallus explains this as an eclipse of the sun!); His followers claimed to have seen Him risen from the dead shortly after His crucifixion; and the Christian movement spread so rapidly that within a few decades it had taken root in Rome itself. 1 In AD 49, the Roman emperor Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome because they were disputing over “Chrestus,” most likely because the preaching of Jesus in Roman synagogues created a large disturbance in Rome. (Love Your God with All Your Mind. Tyndale House Publishers, (Colorado Springs, CO. NavPress, 2012).
The following writers outside the Bible refer either to Christ, or the events mentioned in the New Testament, or both; Flavius Josephus (AD 37-101, Tacitus (A.D. c.55-A.D. c.117, Roman historian, Thallus (Circa AD 52, eclipse of the sun), Pliny the Younger mentioned Christ, again, The Talmud, and Lucian (circa 120-after 180) mentions Jesus.
The historical accounts for Jesus are much earlier than the writings attributed to other famous figures in antiquity. This should mean the accounts about Jesus are far more reliable than the following historical documents; Homer's history of the Trojan war was written 500 years after the events. Herodotus 1,400 years after the events, Plato 1,200 years, history of Caesar 1,000 years after, and Pliny 750 years later. There are more manuscript copies of the New Testament than for all the great Greek philosophers mentioned here, and the history of Caesar. So, why is the history of Jesus and the New Testament documents questioned the most when it comes to accuracy of history? The main reason people do not trust the New Testament is because of the miracles. However, this reasoning does not stand for it is dependent on the logical fallacies appeal to ignorance and appeal to emotions.
Predating the gospel accounts 1 Corinthians 15:3-19 is one of the earliest documented pieces of evidence concerning the ressurection, written within two to three years after Christ died on the cross; ‘For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas/Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.’
Simplest Argument for Christ Resurrected: Compare and Contrast Leading skeptical theories regarding Jesus Christ and the Resurrection with the accepted Historical Facts listed later in this post:
1. Swoon theory, aka “he wasn’t dead.”
Evidence against this theory: Jesus was stabbed in the heart, as witnessed and confirmed by Romans as well as Jews. He was dead. (This has been verified by Roman and Jewish sources as well. Even atheists know that Jesus was killed.)
2. Hallucination theory… Maybe every person who claimed to see Him resurrected was tripping on something.
Evidence against this theory: Multiple people do not have the same hallucination; it doesn’t work that way. Plus, the tomb was empty. Romans or Jews could have paraded his body all around the town if they wanted to shut up the spreading idea of Jesus resurrected. The body was never found.
3. The witnesses went to the wrong tomb.
Evidence against the theory: This doesn’t make sense. “All of the Jews and the Romans had a permanent kind of “collective amnesia” about what they had done with the body of Jesus.” William Lane Craig.
4. Disciples stole the body.
Evidence against this theory: “For some inexplicable reason, they stole the body in order to get themselves beaten, tortured, and martyred!” The disciples slipped past the Roman guards, and moved a large stone with their bare hands, unnoticed. Plus, this doesn’t explain away the other eyewitness accounts. (Cornelius Tacitus (A.D. 52-54) confirmed Jesus was put to death by Pontius Pilate, and he confirms that Christians’ worshiped Him. There is also Lucian of Samosta, Flavius Josephus, and Suetonius.)
5. The New Testament writers copied pagan resurrection myths. (This is my favorite one).
Evidence against this theory: Why would the disciples do this? Did they think it would be cool to die as a result of plagiarism and a lie? Marduk, Adonis, and Osiris are not historical figures. They are mythological gods. Everything said about them and what they did is not historically verifiable, because they are make believe. No eyewitnesses to the make believe. Pagan myth theory cannot explain the empty tomb, the martyrdom of the eyewitnesses, or the testimony of the non-Christian writings. (This theory is the most popular one today, which is proof of how uninformed people are these days. Whole books have been written on this subject so that money can be made off the gullible.) Archeology proves that Christ was worshiped as God long before Constantine; “Two mosaics inside the church — one covered with fish, an ancient Christian symbol that predated the widespread use of the cross symbol — tell the story of a Roman officer and a woman named Aketous who donated money to build the church in the memory “of the God, Jesus Christ.” http://www.nbcnews.com/.../archaeologists-unveil.../...
In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and he was God. He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn’t make. Life itself was in him… So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us (John 1: 1-4, 14, NLT).
This above passage from John, has been discovered in an ancient manuscript, and it is carbon-dated at 175-225 A.D. Again, this is further evidence Jesus was clearly spoken of as God over a hundred years before Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea. We now see that forensic manuscript evidence contradicts the claim that Jesus’ divinity was a fourth century invention.
12 historical facts considering Jesus and Christianity Agreed by Skeptical scholars
1. Jesus died by Roman crucifixion.
2. He was buried in a private tomb.
3. Soon afterwards the disciples were discouraged, bereaved, and despondent, having lost hope.
4. Jesus tomb was found empty very soon after his burial.
5. The disciples had experiences that they believed were actual appearances of the risen Jesus.
6. Due to these experiences, the disciples’ lives were thoroughly transformed. They were even willing to die for their belief.
7. The proclamation of the Resurrection took place very early, from the beginning of church history.
8. The disciples’ public testimony and preaching of the Resurrection took place in the city of Jerusalem, where Jesus had been crucified and buried shortly before. (Why would they do something so crazy and dangerous?)
9. The gospel message centered on the preaching of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
10. Sunday was the primary day for gathering and worshiping.
11. James, the brother of Jesus and a skeptic before this time, was converted when he believed he also saw the risen Jesus.
12. Just a few years later, Saul of Tarsus (Paul) became a Christian believer, due to an experience that he also believed was an appearance of the risen Jesus. (He went from being a Pharisee who persecuted the Christians’ to becoming one of the leading Christian figures, up to his martyrdom.)
There is Physical Evidence:
For those who claim there is absolutely no evidence Jesus lived; "As reported by CNN, in 2002 archaeologists discovered a 2,000-year-old “bone box” inscribed with Aramaic words that translated to: "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus." It was potentially the first physical evidence of Jesus’... One theory, as professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary, Ben Witherington III explained to CNN, was that Jesus and James were indeed full brothers (James was younger).
"The New Testament says nothing about Mary being a perpetual virgin, it says she virginally conceived Jesus, and it certainly implies that she went on to have more children after that, and his brothers and sisters are in fact his brothers and sisters," Witherington told CNN.
The evidence is there for the one seeking after genuine hope and purpose for life. As Jesus said,
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened" (Matt. 7:7-8 NIV).
Further sources to help you make a decision not based on emotions, popular opinion, or a lack of knowledge:
Bauckham, Richard. Jesus and the God of Israel. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdman's Publishing Company, 2009.
Block, Daniel Isaac. Israel: Ancient Kingdom or Late Invention? Nashville, TN: B & H Academic, 2008.
Bock, Darrell L., Studying the Historical Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing, 2002.
Cook, John Granger. "Resurrection in Paganism and the Question of an Empty Tomb in 1 Corinthians 15." New Testament Studies 63, no. 1 (01, 2017).
Geisler, L. Norman, and Turek, Frank. I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist. Wheaton, IL. Crossway Books, 2004.
Groothuis, Douglas. Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith. Downers Grove: IL. InterVarsity Press, 2011.
Habermas, Gary R. The Risen Jesus & Future Hope. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2003.
Kostenberger, Andreas J., Darrell L. Bock, and Josh D. Chatraw. Truth in a Culture of Doubt. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2014.
Moreland, J.P. Love the Lord Your God with all Your Mind. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2012.
Swamidass, Joshua S. The Genealogical Adam and Eve: The Surprising Science of Universal Ancestry. Downers Grove: IL, IVP Academic, 2019.
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