evidence for jesus
Christianity and the Resurrection: A Historically Grounded Defense
Presuppositional Foundations
1. Presuppositions in Knowledge Claims
Before discussing evidence, we must acknowledge that everyone operates with presuppositions.
Example: We all presuppose the reliability of our senses. This can't be proven without circular reasoning, but it's necessary for any belief or knowledge claim.
The same applies to historical reasoning—we accept documents, testimony, and patterns from the past unless we have strong reasons not to.
The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus
2. The Argument in Brief
If you incorporate all the relevant data, it’s more probable that Jesus rose from the dead than that He didn’t.
Christianity doesn't require blind faith—it outperforms other worldviews in explanatory power and historical support.
The resurrection explains:
The explosive growth of the early church.
The sudden, enduring belief in Jesus' divinity.
The transformation of Paul (a persecutor of Christians).
The willingness of the disciples to suffer and die for their faith.
Historical Sources Supporting Jesus and the Resurrection
3. Early and Multiple Attestations
New Testament Sources:
Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
Acts
Epistles (especially 1 Corinthians 15:3–7)
Extra-biblical Confirmations:
Josephus (Jewish historian): Mentions Jesus’ crucifixion under Pontius Pilate and early Christian beliefs (Antiquities of the Jews 18.3).
Tacitus (Roman historian): Confirms Jesus' execution under Pilate and the spread of Christianity (Annals 15.44).
Pliny the Younger: Wrote to Emperor Trajan about Christians worshiping Jesus “as a god” (Letters 10.96).
The Alexamenos Graffito: Roman graffiti mocking Christian worship of a crucified figure—shows early belief.
Lucian of Samosata and Suetonius also acknowledge the movement and its leader.
📚 Sources:
Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 18.3.3
Tacitus, Annals 15.44
Pliny the Younger, Letters 10.96
Lucian of Samosata, The Death of Peregrinus 11–13
Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars 25.4
4. 1 Corinthians 15:3–7 – An Early Creed
Recognized even by skeptical scholars as a pre-Pauline creed, received within 3–5 years of Jesus’ death.
Lists resurrection appearances to Peter, the Twelve, 500 witnesses, James, and Paul.
No serious scholar of antiquity denies that this tradition predates Paul's writing.
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins… that He was buried… that He was raised on the third day… and that He appeared to Peter, then to the Twelve…” — 1 Corinthians 15:3–5
📚 Sources:
Gary Habermas, The Historical Jesus, College Press, 1996.
James D.G. Dunn, Jesus Remembered, Eerdmans, 2003, p. 855.
Larry Hurtado, Lord Jesus Christ, Eerdmans, 2003.
Comparing Jesus to Other Ancient Figures
5. Manuscript Evidence
Caesar ~1000 years ~10 copies
Plato ~1200 years ~7 copies
Thucydides ~1300 years ~8 copies
Tacitus ~1000 years ~20 copies
Homer (Iliad) ~500 years ~643 copies
New Testament ~25 years or less 5800+ (Greek), 24,000+ total
The New Testament is orders of magnitude better preserved, with manuscript evidence close to the time of the events and in greater quantity than any other ancient work.
📚 Sources:
Bruce Metzger & Bart Ehrman, The Text of the New Testament, Oxford, 2005.
Craig Blomberg, The Historical Reliability of the Gospels, IVP Academic, 2007.
“Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence”
6. Counter-Challenge
Define "extraordinary claim" and "extraordinary evidence".
Most skeptics cannot offer a usable method for defining either.
If “extraordinary” means "rare," then historical claims like Alexander’s conquests or Hannibal’s Alps campaign are extraordinary.
If the resurrection is “extraordinary,” then so is any unique historical event—but we still accept many of those based on far less evidence.
7. Consistency Check
Ask: “What standard would convince you?”
If they say “nothing would”, then it’s not about evidence—it’s about philosophical bias.
Thought experiment: “If we found 20,000 verified documents dated within a year of Jesus' death all confirming the resurrection, would you believe it?”
If the answer is no, the issue is with their epistemology, not the data.
If the answer is yes, then the New Testament sources should at least be considered—not dismissed a priori.
Historical Precision in the Gospels
8. Example: Matthew 2:22 and Archelaus
Matthew writes: “…he learned that Archelaus was reigning in Judea…” — Matthew 2:22
The Greek word is not “king” (like with Herod) but “reigning.”
Historical Accuracy:
Josephus, a first-century historian, confirms Archelaus was denied the title "king" by Caesar and ruled as ethnarch (not king).
He ruled only Judea, not the full kingdom of Herod, and reigned for just 9 years (4 BC – 6 AD) before being deposed due to cruelty.
Matthew captures all of this in one word—“reigning”—showing remarkable accuracy.
📚 Source: Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 17.11.4
Challenge for the Skeptic
9. No reputable historian of antiquity denies that:
Jesus lived.
Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate.
His followers believed He rose and worshiped Him as divine.
Ask: Can you name a scholar of antiquity who denies Jesus was crucified?
There are none—because the evidence is too strong.
Closing Argument
10. The resurrection is not a desperate leap of faith—it’s a conclusion based on:
Multiple early, independent sources.
Cultural and religious transformation.
Historical precision in details.
Extraordinary explanatory power.
Skeptics often rely on naturalistic assumptions or the principle of analogy (i.e., “we don’t see this happen now, so it didn’t happen then”)—but that’s not a valid method for evaluating singular historical events.
Debate Soundbites
“Christianity doesn’t need special pleading—it has the best documented origin story in the ancient world.”
“The resurrection claim isn’t extraordinary in light of the evidence—it’s the best explanation for the facts.”
“If you’re committed to denying the resurrection no matter the evidence, then your worldview isn’t evidence-based—it’s dogmatic.”
“The Gospels get the tiny details right, and the biggest claim—Jesus’ resurrection—has the most attestation of any ancient event.”