Apologetics / Christian Worldview
Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?
A Historical Investigation of the Evidence for the Resurrection
Dr. David V. Lott
The Resurrection of Jesus is the central historical claim upon which Christianity stands or falls. The New Testament does not merely claim that Jesus' teaching survived His death or that His followers continued to feel His spiritual presence. It makes the far more remarkable claim that the Jesus who had been executed by Roman crucifixion was raised from the dead and appeared to His followers.
This six-part study approaches that claim historically. Rather than beginning by assuming either that miracles must occur or that miracles cannot occur, the investigation begins with evidence that can be examined using ordinary historical methods. We will distinguish between what can be established with relatively broad scholarly agreement, what remains debated, and what conclusions require interpretation.
The goal is not to make the evidence say more than it can support. Instead, we will allow the historical case to develop cumulatively and then ask which explanation best accounts for the evidence as a whole.
The Historical Case
The investigation develops as a cumulative argument. No single fact is asked to prove the Resurrection by itself. Each lesson adds another piece of historical evidence until the final study places the principal explanations alongside the complete case and asks which possesses the greatest explanatory scope and power.
The Historical Question
Before asking whether Jesus rose from the dead, we must determine what historical investigation can and cannot establish. This opening lesson develops the method for the study, distinguishes historical evidence from theological assumption, and establishes the standards by which the competing explanations will eventually be evaluated.
Download Lesson 1→The Death of Jesus
The Resurrection claim begins with a prior historical question: did Jesus actually die? This lesson examines Roman crucifixion, the New Testament evidence, early non-Christian testimony, and modern historical scholarship in order to determine whether Jesus' death by crucifixion can serve as a secure starting point for the investigation.
Download Lesson 2→The Appearances
Very early after Jesus' death, His followers became convinced that He had appeared to them alive. This lesson examines Paul's testimony, the early tradition preserved in 1 Corinthians 15, the appearance to Peter and the Twelve, the report concerning more than five hundred believers, and the relationship between the Pauline and Gospel traditions.
Download Lesson 3→Paul and James
Two figures make the historical investigation especially interesting because neither can simply be placed in the same category as Jesus' original disciples. Paul had actively persecuted the Christian movement, while the Gospel tradition portrays Jesus' brothers as unbelieving during His ministry. This lesson examines the evidence surrounding their subsequent transformations and their association with the risen Christ.
Download Lesson 4→The Empty Tomb
Was Jesus' burial place actually found empty? This lesson examines the burial tradition, Joseph of Arimathea, the women at the tomb, Paul's early testimony, Mark's earliest ending, the Jerusalem setting, and the major historical objections. Because scholarly agreement is less uniform here, the empty tomb is treated as an important "plus one" rather than being assigned the same historical certainty as Jesus' crucifixion.
Download Lesson 5→Weighing the Evidence
The final lesson changes the question from evidence gathering to explanation. Legend, fraud, survival, body relocation, psychological and visionary experiences, cognitive dissonance, spiritual exaltation, and the Resurrection hypothesis are placed alongside the cumulative historical case. The objective is not merely to identify a possible explanation, but to determine which explanation best accounts for the evidence as a whole.
Download Lesson 6→The Cumulative Case
- 1.
Jesus died by Roman crucifixion.
- 2.
His earliest followers became convinced that He appeared to them alive after His death.
- 3.
Paul changed from persecutor to proclaimer while connecting his transformation and calling with an appearance or revelation of the risen Christ.
- 4.
James, whom the Gospel tradition places among Jesus' unbelieving brothers during His ministry, later became a prominent leader of the Jerusalem church and was named in the early Resurrection appearance tradition.
+1. The burial and empty-tomb traditions provide an additional historical consideration that strengthens the cumulative case, although their historical status remains more debated than the preceding facts.
The final question is not whether any one of these considerations proves the Resurrection. The question is which historical explanation best accounts for all of them together.
Teaching Resources
The complete six-part study is available below for teachers, small groups, discipleship classes, and individual study. Each lesson is designed to stand on its own while contributing to the cumulative historical investigation developed throughout the series.
Continue the Study
Passover and the Crucifixion
The Passover Lamb and the Final Hours of Jesus
Explore →Between the Cross and the Resurrection
Understanding the Three Days Between Jesus' Death and Resurrection
Explore →Eyes That See, Ears That Hear
Spiritual Perception and the Biblical Theology of Seeing and Hearing
Explore →Messianic Miracles of Jesus
Signs That Identified the Messiah
Explore →Stay Connected
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