Six historical and medical evidence of Jesus’ resurrection by Lee Strobel
Lee Strobel is an award-winning legal editor of the Chicago Tribune before becoming a believer. He was convinced that the resurrection was fake and did all he could to disprove it.
If Strobel can demonstrate that the apostle made up the resurrection to gain followers—he can save his wife from what he thought was a “Christian cult.” However, the overwhelming historical and medical evidence turned Strobel from an “atheist intellect” into a humble servant of God.
1. Jesus died on the cross
- We have no record of anyone, anywhere, ever surviving a full Roman crucifixion.
- The Journal of the American Medical Association* published a peer-reviewed reviewed scientific medical study of the evidence for the death of Jesus. It said, “Clearly, the weight of the evidence indicates that Jesus was dead even before the wound was inflicted.”
- Atheist Gerd Lüdeman said, “Historically, it’s indisputable that Jesus was dead.”
* Edwards, William & Gabel, W & Hosmer, F. (1986). On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ. JAMA: the journal of the American Medical Association. 255. 1455-63. 10.1001/jama.1986.03370110077025.
2. Early accounts of the resurrection
- Lee Strobel, as an atheist, thought the resurrection was a legend. One of the facts that changed his view was when he learned that the Apostle’s Creed was an eyewitness-based report of the resurrection of Jesus.
- The creed is dated back to months after Jesus’ death.
HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
3. The tomb was empty
- When the disciples began proclaiming Jesus rose, his opponents said, “The disciples stole the body” (Matthew 28:13). They conceded that the tomb was empty and tried to explain how it got empty.
- Everybody concedes the tomb was empty. Therefore the issue is how it got empty.
4. Presence of eyewitnesses
- The disciples’ conviction that they encountered the resurrected Jesus was either truth or lie. People don’t die, painfully at that, to propagate a lie. Most of the Apostles, as well as other Christians, died horribly because they wouldn’t give up their faith.
- There are nine ancient sources inside and outside the New Testament, confirming and corroborating the conviction of the disciples that they encountered the risen Christ.
WOULD YOU BELIEVE GOD IF HE REVEALED HIMSELF?
5. Non-Biblical evidence of Jesus
Records about Jesus, as well as early Christians, were destroyed in A.D. 70. Romans invaded and sacked Jerusalem as well as most of Israel. Entire cities burned to the ground. Records of witnesses for the historical Jesus that survived:
The first-century Roman Tacitus
One of the more accurate historians of the ancient world mentioned superstitious “Christians,” who suffered under Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius. Suetonius, chief secretary to Emperor Hadrian, wrote that there was a man named Chrestus (or Christ) who lived during the first century. (Annals 15.44)
Flavius Josephus
Josephus was the most famous Jewish historian. In the Antiquities, he refers to James, “the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ.” There is a controversial verse (18:3) that says:
“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man. For he was one who wrought surprising feats….He was [the] Christ…he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him.
Julius Africanus
Julius quoted the historian Thallus in a discussion of the darkness that followed the crucifixion of Christ. (Extant Writings, 18)
Pliny the Younger
“Pliny the Younger” was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. In his Letters 10:96, he wrote early Christian worship and practices.
He also wrote a letter to Emperor Trajan around AD 112 about persecuting Christians who worshiped Jesus as God. He also includes a reference to the love feast and Lord’s Supper.
The Babylonian Talmud
The Sanhedrin 43a confirms Jesus’ crucifixion on the eve of Passover and the accusations against Christ of practicing sorcery and encouraging Jewish apostasy.
Lucian of Samosata
Lucian was a second-century Greek writer who admits that Christians worshiped Jesus. He said Jesus introduced new teachings and was crucified for them.
He said that Jesus’ teachings included the brotherhood of believers, the importance of conversion, and the importance of denying other gods.
Interestingly. Lucian of Samosata was a satirist best known for his tongue-in-cheek style. He frequently ridiculed superstition, religious practices, and belief in the paranormal.
Mara Bar-Serapion
Mara bar Serapion was a Syriac Stoic philosopher in the Roman province of Syria. In the second or fourth century, he wrote a letter to his son, which refers to Jesus of Nazareth.
He said that Jesus was considered a wise and virtuous man. He is regarded by many as the King of Israel. However, he was put to death by the Jews who did not believe in Him. His followers lived on and preached His teachings.
Would you die for a lie?
Many early Christians, including the twelve apostles, were willing to endure painful martyrdom for their faith in Jesus. People will die for what they believe, but no one dies for something they know is a lie.
No one dies for something they know is a lie.
