Easter: Resurrection Facts
Happy Easter Week! If ever there were a time for Christians of all denominations to unite in celebration, this is it. Easter is what sets us apart—it is the foundation of our faith and the reason for our hope. I pray that you have a blessed time rejoicing in the resurrection of our Savior.
With that in mind, it’s important to remind ourselves of the overwhelming evidence supporting the historicity of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
For those who deny Jesus' existence altogether, they must, graciously speaking, be ignored. Even the most skeptical atheist and agnostic New Testament scholars—such as Bart Ehrman and John Dominic Crossan—dismiss such claims as uninformed and irrelevant. To deny Jesus ever existed is simply to ignore historical reality.
So, let’s examine the data that even critical scholars accept as viable evidence for Jesus' resurrection. These “minimal facts,” as outlined by leading resurrection scholar Gary Habermas, are foundational in discussing our faith with skeptics:
Jesus died by crucifixion.
The disciples believed they saw the risen Jesus after His death.
James, the brother of Jesus, was an unbeliever but became a follower after the resurrection.
Paul, a former enemy of the faith, became a believer after what he believed to be an encounter with the risen Jesus.
Jesus' tomb was found empty by His female followers and later confirmed by some of His male disciples.
Habermas notes that around 81% of scholars affirm the empty tomb, though scholars like William Lane Craig and N.T. Wright are even more confident in its historicity.
In our podcast episode tomorrow, we’ll explore these points in greater detail. But the key takeaway is this: The resurrection is not a legend that evolved over centuries—it is a real, historical event that took place in time and space. It is not an illusion, but a reality.
As we celebrate this week, may we remember the truth and power of the resurrection. Happy Easter!
