The Historical Case for the Resurrection

Christianity stands or falls on a claim about history: that Jesus of Nazareth, crucified under Pontius Pilate, rose bodily from the dead. That claim can be evaluated. The New Testament presents it not as symbol or myth, but as a public event witnessed by named individuals. Paul states the consequence plainly:

This makes the resurrection uniquely testable among religious claims. It invites historical scrutiny. What follows is an examination of the converging lines of evidence — external and internal, friendly and hostile — that bear on the question.

Jesus and the early Christian movement appear in several independent non-Christian sources from the first and second centuries. These writers had no motive to support a Christian narrative; most were hostile to it. What they confirm, often incidentally, is significant.

Tacitus confirms Jesus' execution under Pilate and notes that the movement, far from dying with its founder, "broke out" again and reached Rome. He calls it a "mischievous superstition" — hostile corroboration that the movement survived the crucifixion and spread rapidly.