The CLEER Evidence of Jesus' Resurrection
Five Key Lines of Evidence that Provide Proof for Jesus' Resurrection
Introduction
The Friday before Easter is called Good Friday by Christians. It is the Friday that Jesus died by crucifixion on the Cross. The death of Jesus for people’s sins is only half of the story. The proclamation that He literally rose again from the dead on the third day is the other half.
Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians, “For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ only in this life, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Cor 15:16-19).
If Jesus did not come back from the dead, then Christianity is arguably the greatest scam known to humanity.
This begs an important question; how can we know this event occurred? Do we have evidence that proves Jesus rose again on the third day from the dead? This is the point of my article. I will share key pieces of historical evidence that, when added up, should, as a minimum, cause a skeptic to consider the message of Jesus Christ seriously. My other hope is that these lines of evidence help strengthen the faith of Christians in Jesus’ resurrection.
I have distilled the core lines of historical evidence and phrased them in such a way as to help people remember them with the word CLEER.
This is the CLEER evidence for the resurrection of Jesus.
C- Crucifixion
The first piece of evidence is the fact of Jesus’ Crucifixion. We know through historical records that Jesus was a real man from history who was killed by crucifixion on a cross by order of the Roman governor Pilate.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all record a story about a real man from history named Jesus. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, grew up in Nazareth, began a public teaching ministry, and was later sentenced to death by crucifixion under Roman law. Do we have evidence for this man Jesus and his crucifixion outside of the Bible? Yes, we do.
Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (37-100 AD), not a Christian, He was not a Christian and wrote from a historian’s perspective to record Jewish history. He said this about Jesus and His followers:
At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. And his conduct was good, and [he] was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive;”[1]
Tacitus, a non-Christian Roman historian writing around 110 AD, said the name Christian “originates from ‘Christus’ who was sentenced to death by the governor, Pontius Pilate, during the reign of Tiberius (Ann. 15.44).”[2]
One of the most influential biblical scholars alive is Professor Bart Ehrman, a Religious Studies professor at UNC-Chapel Hill. He was a professing Christian but renounced the faith during his graduate studies. As a historian, he cannot deny the evidence about Jesus. Ehrman says, “It is the consensus of scholars that the man Jesus truly existed.”[3] Furthermore, “One of the most certain facts of history is that Jesus was crucified on orders of the Roman prefect of Judea, Pontius Pilate.”[4]
This is our first line of evidence, C-Crucifixion. We know from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John that Jesus was indeed killed on the cross. We know from non-Christian historical writers and even non-Christian modern-day historians and biblical scholars that this is one of the most settled facts of human history.
L-Location of the Tomb
The second piece of evidence for the resurrection of Jesus is that we know from historical records the location of the tomb where Jesus was buried.
Some critics have theorized that Jesus’ tomb was found empty on the third day because the disciples went to the wrong tomb. Therefore, they say, the resurrection story was the mistaken conclusion of the disciples showing up at the wrong tomb.
This is not the case since we know the location of Jesus’ burial tomb. Mark 15:42-47 records that after Jesus was killed on the Cross, a man named Joseph of Arimathea asked for custody of Jesus’ body from the Roman governor Pilate. Pilate granted his request. Joseph of Arimathea saw to it that Jesus’ body was placed in Joseph’s tomb. Verse 47 adds that Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joses, saw where Jesus was laid. John 19:38-42 adds that a man named Nicodemus assisted Joseph in preparing Jesus’ body for burial. Nicodemus was another prominent member of the Jewish Sanhedrin
Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy man and a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin. A close example of this would be that Joseph was like a US Supreme Court judge. Mark 15:43 mentions he had to work up the courage to ask for Jesus’ body. Joseph outed himself as a Christ follower by asking for custody of Jesus’ body, yet he did so anyway.
There is no conceivable way that the disciples of Jesus went to the wrong tomb on the third day. Joseph was too prominent of a public figure for his burial tomb to be unknown. Furthermore, if the burial of Jesus were a lie, it would have been too easy to disprove. Joseph and Nicodemus were high-profile people in Jesus’ day. There were too many eyes on Jesus’ crucifixion and burial for it to be faked or confused.
Mary Magdalene and Mary, mother of Joses were also eyewitnesses to where Jesus was buried. They were also the first to go to the tomb on the third day to honor Jesus’ body with fragrances. They found it empty first, and they knew which tomb Jesus was laid in. Matthew 27:62-66 records that even Jesus’ enemies knew the location of His burial tomb. They asked Pilate for guards to be stationed at the tomb to ensure Jesus’ disciples did not steal His body and claim He rose again.
The late New Testament scholar John A.T. Robinson said that the burial of Jesus in Joseph’s tomb is “one of the best attested to facts about Jesus.”[5] New Testament scholar Craig Evans says most New Testament critics affirm the historical claim by the Gospel books that Jesus’ body was buried in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb, a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin Council.[6]
This is our second line of evidence. We know which tomb Jesus was buried in. Critics are wrong who say the disciples were mistaken or that the body of Jesus was hidden away elsewhere.
E- Empty Tomb
The third piece of evidence for the resurrection of Jesus is we know for sure the tomb He was buried in was discovered empty early on the third day after His crucifixion.
All four Gospel books, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, record that early on the third day after Jesus’ crucifixion, His burial tomb was discovered empty, and His body was nowhere found. It would have been easy to disprove this claim if it were not true. Remember that we know for sure Jesus was killed, and we know for certain the tomb He was buried in. If the empty tomb story was a hoax shared by Jesus’ followers, anyone could have disproved them just as soon as they rolled away the stone entrance of Joseph’s burial tomb.
Here are portions taken from Luke’s account. “But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus” (Luke 24:1-3). The women were first to find the tomb empty, not just empty, but the stone door rolled away before they got there. Even they were confused by this. They ran and told some of the other disciples.
Now these women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe the women. Nevertheless, Peter got up and ran to the tomb; and when he stooped and looked in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened (Luke 24:10-12).
Peter and John did not believe the women, so they checked it themselves. What did they find? An empty tomb, just like they said.
If the tomb was not empty, again, I stress, this was too easy to disprove. Furthermore, the Bible records that women first found the tomb empty. Women of that day were not considered credible witnesses. Women could not give testimony in court. If the Bible writers made up this story, they did a poor job ensuring it was believable. Hence, even Peter did not believe the women at first.
Could the disciples of Jesus have stolen the body at night and hid it away so they could spread the fake story that Jesus rose again? This would have been impossible for them. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John admit the male followers of Jesus were scared for their own lives and went into hiding the night of Jesus’ trial. Furthermore, the tomb was under guard, making it highly doubtful and unlikely the scared disciples of Jesus mustered up the courage to attack the guards, roll away the stone door, and steal Jesus’ body.
Maybe Jesus woke up after a nearly three-day coma and broke Himself out? Remember that scholarly consensus is Jesus was killed on the Cross. He did not faint nor fake His death. Let’s assume that He fainted and did not die for argument's sake. Jesus was beaten to the point of death by Roman soldiers as a way of preparing Him for the crucifixion. The body was weakened by this pre-crucifixion beating, so as their body hung on the Cross, they would get too weak and could no longer prop themselves up for air. Eventually, the victim’s weakness caused them to suffocate and die.
This fact alone should stop any theory that Jesus fainted, regained consciousness, and broke out of the tomb. If Jesus fainted and regained consciousness, He would not have had the physical strength to break out. Also, would not the guards have seen Him escaping?
Another leading expert on the historical records of Jesus is historian Gary Habermas, a Christian. He cataloged over 2,200 scholarly publications about the resurrection of Jesus that were published in English, French, and German academic journals. He discovered that 75% of both non-Christian and Christian scholars agree the tomb of Jesus was truly found empty on the third day.[7]
This third line of evidence shows us that the tomb of Jesus Christ was empty on the third day after His death on the Cross.
E- Eyewitnesses
The fourth line of evidence for the resurrection of Jesus is the historical records of early eyewitnesses who claimed they saw the man Jesus alive again after He was killed.
Paul said that Christ died according to the Scriptures, “and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve” (1 Cor 15:4, 5). The first eyewitnesses of Jesus’ resurrection were Peter (Cephas) and the rest of the Apostles of Jesus.
Peter had earlier denied that he knew who Jesus was on the night of Jesus’ trial, not once but three times. He ran away, grief-stricken that night, and hid. Peter ran to the empty tomb to see for himself after the women reported it empty. Later, Jesus appeared to Peter and the Apostles in a room where they were hiding. Additionally, Jesus appeared again to Peter and the Apostles on a seashore after they came in from fishing.
Peter later stood up in front of thousands of people and preached that they must repent of their sins and believe in Jesus because He had risen again from the dead, proving He was the Son of God who had conquered death.[8] In that sermon, Peter said, “It is this Jesus whom God raised up, a fact to which we are all witnesses” (Acts 2:32).
John, another of Jesus’ chosen Apostles, wrote his account of Jesus, called the Gospel of John. John said, “And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe” (John 19:35). John referred to himself as the one giving testimony to the fact of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Paul adds in 1 Corinthians 15:6, “After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep.” Paul asserted that 500 eyewitnesses saw Jesus alive after His death at one time! If this were not true, Paul could have been easily discredited. He was not. Paul challenged skeptics to fact-check him by saying most of these eyewitnesses were still alive when he wrote the letter. I doubt we could get 500 people to make up the same story and keep their stories straight.
In 1 Corinthians 15:7, “Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles.” James was Jesus’ earthly half-brother who at first, did not believe in Jesus.[9] James wrote the letter called James in the Bible. It is clear in that letter that James believed in Jesus as the Son of God who died and rose again. What happened to change James’ mind? He saw Jesus alive again after He was killed.
Finally, Paul says another eyewitness to Jesus’ resurrection is Paul. “And last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” (1 Cor 15:8, 9). Paul started out persecuting the disciples of Jesus. However, Jesus appeared to Paul and presented Himself alive again. Paul became an eyewitness to the fact Jesus rose again from the dead.
Many non-Christian scholars do not believe these eyewitnesses saw the real Jesus alive again, but they acknowledge that these eyewitnesses saw something significant that changed their lives. They recognize that it is a historical fact that all these hundreds of eyewitnesses saw what they believed was Jesus alive again. These scholars believe the eyewitnesses must have seen a hallucination of Jesus or a vision of Him.
The late Gerd Ludemann was a non-Christian scholar on the history of the New Testament who said, “It may be taken as historically certain that Peter and the disciples had experiences after Jesus’ death in which Jesus appeared to them as the risen Christ.”[10]
Pauline Fredrickson is a non-Christian historian who taught at Boston University. She had this to say in an interview:
I know in their own terms what they saw was the raised Jesus. That's what they say, and then all the historical evidence we have afterwards attests to their conviction that, that's what they saw. I’m not saying that they really did see the raised Jesus, I wasn't there. I don't know what they saw, but I do know that as a historian, they must have seen something.[11]
Bart Ehrman said, “It is undisputable that some of the followers of Jesus came to think that he had been raised from the dead, and that something had to have happened to make them think so.”[12] Ehrman adds:
Our earliest records are consistent on this point, and I think they provide us with the historically reliable information in one key aspect: the disciples’ belief in the resurrection was based on visionary experiences. I should stress it was visions, and nothing else, that led to the first disciples to believe in the resurrection.[13]
These non-Christian scholars do not agree that the eyewitnesses saw the real Jesus resurrected. However, they concede that the eyewitnesses are not making up this experience. They saw something! It seems highly unlikely to me that over 500 people experienced the same vision or hallucination. It makes more sense to consider the eyewitnesses saw Jesus alive again in the flesh.
We have this fourth piece of evidence: the eyewitness accounts that Jesus was seen alive again after He was crucified.
R- Radically Changed Lives
The fifth and final line of evidence is the radically changed lives of Jesus’ first followers.
Peter denied Jesus three times on the night He was crucified. The others, except for John, were behind locked doors hiding. These bumbling cowards somehow turned into bold, fearless martyrs who faced death and extermination without flinching. What explains their change of character?
Peter goes from denier of Jesus to superstar preacher and publicly declares Jesus to thousands of people. He is arrested at least twice, and both times, he is warned to stop preaching Jesus or face persecution. Each time Peter tells the authorities that he cannot help but tell people about Jesus. Why this boldness? One explanation, and I argue the best, is that Peter and the other disciples must have seen Jesus alive again. Because they saw Jesus alive again, they knew everything He taught them, and His claims to be the Son of God in human flesh were true. This compelled a radical change in the lives of Jesus' early disciples.
Church tradition records that all the Apostles, except John, were killed for preaching Jesus. These former cowards became bold fearless preachers of the Gospel of Jesus and did not stop, even risking their lives for this message of Jesus. This fact becomes more striking when considering that Jesus’ early followers received no wealth, fame, or earthly possessions for preaching the good news of Jesus. They received the opposite: hardships, persecution, and death.
Furthermore, how could Paul, the former bounty hunter of Christians, have been radically changed? It was not money, prestige, or career advancement. Paul threw it all to the wind and risked everything to spread the message of Jesus because he said he had seen Jesus alive again and Jesus charged Paul to go and preach salvation in Jesus’ name. I believe the best explanation, the only logical answer, for the unexplainable radically changed lives of Jesus’ early disciples is that they saw Jesus alive again.
Someone might risk their lives and die for what they have become convinced is true. However, this is not what the early disciples of Jesus claimed. They claimed they saw Jesus with their own eyes. Dying for what you think is true differs vastly from dying for what you know is true. They did not go to their deaths preaching Jesus because someone else convinced them of the resurrection. The early disciples willingly went to their deaths over the message of Jesus because they had seen Jesus for themselves alive again.
This final piece of evidence for the resurrection of Jesus is that His early followers experienced radically, unexplainable changed lives concerning their commitment to Jesus. The best and only logical explanation is that they witnessed Jesus alive again and it radically changed them.
Conclusion
This is my case to help others see the CLEER evidence for the resurrection of Jesus.
These are known historical facts that when added together, make a compelling case for the real resurrection of Jesus on the third day after His death. These are facts of history and not the theological claims of Christians only found in the Bible.
C-Crucifixion of Jesus is an undisputed historical event
L- Location of the tomb of Jesus was known
E- Empty tomb discovered on the third day by eyewitnesses
E- Eyewitnesses, over 500 of them, died claiming they saw Jesus alive again
R- Radically changed lives of Jesus’ early followers is unexplainable if Jesus had not risen again
To my fellow Christians, rejoice that your Lord and Savior rose again from the dead. Our faith is genuine, our hope is real, and we have a message worth sharing. Jesus paid for sins by dying for them. He rose again proving He had power over death. He grants eternal life to anyone who believes that His sacrifice on the Cross was for their sins and that He rose again on the third day in victory. Jesus’ resurrection means that even though we die in this life, we will live again and be raised again to new life just like He was.
To my friends who may not believe this message, please consider the five pieces of evidence I shared in this article. These are facts of history that cannot be denied. They demand a response. I implore you to consider the facts of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. In my experience, people most often deny believing in Jesus not for a lack of evidence about Him. Rather they deny Him because the heart does not want Him. It is a matter of the heart, not always the head.
I pray you can find Jesus and see Him for who He really is, the Son of God who became man for us, to die in our place, so you can have forgiveness and be made right with your Creator again. His resurrection was real, and it means we all need Jesus’ offer of salvation, or else we face judgment. Thank God for sending Jesus; thank God we have been given proof of His resurrection.
[1] C. A. Evans, “Jesus in Non-Christian Sources,” in Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, ed. Joel B. Green and Scot McKnight (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992), 365.
[2] Ibid., 365.
[3] https://www.npr.org/2012/04/01/149462376/did-jesus-exist-a-historian-makes-his-case
[4] Bart Ehrman, The Historical Jesus: Lecture Transcript and Course Guidebook, Part 2 of 2 (Chantilly, VA: The Teaching Company. 2000), 162.
[5] John A.T. Robinson. The Human Face of God., (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1973). 131
[6] Craig A. Evans, “What did Jesus Do?” in Jesus Under Fire (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995), 29.
[7] Gary Habermas, “Experience of the Risen Jesus: The Foundational Historical Issue in the Early Proclamation of the Resurrection,” Dialog 45 (2006), 292.
[8] See Acts chapter two.
[9] See John 7:1-5
[10] Gerd Ludemann, What Really Happened to Jesus? Trans. John Bowden (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995), 80.
[11] Interview on ABC with the late Peter Jennings for his documentary The Search for Jesus (July 2000). Click Here for Video
[12] Bart D. Ehrman, How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee (New York: Harper One, 2014), 183-184.
[13] Ibid.