Does The Disciples’ Conviction That They Saw The Risen Jesus Establish The Truth Of The Resurrection?

Moreover, the conversion of James from skepticism, the willingness of the earliest disciples to suffer persecution and even martyrdom, the empty tomb, and the presence of other early reports of Jesus’s resurrection especially in Acts are further indications of the apostolic conviction that Jesus had been raised. In brief, the earliest Christian message was that Jesus had appeared to his followers after his death.

Of the many evidences for the resurrection, the most significant is that the earliest disciples were utterly convinced they had seen the risen Jesus. The reason is straightforward. Virtually every contemporary scholar recognizes the strong data showing that Jesus died by crucifixion. So if a number of persons (both individuals and groups) actually saw him afterward, this would constitute the clearest indication that he had been raised. No other evidence provides such a direct indication of this event. This is clearly what the witnesses proclaimed.

Some critics may counter that, while the early disciples truly thought Jesus had been raised, a natural hypothesis explains their beliefs.

However, now the questioner has a major dilemma. Natural theories have been proposed for centuries and each fails by a large margin to explain the recognized historical data. Incredibly, most contemporary scholars even recognize this failure. Few critics even propose alternative hypotheses!

The earliest disciples clearly taught that they saw the risen Jesus, for which there are plenty of supporting details. What happens when these facts are not naturally explained, as even the majority of contemporary critical scholars admit? The resurrection of Jesus becomes the best explanation of the known data.

All the evidence favors the view that the disciples actually saw the risen Jesus. There is no viable evidence to the contrary. So we are left with a succinct conclusion. When the many reasons supporting the conviction that Jesus actually appeared to the early Christians are combined with the failure of naturalistic alternative theses, we are justified in concluding that Jesus was actually raised from the dead.