Jesus predicted that He would suffer and die, sacrificing His life for our sins, and that He would rise up again after three days. In spite of His predictions, His closest followers ran away when He was betrayed and executed. But three days later, on a Sunday, the risen Jesus began to appear to them from time to time just for the next forty days. He talked with them, ate with them, and fixed them a breakfast of fish. On one occasion He even appeared to 500 of them gathered in one place (Luke 24:36-44; John 21:1-14; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8).

Several historical facts make sense only if the resurrection of Jesus really happened. The Roman and Jewish leaders who had executed Him, could only point to an empty grave with a body no longer in it on the Sunday after His death. They even bribed the soldiers who had guarded the tomb to lie, claiming Jesus’ followers had stolen the body (Matthew 27:62-66; 28:11-15).

The followers of Jesus, ignoring His predictions, had not expected His victory over death. They had run away. Now overnight these same men become happy, brave, and filled with spiritual power. In Jerusalem, the same city where Jesus was killed, they told everyone they had seen Him gain victory over the grave. Eventually nearly every one of these men died for refusing to change the report. But these same men, Jews one and all, did change their weekly day of worship from Saturday to Sunday because this was the day of the week that they first saw Jesus after He rose again from the dead.

One later skeptic suggested that Jesus did not really die. Instead He simply fainted and was put into the cave tomb still alive. Then the cool temperature in the cave revived Him and His followers then excitedly announced that He had “risen from the dead.” But this story is hard to believe when you think about it. First, the Roman soldiers who nailed Jesus to the cross were experienced in this form of execution, and were unlikely to make a mistake. Second, an eye-witness, the disciple John who wrote the fourth Gospel, reports that he saw the separation of the red part of the blood from the clear plasma when a soldier stabbed Jesus with a spear to see if He was really dead. This was evidence that Jesus was really dead (John 19:31-35). Third, the coolness in the tomb would not revive anyone. Rather, it would kill a person who is badly injured. Today, doctors call this cause of death “hypothermia,” which means too low a temperature. Fourth, it is not at all likely that a badly injured Jesus could have inspired such a radical change in the behavior and attitude of his followers just 48 hours after His crucifixion—from sadness and fear to happiness and daring.

No, the best explanation for the evidence is that Jesus really did rise from the dead as He predicted.