For twelve years I walked away from my faith. When I finally came back, I didn’t start with feelings…I started with facts and research. If Jesus really rose from the dead, then everything He said matters. If He didn’t, then none of it does.
So I began where any honest reconstruction has to begin: did Jesus actually die, get buried, and rise again? This is the third and final part of my reconstruction series.
You can reference Part I and Part II first if you haven’t caught up.
Listen now or watch on YouTube.
Notes from the show:
Jesus died on a cross.
Roman crucifixion was a common way to die during this time period (1st century Israel under Roman occupation).
Non christian historians treat the crucifixion as a historical fact.
Criterion of embarrassment states that those following Jesus would not want to make up his death on a cross because of how humiliating it was.
Virtually all scholars agree on this point. Theories about not actually dying or someone else being on the cross in place of Jesus are not taken seriously today.
Jesus was laid in a tomb.
The burial in a tomb is described in all four canonical Gospels (Mark, Matthew, Luke, John), each with overlapping details (see part I of reconstruction series about the believability of the gospels).
Criterion of embarrassment: Joseph of Arimathea is portrayed as a member of the Sanhedrin, the very council that condemned Jesus. Inventing a sympathetic Sanhedrin member would have been awkward for early Christians, making the story less likely to be fiction.
Excavated 1st-century tombs near Jerusalem match the type described.
Jesus rose from the dead three days later.
Earliest eyewitness testimony (1 Corinthians 15:3–8)
Paul records a creed that predates his own writing (within 3–5 years of the crucifixion).
It lists appearances: to Peter, the Twelve, 500 people, James (Jesus’ brother), and finally Paul.
This is the oldest surviving Christian text — not decades later legend, but early community tradition.
Transformation of the disciples
Before the crucifixion: scattered, fearful, defeated.
After: boldly proclaiming resurrection in Jerusalem (the same city where he was executed), facing persecution and death.
Conversion of hostile witnesses
James, Jesus’ skeptical brother, and Paul, an enemy of early Christians, both claimed post-resurrection experiences and radically changed direction.
These conversions are historically well-attested.
The empty tomb narrative
All four Gospels agree the tomb was found empty by women.
Jerusalem preaching centered on resurrection shortly after; easy to disprove if body present.
Rapid rise of resurrection faith
Within a decade, the belief had crystallized across multiple regions (Jerusalem, Damascus, Antioch).
No gradual myth development — the resurrection was central from the start, unlike later apotheosis legends.
At the end of the day, the alternative theories about where and what happened to Jesus… don’t add up.
The disciples stole the body. Contradicts their willingness to die for the claim; lacks motive or benefit.
They went to the wrong tomb. Romans/Jewish leaders could easily correct it.
It was a hallucination. Can’t explain group appearances or empty tomb.
The resurrection was a myth that developed later. Too early and geographically diverse for slow myth formation.
All of these theories fall apart pretty spectacularly. This final piece is a faith-based conclusion and dependent on your understanding of miracles in a worldview where there is an intelligent designer.
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