In an earlier post I made mention of the five minimal facts used to demonstrate that Jesus rose from the dead. There was also an additional post regarding the historical criteria that historians employ when making judgments about what is and is not historical. Today’s post looks at the second of these five facts.
Fact #2: The disciples believed they saw him alive after his death.
| |
MIS |
EA |
Emb |
Eye |
Early |
| Disciples |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Multiple, Independent Sources
We have multiple independent sources that tell us that the disciples really believed they thought they had encountered Jesus after his death and burial.
- Paul
- Creedal statement (1 Corinthians 15:3-7)
- Sermon summaries (such as Acts 2)
- Gospel of Matthew
- Gospel of Mark
- Gospel of Luke
- Gospel of John
- Acts
- Clement of Rome
- Polycarp
- Tertullian
- Ignatius
- Origen
- Dionysius of Corinth (via Eusebius)
Enemy Affirmation
We see in the book of Acts that the disciples are arrested by the Jewish leaders, imprisoned, beaten, and put to death due to their telling people that they believe Jesus had risen from the dead. But these things are also hinted at in writings by those such as Lucian of Samosata and others.
Embarrassing Testimony
That the disciples and those who knew the disciples would write about their persecution at the hands of their enemies or that they would endure ridicule from those that they preached to instead of glossing over those stories and making themselves look good shows that they revealed true, embarrassing facts about their experiences.
Eyewitness Testimony
Paul, John, and Matthew describe what they saw and experienced with the risen Jesus. Peter, through his own letters as well as through Mark does the same. They provide their own eyewitness testimony.
Early Testimony
These testimonies were recorded during the lifetime of the eyewitnesses and that makes them extremely early in terms of ancient documents. Even the creedal statement in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 is so early that it makes it practically negligible the time between the event and the formation of the creed.