Before looking at the evidence, I was skeptical about the resurrection of Jesus. Although I was raised as a Roman Catholic, there were many doubts in my mind about the veracity of the reports in the Bible. My course in logic had given me tools to analyze the best claims that Christians made. It was going to be my goal to refute them. I was in for a surprise. Here are the three best reasons that persuaded me to believe in the resurrection.

#1 The Bible is a Trustworthy Record of History

My initial question as I started my exploration was, “Why should I trust the Bible?” If I couldn’t trust the book, why should I trust the answers it purports to give? How could I trust it?

I learned that historians use different tests to discover whether any ancient document is reliable. These were the bibliographic test, examining the internal evidence, and looking at the external evidence. I’ll take these in turn.

The bibliographic test basically looks at how reliable are the texts we have as compared with the original texts that are written. As I share in my book Reading to Grow, I learned that the world’s leading experts say that the Bible matches the original in over 99% of its text. What of that one percent? Well, the one percent that is in question actually deals with two major areas. First, it questions the word order of some passages. So, for example, did the original say ‘the Lord Jesus’ or ‘Jesus the Lord?’ Due to questions about word order similar to this, it falls into this less than 1% that is questioned. Another part of this less than 1% deals with whether some of the text is in the original. For example, is the part of John where a woman is caught in the act of adultery in the original text? In the very worst case scenario, we have MORE text in the Bible than was in the original. Even the most skeptical critic will agree that none was lost, but some may have been gained.

The internal evidence looks at what the text claims for itself. Did the authors of the text claim it is divinely inspired? Here are four texts that helped me see how the authors of Scripture viewed what they said as being God’s word:

2 Tim. 3:16- “All Scripture is God-breathed.”

2 Pet. 1:19-21  ^“We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

Matt. 5:18 “Not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of the pen, will by any means disappear until everything is accomplished.”

Gal. 3:16 “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does  not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ.

Each reference has an extremely high view of Scripture. 2 Timothy equates Scripture with the words of God himself. 2 Peter says it is from God. Matthew shares that Jesus thinks even the smallest mark recorded in Scripture will come to pass. In Galatians, Paul makes his argument for a particular doctrine based on a single letter in the Old Testament. There were scores of other sources, but needless to say, the internal evidence points to the Scripture itself claiming to be God’s word.

The external evidence looks at how well the document matches with reality. It asks whether there anything that is outside the text that corroborates it. In this search I found archeological evidence (the Nazareth Decree, the crucifixion victim Yehohanan, and the Shroud of Turin), ancient Christian sources (in addition to the primary texts, the church fathers), and ancient non-Christian sources (Suetonius, Tacitus, Josephus, and even the Jewish Talmud) all supporting details of what was written in the Bible. There was a significant amount of evidence on this front.

#2 The Resurrection is the Best Explanation of the Evidence

I quickly realized that I’d simply assumed a lot without looking at the evidence as it related to questioning the Bible. But what about other theories that challenged whether Jesus rose from the dead? Is a naturalistic explanation more plausible? Four other theories were in contention. Each of these had to explain the empty tomb, the appearances of Jesus alive after his death, and the conversions of disciples, enemies, and skeptics alike.

The swoon theory proposed Jesus just passed out on the cross and didn’t really die. I learned that this would have been impossible due to the facts of a crucifixion. In this method of killing someone, the victim dies from being unable to breathe. You can tell they’re breathing by the way they move up and down on the cross to draw breath. They have to pull themselves up to allow the diaphragm to move so they can continue breathing. Once Jesus stopped moving, he stopped breathing. He couldn’t have merely passed out.

The hallucination theory says the disciples had simply wished that Jesus rose from the dead and then had a mass-hallucination. I learned this was impossible. People can’t share a hallucination any more than they can share a dream they have while asleep. This theory also failed to challenge a real resurrection.

The conspiracy theory says that the disciples planned to get together to come up with a new religion. This falls apart with very little examination. The disciples gained nothing from proclaiming the resurrection except punishment, ostracism, and death. There was no material comfort or gain they received from their message. In addition, none of them ever said what they proclaimed was a lie. Consider the nature of man. People may die for something they believe is true, but none will die for something they know is a lie. Early Christians went to death proclaiming they’d seen Jesus alive after his death and that He had DEFEATED DEATH! The only explanation for this is that they’d really seen him.

The last theory is that the resurrection is a myth that only later evolved. This theory says that no early Christian actually held that Jesus rose from the dead. The problem with this theory is contradicted by the facts of history. Even atheistic New Testament scholar Gerd Ludemann concedes that the early Christian creed in 1 Cor. 15:3-8 originated within 2-5 years after the death of Jesus. This says that “Christ died for our sins 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. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all of the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me, as to one abnormally born.” Here we have the former enemy of Christians citing eyewitnesses who include not just believers but skeptics (like Jesus’ brother James) and former enemies (Paul himself) who’d seen him alive. The report is far too early for any myth to have formed. It is well within the life time of the eyewitnesses.

#3 Predictive Prophecy Foretold Details of the Messiah that Jesus Fulfilled

This last point was like a nail in the coffin in sealing the case for me. I was astounded that I’d never heard anyone cite the hundreds of prophecies fulfilled in the Bible. There were some that were detailed, but occurred in isolation from others (like messiah being betrayed by a friend for 30 pieces of silver which was used to buy a Potter’s field). Two of the most powerful were beyond any doubt made hundreds of years before they were fulfilled in great detail. Two messianic passages that were very powerful to me are in Psalm 22 and the other in Isaiah 53.

Psalm 22 relates the following about the person described. He’d be mocked, insulted, scorned, and despised. They’d say of him, “He trusts in the Lord, let the Lord rescue him.” His bones would be out of joint, and his heart exploded. His mouth would be dried up, and people would cast lots for his clothes. His hands and feet would be pierced, and his bones would be exposed. These are graphic details made that are descriptive of a crucifixion, matching what occurred to Jesus, hundreds of years before crucifixion had even been invented.

Isaiah 53 includes other great details about the coming messiah. He’d be led like a lamb to the slaughter, an innocent victim, be silent before his accusers, bear the sins of many, killed with the wicked, and buried in a rich man’s tomb. Yet he would also see his offspring and raised from the dead.

The predictive prophecies sealed in my mind convincing evidence of the divine fingerprint on Jesus of Nazareth. He confirmed by his life, death, and resurrection that he was who he claimed to be and did what he’d promised. I opened myself up, softening my heart to his claims, finally believing that God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son, that whoever believes in him will be saved.