Did Jesus really rise from the dead? pt 2
Part 1 here.
The Fraud Theory
“The disciples made it up.”
At first glance, this feels like the simplest explanation.
If the resurrection didn’t happen, then maybe the disciples staged it. Maybe they stole the body and built a movement on a lie. But once you press into it, it starts to collapse under its own weight.
First, the tomb wasn’t unguarded. The Gospel accounts tell us Roman guards were stationed there, and the stone sealing the tomb wasn’t something a small, fearful group could casually move in the middle of the night. And even if you’re skeptical of the Gospel details, here’s what historians widely agree on: very early on, even Jesus’ opponents were saying the body was stolen.
That matters because it means everyone agreed on one thing: the tomb was empty.
The debate wasn’t whether it was empty. It was how it became empty.
Second, the disciples weren’t exactly in a position to pull this off.
After Jesus’ death, they weren’t bold—they were scattered, hiding, and afraid. These weren’t revolutionaries executing a coordinated plan under pressure. These were disoriented followers trying to make sense of what just happened.
And yet, within a short period of time, those same men and women began publicly proclaiming that Jesus had risen—in the same city where He was crucified. That’s not how you run a conspiracy.
If you’re making something up, you don’t start in the place where people can verify your claims. You go somewhere else. You let time pass. You build distance...but they did the opposite.
Third—and this is the one that’s hardest to get around—there was no upside for the disciples.
They didn't gain power. or wealth. or status. What they got instead was opposition, suffering, and in many cases, death. The first disciples faced opposition from their own people AND the Romans. From their own family!
So here’s the question you have to answer: Why would they hold onto a lie that only made their lives harder—and never once break from it? People will die for something they believe is true, but they don’t endure suffering, isolation, and death for something they know they made up. At some point, someone talks, the story cracks. But that's not what happened.
Which leaves you with something you can’t easily dismiss: whatever happened, they were, at the least, convinced it was real.
The Fraud Theory
“The disciples made it up.”
At first glance, this feels like the simplest explanation.
If the resurrection didn’t happen, then maybe the disciples staged it. Maybe they stole the body and built a movement on a lie. But once you press into it, it starts to collapse under its own weight.
First, the tomb wasn’t unguarded. The Gospel accounts tell us Roman guards were stationed there, and the stone sealing the tomb wasn’t something a small, fearful group could casually move in the middle of the night. And even if you’re skeptical of the Gospel details, here’s what historians widely agree on: very early on, even Jesus’ opponents were saying the body was stolen.
That matters because it means everyone agreed on one thing: the tomb was empty.
The debate wasn’t whether it was empty. It was how it became empty.
Second, the disciples weren’t exactly in a position to pull this off.
After Jesus’ death, they weren’t bold—they were scattered, hiding, and afraid. These weren’t revolutionaries executing a coordinated plan under pressure. These were disoriented followers trying to make sense of what just happened.
And yet, within a short period of time, those same men and women began publicly proclaiming that Jesus had risen—in the same city where He was crucified. That’s not how you run a conspiracy.
If you’re making something up, you don’t start in the place where people can verify your claims. You go somewhere else. You let time pass. You build distance...but they did the opposite.
Third—and this is the one that’s hardest to get around—there was no upside for the disciples.
They didn't gain power. or wealth. or status. What they got instead was opposition, suffering, and in many cases, death. The first disciples faced opposition from their own people AND the Romans. From their own family!
So here’s the question you have to answer: Why would they hold onto a lie that only made their lives harder—and never once break from it? People will die for something they believe is true, but they don’t endure suffering, isolation, and death for something they know they made up. At some point, someone talks, the story cracks. But that's not what happened.
Which leaves you with something you can’t easily dismiss: whatever happened, they were, at the least, convinced it was real.
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