As Easter is fast approaching, it seems worth reminding ourselves of the agreed facts surrounding the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It bears saying, these facts are not simply the opinion of Christian scholars who are committed to the belief that the resurrection of Jesus is true. These are the agreed facts affirmed by Christian and sceptical New Testament scholars, theologians, philosophers and historians. When we say ‘agreed’ we really do mean ‘agreed facts’.

There are different ways you can cut the agreed facts. They are all present, but you can list them in such a way as to make them sound a few more or make them sound a few less. But all of the facts in the long list below are agreed by the overwhelming majority of scholars, whether sceptical or not.

1. Jesus died by crucifixion
2. Jesus was buried in a tomb
3. The Apostles despaired and felt hopeless at the crucifixion
4. The tomb was empty days later
5. The Apostles believed they experienced literal appearances of Jesus post-mortem
6. Over 500 people believed they experienced literal appearances of Jesus post-mortem
7. The resurrection of Jesus was at the centre of the Apostolic message
8. The Apostles preached the resurrection of Jesus in Jerusalem where Jesus was killed
9. The Apostles had confrontations with the authorities who denied the resurrection but who did not produce the body of Jesus
10. The Apostles were willing to endure persecution, even to die, for their claim that Jesus had risen from the dead
11. The Christian faith traces its origin to the preaching of the Apostles concerning the resurrection of Jesus
12. The Church grew as a result of the preaching of the Apostles concerning the resurrection of Jesus
13. Sunday – the day on which Jesus was said to have been raised from the dead – became the principal day of Christian worship
14. James – the sceptical half-brother of Jesus – was converted to belief in the resurrection of Jesus
15. Paul – the anti-Christian persecutor who was actively hostile to the Christian faith – was converted to belief in the resurrection of Jesus

Gary Habermas – Professor of Apologetics and Philosophy at Liberty University – outlines twelve agreed facts concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Others would cut the agreed facts slightly differently. As I note above, you can make the list slightly longer or shorter depending on how you lay the agreed facts out. Some of them you can run together to shorten the list whilst still affirming the same fundamental facts.

However, Professor Habermas offers a ‘minimum facts’ argument for the resurrection. These are four facts agreed by all serious scholars and they are sufficient to make a credible case for the resurrection:

1. Jesus died from crucifixion
2. The disciples believed they saw the risen Jesus
3. The disciples were transformed
4. Paul was converted

Professor William Lane Craig – Emeritus Research Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology – insists on three independently established facts that provide a ‘minimum facts’ argument. These are:

1. The empty tomb: the tomb of Jesus was found empty by a group of his women followers on the first day of the week following his crucifixion
2. The resurrection appearances: various individuals and groups thereafter experienced on different occasions and under varying circumstances appearances of Jesus alive
3. The origin of the Christian faith: the first disciples came to sincerely believe in Jesus’ resurrection in the absence of sufficient antecedent historical influences from either Judaism or pagan religions

The question concerning the agreed facts is what best accounts for them? The more ad hoc a solution addressing any one of these facts the less explanatory power it holds. We are looking for a holistic explanation that encompasses all the agreed facts. As Professor Craig states:

If these three facts can be historically established with a reasonable degree of confidence (and it seems to me they can) and if alternative naturalistic explanations for these facts can be shown to be implausible (and the consensus of scholarship is that they can), then unless the resurrection hypothesis is shown to be even more implausible than its failed competitors (and my experience in debating the comparative merits of the hypotheses convinces me that it cannot), then the preferred explanation ought to be the one given in the documents themselves: God raised Jesus from the dead.

He goes on:

If these three facts can be established and no plausible natural explanation can account for them as well as the resurrection hypothesis, then one is justified in inferring Jesus’ resurrection as the most plausible explanation of the data.