Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?
Duran Smith
Chapter Director of
Ratio Christi Atlanta
www.VeriMyth.com
Go to “Resources” Tab to Access the Slides for This Presentation
What is Apologetics?
Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.
- 1st Peter 3:15 NKJV
The word “defense” in Greek is “apologia.”
Argument for the Historicity of Jesus’ Resurrection
Is the resurrection of Jesus the most rational conclusion based on all the historical data?
Therefore, the resurrection of Jesus is the most rational conclusion based on all the historical data.
Has the New Testament
been accurately preserved
since the 1st century?
Preserved Ancient New Testament Papyrus Manuscripts
Chester Beatty
Papyrus 46
~175-225 AD
Greek
104 pages of
Pauline epistles
Rylands Papyrus P52
oldest NT manuscript
~125-175 AD
Greek
John 18:31-33, 37-38
Pilate therefore said to Him: “Are You a king then?”
Jesus answered, “You say
rightly that I am a king.”
Has the New Testament Been Corrupted?
Bodmer Papyri 66
Almost all of John’s Gospel in Greek
~100-200 AD
New Testament Manuscripts Vs. Other Ancient Writings
By any standard of historical criticism, New Testament manuscripts are more reliable than any other ancient historical document.
Errors in the New Testament?
Kinds of Errors:
Example: 1st Timothy 3:16
1st Timothy 3:16 - God was manifested in the flesh . . .
DATING THE GOSPELS
Illustration from J. Warner Wallace,
Cold-Case Christianity
Dates of New Testament Authorship
Gospel or Epistle | Conservative Dates | Liberal Dates |
Mark | 50-54 AD | 66-70 AD |
Matthew | 53-60 AD | 70-90 AD |
Luke | 53-56 AD | 70-90 AD |
John | 70-90 AD | 90-110 AD |
Acts | 55-64 AD | 80-90 AD |
Romans | 55-58 AD | 55-58 AD |
Corinthians | 53-57 AD | 53-57 AD |
Galatians | 48-60 AD | 48-60 AD |
Thessalonians | 48-52 AD | 48-52 AD |
Peter’s Epistles | Before 64-65 AD | 65-81 AD |
Revelation | 60-96 AD | 81-96 AD |
When Did the Events Happen?
Everyone agrees that the New Testament was written in the 1st century, within 65 years of the events, and while the eyewitnesses were still alive.
There was not enough time for legend to develop between the events and the writings.
EVENT | DATE |
Crucifixion | April 7th, 30 AD or April 3rd, 33 AD |
Resurrection | April 9th, 30 AD or April 5th, 33 AD |
Paul’s Conversion | ~32-35 AD |
Paul Meets Peter | ~35-38 AD |
Galatians | ~55 AD |
Corinthians | ~56 AD |
Paul imprisoned in Rome | ~60-63 AD |
Peter, James, and Paul executed | 64-67 AD |
Destruction of Jerusalem | 70 AD |
Are the people, places, and events
in the New Testament
either affirmed or not contradicted
by extra-biblical historical evidence?
Historical Facts NOT from the Bible
(Extra-Biblical Texts)
Josephus
Pliny
Trajan
Lucian
Crucifixion
Early Church Fathers
The writings of the early church fathers create a “chain of custody” that connects the New Testament to the rest of history. Early church fathers who affirmed and believed the apostles:
Clement, 95 AD
Polycarp, 100 AD
Ignatius, 110-115 AD
Quadratus, 125 AD
Barnabas, 130-138 AD
Justin Martyr, 150 AD
Who Wrote the Gospels?
Solidly Authentic New Testament Works
Highly Critical Scholars Dispute (Clearly) Later Texts
Clement - 35-99 AD. Consecrated by Peter as bishop of the church in Rome.
Irenaeus - 130-202 AD. Greek bishop who knew Polycarp.
Polycarp - 69-155 AD. Knew John the Apostle, who appointed him as bishop of Smyrna.
Does the New Testament
contain reliable eyewitness testimonies from the original apostles
and their associates?
Was It Written by Eyewitnesses?
The Physical Appearances of Jesus
1st Corinthians 15:4 - He was raised on the third day . . .
Eyewitness Nature of the Gospels
The Gospels are Humiliating
Does the New Testament contain
reliable eyewitness testimonies
from former skeptics
of Christianity?
Skeptics Paul and James Were Converted
What Were They Preaching?
Matthew 28:18 Acts 2:32 (Peter)
Mark 16:6 I Th. 1:10 (Paul)
Luke 24:7 Hebrews 13:20
John 20:19 I Peter 1:3
Were the Disciples Martyred?
We can be reasonably certain that the apostles died for their belief in Jesus’ resurrection.
Highest possible probability (9–10): Peter, Paul, James son of Zebedee, James brother of Jesus
More probable than not (7): Thomas
More plausible than not (6): Andrew
As plausible as not (5): Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot, Matthias
Improbable (3): John
Sean McDowell: https://www.equip.org/articles/apostles-really-die-martyrs-faith/
Are there any plausible
alternative explanations
for the apostles’ claim
that Jesus was physically resurrected
from the dead?
Empty Tomb
William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith: https://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/scholarly-writings/historical-jesus/the-historicity-of-the-empty-tomb-of-jesus
Alternative Theories
Superstition
The strongest alternative: The disciples wanted Jesus to resurrect, so they deluded themselves into believing it happened, and managed to fool others into believing it. Others followed suit for various reasons until it became a cult.
Argument for the Historicity of Jesus’ Resurrection
Is the resurrection of Jesus the most rational conclusion based on all the historical data?
Therefore, the resurrection of Jesus is the most rational conclusion based on all the historical data.
The Best Conclusion?
RESURRECTION!
JESUS IS LORD
The Shroud
of Turin
Photograph of
the Resurrection
New Historical and Scientific Evidence from 2022
An Approximate History of the Shroud, part 1
362 AD: An Arian Christian named Theodorus is executed for refusing to say where he hid certain cathedral treasures in Antioch. (source: Gustavus Eisen)
538 AD: “An awesome image of Christ which was an object of particular veneration” is discovered in Antioch. (source: Monk John Moscos)
540 AD: Bishop of Antioch Ephraemius flees the city with treasures from the cathedral. (source: Jack Markwardt)
Journeys of Peter
30-68 AD
30 AD: Jesus’ Resurrection in Jerusalem.
30-48 AD: Peter carries “precious merchandise of the revealed light” on missionary journeys as far west as Ephesus, but eventually returns to Jerusalem. (source: church historian Eusebius)
68 AD: “An image of our Lord and Savior at full length” is transported from Jerusalem to Antioch to avoid hostilities (source: Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria)
2nd-4th century: “A fish of exceeding great size””possessing wine of great virtue” that “was mingled with bread” is secretly passed around in Syria (Antioch and Edessa). (source: Inscription of Abercius)
554 AD: Orthodox priests start parading an image of Christ through the streets of Cilicia and Cappadocia, calling it acheiropoieton (“not made by human hands”), the Image of God Incarnate.
574 AD: The Byzantine Emperor seizes the Image of God Incarnate from the village of Camuliana and brings it to Constantinople.
692 AD: Emperor Justinian II begins minting a solidus coin (above) featuring an image very similar to the Shroud.
775 AD: Emperor Constantine V orders the Image of God Incarnate to be locked up in the temple in Constantinople due to growing opposition to iconography. The Shroud is hidden and forgotten in the temple for centuries.
1200: Emperor Alexius III Angelos breaks the centuries-old covenant with God to keep the Image of God Incarnate hidden. It is sent to the Pharos Chapel in Constantinople, where it was inventoried by Nicholas Mesarites, overseer of the Imperial Relic Collection: “Burial sindones of Christ: these are of linen. They are of cheap and easy to find material, and defying destruction since they wrapped the uncircumscribed, fragrant-with-myrrh, naked body after the Passion. . . . In this place He rises again.”
1204: The Fourth Crusade: France sacks Constantinople. Crusader knight Robert de Clari reported that during the siege of Constantinople, a cloth displaying an image of Christ (“the sydoines in which our Lord was wrapped”) was put on display every Friday for public exhibition. But it disappeared after the city was taken.
An Approximate History of the Shroud, part 2
1205: The Byzantine emperor’s nephew Theodore writes to the Pope to report that the holy relics in Constantinople had been seized by the crusaders, including “the linen in which our Lord Jesus Christ was wrapped.” He reported that some relics were being kept in France, but “the sacred linens in Athens.”
1205-1357: The Missing Years - Somehow, the Shroud is either preserved as a sacred icon (perhaps by the Knights Templar) or gifted through a series of French knights until it ends up in Lirey, France, in the care of Geoffrey de Charny, a renowned knight and biographer of King Louis IX.
The History of the Shroud, part 3
1355: Geoffrey de Charny and his wife Jeanne de Vergy begin to display “The Holy Shroud” to the public at the church in Lirey. Medallions depicting the Shroud and the de Charny and de Vergy family coats of arms were produced at that time, perhaps as memorabilia for visitors. Geoffrey dies in battle in 1356.
1453: The de Charny family deeds the Shroud to the House of Savoy and it is moved to the Sainte Chapelle in nearby Chambery, France.
1532: The Sainte Chapelle almost entirely burns down. The Shroud is burned on its corners due to its silver box beginning to melt from the heat, but it is patched by Chambery's Poor Clare nuns, who sew the Holland cloth to the back of the Shroud to preserve its form. They also repaired portions of the Shroud around the edges.
1578: The House of Savoy moves the Shroud to the Cathedral of Turin, Italy, where it has remained almost permanently ever since. At first, the Shroud is put on public display often, bringing it worldwide fame.
1899: The Shroud is photographed for the first time by Secondo Pia, who is astounded to discover that the Shroud itself is a photographic negative.
The History of the Shroud, part 4
1978: The Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP) is granted unprecedented scientific access to the Shroud for 120 hours and observes why so many generations regarded it as “not made by human hands.”
1983: Umberto Savoy II, the last king of Italy, wills the Shroud to the Vatican upon his death.
Present: Today, the Shroud is preserved in a high-tech reliquary that controls temperature, air pressure, and humidity. As its popularity has grown, it is almost never put on display.
1. The Shroud dates to the 1st century.
2. The Shroud image could only be made by God.
3. The image is only inside the Shroud.
4. The image was formed while the Shroud covered the man inside it.
5. The blood on the Shroud came from a man with fresh crucifixion wounds.
6. The man on the Shroud matches the 1st-century Scriptural descriptions of Jesus and His crucifixion death.
7. According to Scripture, Jesus claimed to be God.
8. Therefore, God was inside the Shroud when the image was made, and Jesus is God.
The Shroud of Turin
Shroud skeptic and original STURP member Raymond Rogers renounced the 1988 medieval carbon dating results in a 2005 scientific journal. The dating was contaminated by invisible weaving repairs to the Shroud by French nuns in the 1500s.
In 2015, an alternative dating method based on fiber tensile strength dated the Shroud within range of the 1st century.
In 2022, Italian scientist Liberato De Caro used a wide-angle X-ray scattering test to examine the natural aging of the cellulose in the linen. This procedure dated the Shroud precisely to the 1st century. The experiment accurately dated other ancient linens whose ages are already known.
1: The Shroud dates to the 1st century.
The Shroud image was not made using any kind of paint, dye, stain, ink, acids, pigments, powders, or any material substance that an artist would use.
“The conclusions are that the body image is made up of yellowed surface fibrils of the linen that are at more advanced stages of degradation than the non-image linen. No evidence was found in the body image of any added substances that could have contributed to the yellow color of the fibrils that form the image. The data, taken together, do not support the hypothesis that the images on the Shroud are due to an artist.” - Eric Jumper, STURP physicist
2: The Shroud image could only be made by God.
The Shroud image is composed of hyper-aged fibrils. The image is only on the top-most fibrils of the topmost fibers of the linen. The lightness or darkness of the image is based on the proximity of image fibrils to each other, similar to pointillistic stipple art. The image itself is a photographic negative, rendered positive in negative photographs, which reveal stunning details more clearly.
The best causal explanation for the image is a sudden short burst of concentrated radiation emitted from the body in the Shroud.
There is a complete lack of directionality to the image, meaning that it was not made using brush strokes, pastel streaks, or finger smudging or shading. The image was projected vertically from the body onto the linen. The image was not produced by contact with the body. This means there are parts of the image that were projected through empty space onto the Shroud. The image had to have been projected vertically, because the top of the man’s head and his sides are not featured.
3: The image is only inside the Shroud.
The Shroud image is weight-independent. This means that the image is not correlated at all with how much the man weighed lying on the bottom half nor how much weight the linen placed on top of the body. The image was not transferred to the other side of the cloth. It was strictly produced only on the fibrils very closest to the body, though not by contact with those fibrils.
The bloodstains on the Shroud have been thoroughly proven to be real human blood. Moreover, the blood is type AB+. It also contains Y chromosomes, indicating that it came from a male.
4: The image was formed while the Shroud covered the man inside it.
The Shroud image was not produced underneath the bloodstains. This means the image was projected onto the linen after the blood was already on the cloth. There are only bloodstains where the linen came in contact with the body, and the bloodstains are weight-dependent, unlike the image. So the bloodstains on the back half are thicker. Since the source of the image must have been light emitted vertically from the body itself, the image was most likely formed while the Shroud covered the bleeding man.
Bloodstain and image fibrils from the tip of the nose.
The man was flogged with a Roman scourge, and the scourge marks are outlined with serum, fibrin, and white blood cells from clotting blood, which is visible only under UV light. This means that the man had fresh, open wounds when the Shroud covered him. Furthermore, the blood shows evidence of low oxygen content consistent with asphyxiation as caused by crucifixion.
5: The blood on the Shroud came from a man with fresh crucifixion wounds.
The blood issuing from his right side wound also contains watery fluid from the pleural cavity, which would be consistent with crucifixion victims.
The nail wounds are in the anatomically correct place for a crucifixion, which is in the wrists, not the palms. The thumbs are not visible, because they are drawn into the palm due to nerve damage, as would happen in crucifixion. The body was in rigor mortis when the Shroud image was made. Rigor mortis is a stiffening of muscles after death. This is why the man’s knees are slightly bent, his head and shoulders lean up, and his arms are extended. This is the position in which he would have died on the cross, except his arms are tied down, likely with the side strip that was sewn onto the Shroud’s edge at an unknown time.
The Sudarium of Oviedo
Then Simon Peter came, following [John], and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. - John 20:6-7
The Sudarium’s known history goes back to the 7th century. It’s bloodstain patterns perfectly match the facial proportions on the Shroud. It was likely rolled diagonally and tied around the head and under the chin to keep the mouth closed in burial, which is why it does not have the miraculous image.
The blood on the Sudarium is type AB+ with y chromosomes, the same as the Shroud. X-ray fluorescence tests determined that dirt traces from the Sudarium match soil samples taken from the Calvary site in Jerusalem.
“We have come to a point where it seems absurd to suggest that ‘by happenstance’ all of the wounds, lesions, and swelling coincides on both cloths. Logic requires that we conclude that we are speaking of the same person.” - Jorge-Manuel Rodriguez, president of the Spanish Center of Sindonology
The Sudarium of Oviedo
The central stains on the Sudarium can be mistakenly interpreted as “eyes,” but they are actually from wiping blood off both sides of the nose. The Sudarium is slightly larger than it looks in pictures. It is nearly 3 feet long and nearly 2 feet wide.
6: The man on the Shroud matches the 1st-century Scriptural descriptions of Jesus and His crucifixion death.
New Testament from the 1st century:
Mark 14:65 - Some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him. . . . And the officers struck Him with the palms of their hands.
Mark 15:15 - [Pilate] delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.
Mark 15:17, 19 - [The soldiers] twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, . . . then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him.
John 19:33-34 - When they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. [There are no broken bones evident in the Shroud image.] But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
Old Testament Messianic Prophecies:
Psalm 22:16 - They pierced My hands and My feet.
Psalm 34:20 - He guards all His bones; not one of them is broken.
Isaiah 50:6 - I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; [There is a large chunk of beard missing from the chin in the Shroud image.] I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.
Isaiah 53:5 - He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
Zechariah 12:10 - They will look on Me whom they pierced.
7: According to Scripture, Jesus claimed to be God.
Exodus 3:14 - God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
Mark 6:50 - He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! I AM; do not be afraid.”
Mark 14:61-62 - The high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” Jesus said, “I AM. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
John 8:24 - “If you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.”
John 8:28 - Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM.”
John 8:58 - Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
John 13:19 - “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I AM.”
John 18:6 - When He said to them, “I AM,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
John 10:33 - They said to Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”
Christ Pantokrator (“Ruler of All”), 6th century. Probably painted in Constantinople. Researchers now believe the Pantokrator was based on the Shroud. There are approximately 150 points of congruence.
8: Therefore, God was inside the Shroud when the image was made, and Jesus is God.
“Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” - John 20:27
The angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” - Matthew 28:5-6
“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!” - Luke 24:5-6
[Mary Magdalene] turned around and saw Jesus standing there. - John 20:14
Resurrection Morning, James Martin
“Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” - Luke 24:39
Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified among you. - Galatians 3:1 (possible biblical reference to the Shroud)
The blood on the Shroud . . .
. . . is the blood that bought your sin.
Recommended Shroud Resources
Shroud Encounter (2024)
by Russ Breault
John Jackson, leader of STURP 1978, www.shroudofturin.com
A Critical Summary (2017): https://www.shroudofturin.com/Resources/CRTSUM.pdf
Barrie Schwortz, STURP photographer and researcher, www.shroud.com
The Archdiocese of Turin, official website of Turin Cathedral, www.sindone.org
Vern Miller, STURP scientific photographer, www.shroudphotos.com
The Gospel - Essential Christian Doctrine
God is eternally God alone, the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
God created humanity to love Him and to be loved by Him.
We sinned against God, and our penalty is eternal death.
Jesus is the Christ, God incarnate, the Son of God.
Jesus atoned for our sins by His mortal death.
Jesus physically resurrected from the dead in glory.
You must repent of all sin and commit your life to Jesus.
God forgives you of all sin and the Holy Spirit indwells you.
God will condemn the unrepentant but give eternal life to those who love Him.
To Become a Christian . . .
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:9-10
“Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13
To Persevere as a Christian . . .
Seven Spiritual Disciplines
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30
The Shroud and Art History, part 1
Up until the 6th century, artwork depicting Jesus always portrayed Him as a younger man, clean-faced and short-haired.
But in the 500s AD, when the Shroud begins to be publicly paraded around the region east of Constantinople, artwork of Jesus suddenly changes to depict Him exactly as the Shroud.
1st-3rd century
3rd century
3rd century
4th century
4th century
4th century
6th century
7th century
11th Century
12th Century
12th Century
The Shroud and Art History, part 2
By the 12th century, the Shroud itself began to be included in iconography.
16th century, Giulio Clovio
18th century, Giovanni Battista
The Miraculous Details of the Shroud