Not Just a Story: A Defense of the Resurrection, Part 3
By Mykhailo Abakumov
In part one of this series, I briefly surveyed how historians establish what happened in the past using the historical method and inference to the best explanation. In part two, I argued that several facts surrounding Jesus’ resurrection can be established using the historical method. Having established what we know about the Easter events, we now move to the third and final discussion: What is the best explanation for these facts?
Why do some people not believe in the resurrection (analysis of alternative hypotheses)?
Having established the historical facts, we must now find the best explanation for them. I maintain that the best explanation for these facts is that Jesus rose from the dead. This is the explanation that the eyewitnesses themselves expressed, and no other explanation comes close to accounting for the evidence. Of course, throughout history various alternative naturalistic explanations for the resurrection have been proposed. So let’s briefly review each of the main naturalistic hypotheses.
Legend Hypothesis
Could Jesus’s resurrection be nothing more than a late legend? As shown earlier, even skeptical scholars accept the facts of the existence and death of Jesus, and certain experiences of appearances of the risen Christ by the first disciples. The New Testament stands up to historical criteria. Agnostic skeptic Bart Ehrman writes: “It is indisputable that some of the followers of Jesus came to think that he had been raised from the dead, and something had to have happened to make them think so.”[1]
So, this hypothesis fails to explain any of the established facts and can confidently be rejected. It fails to meet the criteria of at least explanatory scope, explanatory power, and plausibility.
Conspiracy Hypothesis
Could the disciples have simply conspired, stolen the body, and then proclaimed the resurrection of Christ? This hypothesis cannot explain the sincere faith of the first disciples. No group of people would be willing to sacrifice everything for what they knew to be false and be sent to hell by God for being false witnesses. (Since the first disciples were Jews, they believed in the afterlife.) Moreover, while successful conspiracies do occur, they typically involve a small, tightly knit group, operating in close contact over a short period, and without significant external pressure. The situation of the disciples was entirely different. These men and women were either involved in the greatest conspiracy of all time or were genuine eyewitnesses reporting events as they actually occurred.[2] Again, it fails to meet the criteria at least of explanatory power and plausibility.
Hallucination Hypothesis
Is it plausible that the disciples simply experienced hallucinations? This hypothesis also faces a number of powerful objections. It is highly implausible that multiple people could simultaneously perceive the same thing if nothing corresponding existed outside their minds (since hallucinations are like dreams—they are an individual, non-transferable phenomenon).[3] Yet in the case of Jesus’ resurrection, three different groups (the women at the tomb, the apostles, a large group of over five hundred people) reported seeing him in different circumstances over a short period. Hallucinations provide little help here: studies show that most subjects of hallucinations are able to achieve insight that the experience is hallucinatory after the experience ends. For example, a study was done in which individuals were instructed to put on earphones and told “we are going to play the song ‘White Christmas.’” Some of them thought they heard “White Christmas” individually, but afterward, quite a number of them were able to realize that they didn’t hear anything. Indeed, among the 49% who had individual hallucinations, the majority were aware that the recording was not played. In other words, among those who initially thought they heard something, they were soon able to tell upon further reflection that they didn’t actually hear anything.[4]
Moreover, people in the first century were well aware of hallucinations and commonly believed in ghosts and visions. As New Testament scholar N. T. Wright notes, “ancient literature—Jewish and pagan alike—is full of such things.”[5] (This means that the disciples would most likely have thought that they experienced this kind of phenomena, rather than a bodily resurrection.) Even if we imagine multiple collective hallucinations, each person would perceive vastly different details due to the intra-mental nature of such experiences. The disciples, therefore, would have readily identified these experiences as hallucinatory rather than believing they had seen Jesus’ resurrected body.
Thus, this hypothesis is refuted by the criteria of explanatory power, plausibility, and being disconfirmed by fewer accepted beliefs.
Mistaken Identity Hypothesis
According to this hypothesis, the disciples simply confused Jesus with someone else, most likely his twin brother, whom they did not know. This idea is also highly problematic. It is implausible that the disciples—as well as James, his physical brother—who had spent at least a few years with Jesus and who were therefore familiar with his speech and behavior could have mistaken another person for him in a variety of circumstances.[6] If you have ever met families with twins, you know that parents or their relatives can tell them apart. The disciples could have done the same. So, this hypothesis is refuted by the criteria of explanatory power and plausibility. Moreover, this idea is just ad hoc.
Escape Hypothesis
Another hypothesis is that Jesus was not on the cross at all, and someone else died in his place. Is this reasonable? It is highly improbable. The crucifixion was a public event and Jesus was a public figure. It is unlikely that all the enemies of Jesus, the disciples who knew Jesus intimately, as well as members of the public failed to recognize that it was not Jesus who was crucified.[7] Thus, this hypothesis fails at least on the criterion of plausibility.
Swoon Hypothesis
Another hypothesis is that Jesus could have survived the cross, then simply escaped from the tomb and appeared to his disciples. How realistic is this explanation? It is refuted by both medical facts and common sense. Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, described crucifixion as “the most wretched of deaths,” and Paulus, a Roman jurist, called it the “most severe punishment.”[8] Crucifixion was the extreme penalty (according to Tacitus),[9] making it highly unreasonable to think that Jesus could have survived by natural means. Even if he had somehow survived, he would have been half-dead, still suffering from severe wounds. A severely injured, half-dead Jesus would not have been capable of convincing the disciples that he was the risen Lord of life.[10] Consequently, this theory also fails on the criteria of explanatory power, plausibility, and being disconfirmed by fewer accepted beliefs.
Conclusion
Our analysis of the historical facts and alternative hypotheses has shown that naturalistic explanations for the resurrection of Jesus fail for historical, philosophical, and scientific reasons.
Based on standard criteria of the historical method (such as multiple, independent sources, hostile sources, embarrassing facts, and eyewitness testimony) we have demonstrated the truth of three facts: (1) Jesus died by crucifixion; (2) the tomb was empty; and (3) very soon afterwards, a number of people had experiences they believed were appearances of the risen Jesus.
Following this, we analyzed all major naturalistic hypotheses (such as legend, conspiracy, hallucination, mistaken identity, escape, and the swoon hypothesis) and found that each faces insurmountable objections and fails to meet the criteria for the best explanation such as explanatory scope, explanatory power, plausibility, being less ad hoc, and being disconfirmed by fewer accepted beliefs.
Thus, the resurrection of Christ from the dead is indeed the best explanation of the historical facts, which means that believing in the resurrection is reasonable.
Finally, in closing, I would just like to mention another way to know the resurrection, the experiential approach. If Christ truly rose from the dead, as the evidence suggests, then that means Jesus is not just some ancient figure in history or a picture on stained glass. This means that he is alive today and can be known through experience. For me, Christianity ceased to be just a religion or set of rules when I gave my life to Christ and experienced spiritual rebirth in my own life. For me, God became a living reality. As a teenager who suffered from severe depression and contemplated suicide, I decided to explore the evidence for Christianity. Thus began my research into the resurrection of Christ. Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that Jesus rose from the dead and therefore he could change my life. This is exactly what happened, which is why I am sharing this testimony with you today. And I will tell you that if you are looking for a meaning, a purpose in life, then look not only at the historical evidence, but also take the New Testament and begin to read it, asking yourself if it could be true. You may find, as many others have, that it will change your life.
Notes
[1] Bart Ehrman, How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee (New York: HarperOne, 2014), 183-84.
[2] J. Warner Wallace, Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels (updated & expanded edition) (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2023), chap 7.
[3] Michael R. Licona, The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2010), 508-510.
[4] Andrew Loke, Investigating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ: A New Transdisciplinary Approach (London: Routledge, 2020), 105.
[5] N.T. Wright, “A Dialogue on Jesus with N.T. Wright,” in There Is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind, Anthony Flew and Roy Varghese (eds.) (New York: HarperCollins, 2007), 210-211.
[6] Andrew Loke, Investigating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ: A New Transdisciplinary Approach (London: Routledge, 2020), 112-117.
[7] Although this is not a naturalistic explanation, Muslims or representatives of other religious movements might say that it was a divine miracle, so that he misled everyone present. However, this is an ad hoc hypothesis for which there are no facts. Worse, it makes God responsible for the emergence of a large-scale hoax.
[8] Brant Pitre, “Crucifixion: The Cruelty of the Cross,” Catholic Productions, accessed October 11, 2025, https://catholicproductions.com/blogs/blog/crucifixion-the-cruelty-of-the-cross.
[9] Michael R. Licona, The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2010), 305.
[10] David Strauss, A New Life of Jesus (London: Green and Sons, 1879), 412.
— Mykhailo Abakumov is a lecturer in Systematic Apologetics and Christian Ethics at Tavriski Christian Institute. He is a graduate of the St. Thomas Aquinas Institute of Religious Studies in Kyiv and a graduate student in Christian Apologetics at Houston Christian University. He serves as the Director of the Reasonable Faith Chapter in Ukraine and is an international speaker defending the Christian faith across Eastern Europe.
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Another wonderful article! Great research and explanation. Thank you!