The Empty Tomb, Fact or Fiction?

You do not need to have faith in Christ or the Bible to know that the Resurrection is historical fact.

Jun 02, 2025

What would you say if I told you that faith in Christ is not necessary to believe Jesus rose from the grave, just as He said? It is true. Over 30 years ago, I was preparing a sermon for Easter Sunday, and as I delved into the evidence for the resurrection, I was amazed by the indisputable proof I found. I have provided you with some sources within this text and at the end of this column for your reference. I hope you will pursue them.

Let me provide the basics, and as I do, please consider how the validity of the resurrected Jesus affects your outlook on life now and what follows death.

Foundation Truth over Fictitious Tales

The Bible, The Book of Mormon, and The Quran

First, let me establish two foundation truths. The evidence for the Bible’s authenticity rises above that of any major book of any other non-Christian religion. For example, the Book of Mormon and the Quran were written by one person in a short period (3 months and 23 years, respectively). By comparison, the Bible has over 40 authors, spanning more than fifteen centuries of human history. In other words, there is no comparison at all.

Moreover, these forty-plus authors wrote sixty-six books from three continents (Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa) and in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek). Despite the vast span of human history, the expansive geography, and various cultures, the Bible’s inner harmony and cohesiveness on the most crucial and controversial subjects is uncanny, speaking in human terms.

Regarding the authenticity of the Bible’s content, there exist over 24,000 ancient copies of the books of the Bible, some dating back within 100 years of the original New Testament documents. There are no – I repeat no – books of antiquity (religious or secular) with anything close to such an overwhelming volume of copies that support the accuracy of the accounts recorded in the Bible as we have today.

The Bible’s authenticity and evidence of divine influence, if not authorship, is unmatched by anything ever written in human history.

The Historical Record of Jesus Christ

Second point: Regarding Jesus’ historical reality, non-Christian Roman historians such as Suetonius, Tacitus, and Pliny the Younger refer to Jesus as an actual historical figure. Most notable is Josephus (a non-Christian), born in Israel a few years after Jesus’ resurrection, who wrote about Jesus’ life, ministry, death by crucifixion, and resurrection (Antiquities, xviii, 33).

E. M Blaiklock, Professor of Classics at Auckland University, said: “…I tell you that the evidence for the life, the death, and the resurrection of Christ is better authenticated than most of the facts of ancient history…”

Jesus was a real person who predicted his death and resurrection in three days. Let’s look at some evidence that still only scratches the surface.

Evidence of the Resurrection

The Empty Tomb

The fact that the tomb remains empty says a great deal. To destroy Christianity in its infancy, all the enemies of Christ had to do was produce Jesus’ dead body. They never did – nor has anyone else. Furthermore, highly trained Roman guards stood in the way of anyone attempting to steal Jesus’ body, which lay on a cold slab behind a two-ton stone. It is ludicrous to think the disciples, defeated and confused as they were, and seeing the presence of a Roman guard, would even attempt to steal Jesus’ body.

The Martyrdom of All Christ’s Followers

Would you be willing to give your life for something you knew was a completely fabricated religious scam? No, of course not. Therefore, only one conclusion can be drawn from the fact that all 12 Apostles faced death, and 11 of them were executed without recanting their faith. Only the Apostle John, who stared death in the face more than once, died a natural death. For example, by supernatural intervention, the Apostle John was unharmed when Emperor Domitian had him put in boiling oil. Some regard this story as a legend, but it is a historical fact. More information here.

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There can be only one reason why not even a single one of Jesus’ closest followers and Apostles refused to die for their faith – and that had to be because He truly rose from the dead. Check out this link to learn about how they ministered and were martyred for their faith in the risen Christ.

The Miracle of the Graveclothes Left Behind

The account in all four of the “Gospels” (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) of the graveclothes left behind is miraculous in itself. The graveclothes were strips of linen with layers of fragrant herbs and oils applied between the many layers. This process created an aromatic shell of sorts, encasing the body, adding approximately 75 to 100 pounds (John 19:39) to His natural body weight. It would be exceedingly time-consuming and almost impossible to remove the body from the graveclothes. It is unreasonable to think the disciples would take the time to do so if they were stealing the body.

As the women and two disciples peered into the tomb, they saw what looked like a partially collapsed, cocoon-type object, missing a body. For the Apostle John, this sight was all he needed to believe:

John 20:6-8 Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally, the other disciple [John], who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (Bold added, NIV84).

Christianity Grew & Flourished From Jerusalem.

Amplifying the earlier point that a corpse was never produced is that the center from which Christianity grew and flourished, Jerusalem, was the one place where it could have been proven fraudulent, with just a short walk out of town to Jesus’ tomb. Moreover, all the main characters were there, and surely there would be someone willing to save their skin and deny that they saw Jesus’ resurrected body, as Paul and others wrote, forever discrediting the Apostles’ writings and extinguishing Christianity in its infancy.

Hundreds of Witnesses to Jesus’ Resurrected Body Were Still Living

After His resurrection, Jesus appeared multiple times over a period of 40 days (Acts 1:3) with a physical body that they could touch, and He even ate some food in front of their unbelieving eyes on the evening of His resurrection (Luke 24:39-43). The Apostle Paul speaks of over 500 people simultaneously seeing Jesus after His resurrection and comments that most of them were still alive when he wrote that letter (1 Cor. 15:6).

Eyewitnesses wrote these biblical accounts of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection in the time and region where they occurred, unlike the two aforementioned major religious books. Therefore, if Jesus’ resurrection and appearances were false, there would have been hundreds of witnesses who were still alive and could have come forward to discredit the biblical record, which would also have brought a quick end to Christianity in the first century.

The Final Analysis

The glorious truth is this: It did not end! Today, Christianity is the largest religion in the world.

The evidence is overwhelming: Jesus Christ lived, ministered, and predicted His own crucifixion and resurrection three days later. That Easter Sunday morning changed everything! When the angel came down, he rolled away the massive stone, not so Jesus could get out, but so all the world could peer inside and see that “He is not here; He has risen, just as He said.” (Matt. 18:6).

There is much more evidence on these matters, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). And as Peter declared, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Act 4:12).

Make the Move From Facts to Faith

One does not need a religious faith in Christ to believe the authentic written accounts by eyewitnesses and secular historians about His life, ministry, resurrection, and His eternally empty tomb. However, to benefit from His gift of salvation through His substitutionary death in our place, you must take the next step and confess your sin and surrender the rest of your life to following the only One who gave His life so you “will not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Jesus Christ: eternally the Son of God; historically the Son of Man as recorded in Scripture; and the only One with the empty tomb.

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