The Resurrection of Jesus: A Historical and Theological

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June 19, 2026

By Marc Bates Founder and Chief Apologetics Officer

ARTICLE GUIDE

At a Glance

The historical investigation of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth stands at the contested intersection of historiography, biblical exegesis, and philosophical theology. In contemporary academia, historical inquiry is often constrained by an epistemological crisis—caught between the unattainable ideals of post-Enlightenment positivism and the radical skepticism of postmodernism.

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To grasp the full significance of these historical conclusions, the resurrection must not be viewed as an isolated anomaly. Rather, it must be located within the organic unity of canonical Scripture as the eschatological climax of God's redemptive purpose. Walter C. Kaiser Jr.'s promise-plan theology supplies the requisite text-immanent framework. Distinct from canonical and narrative approaches—which emphasize the final form of the canon or the literary coherence of Scripture—promise-plan theology traces a single, progressive unfolding of the Creator's redemptive word of promise. This promise-plan addresses the fractures of cosmic rebellion, vindicates the Messiah, fulfills the concrete promises to ethnic Israel, and incorporates the nations into the one people of God.\[3\] This essay applies historical source…

Historians must first establish a viable epistemological foundation. Radical postmodernism, which claims the past is unknowable and that historians merely construct biased narratives, leads to self-defeating relativism. Critical realism, by contrast, adopts a correspondence theory of truth. It acknowledges the impossibility of absolute objectivity given fragmented data, yet maintains that historical descriptions can achieve adequate certainty.\[4\]

What This Study Explores

Promise-Plan Theology • Biblical Theology • Resurrection • Historical Method

Direct Answer: Can the resurrection of Jesus be investigated historically without excluding God in advance?

Yes. Historical inquiry cannot reproduce the event experimentally, but it can assess claims about Jesus’ death, the early proclamation, reported appearances, the disciples’ transformation, Paul’s conversion, and the empty-tomb tradition using normal source criticism and explanatory comparison.

Critical realism neither guarantees the resurrection nor rules it out. It asks which hypothesis best explains the evidence; the theological claim then gains its full meaning within Israel’s resurrection hope and the canonical promise of Messiah, restored humanity, and renewed creation.

Key Claims

Critical realism affirms probabilistic knowledge of the past while recognizing fragmentary evidence and interpretive horizons.
Jesus’ death by Roman crucifixion and the disciples’ sincere appearance claims form central historical data.
Early creedal and testimonial material places resurrection belief near the movement’s beginning.
Naturalistic hypotheses must be evaluated for scope, power, plausibility, and reliance on ad hoc assumptions.
The bodily resurrection vindicates Jesus and inaugurates the eschatological renewal promised to Israel and the nations.

Interpretive Context

Historical arguments can establish that resurrection is a serious explanatory candidate, but the phrase “historically verifiable” should not imply laboratory proof or worldview neutrality. Conclusions depend partly on judgments about whether supernatural causation is metaphysically possible and historically inferable.

The promise-plan supplies the theological horizon that historical data alone cannot generate. Israel’s Scriptures identify resurrection as divine vindication and new-creation inauguration; the Easter claims therefore concern not simply whether Jesus lived again, but whether Israel’s Messiah has defeated death and begun the Creator’s promised restoration of humanity and the nations.

Selected Scholarship

Michael R. Licona, The Resurrection of Jesus (2010).
Gary R. Habermas, On the Resurrection, Volume 1: Evidences (2024).
N. T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God (2003).
Dale C. Allison Jr., The Resurrection of Jesus (2021).
Gerd Lüdemann, The Resurrection of Jesus (1994).

Scripture Connections

1 Corinthians 15:3–7; Mark 16:1–8; 1 Corinthians 15; Genesis 1; Genesis 3; Genesis 1:1–2

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Originally published June 19, 2026. This WordPress page is a discovery guide; the complete article is hosted on Substack.

Filed under:

Apologetics, Biblical Theology, Resurrection, Studies

· Divine Council, Promise-Plan, Read, Second Temple Judaism

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