Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?

Easter Lecture, Unbelievable? & Biblical Time Machine

Hello! And an extremely happy Easter Monday to those who are celebrating.

Second only to Christmas, Easter is a biblical student’s favourite time of year. We get to ask fascinating questions, like: what does it mean to say that someone ‘rose’ from the dead? How likely is it that Jesus was buried in a tomb – or that the tomb was later found empty? What are we to make of Jesus’ post-mortem appearances? And in what sense is the resurrection susceptible to ordinary modes of historical analysis?

If those questions pique your interest, I have occasionally weighed in on some of these classic resurrection debates on the blog. Here are some of my pieces:

• Women Witnesses: Proof of an Empty Tomb? discusses the common argument that women’s testimony was considered unreliable in the ancient world, and therefore the accounts of their discovery of an empty tomb are reliable.

• Did Jesus Receive a Burial? looks at some arguments for and against Jesus’ burial in the tomb by Joseph of Arimathea, and explores some alternative scenarios.

• Vanishing Bodies, Ascending Gods examines ancient stories of ‘translation’, in which a person’s body goes missing from their place of death or burial.

• Ancient Apologetics for the Empty Tomb explores apologetic features in the canonical and extra-canonical accounts of Jesus’ resurrection.

• Why We Can’t Prove the Resurrection makes the case that Jesus’ resurrection is not the kind of event that can be proved by ordinary historical reasoning.

• Is the Turin Shroud Jesus’ Burial Cloth? unpacks the view that the world’s most famous relic is not Jesus’ actual burial cloth, but a medieval artefact.

• Seven Evidences for Jesus’ Resurrection is a two-parter which evaluates common arguments for the resurrection, such as the martyrdom of the disciples.

Usually at this time of year, I would add to this collection. Yet this Easter has been particularly busy and I didn’t make it to the keyboard. As well as teaching and writing, I host a discussion show called Unbelievable? and produce a podcast, Biblical Time Machine – so there has been, to paraphrase James Bond, ‘no time to write.’

I am really blessed, however, that my professional life has taken me back to the Easter sources. I recently had the privilege of hosting a discussion with Profs Dale Allison and Mike Licona on Jesus’ resurrection, and put together a podcast in which Profs Helen Bond and Lloyd Lewellyn-Jones discuss the New Testament sources.

I also gave a talk on Easter as part of my Behind the Gospels 2026 lecture series. So instead of my usual Easter post, here is an update of some of what I’ve got up to this Easter! If you are a paid subscriber, you can access my Easter lecture below.