1 Corinthians 15:3-8 Archives

Were There Five Hundred Witnesses to the Resurrection of Jesus?

September 18, 2025 Evangelicalism 0 Comments

Now I want you to understand, brothers and sisters, the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand,through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.

For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. (1 Corinthians 15:1-8 NRSV)

Allegedly, Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead after being executed by the Roman government. Twenty or so years after the death of Jesus, the Apostle Paul (with Sosthenes as his co-author) wrote the words above, saying that Jesus appeared to more than 500 men and women at one time after he resurrected. Most of these witnesses were still alive at the time of writing 1 Corinthians 15.

Question Evangelical apologists about the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus, and they will often quote 1 Corinthians 15:1-8. “Over five hundred witnesses saw the resurrected Jesus,” they claim. However, what evidence do Evangelicals have for this claim? Outside of this passage of Scripture, there’s no evidence for the claim that over five hundred people saw the post-resurrected Jesus. No, all we have is a singular author claiming more than five hundred witnesses saw Jesus. Not one historical record apart from Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15 testifies to the five hundred witnesses claim.

We find another interesting passage in Matthew 27:

Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last.At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split.The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many.

According to this passage of Scripture, when Jesus died, the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom, and scores of saints who were sleeping in their graves resurrected, walked through the streets of Jerusalem, appearing to many.

In 2003, our family moved to Yuma, Arizona, hoping the weather would be better for my health. Yuma had a static population that would double in the winter months when “snowbirds” arrived. So it was for Jerusalem in the first century. Its population would swell during Passover, upwards of 150,000 people. Yet, despite the large crowds, not one historian, biographer, or reporter wrote one word about any of the events mentioned in this post. No mention of the five hundred witnesses or one word written by them. No mention of dead people coming back to life and walking through Jerusalem.

Could these claims be true? Sure, but there’s no evidence that they are. Saying more than five hundred people witnessed the resurrected Christ is a wonderful claim, but such a fantastical event was not mentioned by contemporary writers one time outside of the Bible. The same goes for the ripped veil and the resurrected saints walking the streets of Jerusalem. Justification for these claims requires more than a few Bible verses. These supernatural events were so astounding that you would think someone in Jerusalem might have written them down. They didn’t, so all we are left with is this: The Bible says . . .

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

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No, Five Hundred People Didn’t See Jesus After His Alleged Resurrection

March 20, 2024 Evangelicalism 7 Comments

When Evangelical apologists are asked for evidence for the resurrection of Jesus, they will often quote I Corinthians 15:3-8:

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

See, Bruce, see! Over 500 people saw Jesus after he resurrected from the dead. The Bible says so! End of discussion.

The book of 1 Corinthians was written by the Apostle Paul and Sosthenes circa 53-55 CE, two decades after the death of Jesus. What we have, then, in I Corinthians 15:3-8, is one man’s claim that more than 500 people saw Jesus after he resurrected from the dead. We have no written evidence for this claim outside of what Paul wrote in I Corinthians. That’s it. You would think that if an executed criminal came back to life and walked the streets of Jerusalem and the surrounding area for forty days, a secular author would have written that down. The same goes for the claim found in Matthew 27:50-53

Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

After Jesus drew his last breath on the cross, graves were opened, and many dead saints came back to life, exited their graves, and walked to Jerusalem — appearing to many. Once-dead people coming back to life! Once dead people walking the streets of Jerusalem, appearing to other people! What an astounding event. Yet, no one bothered to write one word about it apart from a verse in the Bible written fifty years after the death of Jesus.

There is no historical record of either of these events apart from the claims of an anonymous Jew and the Apostle Paul. One man’s claim does not evidence make. There is little to no extra-Biblical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Even if we grant the Biblical accounts historical status, there is no corroborating evidence. None. Thus, believing more than 500 people saw Jesus after his death requires faith. The same goes for the zombie apocalypse recorded in Matthew 27.

Thus, I remain convinced that the apocalyptic Jewish preacher named Jesus lived for around thirty-three years, ran afoul of Roman law, was executed on a cross, and was buried in an unmarked grave — never to be seen again. If Evangelical apologists want me to believe otherwise, all I ask is that they provide evidence that is more than Bible proof texts.