The Gospel Authors Tried So Hard to Prove Resurrection, Part 2

But the accounts of Jesus’ resurrection fail basic standards

In my article posted here last Friday, I discussed the major flaws in Matthew’s story about dead saints coming alive in their tombs when Jesus died, then wandering in Jerusalem on the first Easter Sunday. Also, I analyzed the account of Jesus raising Lazarus, found only in John 11. Neither of these stories stand up to careful, critical analysis; they both sprang from the imaginations of their authors. 

But what about the gospel depictions of the resurrection of Jesus himself? Are they more to be trusted? Well, unfortunately not. As Robert Conner has pointed out, according to the gospels, nobody actually witnessed the resurrection of Jesus. Let’s take a look at all four, beginning with the first to be written.

The Resurrection in Mark

In Mark 16:1 we read that Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went to the tomb of Jesus to anoint the body with spices. They were surprised that the large stone sealing the tomb had been rolled away. They entered the tomb and saw a “young man dressed in white,” who announced to them that Jesus had risen, and would meet his disciples in Galilee. In verse 8 we read that they “…fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” A natural question, of course, is how could the author of Mark—whoever he was—have known this part of the story if “they said nothing to anyone.”

By careful comparison of ancient manuscripts, it appears that this is where the gospel of Mark ended. This ending, however, is so abrupt; perhaps the end of the scroll was damaged and lost. Hence it’s no surprise that other endings were added by unknown scribes. There is this text that was added at some point: 

“And all that had been commanded them they told briefly to those around Peter. And afterward Jesus himself sent out through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.”

Then there is the “long ending,” which has since been designated as verses 9-20. Here we read that Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene, “from whom he had cast out seven demons.” She went to report the news to the disciples, “but when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it” (v. 11). Later he appeared to two disciples who were walking in the country: “And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them” (v. 13).

Then Jesus appeared to all eleven disciples, and scolded them for lack to belief—after all, the gospel of Mark reports that he had told them three times that he would rise from the dead. Then he assigns them the task of going to all the world to preach the good news to all creation. 

Then we find the text which probably would win first prize for cult fanaticism:

“And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover” (vv.17-18).

I have known so many devout Christians, I suspect that most of them don’t know these verses, and most of them would reject them since they’ve never tested their faith by such methods. 

This ending then states that Jesus was taken to heaven and sat down at the right hand of his god, after which the disciples did as he had commanded them, preaching the “good news” everywhere. This conflicts with the timing stated in Acts 1, that Jesus ascended after forty days. 

Please note that some Bible translators/editors have highly developed skills of deception. Printing the words of Jesus in red is a good example of this. They know that there is no way whatever to verify the words of Jesus that appear in the gospels—because the gospel authors never disclose their sources. Conservative/evangelical scholars may seriously believe the gospels were divinely inspired, hence they regard the words of Jesus printed in red as an appropriate practice. But this is still deception, because “divinely inspired” is based on faith, not verifiable facts.   

Another deceptive practice is attributing variant texts to “other authorities.” We have no idea who wrote the gospels—so even the original authors fail to qualify as authorities. They qualify instead as cult propagandists. The two additions to Mark 16 that I mentioned above are also attributed to authorities. But we have no idea at all who wrote and inserted the additional texts. It is pretentious to call them authorities. Especially when the text claims that true Christians will be able to cast out demons, drink poisons without being harmed, and pick up snakes. That kind of nonsense comes from cult fanatics: the last thing I would call them is authorities.

The Resurrection in Matthew 

After Matthew’s spooky tale of resurrected dead saints wandering around Jerusalem on the first Easter morning, wouldn’t his credibility as an author been severely damaged? Well, at the time he wrote, not at all. It was a highly superstitious era, inclined as well to magical thinking. But readers today should take it as a warning that he’s not to be trusted.

In Matthew’s 28th chapter we read that when Mary Magdalene and another Mary went to the tomb, there was a great earthquake, and an angel descended from heaven to remove the stone from the entrance to the tomb. The angel orders them to tell the disciples that Jesus has been resurrected, and they head out to do as commanded. But Jesus himself appeared to them with a similar suggestion: “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” (v. 10) The disciples showed up at Galilee; “When they saw him, they worshiped him, but they doubted.” This is a touch of cult propaganda. It’s okay to doubt that Jesus was raised—even his disciples weren’t so sure. Then Jesus delivers his final instruction: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (vv. 19-20) This is the end of the gospel; nothing here about Jesus then ascending to heaven. 

A brief pause now to look at reality.                               

 

Richard Carrier has

demonstrated abundantly that there were many religions/cults in the ancient world that believed in dying/rising savior gods. See his 2018 essay, 

Dying-and-Rising Gods: It’s Pagan, Guys. Get Over It.                            

Christianity decided it was a concept that could be attached to Jesus.

The Resurrection in Luke

In the final chapter of this gospel we read again that women went to the tomb, discovered that the body of Jesus was missing, but were startled that “two men in dazzling clothes” stood beside them. These men remind them what Jesus had preached about his divine role. The women—identified in verse 10 as “Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them…”—hastened to tell the apostles what they had experienced at the tomb. “But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them” (v. 11). Some ancient manuscripts include another verse indicating that Peter rushed to the tomb to see for himself, and went home amazed.

Perhaps inspired by Mark 16:12 (that Jesus appeared to two disciples walking in the country), the author includes an episode found only in this gospel, the dinner at Emmaus. Jesus appears to them, but is not recognized. They tell him of the horrible events they had just experienced, and this stranger scolds them for failing to believe what the prophets of old had predicted about Jesus. They urge him to join them for supper at the village of Emmaus: “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight” (vv. 30-31). 

Poof! Jesus is gone! Robert Conner makes the case, in his book, Apparitions of Jesus: The Resurrection as Ghost Story, that the Jesus resurrection accounts borrow from ghost stories that were current at the time.

These two disciples headed back to the others to tell them what had happened, but Jesus himself then appeared to them all. “Yet for all their joy they were still disbelieving…” (v. 41) In the final short section of this chapter we read that Jesus and the disciples headed out to Bethany. “While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven” (v. 51). It is commonly assumed by many New Testament scholars that the gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts were written by the same author. There is a discrepancy here, since in Acts 1 we read that the ascension to heaven happened after forty days.

The Resurrection in John

This is the topic of chapters 20 and 21 in John’s gospel. Mary Magdalene, before sunrise, had gone to the tomb and discovered that the body of Jesus was missing. She went right away to inform Peter and the “disciple whom Jesus loved” that Jesus wasn’t in the tomb. They rushed to the tomb, saw that Mary had told the truth—then went home. Mary remained at the tomb, weeping, and Jesus appeared to her, though at first she didn’t recognize him. But when she did, she was soon off to tell the disciples she had seen the resurrected Jesus.

Later, Jesus came and stood among the disciples—even though the doors were locked—and chatted with them briefly. But Thomas was absent, and refused to believe the others that they had seen Jesus. A week later, Jesus appeared to them again, and Thomas was present—and this time he believed. The author’s purpose for including this episode is clear: “Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe’” (20:29). 

This is standard cult practice: don’t ask for evidence, just believe what we tell you.

Chapter 21 is strange indeed. Jesus and seven disciples are gathered at the Sea of Tiberias, and the disciples have been fishing—but have not had much luck. Jesus recommends putting the net on the other side of the boat, and the haul of fish is enormous. And they all had cooked fish for breakfast. The disciple whom Jesus loved plays a role here as well. The gospel ends with this bit of bragging (and arrogance):

“This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (vv. 24-25).

There is so much in this gospel that is farfetched—and frankly, unbelievable—so the author, who knew very well that the other gospels had been written before his, wanted to make the case that this disciple’s testimony was true. But that’s not the way authentic history is written. We need reliable, verifiable, objective evidence to anchor stories firmly in history. 

None of the resurrection accounts in the gospels measure up to this standard. The gospel authors were storytellers, cult propagandists—and they lied about what happened to Jesus. He could not have “ascended to heaven.” Just a few miles above the earth and its clouds, there is intense cold, radiation and lack of oxygen. Jesus could not have left this planet. The gospel authors are guilty of a cover-up, although they would not have realized it because of their naïve theology. The supposed resurrected body of Jesus is buried somewhere…unless he never actually existed at all.  

David Madison was a pastor in the Methodist Church for nine years, and has a PhD in Biblical Studies from Boston University. He is the author of Ten Tough Problems in Christian Thought and Belief: a Minister-Turned-Atheist Shows Why You Should Ditch the Faith, now being reissued in several volumes:

• Guessing About God (2023)

• Ten Things Christians Wish Jesus Hadn’t Taught: And Other Reasons to Question His Words (2021). The Spanish translation of this book is also available. 

• Everything You Need to Know About Prayer But May Not Want to Admit (2025)

His YouTube channel is here. At the invitation of John Loftus, he has written for the Debunking Christianity Blog since 2016.

 

The Cure-for-Christianity Library©, now with more than 500 titles, is here. A brief video explanation of the Library is here.