No religion stands or falls with a claim about the resurrection of its founder in the way Christianity does. – Craig Blomberg

So, how would you define a bad day? Ned Johnson has most of us beat. Johnson, an 82-year-old man in Seattle, woke up feeling very much alive, that is, until he and his wife opened a letter from his bank stating that he was deceased. Somehow Johnson had been mistakenly declared dead, which led to the cancellation of his Social Security benefits. It took two months to prove the mistake, including numerous phone calls, letters to government officials and enduring a four-hour wait at his local Social Security office. He told ABC News the problem continues to follow him, I’ve since learned that I’m on the Death Master File that apparently is going to chase me for the rest of my life. It means that when Social Security declared me as deceased, there’s a file that’s kept…that I’m listed on and, apparently, it doesn’t go away. So, we’re struggling with a few issues now that are starting to crop up since we started this whole thing.

Many people believe that Jesus Christ is still dead. His resurrection is so unbelievable, they reason that there must be some other explanation. How do we know that Jesus really died?

All the ancient reports agree that Jesus died.

Every ancient account we have agrees that Jesus died on the cross. This includes Jewish and Roman sources as well as the united testimony of all of the New Testament authors. No one argued that Jesus survived the crucifixion. Roman writer Tacitus said, [Christians] got their name from Christ, who had been executed by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius. His statement might reflect an official report that was written by Pontius Pilate. Whatever the case, no one in ancient times ever argued that Jesus survived the Roman crucifixion.

The Romans executioners did their job well.

Crucifixion was common in Jesus’ time and the Romans were the experts at it. They’d reduced it to a science. There’s no possibility that Jesus could have survived the crucifixion, scourging, and lance thrust. Since the governor had personally condemned Jesus to death, the soldiers made sure they finished the job. Add to that, Pilate cross-examined the centurion to make certain that Jesus had died. It was now the evening before the Sabbath, and the Jewish people were getting ready for that sacred day. A man named Joseph from Arimathea was brave enough to ask Pilate for the body of Jesus. Joseph was a highly respected member of the Jewish council, and he was also waiting for God’s kingdom to come. Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead, and he called in the army officer to find out if Jesus had been dead very long. After the officer told him, Pilate let Joseph have Jesus’ body (Mark 15:42-45). Jesus’ body would never have been handed over to Joseph of Arimathea if Jesus wasn’t really dead.

The breaking of Jesus’ legs wasn’t necessary.

Crucifixion was a slow, painful way to die with the person usually dying of asphyxiation. The victim had to push his body up in order to breathe. Breaking the legs hastened the death of the victim. The legs of the two criminals crucified next to Jesus were broken because the Passover was drawing near so they couldn’t push themselves up. Passover began at sunset. According to Jewish law, bodies could not be left on the cross on that Holy Day. Jesus’ legs though weren’t broken because He was already obviously dead.

Blood and water came out of Jesus’ side.

Those who’ve said that Jesus was only apparently dead appeal to the fact that blood came out of His side when a spear was plunged into it. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out (John 19:34). Can dead men bleed? Wasn’t this a sign that Jesus was still alive?

Scientifically, the opposite is true. When a person dies, of what we call a “broken heart,” blood pools into a sac around the heart known as the pericardium. The blood, after standing there for a short time, separates into serum “the water” and clots (red corpuscles/blood). If someone is dead and a spear thrust into their side, and the point of the spear entered the pericardium, blood and water, or serum and clots, would come out separately. That’s exactly the way John, a layman eyewitness, described it.

The purpose of the spear thrust was to ensure that Jesus was dead. The blood and water coming out is a sign that the individual has died. This is an eyewitness detail that shows that death had occurred. John wrote, He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth (John 19:35).  John emphasized the fact he was there and personally witnessed all of this.

Jesus’ enemies, the Jewish religious leaders watched the entire crucifixion.

There are eyewitness accounts of those who had Jesus executed, the Jewish religious leaders. According to the gospels, they stood and watched Jesus die. They stayed at the cross until it was over. Even His enemies could testify that He’d truly died. These evil men watched every minute of His painful death.

Two of His followers (Nicodemus and Joseph) prepared His body for burial.

Nicodemus and Joseph wrapped Jesus in grave clothes and then anointed His body with spices. Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take Jesus’ body down. When Pilate gave him permission, he came and took the body away. Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night, also came, bringing about seventy-five pounds of embalming ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Together they wrapped Jesus’ body in a long linen cloth with the spices, as is the Jewish custom of burial (John 18:38-40). Can we imagine these two men didn’t realize Jesus was dead when they went through this entire burial process? 

The bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the central historical event in Christianity. Without it there is no Christianity. If Christ has not been raised,” wrote Paul, “then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:14). Jesus was dead, then raised from the dead.   

You can’t be Christ-follower and deny Jesus’ resurrection. The facts attest that Jesus had really died and His resurrection happened. It’s the most pivotal event in human history. Since Jesus conquered death and rose from the grave and is alive, it changes everything! If you’re not sure, check the evidence for yourself. If you come with an open mind, I believe that you’ll find that the evidence is irrefutable.