Resurrection of Jesus

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead on Sunday morning (the third day after his crucifixion, c. 30 or 33 CE), discovered when women including Mary Magdalene came to his tomb at dawn with spices and found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. Angels announced “He is not here; he has risen!” and the grave clothes were left behind. The women initially fled in fear, but Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene in the garden (who mistook him for the gardener until he spoke her name), then to the other women, instructing them to tell his disciples.

Over the next forty days, the risen Jesus appeared multiple times to his followers: to Peter alone, to two disciples on the road to Emmaus (recognized when he broke bread), to the eleven apostles in the upper room (showing his wounds and eating fish to prove he was not a spirit), to Thomas eight days later (inviting him to touch his wounds), to seven disciples by the Sea of Galilee (where he reinstated Peter), to over 500 believers at once, to James, and finally to the apostles before his ascension from the Mount of Olives. Paul lists these appearances in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 as core gospel truth: “Christ died for our sins…was buried…was raised on the third day…appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”

This event became the foundational claim of Christian faith—Paul wrote “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile” (1 Cor 15:17)—and is celebrated on Easter Sunday. Islam teaches that Jesus was not crucified and therefore not resurrected, but was raised bodily to heaven without dying (Quran 4:157-158).