Pass it on
The Gospels include details that no propagandist would invent: women as the first witnesses to the empty tomb, disciples portrayed as cowards and fools, leaders denying their own Messiah. The criterion of embarrassment is simple: people do not make up stories that make them look weak.
In first-century Jewish culture, a woman’s testimony was not admissible in court. Women were not considered reliable witnesses. If you were inventing a story about the most important event in human history; the resurrection of the Son of God; you would not make women the first witnesses. You would have Peter discover the empty tomb. Or John. Or any male disciple. But all four Gospels record that women were the first to find the tomb empty and the first to encounter the risen Jesus. The only plausible explanation for why this embarrassing detail was preserved is that it was true.
The same principle applies throughout the Gospels. The disciples; the leaders of the early church; are consistently portrayed as dense, faithless, and cowardly. Peter, the rock on which the church would be built, denies Jesus three times. All the disciples flee at the arrest. None of them believe the women’s report of the empty tomb. The resurrection appearances are met with doubt, not instant faith. If the early church was fabricating stories to build its credibility, these are not the stories it would fabricate. The criterion of embarrassment is one of the strongest tools historians use to establish authenticity; and the Gospels are full of embarrassments.
The crucifixion itself is perhaps the greatest embarrassment. The Messiah was supposed to be a conquering king who liberated Israel from its enemies; not a condemned criminal executed by the occupying power in the most shameful manner possible. A crucified Messiah was a contradiction in terms, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. If you were inventing a religion, you would not invent a crucified Savior. You would invent one who won. The fact that the early Christians not only accepted the crucifixion but made it the center of their message is powerful evidence that they were not inventing. They were reporting.