Jesus’s role as bringer of hope is central to orthodox Christian teaching; his birth is heralded by divine portents, and his death redeems humanity from its state of sinfulness. Pagels, too, depicts Jesus as a figure who inspires hope, yet she also lingers on the paradox of looking to a man whose life ended in such brutal fashion for deliverance. Indeed, Pagels observes that after Jesus’s crucifixion, his followers hid in fear, and the movement neared collapse. Their hope for a new kingdom, often understood in explicitly political terms, seemed to vanish with his death; as some said, “We had hoped that he was the one to deliver Israel” (89). In this context, the story of Jesus’s return from death becomes pivotal, with Pagels showing how the varied experiences of his resurrection reversed that collapse and gave the community a renewed sense of life and purpose. 

Pagels traces two kinds of stories that spread through the early churches, together reshaping how his followers thought about death and opened a path for growth. Some described Jesus appearing in a physical body, while other stories described visionary encounters. Pagels suggests that both would have had distinct functions. The bodily scenes underline the reality of Jesus’s physical presence and respond to claims that the disciples saw a ghost or imagined the encounter. In Luke, for instance, Jesus tells the frightened disciples to “Touch me, and see” and then eats a piece of fish to show that he has “flesh and bones” (182). John’s account of Thomas placing his hand in Jesus’s wounds gives another scene of direct proof. By contrast, visionary stories center on the surprising and transformative character of these moments. Mary Magdalene meets Jesus near the tomb and mistakes him for a gardener, and the travelers to Emmaus recognize him only when he vanishes. Paul’s encounter on the road, which appears as a blinding light, shows the power of a non-bodily vision. The presence of both forms signals a shared attempt to support the resurrection through concrete testimony and through experiences that reach beyond ordinary perception.

Pagels contends that faith in these encounters became the movement’s driving force. Historian Ed Sanders writes that “That Jesus’s followers […] had resurrection experiences is, in my judgement, a fact” (211), and Pagels notes that this conviction encouraged the disciples to regroup and preach. Paul, in particular, built his authority on his own vision and placed the resurrection at the heart of his message. 

Ultimately, Pagels argues, the resurrection reframed Jesus’s execution by presenting it as a step toward victory over death. Citing Adolf von Harnack, she writes that the belief that “the Lord would raise his people from death […] has become the mightiest power through which the Gospel has won [its reception throughout the world]” (211). This hope reached people far outside the ranks of the powerful and included the enslaved and the marginalized. The resurrection stories therefore gave shape to a movement that transformed the cross, a tool of Roman terror, into a source of enduring hope.