Three embarrassing facts that authenticate the disciples' sincerity: Peter's denial, James's pre-resurrection unbelief, and Paul's role as persecutor of the church

Mike applies the criterion of embarrassment: (1) Peter — the leader of the church — is recorded as having denied Christ; no one inventing a heroic narrative would include this. (2) James the brother of Jesus did not believe in Jesus during his earthly ministry (Gospels); why fabricate a witness whose pre-resurrection unbelief had to be admitted? (3) Paul was an active persecutor of the church; his conversion is explained by a single event — his encounter with the risen Jesus — which Paul himself claims. These three embarrassing facts increase the credibility of their later resurrection proclamations.