Yeah, there were lots of people outside the Gospels in the 1st and 2nd century that said Jesus raised the dead. None of them gave this particular detail that Matthew gives, but it's not significant compared to Jesus himself coming back, which is the core claim that either is completely true or is so amazing that it would take a Jesus to invent it fresh. It wasn't a "massive" number, probably a dozen or so would suffice. And the Talmud demonstrates that the Jews are constantly expecting, and mythologizing, that their fathers are often returning to them bodily to give advice, so all those testimonies also reflect the Matthaean event.

There was no party among the seven or eight Jewish political divisions and many subdivisions that had incentive to popularize these particular "Elijah sightings" as opposed to any others more in line with the emerging Pharisee consensus. Except the new completely unfunded movement, the Messianics (the Way). So it's natural that the Messianics are the only ones to be specific about that resurrection. But about healing, raising the dead, and doing wonders in general, there are many such contemporary testimonies, starting with Tacitus, listed in the link I gave.

You call me "false on every count" and then provide no proof, even though all I did was ask questions. This is an inquiry board but you seem to have your mind made up. Feel free to give evidence rather than circumstantial inference about something I didn't say.

The question I have then... why would they choose a real person to make up a story. A wonderful story no doubt about that, but still a made-up story.

There is not much story in New Testament. We don't even know what Jesus do as a God in human flesh for decades, except that he could be a carpenter as His foster father. So, for a made-up story it is too specific and Gospels looks exactly like journalist reports by different journalists about event, not a story about person Himself.

So, they killed him and then decided to write a story and a narrative they (the Empire) could control.

The Empire didn't control the "story" at all. At first, Romans account followers of the "story" as a strange bu harmless small community, then as a threat to Empire and tried to exterminate all of them, and finally Rome itself fall into the "story". That's not how controlled narrative work.

Apart from theology, New Testament is basically is an opposite to the Old Testament story that glorified a single tribe and justified their crimes against humanity. Both parts become a perfect example and severe warning for all humanity of why and how to not become Jews.

It is not hard to imagine that Jews will always try to undermine such manual, creatung "new translations" and "new interpretations". And if you add a theology, then it become obvious why Jews always tried to create a narrative that Christianity is something weak, boring and controlled.

Using jewish-controlled pedowikia as a source of knowledge, especially historical is a sign of dementia. Pedowikia have very biased approach to so called "reliable sources". They account even CNN and ADL as "reliable sources", so there is no way they have different approach for historical ones.

You suggest the Philistinians should have left records about a Jewish state. Did the Peleset people leave any records about anything at all?

Philistinians had their own language and script. Script is Cypro-Minoan, language is Indo-European. There are many ancient still undeciphered writings on clay tablets found on Cyprus and on the Eastern coast of Midterranean Sea. Attempts to study and decipher Philistinian tablets for some reason was made mostly by Soviet archeologists, with partial success, it was enough to determine language is Indo-European, and get some clue about the topics of writings on artifacts, but definitely not enough to create full dictionary and decipher everything. There are dozens if not hundreds of Philistinian tablets in Nicosia museum on Cyprus (looks like https://history.eco/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/kipr-min-1705130_600.jpg) and many in hands of archeologists in other countries. However, for "some" reason, much rare, smaller and more cryptic Etruscans writings attract much more interest in the Western archeology than anything connected with Philistinians. Guess why. :)

As for Jesus and His references to the Jewish historical characters - He obviously had to rely on cultural references of the people who already have own legends and beliefs in attempt to bring the Jews to senses.

If I will try to explain something for American buddy using in examples some references to Superman, Huckleberry Finn and Forrest Gump to make my arguments more clear for one who have completely different cultural background, that will not make all that fictional characters real.

If even I understand that it is wise to talk to people in terms and language they understand, then Jesus definitely understand that too. His references to Jewish legend's characters in no way a proof of their existence or non-existense,