The Resurrection Appearances

Christianity (claiming a resurrected savior) exploded across the Middle East just weeks after Jesus was publicly executed, and it began in the very city where hundreds had seen Jesus die.

How could this be true? Not only was there intense opposition to Christianity in those early days from established religious groups and the government of Rome, but the common people (eyewitnesses of Jesus' death on a cross) should have laughed the first converts straight out of town.

Why didn't they?

There were strange circumstances surrounding the burial site: the tomb which had been sealed (with a one ton rock rolled down a short incline into its mouth) was opened, the ropes and wax further securing it tossed aside. In addition, the Roman soldiers guarding the tomb had somehow failed to keep the body from being disturbed. That's very significant, because Roman law stated that any guard caught abandoning their post or sleeping on duty was to be executed on the spot, no questions asked. The guards charged with guarding the tomb were not put to death, but were instead instructed to tell anyone who asked that, "His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep. (Matthew 28:13)"

Weird. And definitely suspicious. But there's still room for doubt that Jesus just got up and walked out of the tomb, right? Well, that's when people started seeing Him...alive.

More than just seeing Him, they talked with Him (Luke 24:17), ate with Him (Luke 24:41-43), and physically touched Him (Luke 24:37-40). Paul talks about the eyewitness testimonies of Jesus' followers:

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than FIVE HUNDRED brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me... “...if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised... “...But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." ~1 Corinthians 15:3-21

Imagine if evidence is being presented in court to establish whether a certain man robbed a department store. The prosecutor stands up and says, “Your honor, I'd like to call five hundred witnesses to the stand who were all present on the day in question.” Then the witnesses are all called up, one by one, and they all tell the same story. Five hundred times we hear what the man was wearing, where he went, who was injured, what threats were made, sounds and sights surrounding the robbery, with no apparent contradictions. Since it's considered strong historical evidence when only two or three witnesses are present in court, five hundred witnesses make for overwhelming evidence!

Paul tells us that when his letter was written to the Corinthian church that most of those people were still alive. The implication is that you could potentially find these people and hear their stories for yourself! In other words, you didn't have to take Paul's (or the disciples') word at face value; their claims could be tested. Paul is opening himself up to be proven wrong regarding Jesus, but instead of Christianity falling apart the church only grew stronger and spread further. This could not have happened without the eyewitness testimonies.

This is one of the reasons the gospels are considered trustworthy by believers; they were written and spread abroad during the lifetimes of many of those eyewitnesses, who could have easily said, "That really happened," or "This never happened; I was there." In fact, for the most part, the gospels are collections of corroborated eyewitness testimonies.

Paul and his brothers in the faith, facing intense persecution and martyrdom, didn't back down. They were united in saying, "As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard. (Acts 4:20)”

It takes more faith to believe that five hundred people were fooled by an imposter, than that they really saw the risen Jesus. It's inconceivable that many people in the early church would give their lives for proclaiming an eyewitness testimony that didn't really happen.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” ~John 3:16

Because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, we can be confident that He will also raise anyone who calls to Him for mercy.

Christ is RISEN! He is risen indeed!

Happy Easter, everyone. :)

Eagerly waiting for Him,

-Daniel