The Resurrection
Jesus Christ / The Son of God
Prophecies Fulfilled / Miracles Performed
by Josh McDowell
I set out as a young man to debunk Christianity. I met a young Christian woman who challenged me to intellectually examine the evidence for Christianity and I accepted her challenge. I aimed to show her that Christianity was nonsense. I thought a careful investigation of the facts would expose Christianity as a lie and its followers as dupes. But a funny thing happened as I began investigating the claims of Christianity, I kept running up against the evidence. Time after time, I was surprised to discover the factual basis for the seemingly outlandish things Christians believe. And one of the most convincing categories of evidence I confronted was this. The resurrection accounts found in the Gospels are not the stuff of fable, forgery or fabrication. I had assumed that someone or several someone’s, had invented the stories of Christ's resurrection from the dead. But as I examined those accounts, I had to face the fact that any sensible myth-maker would do things much differently from the way Matthew, Mark, Luke and John did in recording the news of the resurrection. As much as I hated to, I had to admit that if I had been some first-century propagandist trying to fake the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I would have done things differently.
1. I would wait a considerable amount of time after the events before publishing my account.
Few historians dispute the fact that the disciples of Jesus Christ began preaching the news of His Resurrection soon after the event itself. In fact, Peter's Pentecost sermon in Acts 2 occurred within 50 days of the Resurrection. Research indicates that the written accounts of the Resurrection, especially the creedal statement of 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, are very early in origin, possibly within two years of the event. Such early origins argue against any notion that the Resurrection accounts are legendary.
Acts 2 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under Heaven. 6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. 7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? 8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. 12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? 13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. 14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: 15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 19 And I will shew wonders in Heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the LORD come. 21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be saved: 22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know. 23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. 25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the LORD always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: 26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: 27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in Hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. 29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. 30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; 31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in Hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. 32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. 34 For David is not ascended into the Heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my LORD, Sit thou on my right hand, 35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool. 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both LORD and Christ. 37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call. 40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. 41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. 42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. 46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 Praising God and having favour with all the people. And the LORD added to the church daily such as should be saved.
1 Corinthians 15:3-8 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
2. I would publish my account far from the venue where it supposedly happened.
Dr. William Lane Craig wrote: " One of the most amazing facts about the early Christian belief in Jesus Christ resurrection was that it originated in the very city where Jesus was crucified. The Christian faith did not come to exist in some distant city, far from eyewitnesses who knew of Jesus Christ death and burial. No, it came into being in the very city where Jesus had been publicly crucified, under the very eyes of his enemies. "
3. I would select my witnesses very carefully.
I would avoid, as much as possible, using any names at all in my account and I would certainly avoid citing prominent personalities as witnesses. Yet at least 16 individuals are mentioned by name as witnesses in the various accounts and the mention of Joseph of Arimathea as the man who buried Jesus would have been terribly dangerous if the gospel accounts had been faked or embellished. As a member of the Sanhedrin, a Jewish Supreme Court, he would have been well known.
J P Moreland writes: " No one could have invented such a person who did not exist and say he was on the Sanhedrin if such were not the case. " His involvement in the burial of Jesus could have been easily confirmed or refuted. Perhaps most important, I would avoid citing disreputable witnesses, which makes significant the record of Jesus Christ first appearances to women since in that time and culture women were considered invalid witnesses in court. If the accounts were fabricated, women would never have been included, at least not as first witnesses.
4. I would surround the event with impressive supernatural displays and omens.
As Jewish scholar Pinchas Lapide wrote: " We do not read in the first testimonies ( of the Resurrection ) of an apocalyptic spectacle, exorbitant sensations or of the transforming impact of a cosmic event. According to all New Testament reports, no human eye saw the Resurrection itself, no human being was present and none of the disciples asserted to have apprehended, let alone understood, its manner and nature. How easy it would have been for them or their immediate successors to supplement this scandalous hole in the concatenation of events by fanciful embellishments! But precisely because none of the evangelists dared to improve upon or embellish this unseen Resurrection, the total picture of the gospels also gains in trustworthiness. "
5. I would correlate my account with others I knew, embellishing the legend only where I could be confident of not being contradicted.
Critics have pointed out the befuddling differences and contradictions in the Resurrection accounts. But these are actually convincing evidences of their authenticity; they display an ingenuous lack of collusion, agreeing and diverging much as eyewitness accounts of any event do.
6. I would portray any co-conspirators and myself sympathetically, even heroically.
Yet the Gospel writers present strikingly unflattering portraits of Jesus Christ's followers ( such as Peter and Thomas ) and their often-skeptical reactions. Such portrayals are very unlike the popular myths and legends of that ( or any ) time.
- Mark 16:11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.
- Mark 16:13 And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.
- Luke 24:11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.
- Luke 24:37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
- John 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
- John 20:25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the LORD. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
- John 21:4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.
7. I would disguise the location of the tomb or spectacularly destroy it in my account.
If I were creating a Resurrection legend, I would keep the tomb's location a secret to prevent any chance that someone might discover Jesus' body or I would record in my account that the angels sealed it or carried it off into Heaven after the Resurrection. Or I might have taken the easiest course of all and simply made my fictional Resurrection a ( spiritual ) one, which would have made it impossible to refute even if a body were eventually discovered. But, of course, the Gospel accounts describe the owner of the tomb
( Joseph of Arimathea ) and its location, John 19:41 and identify Jesus' Resurrection as a bodily one in John 20:27. I would try to squelch inquiry or investigation.
- John 19:41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.
- John 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
8. I would curse anyone attempting to substantiate my claims.
Yet note the frequent appeal of Jesus Christ disciples, to the easily-confirmed or discredited-nature of the evidence, as though inviting investigation. This was done within a few years of the events themselves; if the tomb were not empty or the Resurrection appearances were fiction, the early Christian opponents could have conclusively debunked the new religion.
- Acts 2:32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
- Acts 3:15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
- Acts 13:31 And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.
- 1 Corinthians 15:3-6 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
Dr. Edwin Yamauchi says of the citation of the resurrected Christ appearing to more than 500 people in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7: " What gives special authority to the list of witnesses as historical evidence is the reference to most of the five hundred brethren being still alive. Paul says in effect, If you do not believe me, you can ask them. I would not preach a message of repentance in light of the Resurrection. "
1 Corinthians 15:3-7 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
No one in their right mind would have chosen to create a fictional message that would invite opposition and persecution from both civil and religious authorities of those days. How much easier and wiser it would have been to preach a less controversial gospel concentrating on Jesus Christ teachings about love perhaps, thus saving myself and the adherents of my new religion a lot of trouble. I would stop short of dying.
Lee Strobel wrote: " People will die for their religious beliefs if they sincerely believe they're true, but people won't die for their religious beliefs if they know their beliefs are false. While most people can only have faith that their beliefs are true, the disciples were in a position to know without a doubt whether or not Jesus had risen from the dead. They claimed that they saw him, talked with him and ate with him. If they weren't absolutely certain, they wouldn't have allowed themselves to be tortured to death for proclaiming that the resurrection had happened. "
These are not the only reasons I believe in the truth of the Bible and the reality of the Resurrection. But these were among the many convincing proofs. Acts 1:3 that I encountered in my attempts to prove Christianity wrong, which eventually led me to the conclusion that Jesus Christ was who He claimed to be and that He really did rise from the dead.
Acts 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
It didn't happen immediately, but eventually I gave in to the truth, and on Dec. 19, 1959, the Risen Christ radically changed my life. I've seen Him do the same for countless others, and I pray, if you haven't done so already, you will let Him do the same for you.
Josh McDowell is a speaker, author and traveling representative for: Campus Crusade for Christ
1. I would wait a considerable amount of time after the events before publishing my account.
Few historians dispute the fact that the disciples of Jesus Christ began preaching the news of His Resurrection soon after the event itself. In fact, Peter's Pentecost sermon in Acts 2 occurred within 50 days of the Resurrection. Research indicates that the written accounts of the Resurrection, especially the creedal statement of 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, are very early in origin, possibly within two years of the event. Such early origins argue against any notion that the Resurrection accounts are legendary.
Acts 2 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under Heaven. 6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. 7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? 8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. 12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? 13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. 14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: 15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 19 And I will shew wonders in Heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the LORD come. 21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be saved: 22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know. 23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. 25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the LORD always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: 26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: 27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in Hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. 29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. 30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; 31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in Hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. 32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. 34 For David is not ascended into the Heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my LORD, Sit thou on my right hand, 35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool. 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both LORD and Christ. 37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call. 40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. 41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. 42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. 46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 Praising God and having favour with all the people. And the LORD added to the church daily such as should be saved.
1 Corinthians 15:3-8 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
2. I would publish my account far from the venue where it supposedly happened.
Dr. William Lane Craig wrote: " One of the most amazing facts about the early Christian belief in Jesus Christ resurrection was that it originated in the very city where Jesus was crucified. The Christian faith did not come to exist in some distant city, far from eyewitnesses who knew of Jesus Christ death and burial. No, it came into being in the very city where Jesus had been publicly crucified, under the very eyes of his enemies. "
3. I would select my witnesses very carefully.
I would avoid, as much as possible, using any names at all in my account and I would certainly avoid citing prominent personalities as witnesses. Yet at least 16 individuals are mentioned by name as witnesses in the various accounts and the mention of Joseph of Arimathea as the man who buried Jesus would have been terribly dangerous if the gospel accounts had been faked or embellished. As a member of the Sanhedrin, a Jewish Supreme Court, he would have been well known.
J P Moreland writes: " No one could have invented such a person who did not exist and say he was on the Sanhedrin if such were not the case. " His involvement in the burial of Jesus could have been easily confirmed or refuted. Perhaps most important, I would avoid citing disreputable witnesses, which makes significant the record of Jesus Christ first appearances to women since in that time and culture women were considered invalid witnesses in court. If the accounts were fabricated, women would never have been included, at least not as first witnesses.
4. I would surround the event with impressive supernatural displays and omens.
As Jewish scholar Pinchas Lapide wrote: " We do not read in the first testimonies ( of the Resurrection ) of an apocalyptic spectacle, exorbitant sensations or of the transforming impact of a cosmic event. According to all New Testament reports, no human eye saw the Resurrection itself, no human being was present and none of the disciples asserted to have apprehended, let alone understood, its manner and nature. How easy it would have been for them or their immediate successors to supplement this scandalous hole in the concatenation of events by fanciful embellishments! But precisely because none of the evangelists dared to improve upon or embellish this unseen Resurrection, the total picture of the gospels also gains in trustworthiness. "
5. I would correlate my account with others I knew, embellishing the legend only where I could be confident of not being contradicted.
Critics have pointed out the befuddling differences and contradictions in the Resurrection accounts. But these are actually convincing evidences of their authenticity; they display an ingenuous lack of collusion, agreeing and diverging much as eyewitness accounts of any event do.
6. I would portray any co-conspirators and myself sympathetically, even heroically.
Yet the Gospel writers present strikingly unflattering portraits of Jesus Christ's followers ( such as Peter and Thomas ) and their often-skeptical reactions. Such portrayals are very unlike the popular myths and legends of that ( or any ) time.
- Mark 16:11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.
- Mark 16:13 And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.
- Luke 24:11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.
- Luke 24:37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
- John 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
- John 20:25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the LORD. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
- John 21:4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.
7. I would disguise the location of the tomb or spectacularly destroy it in my account.
If I were creating a Resurrection legend, I would keep the tomb's location a secret to prevent any chance that someone might discover Jesus' body or I would record in my account that the angels sealed it or carried it off into Heaven after the Resurrection. Or I might have taken the easiest course of all and simply made my fictional Resurrection a ( spiritual ) one, which would have made it impossible to refute even if a body were eventually discovered. But, of course, the Gospel accounts describe the owner of the tomb
( Joseph of Arimathea ) and its location, John 19:41 and identify Jesus' Resurrection as a bodily one in John 20:27. I would try to squelch inquiry or investigation.
- John 19:41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.
- John 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
8. I would curse anyone attempting to substantiate my claims.
Yet note the frequent appeal of Jesus Christ disciples, to the easily-confirmed or discredited-nature of the evidence, as though inviting investigation. This was done within a few years of the events themselves; if the tomb were not empty or the Resurrection appearances were fiction, the early Christian opponents could have conclusively debunked the new religion.
- Acts 2:32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
- Acts 3:15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
- Acts 13:31 And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.
- 1 Corinthians 15:3-6 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
Dr. Edwin Yamauchi says of the citation of the resurrected Christ appearing to more than 500 people in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7: " What gives special authority to the list of witnesses as historical evidence is the reference to most of the five hundred brethren being still alive. Paul says in effect, If you do not believe me, you can ask them. I would not preach a message of repentance in light of the Resurrection. "
1 Corinthians 15:3-7 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
No one in their right mind would have chosen to create a fictional message that would invite opposition and persecution from both civil and religious authorities of those days. How much easier and wiser it would have been to preach a less controversial gospel concentrating on Jesus Christ teachings about love perhaps, thus saving myself and the adherents of my new religion a lot of trouble. I would stop short of dying.
Lee Strobel wrote: " People will die for their religious beliefs if they sincerely believe they're true, but people won't die for their religious beliefs if they know their beliefs are false. While most people can only have faith that their beliefs are true, the disciples were in a position to know without a doubt whether or not Jesus had risen from the dead. They claimed that they saw him, talked with him and ate with him. If they weren't absolutely certain, they wouldn't have allowed themselves to be tortured to death for proclaiming that the resurrection had happened. "
These are not the only reasons I believe in the truth of the Bible and the reality of the Resurrection. But these were among the many convincing proofs. Acts 1:3 that I encountered in my attempts to prove Christianity wrong, which eventually led me to the conclusion that Jesus Christ was who He claimed to be and that He really did rise from the dead.
Acts 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
It didn't happen immediately, but eventually I gave in to the truth, and on Dec. 19, 1959, the Risen Christ radically changed my life. I've seen Him do the same for countless others, and I pray, if you haven't done so already, you will let Him do the same for you.
Josh McDowell is a speaker, author and traveling representative for: Campus Crusade for Christ
