Post-resurrection appearances of Jesus
4-10-18
Skylar Farrill
This week at Quarterlife we are looking at the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. The book of Acts tells us that Jesus appeared to the disciples over a 40 day period after his resurrection, then he ascended to heaven. What do these appearances teach us?
The scriptures say that Jesus appeared with many infallible proofs in Acts 1:3. What does Luke mean by there were infallible proofs? Can you prove that Jesus is God? Isn’t belief in God all about faith?
As Christians, we do have faith, but it is not a blind faith. It is important to understand that the historical evidence for the resurrection is powerful, and extensive. Our faith in God is built on the strong foundation of history. I want to give you three historical proofs of the resurrection.
# 1 - number of witness
1 Corinthians 15:3-7 says,”For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.”
This testimony is important because it establishes that there were a sufficient number of witness to the resurrection. If there were just one or two people who say the resurrection, then we might think that they were making it up. In fact, even the disciples doubted the first reports of the resurrection. But 515 witnesses? That is a different story. Imagine that they were giving testimony in a court of law. If each person was given 15 minutes to describe what they saw then there would 128 hours of non stop testimony confirming the resurrection. It would take weeks to get through it. The point is that when the gospel was being spread, and the new testament was being written, you could go and ask people what they saw.
Not only that, many of those believers were martyred. They died confessing that Jesus rose from the dead. Why could they die for something they knew was a lie? There is no motive for them to do such a thing. Clearly they believed what they said.
#2 - The women found the tomb
All four gospel account include the detail that it was the women who found the tomb. They were the first witness to the resurrection. This is important for a couple of reasons. For one, it elevates the position of women. At the this time in history, women were considered unreliable witness. In fact, they could not even testify in courts. They had a lesser status than a man. But Jesus, in choosing to appear first to women, is raising their status. They they were honored to be the very first people to proclaim the resurrection. Jesus honored women to be the first witness of his resurrection. Everywhere the gospel of Jesus is brought the position of women in a culture is raised. The second reason this detail is important is that In the Jewish culture of the time, women were considered unreliable witness. They were not allowed to testify in court. Extrabiblical documents testify to this fact. So the fact that the first witnesses of the resurrection are women, is not something that someone would make up. If you were making up a story like this that you wanted people to believe, then you would make the first witness someone would be considered more reliable. It makes sense, however, if the disciples are simply reporting the facts. The gospels are full things like this, details that ring of truth. They are full of stories that are embarrassing or make the leaders of the early church look bad. These only make sense if the story is true.
#3 - Prophecy
FInally, prophecy supports the narrative of the resurrection. Scholars believe there are over 300 old testament prophecies that relate to Jesus. Some of these go into great detail like Isaiah chapter 53. We are told that he was “despised and rejected by mankind” (verse 3), he was “pierced for our transgression” (verse 5), “he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth” (verse 7). Remember, Jesus did not answer his accusers? In verse 9 we are told, he was assigned a grave with the wicked” and verse 11 says, “After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied.” How can this savior both “pour his life out unto death” (verse 11) and also have his “days prolonged”? Only if he dies and is raised again. (On a side note, in case you are thinking that this lines up so perfectly, that someone must have written it about Jesus after the fact, the prophecy of Isaiah was found complete in the dead sea scrolls. These documents have been scientifically dated several hundred years before the time of Christ.)
There are literally hundreds of other prophecies about Jesus. Peter Stoner gives this illustration to help us understand what the odds of someone fulfilling those prophecies by chance is.
“Suppose that we take 1017 silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far s he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man, from their day to the present time, providing they wrote using their own wisdom.” (1)
These are just a few of the piece of evidence that support the reality of the resurrection. All of Christianity hinges on the fact of the resurrection. The Apostle Paul said, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” 1 Cor. 15:17. But if Christ has been resurrected, then that means that we have to take seriously his claims. He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one can come to the father except through me.” John 14:6.
Stoner, Don. “Who Designed God? the Paradox of Existence.” Science Speaks by Peter W. Stoner, Chapter 3, The Christ of Prophecy, sciencespeaks.dstoner.net/Christ_of_Prophecy.html.
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