I cannot prove the resurrection. I can see its power in my life and in the lives of others, but I cannot prove that it happened. But the scripture gives us eyewitness accounts attesting to the fact of a resurrected Jesus.
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The women who went complete Jesus’ burial anointing saw and heard from an angel, announcing the fact of the empty tomb and the fact of the resurrection. These were reliable women, not given to creating unbelievable stories. The women who went to the tomb were Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James, Salome, and Joanna. There may have been others, but they are not named. These were the first to convey the news to the apostles. Matthew and John both tell us that they saw the risen Christ. They were the first.
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Two of Jesus followers, traveling in disappointment to their homes in Emmaus, were visited by a Christ who journeyed with them. As soon as they recognized him they booked it back to Jerusalem to tell the apostles. The apostles did not yet believe the stories from the two men or from the women.
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That evening (Sunday) Jesus appeared to the disciples. They were terrified. He showed them the wounds on his hands and feet and ate a fish to show that he was, indeed, corporeal.
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Eight days later he appeared to them again. This time the group included Thomas, the doubter. Jesus again showed the wounds on his hands and feet and called Thomas to stop doubting and believe.
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He later appeared to seven of the disciples who had gone back to Galilee. They were fishing. Jesus appeared on the shore and called them to join him for breakfast. As they did he again assured them that it was indeed he, himself. He took this time to have a private discussion with Peter, who had denied him.
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He appeared to his unbelieving brother, James. A conversion ensued.
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And several times he appeared to large groups.
The accounts are recorded in varying ways, with some contradictions about time and place, which adds to their authenticity. If the four gospels told the same story, in the same words, with all the same details…red flag. But we have so little information, it’s almost anticlimactic. Then again, how do you convey with words events of such profound emotion, fear, wonder, and spiritual impact? I’m glad the writers stuck to the facts, without such embellishment.
In the book of Acts we learn that Jesus kept up his appearances for 40 days after his resurrection. A single appearance wouldn’t do. His disciples had to know for absolute sure that he had risen just as he said. Their faith would be sorely tested in the days and years to come. They had to know that they were conveying a truth as they preached and taught. The tomb was empty and they were its eyewitnesses.
After he had prepared them he had orders to give. “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Did they do it? Well, here we are. At this moment there are over two billion Christians alive and on the earth. Message delivered.
And then, “When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.”
One would be tempted to say, “The End.” But it was not the end. The “age” Jesus spoke of is rushing to its conclusion, when Jesus will come again in power to judge the living and the dead. His story has been told so that all might know him and be prepared for his coming.
Prayer: “Great and Risen Lord! I am grateful that you raised up men to write down your story so that we might have their eyewitness account. I believe! I am awestruck by the impact you have had on the history of this world. I am grateful to march in that happy company headed for heaven’s gates, and I am eager to see your face and to know your peace. With the apostle John I say, “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people.”
(Postscript: This is the last entry of this gospel blog. I may have approached the real story of Jesus in a somewhat backward manner. Perhaps I should have started with the book of Acts. The resurrection is the central theme in every Christian sermon reported in Acts. The resurrection and its consequences were the ‘gospel’ or good news which the Christians brought to that world and to the ages to come. What we call the “gospels,” (with the possible exception of Luke) the narratives of Jesus’ life and death, were composed later for the benefit of those who had already accepted thegospel. They were in no sense the basis for Christianity: they were written for those already converted. The miracle of the resurrection, and the theology of that miracle, comes first: the biography comes later as a commentary on it. The first fact in the history of Christianity is the number of people who say they have seen the resurrection. If you would like a daily blog on the book of Acts I’d like to hear from you. Peace be with you…Taft