“He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once …. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time” (1 Corinthians 15:5-8).
“If Christ is not risen, your faith is empty!” The apostle Paul grabs our attention with this statement in his first letter to the Corinthians (15:14). When Paul set out to give evidence of the validity of the resurrection he established a list of witnesses, an actual count of observers who saw Jesus, those who talked with Jesus, even ate with Jesus, following His resurrection from the dead. (See 1 Corinthians 15:3-9.)
Prior to the first witness on Paul’s list, the Gospels record that Mary Magdalene and the other women with her came before daybreak only to find the tomb vacant. She delivered the news of the vacancy to the disciples. Peter and John came to investigate and then returned home. Fresh from the opened grave Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene as she lingered behind mourning the death and absence of her Lord. His appearance and words turned her sorrow into amazement and joy.
Luke tells the story of two believers journeying to Emmaus, their hearts filled with grief and sorrow for the tragic events of the recent Passover in Jerusalem. While they walked, a stranger joined them and soon heard the sad story of their sorrow. He began to encourage them with words of Scripture and passages from the prophets concerning Messiah and events that would surround his life and death. Upon arrival at their home they invited this stranger to eat with them. As He took the bread and broke it suddenly their eyes were opened that this was the risen Christ!
Later that day, Jesus appeared in a closed room gathering of fearful disciples who were unable to believe that Jesus was indeed living again. They refused to believe the report of the women, perhaps attributing their testimony as the result of overwrought emotions. However, their faith was soon validated and the report verified as Jesus stood in their midst displaying fresh scars from the wounds in His hands, feet, and side.
On another occasion Paul said there were more than five hundred at one time who saw Jesus alive after His resurrection. This could have been His last meeting with the believers on the Mount of Olives, the place of His ascension. There He gave His final instructions, challenging them to return to Jerusalem to receive the Promise of the Father. He told them they would be witnesses in all the world after they received the power of the Holy Spirit. In one final dramatic moment He was received up into heaven leaving the crowd with open-mouthed amazement.
The witnesses of faith include more than this brief list. The book of Hebrews documents a long list of faithful men and women through time that attest to the validity of faith and the assurance of the presence of our God working in us. “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2). Our faith is valid because of an empty tomb and a living Savior!
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