I. The Eyewitnesses Of The Risen Jesus Vs. 5-11
A. Thinking It Through
1. The cumulative testimony of these witnesses is overwhelming.
2. Not only did they see Jesus after His death, but they saw Him in a manner which revolutionized their faith and trust in Him
3. The changed character of the hundreds of eyewitnesses, and their willingness to die for the testimony of the resurrection, eliminate fraud as an explanation of the empty tomb.
B. The Eyewitnesses
1. V. 5-Cephas. Cephas is another name for Peter.
a. We don’t know the details, but we know that Jesus met privately with Peter.
2. V. 5-Then by the twelve- When Paul says by the twelve, he uses the term as a figurative title–at the first meeting, Thomas was absent and Judas had killed himself.
3. V. 6a-Over five hundred brethren at once
a. There are no details of this in the Gospel writings.
b. It could have taken place when Jesus asked for his disciples to meet him in Galilee.
c. Matthew 28:10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”
4. V. 6b-of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.
a. Some of those eyewitnesses had died, but the majority of them were still alive, still giving testimony to what they saw, and still available to be questioned or interviewed.
b. Some say that so called witnesses had hallucinations or hysteria, but 500 don’t have mass hallucinations.
This could not have been explained as mass hysteria.
Five hundred eyewitnesses certainly could not have been deluded regarding a resurrected Jesus!
The Corinthians could have interviewed many of those witnesses, had they desired.
1 Cor 15:7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.
1 Cor 15:8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
By saying as by one born out of due time, Paul may be saying that he did not have a three year “gestation” period as the other apostles; he came on the scene suddenly
Others think Paul uses the term ektroma (abortion, stillbirth, miscarriage; an untimely birth with “freakish” associations) because the Corinthians were so consistently depreciating his stature as an apostle; they considered him truly a paulus (“little”) apostle, but Paul will glory in his weakness
1 Cor 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
Paul always remembered how he had sinned against Jesus’ church; he knew that he was forgiven, yet he remembered his sin
1 Cor 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
Paul gave the grace of God all the credit for the change in His life; yet Paul labored with grace–so that it wouldn’t be given in vain
Grace, by definition, is given freely; but how we receive it will help to determine how effective the gift of grace is
Grace isn’t given because of any works, past, present or promised; yet it is given to encourage work, not to say work isn’t necessary
But Paul even credits his own hard work to the effect of grace in him
1 Cor 15:11 Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
The reality of the resurrection is the reality of the gospel message.
W/o the resurrection, there is no Christianity.
But the fact of the resurrection forces one to accept the fact that a decision must be made.
If Jesus was who He said He was…
And He did rise from the dead…
Than his claims about heaven and hell cannot be ignored.
You may accept or reject the offer that Jesus gives you for eternal life.
But you cannot ignore the facts of the resurrection.
You cannot ignore the facts of the resurrection power in people’s lives.