There Must Be Something More

97 | Undeniable Evidence

When the applause died down, I had more confidence. God was with me in this. I didn't need to be afraid. 

"After an earthquake, an angel descended to move the stone door covering the tomb," I said, "Women disciples had set out from home with spices early on the first day of the week while it was dark. Before they arrived, the guards froze with fear seeing the angel. Their later report to the chief priests would become a testimony of God's involvement."

I added, "Angels spoke to the women. Before sunrise, the women arrived and were surprised that the stone had been moved. Angels confirmed Jesus' resurrection and that He was going to Galilee as He had said some days before. The women were to go to the disciples and tell them He had risen.

"The disciples did not believe the women who passed on the angels' message. Mary Magdalene told them that Jesus' body was gone.

"Peter and John ran to the tomb to see for themselves. John was apparently convinced by what he saw, while Peter wondered about it all.

"The resurrected Christ appeared first to Mary Magdalene near the tomb, and later to more women disciples. Paul omits mentioning these appearances in 1 Corinthians 15, perhaps because he wanted to refer to the testimony of men appointed by Christ as official witnesses (Acts 1:8, 21-22; Luke 24:48).

"The disciples did not believe Mary when she told them Jesus appeared to her. In the meantime, Jesus appeared to a group of the women followers. He told them to tell His brethren to go to Galilee.

"The guards were bribed with large sums by the chief priests and elders--Sanhedrin--to say that the disciples came and took Jesus' body away. They became false witnesses.

"Jesus appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. One is named as Cleophas. By expounding the prophecies about the Messiah from the Holy Scriptures and sharing a meal with them, Jesus helped them to understand that He was the resurrected Christ. They rushed back to the other disciples.

"The Emmaus disciples spoke to "the eleven," which is a reference to the apostles. But that doesn't mean all 11 apostles were present. As we continue reading Luke 24, we learn that Thomas was not present."

"That's interesting," Alex muttered. She was in the front row. When she noticed me looking at her, she quickly glared.

I looked away. "Jesus appeared, and they touched Him. As the two disciples told of their experience, Jesus appeared among them all and ate food to show He can appear in physical form. He showed them the wounds in His hands, feet and pierced side, which they touched. He rebuked them for not believing those He had appeared to already.

"After eight days, Jesus appeared again—this time with Thomas present. John recounts that Jesus did many things in the presence of His disciples that convinced them He is the resurrected Christ.

"The disciples traveled to Galilee, where Jesus met them on a mountain. While in Galilee, He appeared to them by the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus had already appeared to Peter three times.

"Christ catches fishermen's attention. While waiting for Jesus to show Himself, Peter and six others decided to go to work, but didn't catch anything. Then Jesus miraculously filled their net with 153 large fish."

"I want 153 large fish right now!" Someone from the football team shouted. Some of the others laughed. Others shh-ed him, and one of them was Alex.

I continued, "More than 500 brethren saw Christ in Galilee, most of whom were still alive when Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 15:6 some 30 years later.

"Disbelieving James and Jude--Initially, Jesus' brothers did not believe He was the Christ (John 7:3-5). Although not directly recorded in the Gospels, Paul tells us that Jesus appeared to His half brother James. By the time the conference recorded in Acts 15 took place, James was the pastor of the congregation at Jerusalem. He had become a fervent follower of the risen Christ, along with at least one other brother, Jude.

"Additional disciples saw Christ: As mentioned by Paul, these may be those who, in addition to the 12, made up the 120 disciples in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost, A.D. 31. As we have seen, there were over 500 other brethren who had already witnessed the resurrected Jesus in Galilee.

"Then after all this the apostles returned to Jerusalem and continued to be instructed by Christ until the 40 days were finished (Acts 1:1-8). He told them not to leave Jerusalem until they had received the Holy Spirit, which happened on Pentecost. Great growth came as a result of the miraculous signs and preaching of the apostles.

"And then a vicious enemy becomes a defender: Paul gave his own name as the final eyewitness. As a zealous Pharisee, he had violently persecuted Christians as recorded in Galatians 1:13-14 and Acts 8:3. He witnessed Stephen's martyrdom. On the way to Damascus to capture and throw believers into prison, he was struck blind when Christ appeared to him. Christ called him to a new life as a promoter of the faith he had tried to destroy. Paul implies he was taught by the resurrected Christ in Arabia--Galatians 1:11-17.

"People," I said. "This is undeniable evidence. The events around Jesus' resurrection were so significant and were experienced by people so diverse that they could not be denied. 

"We can point to prophecy fulfilled by Jesus' death, burial and resurrection; and we can read the rock-solid testimony of eyewitnesses. Yet the ultimate proof that Jesus is the resurrected Savior of mankind is best shown by the change that takes place in our lives when He and the Father make their abode in us as said in John 14:23.

"The living Christ in us is the incontrovertible proof of Jesus' resurrection—He proves it daily by interacting directly and indirectly in our thoughts, lives, and through His Word. If Jesus Christ lives in us, we, too, will be glorified in a resurrection in the near future as stated in Romans 8:9-11."

The crowd was silent. All had different expressions. Some were dozing off, others were typing away on their phones, but others looked like they were about to break down, some had their head bowed, others had their elbows on their knees in a position of prayer.

"The Bible supports evidence--hard evidence," I continued. I clicked on the remote and showed pictures of me and the Biblical scholars I talked to at a university in Chicago. "I talked to and interviewed scholars all known for their field of expertise--the Bible. They have studied it for more than forty years. They're even surprised there are still people who doubt its truth.

"But now I've broken it all down for you. It's your job to take it or leave it. This conference actually answers why Jesus is God. There is no other God. 

"Acts chapter 4, verse twelve: There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. 

"I'm telling you right now that you can be saved. That you don't have to deny the existence of our Lord any longer. He is waiting for you. He's actually arranged this moment to be your moment with Him. Are you going to answer?"

I took a deep breath. I caught a conviction from the Spirit. "If anyone wants to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior right now, you can come up front and I can lead you into a prayer."

Someone stood to walk up front. I narrowed my eyes to see clearly--

and gasped.

It was Alex from the Science Committee.

Disclaimer: This info was taken from an article called "Jesus' Resurrection: Eyewitness Accounts" by Peter Hawkins