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Resurrection Witnesses
Reprinted from The Carolina Messenger
David R. Pharr
Our faith in the resurrection of Christ is
established by the testimony of the apostolic
witnesses. It was not the Lord's purpose to have
Jesus seen of all people. Instead he appeared to
"witnesses chosen before of God" (Acts
10:40-41). Our faith is based, not on our
own experience, but on the recorded testimony of
these witnesses (John 20:29-31). This is
the point in Luke's account of the Great
Commission.
| "And
said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it
behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead
the third day: And that repentance and remission of
sins should be preached in his name among all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these
things" (Luke 24:46ff). |
Again Jesus said, "But ye shall receive power,
after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye
shall be witnesses unto me . . ." (Acts 1:8;
cf. John 15:26f; Acts 5:32).
Witnesses testify; they give their testimony
as to what they have seen and heard. The term
eyewitness is significant.
| "That
which was from the beginning, which we have heard,
which we have seen with our eyes, which we have
looked upon, and our hands have handled,
of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and
we have seen it, and bear witness, and
show unto you that eternal life, which was with the
Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we
have seen and heard declare we unto you
. . ." (I John 1:1ff emphasis added). |
The gospel narratives describe various occasions
when Jesus appeared to a select few. The attention
given to the occasion of Thomas' demand for firsthand
experience is one example of how "he showed himself
alive after his passion by many infallible proofs"
(Acts 1:3). Firsthand experience was essential.
When a replacement for Judas was selected, it had to
be that "beginning from the baptism of John, unto
that same day that he was taken up from us, must one
be ordained to be a witness with us of his
resurrection" (Acts 1:22). Apostolic
preaching emphasized: "This Jesus hath God raised
up, whereof we all are witnesses" (Acts 2:32;
cf. 13:31).
Paul names various ones who were eyewitnesses
before Christ's ascension and then explains, "And
last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out
of due time" (I Cor. 15:4-8). It was
essential that Paul see Jesus in order that he might
qualify as a witness to testify of the resurrection.
The Lord told him that "I have appeared unto thee
for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a
witness . . ." (Acts 26:16; cf. I Cor.
9:1). Of course, as Paul explained, he was the one
"last of all" to have the experience.
We rely on the testimony of witnesses to determine
facts of history. Generally people have no hesitancy
in accepting any facts of history which are
established by credible testimony. It needs to be
appreciated, however, that the testimony (evidence)
affirming the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is far
superior to that which supports any other historical
event.
We are familiar with the role of witnesses in a
court trial. Though in human affairs such testimony is
not always adequate, we can compare the criteria which
should be applied to such witnesses with the
qualifications of the apostles and the credibility of
their testimony. Five questions need to be examined.
Were the apostolic witnesses competent, that
is, do their writings demonstrate sufficient ability
and intelligence? The answer is obvious to anyone who
honestly examines the New Testament documents. They
could not have been written by men who lacked
comprehension of facts, nor by men who were unable to
clearly express themselves. Even unbelievers must
admit the excellent vocabulary, grammar, logic and
precision of what is written. Believers know that
whatever native ability the writers enjoyed was
perfected by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Were they in a position to know the facts?
One cannot testify as to what he has seen unless he
has actually seen it! A witness must have sufficient
familiarity with the persons and events involved. The
years the apostles spent with Jesus provided time for
them to know him so well that they could not fail to
identify him. His forty days with them before
ascending provided a variety of experiences for
conclusive identification. They saw him, talked with
him, touched him, ate and drank with him. They had
seen him die an undeniable death. And they had
unquestionably known it was he who was alive again.
Were they biased witnesses? Was their experience
influenced by preconceived expectation? In other
words, had they already made up their minds that Jesus
would come back and therefore saw what they presumed
they would see. We would be less inclined to accept
the testimony of persons known to have a bias in
regard to the facts. In the case of the apostles, the
remarkable thing is that they did not expect his
resurrection. Jesus had foretold it, but they never
understood. When the first reports came, they "seemed
to them as idle tales, and they believed them not"
(Acts 24:11). Thomas was not alone in his need
for more absolute assurance. Jesus had to rebuke them
for being slow to believe (Mark 16:14). Saul of
Tarsus, an enemy of Christ, clearly had no
preconceptions in favor of the resurrection.
Is there agreement among the witnesses? If
it could be shown that there are inconsistencies or
contradictions, we would have reason to reject some or
all of the testimony. Other matters might be
established "by the mouth of two or three witnesses."
Here, however, we have the agreement of all of the
apostles. Everything recorded shows harmony and
consistency. We notice how this is so much in contrast
to the false witnesses at Jesus' trial (Mark
15:56-59).
Finally, we must ask if the witnesses were
reliable? Were they honest men? Could they be
suspected of perjury? Is it possible that they were
lying? The perfect "lie detector" test is in the fact
that they were willing to die to affirm their
testimony. Men might do many things to promote and
defend a lie, but they would hardly die to uphold it.
The evidence of Jesus resurrection is sealed with the
blood of their martyrdom.
Most members of the New Testament church never saw
Jesus. Peter observed this in his letter to scattered
saints. They believed because of the apostolic
testimony, the same testimony which we have in what is
written (John 20:30f). It was wonderful that
those witnesses had firsthand experience. Consider,
however, what Jesus explained to Thomas: "Thomas,
because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed
are they that have not seen, and yet have believed"
(John 20:29).
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