Creator, Father, King #242

God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this.

BIGFOOT. YETI. THE LOCH Ness Monster.

Do you know of anyone who believes in these creatures? Do you believe in any of them? There’s actually a name for these beasts that lurk in the shadowy corners of human imagination: cryptids. They are beings whose existence remains to be proven by actual observation or science—somewhat similar to ghosts, aliens, and teachers who never assign homework (ha!).

These creatures are figments of our fantasy, even if plenty of people defend their existence in varying degrees. The problem is, there have never been any confirmable eyewitness accounts.

Sadly, many people have dismissed the resurrection of Jesus in similar fashion, discounting it as just another unverified fable, such as Sasquatch roaming in the woodlands of the Pacific Northwest. Yet this is where popular mythology and Jesus’ resurrection greatly diverge.

The eyewitness testimony for the risen Savior is overwhelming.

What’s It Mean?

The Bible affirms that more than five hundred eyewitnesses (1 Corinthians 15:6) saw the risen Savior, and it mentions nearly twenty of them by name. That latter group includes the following:

• Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” (Matthew 28:1, 9)
• Cleopas, one of two travelers on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:18)
• the eleven original disciples, minus Judas Iscariot (Luke 24:33-49)
• Matthias, who took Judas’s place (Acts 1:23)
• Justus, a finalist to take Judas’s place (Acts 1:23)
• James, Jesus’ brother (1 Corinthians 15:7)
• Paul (Acts 9:1-9)

The eyewitness testimony of Jesus’ resurrection was extremely important to the apostles. Shortly after Jesus’ ascension, Peter proclaimed to the large Jerusalem crowd at Pentecost that “God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this” (today’s verse). Years later, Paul made it clear to the Corinthian church that the risen Christ had appeared to him—twice mentioning it in his first letter to them (1 Corinthians 9:1; 15:8).

Jesus’ resurrection is not speculative, theoretical, or based on flimsy, circumstantial evidence. The eyewitness testimony is overwhelming!

Most importantly, though, Scripture affirms the Resurrection’s veracity. If Scripture says it, it’s true! The Bible is the authoritative, inspired, inerrant Word of God. Everything God speaks is truth (Proverbs 30:5; John 17:17).

The question isn’t whether or not Jesus rose from the dead. That’s indisputable. The question is, do you believe?

Now What?

Read these three Old Testament prophecies of Jesus’ resurrection: Psalm 16:10; Isaiah 53:10; and Hosea 6:2.

Did You Know?

One of the main requirements of being an apostle in the early church (i.e., the disciples, Matthias, and Paul) was being “a witness of Jesus’ resurrection” (Acts 1:22).