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CHAPTER TWELVE

TESTING THE TESTIMONY

NUMBER OF WITNESSES TO THE RESURRECTION:

MARY MAGDALENE:

Saw the stone was removed, John 20:11

Saw where they laid Jesus, John 20:12.

Saw that the body was gone, John 20:13

Then testified, “I have seen the Lord,” John 20:18

THE DISCIPLES:

John 21:7 “Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’”

John 21:12 “None of the disciples dared ask him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord.”

John 20:19-20 “The disciples saw and were overjoyed.”

John 21:24 “This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.”

John 20:28 “Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”

1 John 1:1-4 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched-this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.”

THE APOSTLE PAUL:

Acts 22:6-8 “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?' 'Who are you, Lord?' I asked. ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,' he replied.’”

FIVE HUNDRED WITNESSES:

1 Cor 15:5-8 “And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.” (It is as though Paul was saying, “I can give you names and addresses if you want to check out my story.”) After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.”

THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF WITNESSES!

COMPETENCY: WERE THE WITNESSES COMPETENT?

Many of these witnesses had been with Jesus daily for 3 ½ years. These witnesses saw, listened to, touched and ate with Jesus before and after he died, (John 20:28; 21:9-14; 1;John 1:1). They were competent.

SAUL/PAUL’S conversion: Acts 9:1-2; 26:12

Saul had wealth, reputation, passion and power. He was a prominent man in society, Philippians 3:5, 6. He advanced as a scholar. He sat at the feet of Gamaliel, who some say was the greatest teacher of the time, Acts 22:3. He despised the Christian movement, Acts 22:4. “And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.” “And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto foreign cities,” Acts 26:11 KJV.

It would be next to impossible for anyone to convert Saul of Tarsus - Paul. The only plausible explanation of his conversion is the one he gave. “[Jesus] was seen of me also.” What possible motive could Paul have had to lie? He gave up so much, so that he could live as a Christian. Jesus’ appearance to Saul, after he had died on the cross, proves Jesus’ resurrection. Those that testified were not fly by night scoundrels. These were men of prominence, leaders and businessmen.

ULTERIOR MOTIVES: DID THE WITNESSES HAVE ULTERIOR MOTIVES?

The witnesses did not expect to see Jesus again, Mark. 8:31-33; Mark 16:14, 10, 11; John 20:19; Luke 24:16-24; Mt. 28:17. Therefore, they had no ulterior motive to make up the story.

The witnesses did not change their testimony even under extreme torture. One example is Steven, Acts 7:58- 60; another is Peter and John who were threatened, jailed, flogged and commanded not to teach about Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Peter proclaimed, “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard,” Acts 4:20 KJV.

The existence of the New Testament demands a reason why it was written. The New Testament says the resurrection is the reason.

The existence of Christianity demands a reason for its beginning. It says that the resurrection is the reason, Acts 2.

The tremendous growth of Christianity demands a reason for its growth. The Bible says the resurrection is the reason. The gospel was preached to all the world in less than 30 years, Col 1:23; 1 Thessalonians 1:8; Titus 2:11; Rom 10:18. In 30 years this movement grew from 12 to over ½ million Christians! The phenomenal growth of the church demands a reason why.

Secular, Jewish and Christian historians testify to the fact of the resurrection.

CONTRADICTORY EVIDENCE:

There were many eye witnesses who did not believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. The reasons they rejected Jesus are easy to see. Each reader must determine if the evidence of the disbelieving, outweighs the evidence produced by the believers. Your author has examined the reasoning of the disbelievers and found that it was laced with prejudice and jealousy.

The guards were told to say, “While we slept the disciples stole the body” Matt 28:12, 13. If they were sleeping how did they know who did what?

If Jesus did not rise from the dead, why was it that no one ever produced his body? The Jews and the Romans would have loved to produce the body because it would have destroyed their enemy—Christianity. But they could not. Some suggest that the disciples stole the body. The grave was guarded by Roman soldiers who would normally lose their lives if they lost a prisoner. They diligently protected the grave and would not have allowed the Christians to steal the body. The disciples had no reason to steal the body; they had just finished giving it an elaborate burial. One hundred pounds of ointment was enough spices to bury 200 people or one very, very royal person.

They were not men of courage at this point; they huddled together behind locked doors, John 20:19.

Rules for testing testimony:

We began our study by discussing the way to test testimony. Every judicial court in the world establishes truth and untruth by submitting the testimony to four tests. In this book we examined evidence that proves that Jesus Christ was a true historical figure; that he performed miracles; that he had the power to supply all human needs; that he raised from the dead; that he is the prophesied Messiah and that he is indeed, the God of the universe. We put the testimony to the four tests below:

1. Are there a sufficient number of witnesses?

2. Are the witnesses competent?

3. Are there ulterior motives?

4. Is there any contradictory evidences?

We showed that there were over 500 witnesses to the resurrection and a whole list of people testified that Jesus was who he claimed to be. The witnesses were competent for they were men and women who were there and for the most part level headed business people. The witnesses had no ulterior motives, no personal axes to grind, for they were shocked into the reality of the resurrection and endured torture and death rather than to change their story. The world is still silent with any credible contradictory evidence.

Since we have proven that Jesus rose from the dead, all the other Bible claims are easy to accept.

John 20:30-31 “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that YOU MAY BELIEVE that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” Jesus is the one he claimed to be!

STUDY GUIDE

CHAPTER TWELVE

1. What makes Mary Magdalene a creditable witness of Jesus’ resurrection?

2. What did Mary Magdalene testify about Jesus?

3. What did Thomas testify concerning Jesus?

4. What did Saul/Paul testify concerning Jesus?

5. How many people saw Jesus alive after the crucifixion?

6. Who did Paul list in 1 Corinthians 15:5-8 that had seen Jesus alive after the crucifixion?

7. Is 500 witnesses a sufficient number?

8. List some things that show these witnesses were competent?

9. How does Saul/Paul’s conversion prove that Jesus rose from the grave?

10. How do we know that the witnesses of Christ’s resurrection had no ulterior motives?

11. How does the existence of the New Testament testify to the resurrection of Jesus?

12. How does the existence of Christianity testify to the resurrection of Jesus?

13. How does the tremendous growth of Christianity testify to the resurrection of Jesus?

14. How do secular and Jewish historians testify to the resurrection of Jesus?

15. As you examine the so called contradictory evidence do you feel that there were ulterior motives involved?

In this book we examined evidence that shows that Jesus Christ was a true historical figure; that he performed miracles; that he could supply all human needs; that he raised from the dead; that he was the Messiah and that he is indeed the God of the universe.

16. Are there a sufficient number of witnesses to prove these claims?

17. Are the witnesses competent?

18. Are there ulterior motives?

19. Is there any reliable contradictory evidence?