He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, He was seen by more than 500 of His followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 1 Corinthians 15:5-6
My three-year-old nephew, Owen, loves finding the moon during the late afternoon and evening. He can spot it better than anybody I know. It can be bright outside, but he can find it. When he claims to spot the moon, even when there is still daylight, I believe him because he spotted it with his own eyes. He is an eyewitness to seeing the moon. It is true that the best information comes from an eyewitness account. Eyewitness accounts are trustworthy because they are reporting about something they have seen with their own eyes. It's hard to argue with someone that what they saw or observed did not happen. After all, they observed it.
When it comes to Jesus' resurrection, did you know that Jesus appeared to more than 500 people? In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul recounts the resurrection of Jesus to remind believers of the good news of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1). This good news is that Christ died on the cross for the sins of mankind, was buried, and raised from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Next, Paul states that, after being raised from the dead, He was seen by over 500 men and women. This means that there were over 500 eyewitnesses to seeing the resurrected Jesus. Jesus did not have to appear to anyone after His resurrection, but He did so that everyone would believe in Him and His resurrection. These eyewitness accounts can encourage us because of the large number of people who saw the resurrected Jesus. How kind was it that Jesus took time to appear to so many people so that we would have these eyewitness accounts.
My friend, you can have every confidence in the resurrection of Jesus. Not only does Scripture teach that Jesus rose from the dead, but 500 eyewitnesses also testified that they saw the resurrected Jesus. Those 500+ people helped spread that news of Jesus' resurrection so that even thousands of years later, we are learning and talking about it today. Praise God for this good news of Jesus' resurrection.
Take out a notebook or your journal and answer this question: How do the 500+ eyewitnesses to Jesus' resurrection strengthen your faith? As you write, thank God for the boldness and courage of those who shared the good news of Jesus' resurrection so that you could one day hear this good news.
Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.
I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.
But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace. So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.
