Testimonies to the Resurrection of Christ:

·        Paul – He was the church’s worst nightmare until he met Christ on the road to Damascus. He wrote 13 or 14 books of the NT and suffered persecution and died a martyr for his faith in Christ.

·        Jude and James were not at the crucifixion. Jesus asked John to take care of His mother.

·        Jude – The Lord’s half-brother didn’t believe until after the resurrection of Jesus. He wrote the book of Jude.

·        James – The Lord’s half-brother didn’t believe until Jesus appeared to him after the resurrection. He became the pastor of the church of Jerusalem and wrote the book of James. He had camel knees from praying.

·        The testimony of women – According to the customs of that chauvinistic day the testimony of women didn’t count much in court testimony. If the Bible was a work of fiction, no one would have had women be the first to witness the empty tomb.

·        When Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians there were over 250 people still alive who had witnessed seeing Christ after the resurrection.

·        Testimony of Peter – Before the resurrection, he was fearful and had denied Christ. After the resurrection he stood fast for Christ. He was the leading preacher. He wrote 1 & 2 Peter. He died a martyr for his faith in Christ.

·        Testimony of John – John lived to be an old man. He suffered persecution for his faith in Christ. He stood fast in his faith. He had stood at the cross.

·        The other apostles – They had all run away from the authorities when Jesus had been arrested in Gethsemane. They died for their faith in Christ in various places around the world at different times. They held to their faith until the end. If they didn’t believe they had seen Christ after His resurrection, why would they keep the faith far from home.