Witnesses of the resurrection
Each cricket series against England in Australia Glenn McGrath predicts Australia to win 5-0. And he is usually right! So, if you told me that in the Boxing Day test England has had its first win since 2011, I wouldn’t believe you. That’s 14 years (or 5,468 days) without a win! If you showed me a report, I would think it was fake news. And if you showed me a photo or video, I would think it was generated by AI. How can I check if the report and photo or video was true or not? I could ask someone who was an eyewitness yesterday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. That’s the kind of evidence I need.
The Bible says that the foundation of Christianity is that “Christ died for our sins …He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day” (1 Cor. 15:3-4NLT). The resurrection of Jesus is described as an historical event in each of the gospels (Mt. 18:1-10: Mk. 16:1-8; Lk. 24:1-12; Jn. 20:1-9).
Did you know that the Bible provides plenty of evidence for the resurrection of Jesus? It describes at least 10 physical appearances of the resurrected Jesus in different situations.
Resurrection Sunday
The first witnesses of the risen Lord were women including Mary Magalene who visited His tomb in Jerusalem (Mt. 28:1-10; Jn. 20:11-18). He spoke to them and they worshipped Him.
Peter saw the risen Jesus, but no details given in the Bible (Lk. 24:34; 1 Cor. 15:5).
Two men on the road to Emmaus walked and talked with Jesus (Lk. 24:13-35). When He explained what was written about Him in the Old Testament, their hearts were on fire and they hurried back to Jerusalem to tell the others that Jesus was alive.
That evening, ten disciples in the upper room were visited by Jesus (Lk. 24:36-49; Jn. 20:19-25) -Thomas and Judas Iscariot were absent. He reassured them, ate some fish and explained the Old Testament to them saying that they were witnesses of His death and resurrection. And He sent them into the world like He had been sent.
Following Sunday
Eleven disciples in the upper room at Jerusalem were visited by Jesus once again. He reassured them and challenged Thomas who acknowledged Him as “my Lord and my God” (Jn. 20:26-29).
An angel told the disciples that Jesus would meet them up north in Galilee (Mt. 28:7, 10; Mk. 16:7).
Before His ascension
When six disciples were fishing at the sea of Galilee with Peter, Jesus helped them catch 153 fish (Jn. 21:1-23). He also helped them with fish and bread for breakfast. Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him and told him to “feed my sheep (His followers)”.
Then Jesus sent the eleven disciples to a mountain in Galilee (Mt. 28:16-20). There they worshipped Him and He gave them the great commission to make disciples of all nations.
Paul said that more than 500 people saw Jesus at the same time (1 Cor. 15:6). We don’t know where this was. Most of these witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection were still alive when Paul wrote to the Corinthians (about 23 years after the resurrection), which means that people could ask them about it.
James the half-brother of Jesus also saw the risen Christ (1 Cor. 15:7; Mt. 15:55). James did not believe Jesus was the Messiah initially (Jn. 7:5), but he believed after Jesus rose from the dead.
At His ascension
Finally, Jesus led the 11 apostles to the Mount of Olives (Lk. 24:50-53; Acts 1:3-8). He ate with them and blessed them and told them to wait for the Holy Spirit who would empower them to be His witnesses across the world. Then he ascended back to heaven. They were told that Jesus would come back. And they worshipped Him and kept praising God.
After His ascension
Paul included himself in a list of those who had seen the risen Christ (see Appendix).
Lessons for us
So, the Bible provides plenty of evidence of the resurrection. The evidence is overwhelming with over 500 witnesses! That would win any court case. Many people saw Jesus crucified, some saw Him buried, but hundreds saw Him after He rose from the dead. This shows that Christianity is evidence-based and reasonable, and not a blind faith or unreasonable.
Another evidence of the resurrection is the actions of those who personally saw the resurrected Christ. They had a life-change. They were transformed. They left Judaism to spread Christianity. They were willing to suffer persecution and martyrdom. No one dies for what they know is a lie.
This proves that Jesus’ resurrection was not spiritual but physical – He was physically present and could eat fish.
The disciples didn’t hallucinate and imagine that they saw Him resurrected. Groups of 500 people don’t have the same hallucination at the same time.
The New Testament was written as a “news report” while the witnesses were still reachable, not centuries later.
Prayer
Father God, we thank you for your great plan of salvation as revealed in the Bible. We have just remembered the coming of Jesus into the world as a baby who would grow up to be man who rescued us from our sinful state. We thank you for His sacrificial death that enabled our sin to be forgiven. And we thank you for His resurrection back to life which was a great victory over sin, death, and Satan.
We appreciate the overwhelming eyewitness evidence of the resurrection. It was not just one person or a few, but over 500 people saw the Lord before He ascended back to heaven. Like the eyewitnesses, we offer worship, praise and honor to our Lord and Savior. As those who have trusted in the good news about Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins, we offer thanks and praise for all that you have done through Jesus. In Christ’s name, Amen.
Appendix: Other appearances
After the resurrection, there were at least two non-physical appearances of the resurrected Jesus.
Saul was a Pharisee (Jewish religious leader) who wanted to destroy Christianity. He approved the stoning of Stephen, and he went around imprisoning Christian men and women. When he travelled to Damascus to capture more Christians, he was confronted by a bright light and questioned by Jesus (Acts 9:1-6). Paul included this incident in his list of some who had encountered the risen Christ (1 Cor. 15:8). He had seen the risen Lord (1 Cor. 9:1). To be an apostle of the early church, one must have seen the risen Lord (Acts 1:22).
When he was on the island of Patmos, John saw a vision of Christ as a powerful judge (Rev. 1:9-20).
Written, December 2025
George's Journal 
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