HOW MANY WITNESSES DOES IT TAKE?

When one's life was in the balance, God told Israel that it took at least two witnesses to convict him or her of a crime.  This is repeated over and over again throughout Scripture.  Here are a few examples:

*  Numbers 35:30.
*  Deuteronomy 17:6 and 19:15.
*  Matthew 18:16.
*  2 Corinthians 13:1.
*  1 Timothy 5:19.
*  Hebrews 10:28.
*  Revelation 11:3.

Let's look at the number of witnesses Jesus Christ had, which saw Him after He had been crucified and buried.  If believing two witnesses should convince a jury of the truth of the charges against a criminal, wouldn't the testimony of two witnesses be sufficient to convince someone that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead?  Well, I have some really good news for those who are struggling with believing the Gospel; there are hundreds of witnesses who testified that they saw the risen Lord!

There are at least six books in the New Testament, written by five different men, which tell us about the resurrection appearances of Christ--Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, and 1 Corinthians. At least three of these Bible writers actually saw the risen Lord--Matthew, John and Paul--and thus they wrote from first hand experience.   As we study these inspired documents, we learn that Christ appeared to the following people, in the following order:

*  Christ was first seen by Mary Magdalene (Mk. 16:9; Jn. 20:1-18).
*  Christ was seen by the women returning from the tomb (Mt. 28:9-10).
*  Christ was seen by Peter (1 Cor. 15:5; Lk. 24:34).
*  Christ was seen by two on the road to Emmaus (Lk. 24:13-35; Mk. 16:12).
*  Christ was seen by the ten disciples (Mk. 16:14; Lk. 24:36-43; Jn. 20:19-24; 1 Cor. 15:5).
*  Christ was seen by the eleven disciples (Jn. 20:26-29).
*  Christ was seen by the seven disciples (Jn. 21:1-22.
*  Christ was seen by more than 500 people in Galilee (1 Cor. 15:6).
*  Christ was seen by James (1 Cor. 15:7).
*  Christ was seen at His Ascension (Mk. 16:19; Lk. 24:50-51; Acts 1:3-12).

NOTE:  After the Ascension, Christ was also seen by:
              Stephen (Acts 7:55-56).
              Saul (Acts 9:1-7; 1 Cor.9:1; 15:8).
              John (Rev. 1:9-18).

Now, suppose you are asked, "How do you know Jesus rose from the dead?" 

Hundreds saw Him, and billions have had their lives changed by Jesus Christ!

After all, He said, "I AM THE RESURRECTION!"