Is Christ Risen?

More than five hundred eye-witnesses declare He is risen (1 Cor. 15:4-8). Among the eye-witness are Cephas (Peter), all of the twelve Apostles, James, the brother of our Lord, and Paul. Eye-witness testimony is compelling in a court of law. As the Apostle John indicates in 1 John 5:9, we receive the witness of men. Then certainly the witness of the named credible witnesses plus the additional testimony of above five hundred brethren who saw the resurrected Lord is enough to convince even the most incredulous skeptics.

But there is an even greater witness to the fact of Christ’s resurrection: God Himself. The Apostle John wrote, “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. . .” (1 John 5:9). God’s witness is that Christ is “declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4). The sacred Scriptures written by holy men of God (2 Pet. 1:21), which is God’s Word, foretold His resurrection. Thus, it is recorded, “And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:4).

The confirming witness that Christ is risen is that of His people in whose hearts He dwells (Col. 1:27; Eph. 3:17). This witness is confined to those who have received Christ as their Savior. Multiplied millions of believers through the ages have added their testimony to that of the above named eye-witnesses and the Word of God that Christ is risen!