“And that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: after that He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, He was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all He was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.” (I Corinthians 15:5-8)
It is hard to refute or to deny the testimony of an eye-witness. An eye-witness knows what he has seen. More than that, if several eye-witnesses agree it is impossible to question their word.
Given in order, the eye-witnesses of the risen Christ were Peter, then the twelve minus Judas who had committed suicide and Thomas, then the five hundred brothers in Christ, then James, the half brother of Jesus, then the apostles again and then Paul. Paul says that more than half of the five hundred were still alive as he wrote this epistle. “So, ask them,” he implies. Did Jesus arise from the dead? The eye-witnesses, including the women not mentioned here, all say, “Yes.”
I have never met George Washington or Abraham Lincoln. But I have read the accounts of many who saw them and heard them speak. One may as well say that Washington or Lincoln never existed as to deny that Jesus arose from the dead.
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