In a court of law, one of the types of evidence that receives the greatest weight is eyewitness testimony. A lawyer, in an attempt to mitigate the impact of such testimony, will try to “impeach” the witness, claiming that because of prejudice or character deficiency his testimony is unreliable, and should be ignored.
In parallel, one of the strongest evidences pointing to Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the eyewitness testimony. The apostle Paul wrote about the eyewitnesses to the resurrected Christ in 1 Corinthians 15. He listed in order the apostle Peter, then the rest of the 12 apostles, then a group of over 500 Christians, then the apostle James, then the 12 again. Over 500 people who saw Jesus alive after he had died on the cross, and had been in a tomb for three days. This is powerful testimony.
But this testimony is denied by some because of the perceived prejudice of the witnesses. It is said that they are lying. They had the motivation to protect the claims of their leader, who had predicted that he would be raised from the dead on the third day. That claim was well known, and had led the Jewish leaders to request of Pilate a Roman guard and sealing of the tomb. As they put it, “lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first” (Matthew 27:64).
After Jesus was raised from the dead it was commonly reported that the disciples had stolen the body while the Roman guard slept on duty. Perhaps on another occasion we will discuss the holes in that story. Some, no doubt, believe it to be so even today.
But, back to our illustration. Perhaps the most compelling eyewitness testimony is that of a hostile witness. If you can get one who is antagonistic to your cause to admit you are right, such testimony is unimpeachable. He has no motive to agree with you, and his willingness to tell the truth despite his antagonism indicates a person of great personal integrity.
Enter the Apostle Paul. In that list he compiled in 1 Corinthians 15, he added to the end, “Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.”
You may have heard about Paul. Before Jesus appeared to him alive on the road between Jerusalem and Damascus, he was virulently opposed the Christian faith. He consented to the death of the disciple Stephen, and it is recorded that he “made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison” (Acts 8:3). Right before his conversion, the book of Acts recorded that he went to the high priest, “still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord” (Acts 9:1). In fact, when Jesus appeared to him, that journey he was on was for the purpose of persecuting Christians.
The only thing Paul had going for him was his integrity. He thought what he was doing was right. When Jesus identified Himself as the risen Lord, Paul realized that he had got it wrong all along. The claims that Jesus was the Christ were true. Paul knew it for a certainty. When he heard the voice from heaven, he asked, “Who are you, Lord?”, and the voice responded, “I am Jesus.”
Was Jesus resurrected from the dead? The unimpeachable hostile witness says, “Yes, I saw Him!” That testimony is good enough for a court of law. Is it good enough for you?
