Spiritually Speaking
Witnesses to the resurrection
April 14, 2017
Perhaps you’ve heard ... it’s Easter weekend! And, while I’m sure more people will search for eggs than search for Messiah, it’s still an encouraging time of year. I hope you’ve already made plans to attend worship but if you haven’t, please join us at College Hill. We will welcome you, offer you the opportunity to take communion (we commune every Sunday) and invite you to join us for lunch (we do that every Sunday as well).
Beginning in mid-March, I have been preaching on the subject of the resurrection. This week we will be looking at a rather important aspect of Christ’s reported rebirth from the dead – the vast number of people who actually encountered Jesus after He returned. In 1st Corinthians 15:3-8, Paul reminds his audience that
3 . . .what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. (NIV)
The only “problem” I find, in preaching this particular passage, is that it calls for some math skills. I got out the smartphone calculator and added up the list of witnesses called by Paul. Unless I miscalculated, the number of folks who could give eyes-on testimony to the resurrection is more than 514 men and women. If you include the visitation to Mary Magdalene in the garden and perhaps some others (like his other earthly brother, Jude), that number might easily be closer to 550. Let me remind us that, under Jewish law, only two or three witnesses were needed to settle a legal question. See you Sunday!
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