The Eyewitnesses Who Saw Him
Month 7: He Is Risen! — Why We Believe · Why We Believe
Today's Scripture
Read together: 1 Corinthians 15:5–8
5 and that He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, 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 of untimely birth.
Memory Verse
“Look at My hands and My feet. It is I Myself. Touch Me and see—for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.””— Luke 24:39 (BSB)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Isaiah 23–26
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Around Day 197 of 365 — Isaiah lifts our eyes to God who swallows up death forever.)The Heart of It
The apostle Paul makes a list, like the list of witnesses in a courtroom. These are the people who actually saw Jesus alive after He rose. First Peter, then the twelve. Then more than five hundred brothers at once. Then James, then all the apostles. And last of all, Paul himself. He even adds that most of those five hundred are still alive (). In other words, Paul is saying: Don't take my word for it. Go ask them. They are still alive. They saw Him. Christianity did not begin with a feeling or a clever idea. It began with the claim that real people, in real places, met the risen Jesus and could not stop talking about it.
This is why the resurrection isn't wishful thinking. It rests on the word of witnesses. Paul wrote these words around twenty years after it all happened. He was repeating a statement the church had been saying together from the very start. That is far too early for a legend to grow. And the witnesses weren't one excited person. They were many people, in groups, over many days, in different places. Some of them had been enemies, like Paul. He had been hunting Christians until the risen Jesus stopped him cold. When you have this many separate eyewitnesses, including former enemies, all willing to suffer and die for what they saw, you are no longer dealing with a rumor. You are dealing with a fact.
Around the Table
Lots and lots of people SAW Jesus alive — more than you can count! They told everyone the good news.
Let's do it: Try to count to 500 by tens (10, 20, 30…) — that's how many saw Jesus at once!
Paul made a list of people who saw the risen Jesus. Then he said, "You can go ask them!" That is how we know it's true.
Let's talk: Why is it stronger when many people see something, instead of just one?
Paul wrote this only about twenty years after Easter. He was repeating words even older still. That is far too early for a legend. The witnesses even included a former enemy, Paul, and Jesus' own doubting brother, James.
Let's go deeper: This evidence comes from so close to the events. Why does that timing make it hard to explain away?
💬 Conversation Starter
If something amazing happened at school, would you believe it more if one kid told you, or if a whole crowd of kids all saw the same thing? The resurrection had a whole crowd of witnesses.
🛡️ Defending the Faith
When someone says, "There's no proof Jesus rose, it's just faith," kindly answer that we believe it for good reasons. The earliest Christians pointed to hundreds of named eyewitnesses who saw the risen Jesus. Many of them were still alive. And these witnesses faced prison and death rather than take it back. Now, people will die for something they sincerely believe is true. But the apostles were in a place to actually know whether they had seen Him or not. And they died saying they had. Offer this with gentleness and respect, the way Peter taught us ().
For Dad · Go Deeper
This passage is one of the strongest pieces of historical evidence for the resurrection, and it's worth your study. Scholars across the spectrum agree that contains a creed dating to within a few years of the crucifixion. So the resurrection claim is not a late addition. It is the bedrock the church stood on from the very start. Get yourself ready to walk your older kids through this calmly, because before long they will hear "it's just blind faith." Your aim isn't to win arguments. It is to show them that following Jesus is reasonable as well as relational. Head and heart belong together. A father who can give an answer raises children who aren't ashamed of the gospel.
Draws on: Sean McDowell & J. Warner Wallace, Evidence for the Resurrection / Cold-Case Christianity; and Natasha Crain, Talking with Your Kids about God.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, thank You that Jesus really rose, and that real people saw Him alive. Make us sure of the truth. Make us gentle as we share it. And help others believe. In Jesus' name, amen."
Our faith stands on fact: many real people saw the risen Jesus and could not stay silent.