What role does eyewitness testimony play in strengthening our faith today? \Eyewitnesses Announce a Risen Savior\ “ ‘The Lord has indeed risen and has appeared to Simon!’ ” (Luke 24:34) \Immediate Impact on the First Disciples\ • News of Jesus’ appearance to Peter turned confusion into certainty. • The statement became the hinge of their preaching: Jesus is alive, not simply remembered. • Their boldness in Acts 2–4 flows directly from firsthand sight and touch (Acts 2:32; 4:20). \A Network of Confirming Voices\ • Mary Magdalene and the other women (Luke 24:1-10) • The two on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) • The gathered disciples, Thomas included (John 20:19-29) • More than five hundred at once (1 Corinthians 15:6) • James, then all the apostles (1 Corinthians 15:7) • Paul himself, last of all (1 Corinthians 15:8) \Scripture’s Own Emphasis on Eyewitness Reliability\ • “To these He presented Himself alive after His suffering by many convincing proofs” (Acts 1:3). • “We did not follow cleverly devised myths…we were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Peter 1:16). • “What we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes…this we proclaim” (1 John 1:1-2). \Why Eyewitness Testimony Strengthens Our Faith Today\ • Roots belief in verifiable history rather than private speculation. • Shows multiple independent voices affirming the same risen Lord. • Demonstrates transformed lives willing to suffer and die for what they personally saw. • Provides a trustworthy foundation for the written Word we read. • Invites us to confidence—if those closest to the events staked everything on them, we can trust their record. \Anchored, Not Blind\ Because Scripture records real people bearing real witness, faith stands on solid ground: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). The living testimony of the apostles, preserved in the Bible, continues to point every generation to the same unshakable conclusion voiced that first Resurrection evening: “The Lord has indeed risen!” |
    |