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Reliable witnesses are critical in establishing truth–in or out of court. This might have been one reason Jesus chose 12 disciples. Not only did He train them to be evangelists, they could later be His reliable witnesses. It is also why Paul identified reliable witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection. He wanted to authenticate the Gospel message he preached. He wanted to make sure people had a clear understanding of the Gospel facts. Their eternal destiny depended on the accuracy of the facts surrounding the Messiah’s death and resurrection. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul stresses that the Gospel had its roots in the Hebrew Bible. He wrote, “Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said He would.” The accuracy and reliability of the Hebrew Bible was already accepted. They had predicted many times that the Messiah would die and rise again. But Paul went further. He listed many eyewitnesses to the resurrection. That list included Peter, the Twelve, 500 followers at one time — most of whom were still alive. James and all the apostles saw Him alive after He died. Lastly, Paul says, “I, too, saw Him.” So there are plenty of reliable witnesses to our Lord’s resurrection. And don’t forget what the old lady said some years ago. She heard someone remark that Jesus was still dead. She said, “He couldn’t be dead because I just talked Him this morning!”
