The Appearances of Christ

On today’s Bible Answer Man broadcast (04/02/26), Hank moves on to the third part of the four-part argument for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the appearances of Christ. In the Acts of the Apostles, Dr. Luke writes that Jesus gave the disciples “many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3 NIV). Likewise, the apostle Paul exudes confidence in the appearances of Christ (1 Corinthians 15). And like Paul, Peter in his powerful Pentecost proclamation confidently communicated that many credible eyewitnesses could confirm the fact of Christ’s physical post-resurrection appearances (Acts 2:29-32). One thing can be stated with ironclad certainty. The apostles did not merely propagate Christ’s teachings, they were absolutely positive that he had appeared to them in the flesh. Additionally, the apostles claimed that Christ appeared to hundreds of people who were still alive. It would have been one thing to attribute these supernatural experiences to people who had already died. It was quite another to attribute them to multitudes who were still alive and available for cross-examination.