Eyewitnesses of His Glory

Recently it occurred to me:  unless Jesus was physically seen by eyewitnesses alive after His death and burial, claims to His resurrection would be along the lines of tabloids or sites that claim Elvis is alive.  John wrote concerning Jesus that He is the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us.  John continued in the introduction in 1 John 1:1-3:  "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life-- ² the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us-- ³ that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ."  It is reasonable to give credence to the natural senses God has given us, otherwise the term "eyewitness" becomes meaningless.

Paul wrote that over 500 people saw Jesus alive at one time after His resurrection before ascending into the heavens as one evidence of the resurrection.  The resurrection of Jesus fulfilled prophecy and people watched it unfold in real time, and the observable reality confirmed what God had said.  We live in a day, however, where our God-given powers of observation are challenged and undermined.  It used to be said, "I'll believe it when I see it."  Now we have reached a point where people will not believe even when they see it because they are afraid to fall for falsehoods.  People cite the editing of videos or pictures as reasons not to believe what they see (and fair enough), yet at the same time refer to videos or pictures to as evidence of credible research.  The irony!  When it comes to the resurrection of Jesus the words of Abraham spoke to the rich man about his unbelieving brothers in Luke 16:31 rings true:  "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead."

I was reading Thru the Bible and McGee commented on how widespread the knowledge of Christ's crucifixion was in Jerusalem.  When Jesus incognito approached the travellers to Emmaus and asked them what had happened that made them sad, Cleopas was shocked this stranger had not heard about Christ's crucifixion.  McGee said, "It would be difficult for someone to live in this day and age and not know that someone has been to the moon and back to earth." (McGee, J. Vernon. Thru the Bible, Volume 4. Thomas Nelson, Inc, 1981. page 358) McGee was writing as an eyewitness along with the rest of his generation who had seen the situation unfold in 1969:  television and radio reported on the "space race," interviews were conducted with astronauts, Apollo 11 was seen launching by millions, people were keen to hear and see the successful landing on the moon, and the returning astronauts were picked up by the US Navy after their splashdown as heroes.  Because McGee was an eyewitness of what occurred, he found it difficult to imagine someone in his "day and age" would not know about the moon landing.  Friends, we are in a day and age where people know what they have been told but do not believe despite evidence they can see for themselves.

Only the power of God can break through the unbelief in the heart of men that refuses reason.  We kid ourselves to imagine all the facts, articles, pictures or even eye-witness accounts will have any impact on a heart blinded by unbelief.  Christians are not to be gullible and believe everything we hear or see.  At the same time we should not throw aside the powers of observation and reasoning God has provided so we can confirm the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ as true.  What the Bible says and historical, eye witness accounts work together to confirm the truth of what we know and have personally experienced: through faith in our risen Saviour Jesus Christ we have eternal life and fellowship with God and one another.  Our walk with Jesus Christ is by faith and not by sight.  At the same time God has graciously opened our eyes and we ought to wisely use them as eyewitnesses of His glory.