Eyewitness testimony
In our modern courts of law, eyewitness testimony is essential in helping determine guilt or innocence. It is considered reliable and trustworthy according to thousands of years of justice systems. However, many would deny its credibility when it has to do with the eyewitness testimony to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In fact, if Christ did not return from the dead there would be no salvation and no everlasting life with God. So, long before our current systems of justice, the various writers of the New Testament believed in the many reliable eyewitness accounts of Christ’s resurrection. We gather the following events from scripture to be the eyewitness accounts that Christ, indeed, made several appearances after His death on the cross.
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The empty tomb – Mt 28:1-10, Mk 16:1-8, Lk 24:1-12, Jn 20:1-9
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To Mary Magdalene – Mk 16:9-11, Jn 20:11-18
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To other women – Mt 28:9-10
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To two people going to Emmaus – Mk 16:12-13, Lk 24:13-32
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To Peter – Lk 24:34, 1 Cor 15:5
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To the ten disciples in the upper room – Lk 24:36-43, Jn 20:19-25
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To the eleven disciples in the upper room – Mk 16:14, Jn 20:26-31, 1 Cor 15:5
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To seven disciples fishing – Jn 21:1-23
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To the eleven disciples on a mountain – Mt 28:16-20, Mk 16:15-18
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To more than five hundred – 1 Cor 15:6
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To James – 1 Cor 15:7
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To his disciples at his ascension – Lk 24:44-49, Acts 1:3-8
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To Paul – Acts 9:1-19, 22:3-16, 26:9-18, 1 Cor 9:1