THE APPEARANCES OF CHRIST

THE 2nd PIECE OF DATA  

that both believer and unbeliever must explain is the recorded  11 appearances of Christ from the morning of His resurrection to His ascension 40 days later.

1. Two women outside of Jerusalem ( Matthew 28:9)

2. Mary Magdalene (John 20:15)

3. Two travelers on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13)

4. Peter in Jerusalem (Luke 24:34)

5. Ten disciples in the upper room (John 20:19)

6. Eleven disciples in the upper room (John 20:26)

7. Seven disciples fishing (John 21:1-23)

8. Eleven disciples on the mountin in Galilee (Matthew 28:16)

9. More than 500 people (1 Corinthians 15:5)

10. James (1 Corinthians 15:7)

11. Disciples who watched Jesus ascending into heaven (Luke 24:44; Acts 1:3-8)

They show a great variety as to time, place and people. Lies or legends cannot explain the emply tomb, nor can we dismiss the appearances of Christ. Logically one might propose hallucinations to discount these eyewitness accounts of Christ's appearances after crucifixion. Hallucinations occur generally in people who tend to be vividly imaginative and of a nervous makeup. But the appearances of Christ were to all sorts of people, some sensitive, but also hardheaded fishermen like Peter. Hallucinations are known to be extremely subjective and individual; no two people have the same experience. Christ appeared not just to individual but to groups, including one with more than 500 people. Hallucinations usually occur only at particular times and places; the appearances  occurred  both indoors and outdoors, in the morning, afternoon and evening.

In order to have a psychic experience, one must so intensely want to believe that he or she projects something that isn't really there and attaches reality to this imagination. For instance, a mother who lost a son in the war remembers how he used to come home from work every evening at 5:30. She sits in her rocking chair every afternoon meditating. Finally, she thinks she sees him come through the door and has a conversation with him - at this point she has lost contact with reality.

PERSUADED AGAINST THEIR WILLS. One might think hallucination is what happened to the disciples regarding the resurection. The fact is, the opposite took place - they were persuaded against their wills that Jesus has risen from the dead!

1. Mary came to the tomb on the 1st Easter Sunday morning with spices in her hands to anoit the dead body of the Lord; she was obviously not expecting to find Him risen from the dead; in fact, she mistook Him for the gardener!

2. When the other disciples heard, they didn't believe.

3. When the resurrected Jesus finally appeared to the disciples, they were frightened and thought they  were seeing a ghost!

4. Finally, there is the classic case that  remains in our language today - Thomas the doubter. He was not  present when Jesus appeared to the disciples the firts time. They told him about it, but he scoffed and would not believe.

To hold the hallucination theory in explaining the appearances of Christ, one must completely ignore the evidence.

What was it that changed a band of frightened , cowardly disciples into men of courage and conviction? What was it that changed Peter who, the night before the crucifixion, was so afraid for his own skin that three times he denied publicly that he even knew Jesus?  Some 50 days later he became a roaring lion, risking his life by saying he had seen Jesus risen from the dead.

Only the bodily resurection of Christ could have produced these changes...(Paul Little)

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