To answer your good question, let’s start by reading 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.”

This portion is part of Paul’s epistle (letter) to the believers in Corinth.  Notice how he starts by stating, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received.”  It is so important to notice that the following information in Paul’s letter was given to him by God.  What he is saying is not hearsay.  No. What he says he received by revelation from God.  He made a similar statement earlier in this book when he wrote, “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you…” (1 Corinthians 11:23). 

Paul then goes on to write in verses 3-4, “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” The purpose of the death of Christ was “for our sins.”  Indeed, Christ’s death on the cross was to bring forgiveness to sinful men and women.  The Old Testament has said that Christ would die, and “the scripture cannot be broken.” (John 10:35).  The Old Testament also said that Christ would rise from the dead.

In the next few verses, Paul speaks of those who saw the Lord Jesus after His resurrection. Those mentioned are:

  • Cephas, who is Peter. (Read John 1:42). (Read also Luke 24:34).
  • All the other apostles.
  • More than 500 at one time.
  • James, the half-brother of the Lord Jesus.
  • All of the apostles.  This goes beyond the twelve already mentioned, but probably includes many of the Lord’s disciples, possibly the seventy mentioned in Luke 10:1, “After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.”
  • Lastly, the Lord was seen by Paul.  Here he is obviously referring to the appearance to him while he was on the way to Damascus to persecute and punish Christians.  (Read Acts 9:1-9).

The unique thing about this list of witnesses is that most of these people were still alive and could verify Paul’s statement.  In mentioning the 500 witnesses, Paul said that “the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.”  This means that at that time, there were nearly 500 people who could be contacted who would testify that they had seen the resurrected Lord.

Another proof is the empty tomb that Mary Magdalene saw and then reported to the Lord’s disciples.  After that, the Lord appeared to Mary personally. (Read John 20:1-16).

Then, we must consider how the Lord’s group of scared and discouraged men suddenly began to evangelize through the world sharing the message of salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus. They persisted even as they faced the choice of renouncing their message and admitting it was a lie or giving up their lives. They chose death. The only explanation for such a change of attitude is that they believed with confidence that they had witnessed Jesus Christ alive following His crucifixion and that the truth that He was alive was worth dying for.

We even see that not one of these men renounced their testimony throughout their lives. Why would so many men die for something that they knew was not true? The only reasonable conclusion is that it is true.  “But now is Christ risen from the dead…” (1 Corinthians 15:20).  (CC)  (578.6)