TESTIMONY OF THE RESURRECTED JESUS

1Corinthians 15:5-8 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.

Paul is careful to document that there were many witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection. First, he was seen by Cephas/Peter and then by the 12 disciples together (this would seem to include Matthias). After that, he was seen by over 500 at one time, most of whom were still alive at the time Paul wrote this letter. He was also seen by His brother James and all of the apostles; this would seem to indicate that all those named as apostles in the New Testament were part of that 500+ and probably part of the group of 120 followers who waited in the upper room for the baptism of the Holy Spirit as detailed in Acts 1. Paul was specific in positioning his vision of the resurrected Lord as distinct and separate from those who saw Him before He ascended.

Scripture is not the only historical record of the resurrection. Though disputed by some, the record of the Jewish historian Josephus in his “Jewish Antiquities” makes mention of the resurrection: “3. (63) Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. (64) And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross [2], those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day [3], as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named for him, are not extinct at this day.”

William Lane Craig, a leading apologist concerning the resurrection, quotes a prominent critic of the resurrection in defending it: “Even Gert Lüdemann, the leading German critic of the resurrection, himself admits, ‘It may be taken as historically certain that Peter and the disciples had experiences after Jesus’ death in which Jesus appeared to them as the risen Christ.’”

“born out of due time” – In looking for help on this phrase I found this quote from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown: Greek, “the one abortively born”: the abortion in the family of the apostles. As a child born before the due time is puny, and though born alive, yet not of the proper size, and scarcely worthy of the name of man, so “I am the least of the apostles,” scarcely “meet to be called an apostle….”

1Corinthians 15:9-10 “For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”

I believe Paul was filled with remorse for his persecution of those who followed Jesus, “the church of God,” and was extremely grateful for the privilege of serving as an apostle. Although we know through his teaching that he clearly understood that he was a new creation in Christ, he still had to deal with the flesh—as do we all until we shed these mortal bodies of flesh for immortal ones. He felt his past clearly established him as unworthy and as the least (less worthy of honor) among the apostles.

Paul knows that it is only by the grace of God that he is privileged to serve as an apostle. Frankly, it is only by the grace of God that any of us are privileged to serve the Lord in any capacity. Grace is the unmerited favor of God. I’ve always heard it defined as being given what we don’t deserve. We are all born sinners deserving of death, yet He has chosen to gift us eternal life through Jesus Christ His Son if only we will accept that gift. The only way to earn eternal life is to live a perfect life, and we have all fallen short; we have all sinned. It is only through the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ that is ours through God’s gift of salvation that we can look forward to eternal life.

Paul could also matter-of-factly state that God’s grace was not bestowed upon him in vain. In other words, Paul gave great evidence of possessing saving faith through his selfless ministry in spite of great persecution. No one could accuse him of having dead faith. He unapologetically states that he has worked harder than any of the rest of the apostles in his service to the Lord. (And we know this to be true since he is writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.) I love the Greek for the word grace, “the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life,” which we know is the work of the Holy Spirit. Paul was also acutely aware that he could do nothing in and of himself and that it was the work of the Holy Spirit in and through Him that deserved all the credit. Paul was just the willing yielded vessel.

These are very instructive words from Paul. He was humble yet aware and confident in his ministry. He knew how he measured up among the other apostles, but he didn’t demean their service. He was just making the point that he was more motivated because of his past persecution of these very believers. I am reminded of these verses in Luke.

Luke 7:42-43 “And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.”

Paul knew His weakness, and he knew in Whom his strength lay. He didn’t presume to try to minister in the flesh. He was grateful and honored to serve the Lord.