The ninth appearance of the risen Lord, is that of which St. Paul speaks in I. Cor. xv: 7, where he tells us that “he appeared to above four hundred brethren at once.” The place here referred to is not mentioned, and so cannot be known. It was probably in Galilee. Jesus had spent most of his public life in that part of the country. He had made most of his disciples there. It was proper, therefore, that those disciples, who would, of course, hear of his death, should have some public proof given them of the fact of his resurrection. No doubt the eleven disciples went to Galilee after Jesus rose. They would spread the news that he had risen, and that he was about to show himself to his friends on a certain mountain. Nothing more would be necessary anywhere to draw together a great concourse of people than a report that one who was dead had come to life again, and was about to show himself; and in this case where they greatly loved him, and where, no doubt, many believed he would rise, they would naturally come together in great numbers to see him once more.
The tenth appearance of Christ after his resurrection was to the apostle James. This is told us by St. Paul, who says I. Cor. xv: 7. “After that he was seen of James.” This is not mentioned in any of the gospels. But as Jesus was on earth for forty days after his resurrection, it is most likely that he appeared often to his disciples, and that only enough of the more prominent appearances were mentioned, to prove the fact that he had risen.
The eleventh occasion on which Jesus was seen after his resurrection was on the Mount of Olives, just before his ascension into heaven. On this occasion all the eleven apostles were present, and no doubt great numbers of his other disciples.
And then there was one other occasion on which Jesus appeared, making twelve in all. This was after his ascension into heaven. To this the apostle Paul refers, when he says, “And last of all he was seen of me also.” I. Cor. xv: 8. This was when he had that wonderful vision near Damascus. Then the great apostle to the Gentiles, saw the same Lord Jesus, in the same body which had been seen by others. Unless it were so, this would be no proof that Jesus was risen from the dead. It was not a fancy therefore that he had seen him. It was not revealed to him, that Jesus was risen. “Last of all he was seen of me.” With his bodily eyes, St. Paul actually saw, in a bodily form, that same Jesus who had died upon the cross; who had been buried in that rocky sepulchre; who had risen from the dead and had ascended into heaven. Such were the witnesses of the resurrection, as to their number.
And now look at the character of these witnesses. They were sensible men. They knew what they were doing. They could not be mistaken about the fact of Christ’s resurrection. They had seen him put to death upon the cross. They had seen him buried. On the third day after his burial they had found his tomb empty. His body was gone. Then they saw him alive. They could not be mistaken about his person. They knew him too well for this. They had seen the print of the nails in his hands. This made the proof of his resurrection perfect.
And then they were honest men. They had no motive for preaching the resurrection of Christ but the sincere belief that it was true. If they could have made money or gained honor by preaching the resurrection, that would have been a reason for their doing so even if it had not been true. But the very opposite of this was the case. Preaching the resurrection brought on them the loss of all they had in the world. It caused them to be persecuted, imprisoned, and put to death. And yet they went on preaching that Christ had risen. And they would have been guilty of the greatest folly if they had done this without being thoroughly convinced that it was true. But they were perfectly satisfied of the truth of what they preached, and this was the reason why they went on preaching it.
And then, if Christ had not risen from the dead, it would have been the easiest thing in the world for the enemies of his cause to have denied it. That would have ended the matter. But they never did this. And the only reason why they did not do so, was that they knew it was true that Christ had risen. They could not deny the fact. And when we put these things all together, we see how perfectly convincing is the proof of the resurrection of Christ.
And now let us look at some of the lessons taught us by our Lord’s resurrection.
The first lesson we may learn from this great fact is about—the power of christ.