How Can We Be Witnesses of Christ’s Resurrection?
Sabbath School
First and Second Corinthians
The Power of Christ's Reurrection
The disciples who followed Jesus had something we do not have: they actually saw the risen Christ. After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His followers, spoke with them, ate with them, and gave them instructions concerning the coming mission. The book of Acts repeatedly emphasizes that the apostles were eyewitnesses of the resurrection.
Acts 1:22 speaks of someone who had been with Jesus from the beginning and could become a witness “with us of His resurrection.” Peter declared in Acts 2:32, “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.” In Acts 3:15, Peter boldly proclaimed that the religious leaders had killed “the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.” Acts 4:33 says that the apostles gave witness “with great power” to the resurrection of Jesus. And in Acts 5:30–32, Peter and the other apostles again declared that God had raised Jesus from the dead and that they were witnesses of these things.
Their testimony was powerful because they had personally experienced the risen Christ. They were not repeating a rumor. They were not merely defending an idea. They had seen Jesus alive after His crucifixion.
But what does that mean for us, nearly two thousand years later? How can we possibly be witnesses of His resurrection when we were not there?
We Are Witnesses Through Faith
First, we become witnesses by believing the testimony of those who actually saw the risen Christ.
We do this all the time in ordinary life. We accept many historical events even though we were not present when they happened. We learn about them through reliable testimony and evidence. The resurrection is no different in that respect. The apostles were eyewitnesses, and they deliberately preserved their testimony so that later generations could believe.
John wrote about what he had seen and heard so that others could have fellowship with those who had personally encountered Christ (1 John 1:1–3). The Christian faith rests not on wishful thinking but on the testimony of people who claimed to have encountered the resurrected Jesus.
Jesus Himself said, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29).
That describes us.
We have not physically seen Jesus standing before us as Thomas and the other disciples did. Yet we can believe the testimony of Scripture and place our trust in the Christ who died and rose again.
We Become Witnesses Through a Changed Life
There is another important sense in which we can be witnesses of the resurrection.
The resurrection is not merely an event we believe happened in the past. It is a reality that changes our lives in the present.
Paul wrote, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The risen Christ brings new life to people who were once trapped in sin, guilt, fear, bitterness, selfishness, or hopelessness.
When Christ changes our character, our priorities, our relationships, and our response to difficult circumstances, our lives become a testimony.
We may not be able to say, “I saw Jesus come out of the tomb,” but we can say, “I have experienced the power of the risen Christ in my life.”
That is also a form of witnessing.
A person who once lived without hope but now has hope in Christ is witnessing to the resurrection. A person who learns to forgive because of Christ is witnessing to the resurrection. A person who faces suffering without surrendering faith is witnessing to the resurrection.
The resurrection means that death did not have the final word over Jesus. And because He lives, sin and death do not have to have the final word over us.
We Are Witnesses When We Tell Others
The apostles did not keep their experience to themselves. Their encounter with the risen Christ compelled them to speak.
Acts 4:20 records their attitude: “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
That should challenge us.
We do not have to be theologians to witness for Jesus. We do not need to know the answer to every difficult question. We simply need to share what Christ has done and what we have learned from His Word.
We can tell someone, “I believe Jesus really rose from the dead because the Bible gives us the testimony of those who saw Him. And I have chosen to trust Him with my own life.”
Sometimes the simplest testimony is the most powerful.
We Are Witnesses by Living With Resurrection Hope
Perhaps one of the greatest ways we can witness to the resurrection is through the way we face death.
The Christian does not pretend that death is painless or that grief does not hurt. Christians grieve. We miss people we love. We experience fear and sorrow.
But we do not grieve without hope.
Paul wrote, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept” (1 Corinthians 15:20).
The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of the Christian hope of resurrection. Because Christ lives, His followers can look forward to the day when the dead in Christ will rise.
That hope can change the way we live today.
When we face uncertainty, we can have hope.
When we face suffering, we can have courage.
When we lose someone we love, we can have the assurance that death is not the end.
And when we think about our own mortality, we can look beyond the grave to the One who conquered death.
Our hope itself becomes a witness.
We Can Point People to the Living Christ
The apostles did not simply proclaim that Jesus had once been alive. They proclaimed a living Savior.
That distinction matters.
Christianity is not merely admiration for a great teacher who lived two thousand years ago. Jesus died, was buried, and rose again. He is alive. Hebrews 7:25 tells us that He “ever liveth to make intercession” for those who come to God through Him.
So when we witness, our goal is not merely to convince people that a historical event occurred. We want to point them to the Person who lives because of that event.
The risen Christ still calls people to Himself.
He still forgives.
He still transforms lives.
He still gives hope.
He still answers prayer.
And He still promises that death will ultimately be defeated.
You May Not Have Seen the Empty Tomb, But You Can Testify
Think again about the apostles in Acts. They could say, “We are witnesses.”
We cannot give their exact testimony. We were not in Jerusalem. We did not see the crucifixion. We did not stand outside the empty tomb. We did not touch the wounds in Jesus' hands.
But we can still be witnesses.
We can witness by believing their testimony.
We can witness by studying and sharing God's Word.
We can witness through the transformation Christ brings into our lives.
We can witness through the hope we have when circumstances seem hopeless.
We can witness by pointing others to Jesus as the living Savior.
And perhaps most importantly, we can live in such a way that people see that our faith is not merely a collection of doctrines. It is a relationship with a risen Lord.
The apostles witnessed because they had seen Jesus alive.
We witness because we believe their testimony, because we have encountered Christ through His Word, and because His resurrection has given us a living hope.
Nearly two thousand years have passed since that morning outside Jerusalem, but the message has not changed:
Jesus Christ is risen. He is alive. And because He lives, we have hope.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for raising Jesus Christ from the dead. Thank You for the testimony of those who saw the risen Savior and faithfully shared what they had experienced. Although we were not there to see the empty tomb, help us to believe Your Word and trust the testimony You have preserved for us.
Make us witnesses of the resurrection through the way we live. Let our words, our actions, our kindness, our courage, and our hope point others toward Jesus. When we experience suffering, remind us that death does not have the final word. When we grieve, remind us of the resurrection hope we have in Christ. When we become discouraged, remind us that Jesus is alive and that He is with us.
Give us opportunities to tell others about the living Christ. Help us not to be ashamed of the gospel, but to share it with humility, love, and confidence. May our lives demonstrate that the risen Jesus is not simply part of our history—He is our Savior today.
In the name of Jesus, our risen Lord, we pray. Amen.
More on Lesson 8: The Power of Christ's Resurrection
3rd Quarter Sabbath School: 1st and 2nd Corinthians
