When Peter wrote to Christians who lived in the provinces of Asia Minor, his purpose was to encourage their steadfast faithfulness even when being subjected to a “fiery trial” by their enemies (1 Peter 1:7; 4:12). Such should be expected because of their love for and faith in the Savior. He explained: “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8). They had not themselves ever seen Jesus, yet they loved and believed in Him. In their faith, He was unseen, but not unknown!
Some today might imagine that it was easier for those who lived in New Testament times to be believers because they were closer to the time Christ was on the earth. The fact is that most Christians in the early church never saw Jesus in person. His ministry was in a very small part of the world, and though He was seen by many of His own countrymen, that was a very small segment of humanity. What is yet more significant is that it is His resurrection that is the basis of our faith, and only a few—very few—saw Him after He was raised. In 1 Corinthians 15:4-8, Paul gave a partial list of those who saw Him, to which can be added Mary Magdalene, certain other women, and Cleopas and his friend who walked with Him to Emmaus. The emphasis is on the apostles, to whom Jesus “showed Himself alive by many infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3). Paul was the last person given this privilege (1 Corinthians 15:8).
It is fair to ask, therefore, “How was it that so many became believers in the resurrected Christ when they had never seen Him?” The answer is that they were convinced by the eyewitness testimony of the apostles. That this was the Lord’s method is explained in Acts 10:40-42, where the apostle spoke of Christ being raised and shown openly, but “not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us [apostles]. . .” The divine method was that the truth about Christ would be made known to the world by the testimony of the apostles, who were appointed for this task. In giving them their commission, Jesus said, “And ye are witnesses of these things” (Luke 24:49; cf., Acts 1:8). Thus, their preaching emphasized, “This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses” (Acts 2:32).
However, this raises the question: “Why should the testimony of these men be accepted? What makes them credible?” Jesus had explained that their testimony would be joined with that of the Holy Spirit (John 15:26-27; cf., Acts 5:32). The Spirit would guide them “into all truth” (John 16:13), which assures us the Spirit guided their testimony in the New Testament. Yet, how can we know that their witness is true? Every eyewitness must be measured by the following standards.
Were the witnesses competent? Were they capable of giving facts intelligently? The New Testament itself demonstrates their intelligence and ability. Incompetent men could not have produced such documents.
Were they in a position to know the facts? One cannot testify unless he has seen the thing and unless he recognizes what it is that he has seen. Jesus was not a stranger to the apostles. When he showed them that he was alive “by many infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3), they knew it was certainly Him and that they had watched Him die and He had been buried.
Was their testimony because of preconceived bias? Were they so expectant that He would be raised that they assumed it was true? The fact is that they did not expect the resurrection at all. They thought the cross was the end of their hopes and could not believe until Jesus proved Himself to them.
Did the witnesses agree among themselves? It was accepted that two or three witnesses could establish a matter. Yet, even two or three sincere witnesses might have some disagreements. Among the apostolic witnesses, however, there are no contradictions. Their testimony is 100% in perfect harmony.
Finally, it is obvious that witnesses are not credible unless we are convinced they are reliable persons. Can we be sure the apostles were men who could be trusted to tell the truth? We can indeed be sure because they were willing to die for their testimony. Men may do many things to cover a lie, but none will die for a cause he knows is false.
We have not seen Jesus, but we know Him by the message of the Gospel (John 20:30-31). In the words of Simon Peter, “We have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:69). He is unseen, but not unknown!
