Disciples and Followers of Christ

“Jesus said [to Thomas], ‘So, you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing.’” –John 20:29 (The Message)

In my opinion, some of the strongest evidence for the truth of Christ lies with his followers—both ancient and modern. First, we must consider Jesus’ hand-picked disciples and those who knew him while he was alive. After Jesus’ death, there would be no reason to be loyal. Some assert that his disciples faked Jesus’ resurrection. However, it is important to note that Pilate had already thought of this and had ordered that the tomb be guarded to avoid this from happening (Matthew 27).

Beyond that, however, we must also consider the cost of clinging to Christ’s miraculous resurrection and claim of divinity to his followers. Nearly all the disciples were tortured and killed for their beliefs. All early believers (and many still today) were persecuted mercilessly for their beliefs. Now, it just doesn't make any logical sense whatsoever for someone to stick to a lie on pain of torture and death. People suffer and die for truth, not for lies.

Consider how one writer explains this fact:

Let's use this analogy: Mr. X decides to invent a fantastic story in order to receive wealth and fame. The media goes hog wild and is willing to pay him for his story. But one day the government shows up at Mr. X's door, arrests him, tortures him, and threatens to kill him for his testimony. Chances are, a sane Mr. X would confess to the sham. 

Scenario B: Mr. X decides to invent a fantastic story knowing he would be met with persecution, hardship, and death. Would a sane Mr. X go through with this plot? Probably not. 

Scenario C: Mr. X, his family, his friends, and his coworkers all decide to invent a fantastic story knowing they would be tortured, imprisoned, and killed for their testimony. Does this seem plausible? Not remotely. 

The early Christian witnesses had nothing to gain and everything to lose with their testimony- many losing their property, freedom, and even their lives. A sane person may be willing to die for something they believe to be true but no one would die for something they knew was a lie.

Unlike many religions where the core beliefs hinge on the subjective experience of one spiritual leader, Christianity and its events are corroborated by many historical documents and the testimony of many people. The New Testament provides journalistic evidence from many perspectives of the events that happened before and after Christ’s death.

We are fortunate that God is sympathetic to our tendency towards doubt! Jesus didn't just appear to one or two people after his resurrection. God made sure Christ’s resurrection could be independently verified by many different sources, not just one or two individuals.

Jesus appeared 12 times todifferent group sizes ranging from just one person to 500 people: 

1) Mary Magdalene (Mark 16.9-11; John 20.11-18) 

2) The other women at the tomb (Matthew 28.8-10) 

3) Peter in Jerusalem (Luke 24.34; 1 Cor. 15.5) 

4) The two travelers on the road (Mark 16.12,13) 

5) Ten disciples behind closed doors (Mark 16.14; Luke 24.36-43; John 20.19-25) 

6) All the disciples, with Thomas (excluding Judas Iscariot) (John 20.26-31; 1 Cor. 15.5) 

7) Seven disciples while fishing (John 21.1-14) 

8) Eleven disciples on the mountain (Matthew 28.16-20) 

9) A crowd of 500 (1 Cor. 15.6) 

10) Jesus' brother James (1 Cor. 15.7) 

11) Those who watched Jesus ascend to heaven (Luke 24.44-49; Acts 1.3-8) 

12) Paul  (1 Cor. 15.8-9, Gal. 1.13-16, Acts 9.1-8, 22.9, all of chapters 22 and 26, 1 Cor. 15.10-20; Gal. 2.1-10)

I, personally, find Paul’s experience to be the most dramatic and convincing. Paul had absolutely no reason whatsoever to make up a story about Christ’s resurrection. For those unfamiliar with Paul’s story, let me just say this guy was anti-Christian. He made a great living hunting down and killing early Christians, until one day—dramatically—Jesus made an appearance (after his death) and told Paul to leave his followers alone. There is absolutely no reason why a person who is respected, supported, and well-compensated would suddenly turn around and follow the religion he’s been hell-bent on destroying! No reason unless, of course, he miraculously discovered beyond a shadow of a doubt that the religion he was persecuting was actually true!

Finally, you have the proliferation of this belief and the billions of people who claim Jesus is Lord, Son of God, Saviour of the world. Across time and culture, people are acknowledging with their hearts and minds that all of this makes sense and rings true. People give up their own lives in metaphorical and very literal ways to follow Jesus and all he stood for. People have made—and continue to make—costly sacrifices in the name of Jesus Christ, Son of God, Messiah, TRUTH.

To take this to a personal level, my next and final installment in my “Why Believe” series will be my personal testimony and the impact God and Christ have had on my life. I hope this journey through “Why Believe” has impacted you in some way. I hope that, as a believer, it has bolstered your faith and reassured you. I hope that, perhaps as an unbeliever or a doubter, that at very least this lays out where Christians are coming from in their faith; but more than that, I hope it has made you ponder your own beliefs and if this perhaps makes sense and sounds like a truth you’d like to pursue, please feel free to email me.


*This was part 6 of 7 in the "Why Believe?" series