Lessons on the Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ and His Apostles
Lesson No. Twenty-Five
Many Infallible Proofs of Jesus’ Resurrection
“As Risen Lord, He Visited Among those He had Loved in Life” (The Living Christ) – “Also, he showed himself alive after his sufferings by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). The New Testament records ten personal visits to those He had loved in life:
To Mary – When Mary visited the tomb early in the morning she found it empty. She saw Jesus and assumed that He was the gardener. “Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, Hold me not for I am not yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, and to my God, and your God” (JST John 20:15-17).
To the other women – “And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him” (Matthew 28:9).
On the road to Emmaus – As two disciples walked the road to Emmaus they talked about all that had happened in Jerusalem. Jesus joined them, “But their eyes were holden that they could not know him.” They walked together for about two hours and Jesus “expounded unto them in all the scriptures the thing concerning himself…And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he was taken up out of their sight” (Luke 24:16, 27, 30-31).
To Simon Peter – After the two disciples recognized Jesus in Emmaus, they “returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon” (Luke 24:33-34, emphasis added).
To ten Apostles – “And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? And why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet” (Luke 24:36-40).
To Thomas and the other Apostles – “And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:26-29).
To His disciples at the Sea of Galilee – “Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself…Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore” (John 21:1, 3-4). On is the occasion Jesus ate with the disciples and charged Peter three times to “Feed my sheep.” (See John 21:12-17)
Jesus appears in Galilee – “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him they worshipped him…And Jesus came and spake unto them saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:16-20). Paul wrote of this same appearance in Galilee as an appearance to “above five hundred brethren at once” (1 Corinthians 15:6). (See Bruce R. McConkie, Mortal Messiah 4:295-300)
To His brother James – After that, he was seen of James” (1 Corinthians 15:7). “This is understood to be an appearance to James the brother of the Lord, who became one of the Twelve and a mighty pillar of strength and righteousness in due course” (Ibid 4:295).
The Ascension – “And he led [His disciples] out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God” (Luke 24:50-53).
“He also ministered among His “other sheep” (John 10:16) in ancient America” (The Living Christ) – This refers to the crowning event recorded in the Book of Mormon (see 3 Nephi 11 – 26) which “is the personal ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ among the Nephites soon after His resurrection” (Book of Mormon, Introduction).
Christ appeared and proclaimed His Atonement – The people felt the wound marks in His hands and feet and side; He called and commissioned twelve disciples; He taught the Nephites the equivalent of the Sermon on the Mount; He announced that the law of Moses is fulfilled in Him and in the latter days the gospel will be taken to the world; He healed the sick and prayed for the people; He instituted the sacrament among the Nephites; the twelve disciples ministered to the people and prayed for the Holy Ghost; He taught of the gathering of Israel in the latter days; Jesus commanded the people to search the scriptures and to pay tithes and offerings; He taught of His Second Coming and expounded all things from the beginning to the end. (See Headnotes to 3 Nephi 11 – 26)
“In the modern world He and His Father appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, ushering in the long-promised “dispensation of the fulness of times” (Ephesians 1:10) – The Prophet Joseph Smith wrote: “It was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty…
“After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.
“But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready so sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction…Just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
“It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other – This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him” (Joseph Smith History 1:14-17)!
The most infallible and long lasting proof of Jesus’ resurrection comes by the power of the Holy Ghost As one of His disciples I know, by the power of the Holy Ghost that “Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God…who stands today on the right hand of His Father” (The Living Christ).
If anyone will do as I have done and ask God, the Eternal Father if Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God; and if they will ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, He will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost you may know the truth of all things. (See Moroni 10:4-5)