1 Corinthians 15:3-8

1 Corinthians 15:3-8
English Standard Version (ESV)

  If you want to discover what happened, the best way is to talk to someone who was actually there and watched it.  If you want to know the details of a sporting event, go find someone who had tickets.  If you want to hear about an event, find an eyewitness.  We learn most reliably from people who were there.
  In 1 Corinthians, Paul is listing the people who saw Jesus after his resurrection so that if anyone had questions or doubts, they could go ask the people who saw him after he was raised.  The church didn't have anything to hide (well, there was hiding from the Roman empire, but that's another topic for another day) -- Jesus had really and truly been raised, and they wanted the world to know about it, because it truly changed everything.  Jesus had predicted his own death and resurrection, and if that was true, then the other things he said were true, which is earth-shattering and monumental, because he said things with real implications on how we live and treat our money and one another and the world around us.  If he was really raised from the dead, then our lives should be changed.  And, Paul says, if you have questions about whether he was raised from the dead, here's a list of people who can verify that he was!
  So let us ask the hard questions and dig into the faith, because it absolutely matters, and the facts back it up!