We Have Work to Do

One of the most striking claims in the New Testament is that many people said they saw Jesus after He had been crucified. The most direct summary comes from Paul, who wrote that the risen Christ appeared to Cephas (Peter), then to the Twelve, then to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, then to James, then to all the apostles, and finally to Paul himself (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).

The Gospel accounts add individual and group appearances, including Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18), the women near the tomb (Matthew 28:8-10), two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), and the disciples gathered behind locked doors (John 20:19-29). Taken together, these passages form the foundation of the Christian testimony that Jesus was alive after His death and burial.

For Christians, these appearances were not only comforting moments for grieving followers; they were also the basis for a mission. The resurrection was proclaimed as a public message, grounded in eyewitness testimony. Paul even noted that many of the more than five hundred witnesses were still alive when he wrote to the Corinthians, implying that the claim could be examined by others (1 Corinthians 15:6). In other words, the message of Jesus was never meant to remain private. From the very beginning, those who believed they had seen the risen Lord understood that they had been entrusted with news meant for the world.

The clearest post-resurrection command to spread the gospel appears in Matthew 28:18-20, often called the Great Commission. There Jesus told His disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,” baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything He had commanded. This instruction is significant because it comes after the resurrection, when Jesus speaks not merely as a teacher in Galilee but as the risen Lord who declares that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. The gospel, then, is not a local message for one region or one people alone; it is a global message intended for all nations.

Other New Testament passages repeat and expand this calling. In Mark 16:15, Jesus tells His followers, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” In Luke 24:46-48, He explains that the Messiah would suffer, rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Then, just before His ascension, Jesus says in Acts 1:8 that His disciples will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them, and they will be His witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. These passages show that after His death and resurrection, Jesus repeatedly directed His followers outward, commanding them to bear witness and carry the good news beyond themselves.

The connection between the witnesses and the mission is essential.

The same disciples who claimed to see the risen Jesus were the ones told to spread the gospel. Their message was not simply a moral philosophy or a set of private spiritual reflections; it was a testimony that they believed had been confirmed by encounter, Scripture, and commission.

The New Testament presents a clear sequence: Jesus was crucified, many claimed to see Him alive afterward, and those witnesses were then instructed to tell the world. That pattern remains central to Christian faith today.

So Jesus gave us work to do.  What are you going to do about it?