Beloved radio friends, we greet you in the precious and the worthy name of the Lord Jesus, and we welcome you to the ministry of God's precious word once again. We join in the knowledge deep within our own heart. We have the priceless privilege of bringing before your heart and to your minds, beloved radio listeners, the greatest person in the universe. as we seek to present Christ the eternal Son of God for your heart occupation and for your mind to dwell upon him. We do thank God the greatest doctrine in the word of God from the beginning to the end is the doctrine of Christ, his blessed person. We join in the knowledge that is the present series that we are considering. We are taking up some of the blessed revelations of truth regarding His blessed person. We have been taken from and by the Scriptures and through the Scriptures to think of His pre-existence, His incarnation, His atoning death, and now we are touching upon in this week's series His Blessed Resurrection. I would like to present very briefly, but as thoroughly as possible, some of the evidences of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ in his bodily resurrection as he appeared before he went back to heaven again. There are recorded in the Word of God twelve appearances of the resurrected Christ. Can I repeat that again? There are twelve records concerning the appearance of our resurrected Lord to certain individuals. Let me name them very briefly, but thoroughly, and in this following order, and if possible in their proper order, though that would be difficult to do. But first of all, I think we can safely state that first appearance to anyone on the morning of his resurrection was to Mary Magdalene at that garden tomb. You can read of that in Mark chapter sixteen in verse nine, but you can have a greater detailed description of it in John chapter twenty, as you read from verse one through verse eighteen. There to Mary Magdalene, first of all, a very sorrowful and but a very devoted heart, devoted to the Lord Jesus, he appeared to the heart of Mary Magdalene. She sorrowed. She longed for him. She could not live without him, though she thought he was still dead in the body. But you know the story well, how he appeared to Mary Magdalene with great joy and blessing. I'm sure she never did and does not even yet forget it in glory above. You go to the second appearance that we would like to mention. is in Matthew twenty-eight in verse nine. Here were other women that were on the way to the tomb. While on the way to the tomb, according to Matthew's account, Jesus met them and said, All hail, and they held him by the feet. They never got to the tomb. He was the head of them. He met them on the way to the tomb. Surely we know, had they gone, had they arrived before meaning him, it would have been empty. But oh, how precious to realize, the heart of that dear Savior, loving his disciples and these godly women, who were wending their way to anoint his dead body, so they thought, he met them on the way. And then what shall we say of that incomparable story so lengthy? which you find in Luke's Gospel chapter twenty-four, beginning at verse thirteen through verse thirty-five. Too saddened, disillusioned, despairing, disappointed, discouraged disciples, thinking that all was over the blessed Master whom they had been following for many, many months. They knew not where he was. Such strange reports had come concerning his body. And he could not be found. The tomb was empty. And just what had happened, they knew not. And wearily and discouragingly, they went their way back to their hometown, thinking that all was over. You know that story, how he walked with them. All that journey, unrecognized by them until within their home he sat to break bread with them. And when he broke the bread, they knew him. And he vanished out of their sight. Two men, oh, perhaps there were a man and his wife, on the way to Emmaus, the Lord Jesus walked, Jesus himself, went with them. Then what shall we say of an incident we have very little knowledge of, or even reckoned? He revealed himself to Simon Peter. Simon Peter? Yes, Mark's account. The Lord Jesus tells the women to go tell my disciples, and Peter, I go before you into Galilee. And then when we look at chapter twenty-four in Luke, when the Lord Jesus, just before he appears in the midst of the disciples in the upper room in Luke twenty-four, the two disciples, the two Emmaus disciples, they come in haste to tell the others that Jesus had met them, and they had witnessed him in the breaking of bread. And they tell him, yes, we've heard he's alive. We've heard he's seen Peter. Ah, yes. Even Paul the apostle writes in First Corinthians chapter fifteen regarding the fact, one of the evidences of the resurrection of Jesus, he appeared unto Peter. Dear beloved apostle Peter, with a soiled conscience, he had denied his blessed Lord when he had asserted so vehemently he would never deny him. He would die with him and for him before he would do that. But ah, the flesh was weak, and we know the story well. But oh, what a loving Savior. One thing that first resurrection day he desired to do and did. Somewhere we're not told there's no record, but privately and alone, Jesus and Peter were reconciled. Peter was reconciled to his beloved Lord and restored. Yes, He appeared unto Simon Peter. And then when you think of the chapter twenty in the Gospel of John, the first appearance in the upper room, there were ten of the apostles there, if not some of the other disciples. But we are assured there were ten of the apostles. Judas had hanged himself. Thomas was not there on that first occasion. But he witnessed himself in the presence of the ten and any others who may have been there. When he first came through the doors of that upper room and made himself known. And then as you go down the chapter, eight days later, Thomas was with them, who had been absent on that first occasion. And you well know the story. How even to Thomas he challenged, put hither thy finger, put it into my hands. Feel the nail, Prince. Take your hand. Thrust it into my side. Be not faithless but believing. And what could Thomas but say and do? Say, my Lord and my God, yes. Another appearance, the sixth one, as it were, he appeared unto the disciples again. Then if you've ever read the twenty-first chapter of the Gospel according to John, seven disciples go fishing. Peter is the leader. And they go fishing all night, catch nothing. And in the morning, Jesus stood in the haze of the morning shore, calling to them and said, Lads, have you got any meat? What did you catch? And they said nothing, and you know the rest of it. And when the Lord Jesus said, Cast your net on the right side of the ship, and you'll find, it was John the Apostle that recognized who it was. It is the Lord, he said. And there on the seashore, the blessed Lord Jesus with those seven disciples, together fellowshiped and dined, as we well know on that occasion how the Lord Jesus spoke to Peter, restoring him to the commission to preach and teach his precious word, to feed the lambs, to tend the sheep, and to feed the sheep. Yes, to those apostles on the lake of Tiberias, he bodily appeared in his resurrection form. And then what shall we say when you go to the end of Matthew's Gospel? You'll find it at the end of Luke's Gospel too. the last journey that they ever made. He said he would meet them in Mount Galilee, in Galilee. And he does meet them on some mountain in Galilee. We have no record of the occasion as to what took place, but there was a meeting. But what shall we say when we look at the writing of Paul in First Corinthians chapter fifteen in verse six? Paul by the Holy Spirit writes, Regarding the proof of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, he appeared unto five hundred brethren at one time after his resurrection upon the earth, many of whom Paul writes are still living. Some are undoubtedly died, but many were still living. Five hundred brethren at one time? My beloved, this was not an isolated case. One can record. Please may I, please may I emphasize the veracity, the carefulness of the Holy Spirit in writing and the apostles writing as they were moved by the Holy Spirit and giving an evidence, not just of an isolated case. Some of them were isolated cases of his resurrection manifestation. But five hundred at one time And then you've gone in the next verse in First Corinthians chapter fifteen and verse seven. Paul says he appeared unto James. We're not told how. We're not told when. But there was an appearance the Savior made to the apostle James following his resurrection. Now will you please be reminded with me? The Lord Jesus was upon the earth forty days following his resurrection before he went back to heaven. And all of these days were unquestionably spent, proving he was alive, together with the teaching he may have given. And then when we think of the ascension, excuse me, both in Luke twenty-four, at the end, and the end of Mark sixteen, and in Acts chapter one, verse nine, when our Lord ascended rather back to heaven, We don't know how many disciples were there, but there they were gathered, and while they were gathered together, Jesus went up to heaven in a cloud. They watched him go. And Paul in First Corinthians chapter fifteen in verse eight declares, Last of all, he was seen of me. And on the Damascus rose the Lord Jesus glorified, and his body appeared to Paul. Beloved, what do you think of Christ and his resurrection? Please do some thinking. And I hope you know him as your Savior. Bless the word we ask Lord Jesus for thy glory. Amen.