The eleven

Jesus appeared to the eleven remaining disciples after His resurrection and gave them instructions to preach the gospel to the world. All faithfully obeyed and endured the harshest of treatment including torture, imprisonment, exile, being beheaded and one even crucified upside down as a result. Why were these men willing to endure such agony? Remember to a person they all abandoned Jesus, scattered like a covey of frightened quail and ran off and went into hiding when Jesus was taken by the authorities and later delivered up to be crucified.
Peter even denied “knowing” Jesus just as Jesus had predicted he would do.



These former cowards were transformed into lion hearted men because they saw Jesus with their own eyes appear to them after His death. This to me is one of the most powerful arguments to those who would deny that Jesus was resurrected. If He had not been resurrected and appeared to them and they had not been convinced that Jesus was who He said He was all along, (the living Son of God almighty), it is inconceivable that these men who had previously exhibited signs of cowardice and doubt would have been motivated to willingly go out and boldly preach the word of God with such fearlessness to the same crowd that had just put Jesus to death and which ultimately resulted in their own persecution, mutilation, torture and deaths on His behalf.



Mark 16:14

Later he appeared to the eleven

as they sat at the table; and He

rebuked their unbelief and hardness of

heart, because they did not believe

those who had seen Him after He

had risen.

And He said to them, “Go into

all the world and preach the gospel

to every creature.

He who believes and is

baptized will be saved, but he who does

not believe will be condemned”.



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