How important were the Eye-witnesses of Jesus' resurrection?

This week we are studying the Post-Resurrection Appearances of Christ in Luke 24 and John 20. There are many who claim that the resurrection of Christ did not take place, but eye-witness accounts have been recorded that prove otherwise. How important are these eye-witnesses? Pastor John Piper says,

The early Christians were keenly aware that eyewitnesses were crucial in verifying their claims about the death and resurrection of Jesus. Their earliest writer, the apostle Paul, who was a contemporary of Jesus, said, “ Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures. . . . he was buried . . . he was raised on the third day . . . Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive” (1 Corinthians 15:3-6). Why did Paul say “most of whom are still alive”? Because he was not afraid to have his claims put to the test. He knew they could be verified by eyewitnesses. In other words, Christianity was spreading during the very decades when eyewitnesses could have most easily proved it false. But the basic claims stood the test. The events had happened.

God provided a way that we can verify that the resurrection really took place. Jesus revealed himself to hundreds of people after he had been raised from the dead. These eye-witness accounts bear the truth that "Jesus has been raised" and therefore our faith is not in vain.

John Piper shares more about these eye-witness accounts especially the Muslim reaction in his sermon "The Great Offense: Was Jesus Really Crucified?"

I hope you all have a great week.