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 all history  there  is  no  fact  more  clearly  proven. God's providence,  recognizing*  the  tremendous  importance of  this  truth,  has  employed  the  hatred  of the  Jews  and  the  incredulity  of  the  Apostles — the gravest obstacles  to  belief  in  it — to  be  the  strongest arguments in  its  favor. A lawyer  with  Christianity for his  client,  engaged  to  prove  Christ's  Resurrection against the  modern  Pharisees  and  Sadducees,  would find the  earning  of  his  fee  an  easy  task  indeed. For, a fact  to  which  many  and  necessary  witnesses  testify; witnesses so  obstinate  in  unbelief  that  they  could  not be deceived  and  so  circumstanced  that  they  could not deceive  others;  witnesses  willing  to  seal  their wonderfully unanimous  testimony  with  their  blood — a fact  like  that,  I  say,  must  be  accepted  for  certain  by every  impartial,  or  even  prejudiced,  tribunal. Now they that  saw  the  risen  Saviour  were,  first  of  all, many. To say  nothing  of  the  angels  in  the  vacant sepulchre who  said  to  the  holy  women:  "  He  is arisen;  He  is  not  here,"  or  of  the  guard  of  soldiers who saw  Him  rise  but  held  their  tongue  through bribery, we  find  in  the  New  Testament,  which,  whatever else  it  be,  is  at  least  true  history — we  find therein, I  say,  explicitly  recorded  twelve  distinct apparitions of  the  resurrected  Saviour,  one  of  which at least  five  hundred  persons  witnessed. That many other apparitions  went  unrecorded  St.  Luke  declares, saying that "Christ  showed  Himself  at  frequent  intervals for  forty  days  speaking  to  His  followers  of  the kingdom  of  God." But why,  you  ask,  did  Christ  appear exclusively  to  His  friends? Why did  He  not