Jesus after His Resurrection

Believing in Jesus, who He is and His resurrection, ensures our eternal life with Him. The rolling away of the stone was not to let Jesus out, but to let those present be a witness to the miracle of His resurrection. Mary Magdalene and two other women were met by angels who said, "Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen." Jesus had foretold His death and resurrection, but still many were shocked or doubted what the women saw. Whatever doubts the women had, through confusion or fear, it was quickly resolved because they met Jesus Himself soon after the miracle at the tomb. Its interesting that in a number of Jesus' appearances after His death, He was not recognized at first. Not all appearances were purely spiritual, but was rather physical(He was seen, heard, and touched). These times at which Jesus was seen were also diverse and varied in that His witnesses were men and women, friends, enemies, single individuals, as well as multiple people all at one time. These witnessed accounts were sometimes at night, while others were during the day. So, to the skeptics claiming the appearances were hallucinations, this would be impossible.

1 Corinthians 15:3-8 "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the Apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time." Paul's statement lays out 4 vital truths: 1.) Jesus died. 2.) Jesus was buried. 3.) Jesus was raised. 4.) Jesus appeared. ***The short interval of time between the early eyewitness testimonies about Jesus' resurrection and the actual event itself(a couple of months), even the skeptics must consider these accounts historically credible, leaving no time for myths or embellishments to accrue. Most scholars believe that the "five hundred brethren at once" Jesus appeared too is referring to Matthew 28:16-20, since Jesus had previously announced this meeting.

John 20:24-25 Thomas, also known as Didymus, was often called doubting Thomas. In this passage he says, "except I shall see his hands and the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." The other disciples had seen and talked with Jesus prior to Thomas' meeting Him. Thomas couldn't grasp the reality of their experience. It was eight days after Jesus had met the other disciples that Thomas witnessed Jesus' appearance.
**Christs invitation to all doubters is the same as to Thomas: Investigate for yourself. Test the evidence. Be not faithless, but believe.
**Jesus says, "blessed are they that have not seen and have believed."

Mark 16:1-8 The three women who first arrived at the tomb was Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. They came to anoint Jesus. The stone had been rolled away and a man clothed in a long white robe. An Angel? All 4 Gospels tell how Mary Magdalene, whether alone or being with other women, came to the empty tomb first. Skeptics who say the disciples fabricated their story need only to focus on the text that state women were the first to arrive at the tomb. This would be unthinkable since it was well established that in ancient times, a woman's testimony would not be considered credible.

John 21:15-17 Jesus repeats the phrase, "lovest thou me" three times to Peter. Jesus reminds Peter of his three denials of his Lord. Jesus may have been demonstrating Peter's restoration to all the other disciples.

The road to Emmaus This is an intriguing account that only Luke records, in chapter 24. Two disciples were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus on the day of Jesus' resurrection. They were talking about the events that had happened and met a man. This man was Jesus whom they did not recognize at first. It wasn't until later that day, that the two disciples figured out who the man was. Jesus walked and talked with the two disciples. He ate a meal and even expounded on the scriptures of the Old Testament concerning Himself and yet they still did not recognize Jesus! As soon as they did recognize Him, He vanished from their sight! The disciples immediately returned to Jerusalem to tell "the eleven" what had happened, but the other eleven disciples had great news for them, "The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon."

Luke 24:11 "And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not." Luke 24:37, "But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit." The reluctance of the disciples to accept that Jesus could actually be alive following His crucifixion is perplexing.

Acts 1:9-11 This is Christs ascension. This of course was much different than the appearances and disappearances of the former 40 days. Jesus would no longer appear until His second coming. "He was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight."

After Jesus' resurrection it seems that His disciples struggled to recognize Him. Scripture does not give us a clear understanding of this. The case with Mary Magdalene, she mistaken Him for the gardener. It could be simply not enough sun light, since it was very early in the morning. Some of the other appearances might be that Jesus was to far away to be recognized at first. The Bible doesn't give us an account as to how far away some of His appearances were. There could have been some supernatural force by Jesus Himself that He used to "holden their eyes" or "restrained that they should not know Him." Whatever the reasons, the fact is that Jesus was recognized and that His death, resurrection, and ascension fulfilled the scriptures. Before He ascended, He proclaims to His disciples, "All power is given unto me in Heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."