RESURRECTION APPEARANCES BY JESUS-GOOD MORNING

The Resurrection Appearances of Jesus Christ

Reasons Why the Resurrection is Believable:
Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, he is risen, Bible

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MATTHEW MARK LUKE JOHN
Wednesday, 14th of Nisan: Close to sunset:
After Jesus died, Joseph of Arimathaea went to Pilate and got permission to take the body of Jesus. He wrapped the body in a clean linen cloth, which was not according to the Jewish burial custom. Joseph believed Jesus would be raised from the dead, and thus he did not bother with all the spices and formal wrappings. The women from Galilee were watching Joseph, and saw that he had laid Jesus’ body in the tomb without preparing it according to the common custom. That is why they went and bought and prepared the spices themselves, and went to properly bury Jesus on Sunday morning. Although many commentators, and the NIV, give the impression that Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus worked together, they did not. If they had the women would have seen the body laid in the tomb with the 75 pounds of spices that Nicodemus brought, and would not have felt it necessary to wrap it again. The women went home intending to prepare Jesus’ body properly, but because the Sabbath (Thursday, the Passover) was close, they bought and prepared the spices on Friday, rested Saturday (the weekly Sabbath) and brought them to the tomb early Sunday morning.

Matthew 27:57-61
(57) As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus.
(58) Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him.
(59) Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
(60) And placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.
(61) Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

Mark 15:42-47
(42) It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached,
(43) Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.
(44) Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died.
(45) When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph.
(46) So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.
(47) Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

Luke 23:50-56
(50) Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man,
(51) Who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God.
(52) Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body.
(53) Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid.
(54) It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
(55) The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it.
(56) Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

John 19:38
Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away.

Wednesday, 14th of Nisan: Close to sunset:
After Joseph of Aramathea and the women left the tomb, Nicodemus came with his servants and gave Jesus a burial that was according to Jewish custom. It would have been natural for a rich man like Nicodemus to have servants with him, who are the “they” of verse 40. Besides the fact that Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin (John 3:1), he was bringing 75 pounds of spices, which would have required help. The women from Galilee had left the scene after Joseph wrapped Jesus in the linen cloth, and so did not see Nicodemus, which is why they went and bought spices themselves. It is possible that Nicodemus’ work was completed after dark, on Passover, which was always counted as a Sabbath, no matter what day of the week it fell on. He would not have been able to celebrate Passover anyway after touching Jesus’ dead body. This could easily be placed in the Bible as a two-verse parenthesis.

John 19:39 and 40
(39) He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
(40) Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.

Wednesday, 14th of Nisan: Summary Statement:
These two verses in John are a summary statement about the garden, the new tomb, and the fact that the tomb was close to where Jesus was crucified. The “they” of verse 42 is collective and summary. Joseph and his servants laid Jesus there in linen sheets, Nicodemus and his servants laid Jesus there in a more customary burial.

John 19:41 and 42
(41) At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid.
(42) Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
Thursday, 15th of Nisan: Passover Day, Morning.
It is now Passover Day, and the Pharisees and chief priests are so filled with trepidation about Jesus that they go to Pilate and request a guard to keep the tomb secure. This is the only event in the Gospels that occurs on Passover Day itself.

Matthew 27:62-66
(62) The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate.
(63) “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’
(64) So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”
(65) “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.”
(66) So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

Friday, 16th of Nisan:
After the Thursday Passover (which was a “special” Sabbath Day; Lev. 23:7) the women bought and prepared spices. It is important to see the time break between Mark 16:1 and 2. The women had seen that Joseph of Aramathea did not bury Jesus properly, and they wanted to give him a proper burial. However, they did not have time Wednesday night before the start of Passover to buy the spices. Even if the women had wanted to buy the spices at that time, that close to Passover the stores would probably have been closed. So the first opportunity they had to buy and prepare the spices was Friday, but they could not take them to the tomb at that time because the tomb was sealed and guarded. On Friday the women “bought” spices, not “brought” spices to the tomb. The tomb was guarded for three days: Thursday, Passover, was day one; Friday (this day) was day two, Saturday, the weekly Sabbath was day three. That meant the first day the women could expect to get access to the tomb would be Sunday, which is when they would go (Luke 24:1).

Mark 16:1
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.

Luke 23:56b
…and prepared spices and perfumes.

Saturday, 17th of Nisan; The Weekly Sabbath:
The women rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment (weekly Sabbath: Exod. 20:8-10; Passover Sabbath: Lev. 23:4-8).

Luke 23:56c
But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

Saturday, 17th of Nisan; The weekly Sabbath; Late on the Sabbath:
Jesus is raised from the dead. Jesus had prophesied: “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matt. 12:40). Three days and three nights ended just before Sunset on Saturday evening. It is a profound truth that Jesus got up from the dead without any fanfare. The stone did not even roll away (it did not need to). What Jesus did between the time he got up and the time he saw Mary Magdalene is not recorded in Scripture.

Saturday, 17th of Nisan; Immediately after the weekly Sabbath; on the first day of the week:
The women rested on the Sabbath and came to view the tomb just before dark at the end of the Sabbath, which, although still our Saturday, was the start of the new week according to Jewish reckoning of time. The Jewish day starts in the evening. Although many translations have “dawn,” the Greek does not read that way. The Greek text reads in a way that seems very difficult when translated literally, which is due to the idioms involved. A rendering of the Greek text is: “Now late of the [on the] Sabbaths, at the beginning toward the first of the Sabbaths.” It was an idiom that in the plural, the word “Sabbaths” refers to a week. At the end of the “Sabbaths” refers to the end of the week, which was at dusk on the Sabbath day. As the “Sabbaths” started, or began, refers to the start of the new week. Thus the time was at the end of one week and the start of another. This is Saturday night, just after dusk, and the Sabbath is over. The women came to view the tomb in the evening, at the end of one week and the start of the next. Darby’s translation, [1] although not exact, makes the correct point: “Now late on sabbath, as it was the dusk of the next day after sabbath….” The Sabbath that ended would logically have been the weekly Sabbath, Saturday. They were checking on the tomb in expectation of anointing Jesus’ body at daylight the next morning, i.e., on Sunday.

So just as the Sabbath ended, Saturday night, the women came to “look at” the tomb. The Greek word theoreo used here usually refers to viewing something from a distance, which would have been the case since the guards would have kept the women from getting too close. At this time the stone would still have been in place in front of the tomb. If the women came Saturday night just to “see the tomb,” it is very possible that they were checking to see if the guard was gone yet. The third day of Christ’s “three days and three nights” would end Saturday at evening, so if the guards had already left, then the way was clear to bring the spices Sunday morning. However, the guards were still there and so was the stone covering the tomb door. Little did the women know that Christ was already up from the dead.

Matthew 28:1
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

Sunday 18th of Nisan:
Late on Saturday or early on Sunday, both are the first day of the week by Jewish reckoning. Sometime Saturday night, which was already the first day of the week by Jewish reckoning, probably close to early dawn there was an earthquake. It is often taught that the resurrection occurred simultaneously with this event. However, Scripture never says this. The actual event of the resurrection is not portrayed in Scripture. The Bible never says, “Jesus awoke from the dead, came out of his grave wrappings and then came out of the tomb.” Furthermore, this was now the first day of the week, which technically would have been the fourth day, and Jesus was only to be in the grave 3 days and 3 nights (Matt. 12:40). Christ’s resurrection was “three days and three nights” after his burial, which would have made it Saturday just before sunset. The empty tomb was a witness of the resurrection and the angel came sometime Saturday night and rolled the stone away.

Matthew 28:2-4
(2) There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.
(3) His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.
(4) The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

Sunday 18th of Nisan: Very early Sunday morning while it is still dark:
Early Sunday morning before dawn, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb. The Greek for “when it was yet dark,” indicates that the darkness was ending and the daylight was coming on. The trip from the tomb area, which we believe to be on the west side of the Mount of Olives, to Bethany, on the east side of the Mount of Olives, where Peter and the others were staying, would have been very short, probably no longer than a 20 minute walk. Mary may have come to the tomb to see if the guards were gone, so the women could come with the spices. She never made it back to join the women, who apparently took her absence as a sign they could go ahead with their plans to enter the tomb and properly prepare the body of Jesus. Instead of returning to the women, she ran to Peter and John to tell them Jesus’ body was gone.

After hearing Mary’s report that someone had taken the body of Jesus, Peter and John went into the sepulcher and “saw, and believed” (v.8). Yet, verse 9 says that they did not know the teaching of Scripture that Jesus would be raised from the dead. Furthermore, the events of the rest of the day clearly reveal that the disciples did not believe in the resurrection until they saw the risen Lord personally. In fact, Jesus reproved them for their hardness of heart and unbelief. So what did they “believe” in verse 8?

What they believed was Mary’s report that the body was missing, which seemed absurd. After all, until only a few hours before this there had been Roman guards there. How could Jesus’ body disappear in that short time? So they ran to the tomb to see if what she said was true. Even Mary herself did not believe that Jesus was risen from the dead until he appeared personally to her. She thought the tomb was empty because someone took the body. Also, although the grave clothes with the spices were in the tomb, that in itself would have been confusing. Keep in mind that the women did not know Nicodemus had wrapped Jesus with spices. The women (and hence the disciples) thought Jesus was buried in a linen cloth. If anything, the presence of the grave clothes with spices would have confused Mary and the disciples even more.

John 20:1-10
(1) Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.
(2) So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
(3) So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.
(4) Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
(5) He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.
(6) Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there,
(7) As well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.
(8) Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.
(9) (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
(10) Then the disciples went back to their homes,

Sunday 18th of Nisan:
After seeing the empty tomb, Peter and John went back to where they had been staying, but Mary Magdalene stood outside the sepulcher weeping. As she was crying, she stooped down and “looked” into the sepulcher (she did not go in) and saw two angels “sitting” (not standing). One of them was at the head and one at the feet of where the body of Jesus had been. This is different from the record of the group of women with the spices coming to the tomb. They “entered” the sepulcher and were frightened when they saw one angel, who calmed them and invited them to view the place where Jesus had lain. They were frightened again, however, when two more angels suddenly appeared (they were not there initially) and “stood” by them.

The angels spoke to Mary and asked her why she was crying. It is possible that Mary did not recognize them as angels (which is common in the Word of God) because the way she spoke to them was the way she would have spoken to any person. The Bible says they were angels, but it does not say that Mary knew they were angels. After the angels spoke to her she turned from the tomb and saw the Lord, but did not recognize him at first. When she did, she grabbed onto him and held him. The traditional thought about this section of Scripture is that Jesus would not allow Mary to touch him due to his spiritual state. However, the Greek text (haptomai), as well as the emotional context, suggests that the phrase, “touch me not” actually refers to an intense physical clinging to. There are other Greek words that refer to simple physical touch, but these are not used here. The NASB [2] does a good job when it translates the phrase as, “Stop clinging to me.” Mary Magdalene had probably embraced him and sobbed for several minutes.

Mark 16:9
When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.

John 20:11-17
(11) But Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb
(12) And saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
(13) They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
(14) At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
(15) “Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
(16) Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
(17) Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'”

Sunday 18th of Nisan:
After seeing Jesus alive, Mary went back to the disciples and told them that she had seen the Lord, but they did not believe her.

Mark 16:10 and 11
(10) She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping.
(11) When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.

John 20:18
Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Sunday 18th of Nisan:
Early Sunday morning, many of the women went to the tomb with the spices to bury the body of the Lord Jesus according to Jewish custom. No doubt, Mary Magdalene had intended to be with them. However, the events of the morning had altered Mary’s plans considerably. She did not expect to find an empty tomb and did not expect to meet the Lord. There is no doubt that the women gathered together and prepared to go to the tomb at the same time that Peter and John had seen the empty tomb with their own eyes. Had Peter and John come back to this group of women and reported that the tomb was empty, the women never would have taken the spices to the tomb in the first place. Understanding this is important to the chronology because it is then apparent that Mary Magdalene was not with this group of women as they gathered that morning and set out for the tomb. It is important to notice that Luke starts with “they” and does not mention Mary Magdalene at all. That “they” refers to the women is clear from the presence of the spices.

Mark 16:2-4
(2) Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb
(3) And they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
(4) But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.

Luke 24:1 and 2
(1) On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.
(2) They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,

Sunday 18th of Nisan:
The women bringing the spices saw an angel at the entryway of the tomb, but he appeared as a “young man.” There is no reason to believe they thought he was an angel. It was common for tombs to have several rooms. For example, the “Garden Tomb” in Jerusalem that many Protestants believe may be the actual tomb that Christ was laid in, has an opening room and then a second room off of it in which the dead body would be placed. This helps to explain how the women saw one angel as they entered the tomb and then two others where Christ’s body had been. The women were alarmed when they saw this young man (angel), but he spoke to them and calmed them.

Mark 16:5
As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

Sunday 18th of Nisan:
The angel invited the women to “see the place where he lay.” Since they were already in the entrance of the tomb, this is a clear indication that there was more than one room in the sepulcher.

Matthew 28:5-7
(5) The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
(6) He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
(7) Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

Mark 16:6 and 7
(6) “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.
(7) But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'”

Sunday 18th of Nisan:
Following the angel’s directions, the women entered the room of the tomb that had contained Jesus’ body. While they were there, two more angels “in shining garments” suddenly appeared and frightened them.

Luke 24:3-8
(3) But when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
(4) While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.
(5) In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?
(6) He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:
(7) ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'”
(8) Then they remembered his words.

Sunday 18th of Nisan:
The women did what the angel commanded and went to tell the disciples. The apparent discrepancy between Matthew and Mark can be easily explained. While Matthew says that they were going to tell the disciples, Mark says that they did not say anything to anyone. The key is understanding that Mark is referring to talking to people that they met on the road. Ordinarily if you saw an angel you would be so excited you would tell everyone you met. However, the events around the crucifixion combined with the “unbelievable” news that Christ had risen from the dead caused the women, who were themselves bewildered, not to tell anyone on the road, but to wait until they got to the disciples.

Matthew 28:8
So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

Mark 16:8
Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

Sunday 18th of Nisan:
Jesus met the women as they were returning to tell the Apostles and disciples, and he told them to tell the men to go to Galilee and that he would meet them there.

Matthew 28:9 and 10
(9) Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.
(10) Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

Sunday, 18th of Nisan:
At the same time that the women were traveling to tell the disciples, some of the guards arrived at Jerusalem and gave their report. The guards did not go to Jerusalem immediately upon coming to their senses after being terrified by the angel. In fact, only “some” of them reported what they saw in Jerusalem. The Bible does not say exactly how many guards watched the tomb. However, there were a large number of disciples, so it can be assumed that there would have been a dozen or more guards to ward off a concerted attempt to steal the body of Jesus. After the earthquake and the appearance of the angel, the guards would have taken some time to regroup, think things through and then report back to Jerusalem.

Matthew 28:11-15
(11) While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.
(12) When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money,
(13) Telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’
(14) If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”
(15) So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

Sunday, 18th of Nisan:
The women arrive and report to the eleven and the others.

Luke 24:9
When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others.

Sunday, 18th of Nisan:
This is a summary of the women reporting to the Apostles that Christ was alive. The subject of the passage was what was spoken to the Apostles, and this is the key to understanding the verse. All the women together reported that Christ was alive and the disciples did not believe any of them. These verses are not saying that Mary Magdalene was physically with the women when they carried the spices to the tomb. It is saying that she was with them and agreed with them as they all told the disciples that Christ was alive and that they had all seen him. Mary Magdalene’s testimony agreed with the testimony of the women who went to prepare the body of Jesus.

Luke 24:10 and 11
(10) It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles.
(11) But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.

Sunday, 18th of Nisan:
Luke 24:12 is omitted in some early manuscripts, and may be an addition to the text. The NASB puts the verse in brackets to indicate that it is doubtful. If it is original, it is Peter’s second trip to see the empty tomb and would have been an excellent time for the Lord to appear to Peter alone.

Luke 24:12
Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

Sunday 18th of Nisan:
Sometime after the women reported that they had seen the Lord (or after Luke 24:12 if it is original) and before Cleopas and the other disciple returned from seeing the Lord on their trip to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), the Lord appeared to Peter. There is no verse in the Gospels that describes this meeting. However, when Cleopas and his friend join the Apostles and the others, they are told that “Simon,” a common name for Peter, had already seen the Lord. Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 15:5 says that the Lord appeared to Peter and then to the Apostles. This would not be true if the Lord appeared to Peter and the other Apostles at the same time when they were in the room together with the door locked.

Sunday, 18th of Nisan:
Jesus Christ appeared to two disciples, Cleopas and an unnamed disciple, as they walked to Emmaus, which is about 7 miles from Jerusalem. When he made his identity known to them, they hurried back to Jerusalem. There is an apparent contradiction between Mark 16:13 and Luke 24:34. Mark says that when the two told the others, they did not believe. Luke, however, says that when they came and reported, the disciples already believed, and note that the Lord had appeared to Simon (Peter). Some have tried to solve this by saying that the “Simon” is the name of the other disciple that was going to Emmaus, but the proper reading of the Greek text makes that impossible. The key is realizing that in the group of disciples there were some who believed and some who did not. This is emphasized by Thomas himself, the apostle who did not believe. The tension between Mark and Luke emphasizes this point.

Mark 16:12 and 13
(12) Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country.
(13) These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.

Luke 24:13-35
(13) Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.
(14) They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.
(15) As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;
(16) But they were kept from recognizing him.
(17) He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast.
(18) One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
(19) “What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.
(20) The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him;
(21) But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.
(22) In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning
(23) But didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive.
(24) Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”
(25) He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
(26) Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”
(27) And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
(28) As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther.
(29) But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
(30) When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.
(31) Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.
(32) They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
(33) They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together
(34) And saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”
(35) Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

Sunday 18th of Nisan:
Jesus appeared to the Apostles and disciples as they were gathered together behind locked doors. This was the first time he appeared to the disciples as a group, and Thomas was not with them. He had already appeared to the women and to Peter and the two that he met on the road to Emmaus. All these people and more were present when Jesus appeared in the room. He appeared in the midst of the locked room, which startled and frightened the disciples even though he said, “Peace be unto you.” They thought they were seeing a spirit, but he corrected them and told them that a spirit did not have flesh and bone like he had. He then showed them his hands and feet. He reproved them for not believing the women whom he had appeared to.

Jesus had just taught the Scriptures about himself to the two men to the road to Emmaus and now he opened the Scriptures to these disciples who were gathered together, thus giving them a scriptural, as well as an experiential, reason to believe that he was alive. We stop the record in Luke with verse 46, because it seems that Jesus did open the understanding of the disciples and show them that the Christ must die and be raised. However, it is possible that verses 45 and 46 are more of a summary statement of the process of teaching that took place over the next few weeks.

Mark 16:14
Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.

Luke 24:36-46
(36) While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
(37) They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.
(38) He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?
(39) Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
(40) When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet.
(41) And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”
(42) They gave him a piece of broiled fish,
(43) And he took it and ate it in their presence.
(44) He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
(45) Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
(46) He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,

John 20:19-24
(19) On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
(20) After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
(21) Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
(22) And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
(23) If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
(24) Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.

Sunday, 18th of Nisan:
Thomas does not believe in the resurrection of Christ.

John 20:25
So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”

Monday, 26th of Nisan:
The Lord appeared a second time in a locked room to all the disciples (including Thomas) after 8 days. Since counting of “days” includes the starting day, the 8th day would have been Sunday, Nisan 25, and “after” that would have been Monday the 26th.

John 20:26-29
(26) A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
(27) Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
(28) Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
(29) Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Specific Date Unknown: From Passover to the Day of Pentecost is 50 days and Jesus ascended before Pentecost:
This next section has only the first half of Matthew 28:16. The last half of the verse has Christ meeting with his disciples on a mountain in Galilee. This could not have happened until after Jesus met with the disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee because John 21:14 specifically states that the 3rd time he met with the disciples as a group was when he was with them at the Sea of Galilee. Matthew 28:16 does not have the record of Jesus meeting with his disciples at the Sea of Galilee, but it is clear from the gospel of John that it occurred. It is common in the Gospels that one gospel has details that another gospel does not include.

Matthew 28:16a
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee…

Specific Date Unknown:

John 21:1-23
(1) Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way:
(2) Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.
(3) “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
(4) Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
(5) He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered.
(6) He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
(7) Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.
(8) The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.
(9) When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
(10) Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”
(11) Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.
(12) Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.
(13) Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.
(14) This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
(15) When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
(16) Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
(17) The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.
(18) I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
(19) Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
(20) Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”
(21) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
(22) Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”
(23) Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”

Specific Date Unknown:
Jesus met with his disciples on a mountain. This could be the event recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:6 when he was seen by more than 500 believers at one time. There were not 500 disciples in Jerusalem, which is clear from the fact that there were only about 120 there on the Day of Pentecost. However, Jesus’ headquarters through most of his ministry had been Galilee, and thus the account of the more than 500 “brethren” seeing him at one time would have occurred there. The fact that he got with so many disciples at least partially explains why he would go to Galilee at all. There were many like Thomas who needed to see proof to be sure, and Jesus’ appearing in person in Galilee was surely a boost to the early Church.

Although all the disciples “worshipped” Jesus, which in that culture meant to bow down before him or prostrate oneself before him, some of them “doubted.” The word “doubt” is the Greek word distazo, which literally means, “to stand in two ways,” i.e., to be indecisive, to not know which way to take, or, to hesitate. The only other use of this word in the New Testament occurs in the record of Peter walking on the water. When he saw the wind and waves, he “doubted,” that is, he was hesitant and unsure of what to do (Matt. 14:31). Matthew 28:17 is not saying that the disciples doubted the physical resurrection of Christ, although with a group of more than 500 disciples, “some” of them may have. It must be remembered that the death and resurrection of the Messiah was a new concept to these Jews, and so it was natural that, faced with the living Christ, some of them would hesitate and not be sure what to believe and what to do.

Matthew 28:16b and 17
(16b) …to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.
(17) When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.

Specific Date Unknown:
Jesus stayed with his disciples in Galilee for some days, then returned with them to Jerusalem. This trip is unrecorded, but it best fits at this time.

Specific Date Unknown: Close to the Ascension:
Christ’s final instructions and teaching to the disciples, and his command to go forth and reach all nations with the Good News.

Matthew 28:18 and 19
(18) Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
(19) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Mark 16:15-18
(15) He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.
(16) Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
(17) And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
(18) They will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

Luke 24:47-49
(47) And repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
(48) You are witnesses of these things.
(49) I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

The Ascension:
Christ led his disciples out of Jerusalem to Bethany, which is on the east slope of the Mount of Olives, blessed them and was taken up into heaven.

Mark 16:19
After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.

Luke 24:50 and 51
(50) When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them.
(51) While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.

The Day of Ascension to the Day of Pentecost:

Luke 24:52 and 53
(52) Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.
(53) And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

After Pentecost Onward:

Mark 16:20
Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

Summary Statement:
This text encourages the readers to believe what is written, and that through believing in Christ they will have eternal life. John wrote what he did so that the readers might believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

John 20:30 and 31
(30) Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.
(31) But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Summary Statement:
This statement clarifies that the Apostle John wrote the gospel of John and that what was included in the gospel of John was only a very small part of what Jesus actually did in the days during his life

John 21:24 and 25
(24) This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.
(25) Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.