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Matthew 28 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
The appearances of the resurrected Christ are astonishing! Many people will concede that Jesus was a real man who died, but few will place their faith in His divinity. Naturally, more people take issue with His resurrection over His death. The evidence speaks for itself. In a list compiled by Nelson’s New Illustrated Commentary, here are the appearances of a resurrected Christ.
In or around Jerusalem:
- Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9; John 20:11-18)
- Other women (Matt 28:8-10)
- Peter (Luke 24:34)
- 10 disciples (Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-25)
- To the Eleven, including Thomas (Mark 16:14; John 20:26-29)
- At the Ascension (Mark 16:19-20; Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:4-12)
- To the disciples on the Emmaus road: (Mark 16:12-13; Luke 24:13-35)
- In Galilee: (Matt 28:16-20; John 21:1-24)
- To five hundred people: (1 Cor 15:6)
- James and the apostles: (1 Cor 15:7)
- Paul on the road to Damascus: (Acts 9:1-6; Acts 22:1-10; Acts 26:12-18; 1 Cor 15:8)
As you can see, it was not just to the men and women he was closest to. He appeared to 500 at one time, as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15. This documentation was critical for the early church. As Paul notes in the following verse, many of those people were still alive upon Paul writing his letter. This meant that those reading it could go and verify their eyewitness testimony of the risen Christ.
The hope we have as believers is that one day we will be resurrected physically with Christ! Incredibly, our new bodies will be flawless and holy before our God. Just imagine the joy of that day!