Encounters with the Risen Lord

Encounters with the Risen Lord

Have you ever wondered what Jesus did after he resurrected from the grave, but before he ascended back to the throne of heaven? According to Luke, this period of time consisted of about forty days.

To whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. (Acts 1:3)

While we don’t know many things about what Jesus did during that time, we do know that a primary activity of his was appearing or presenting himself to many of his followers and teaching them important things about life as God’s children. Let’s take a look at the instances of Christ presenting himself to his followers which Scripture tells us about.

Initial Visits to the Tomb

• Some women go to see the grave early Sunday morning, before dawn. (Mt 28:1; Mk 16:2-3; Lk 24:1)
• Mary Magdalene arrives first, alone, while it is still dark; finding the tomb empty she runs to tell the disciples that Christ’s body had been stolen. (Jn 20:1-2)
• Meanwhile, other women arrive after dawn and find the tomb empty; they also run to report to the disciples. (Lk 24:2-11; Mk 16:4-8; Mt 28:5-8)
• Then, Peter & John run to the tomb, find the empty linens, and depart. (Jn 20:3-10)

Appears to Mary Magdalene (at the tomb – Sunday morning)

Mary Magdalene followed Peter and John back to the tomb, then lingered there after they returned back to the others. (Jn 20:11-18; Mk 16:9-11)

Appears to the Other Women (on their way to the tomb – Sunday morning)

Probably on their return trip to the tomb sometime after the disciples and Mary visited there. (Mt 28:9-10)

Appears to Peter (in Jerusalem; Sunday)

Lk 24:34 (1 Cor. 15:5)

Appears to Two Disciples Travelling (west of Jerusalem on the road to Emmaus; Sunday)

Lk 24:13-35; Mk 16:12-13

If this sequence is correct, these disciples apparently left on their journey after the initial report of the women and the return of Peter and John with their report, but before Mary Magdalene and the other women returned again with the news that they had actually seen the Lord, and before Jesus' appearance to Peter which they somehow subsequently discovered and reported to the others upon their return to Jerusalem that night.

Appears to Ten Disciples Gathered (Jerusalem; Sunday evening)

Jn 20:19-25; Lk 24:36-43; Mk 16:14 (1 Cor 15:5)

Appears to Eleven Disciples Gathered (Jerusalem; Sunday, a week later)

Jn 20:26-31

Appears to Over 500 Believers Gathered Together (timing unknown)

1 Cor 15:6

Appears to James, His Half-Brother (timing unknown)

1 Cor 15:7

Appears to Seven Disciples Fishing (Sea of Galilee; timing unknown)

Jn 21:1-25

Appears to Eleven Disciples in Galilee (mountain in Galilee; 40 days)

Mt 28:16-20; Mk 16:15-18; Lk 24:44-49; Acts 1:3-8 (1 Cor 15:7)

Appears at His Ascension (Bethany-side of Mount of Olives; 40 days)

Acts 1:9-12; Lk 24:50-53; Mk 16:19-20

Appears to Paul the Apostle (Damascus Road; Desert of Arabia; weeks after the Ascension)

Acts 9:4; Gal. 1:17 (1 Cor 15:8)

These repeated, wide-ranging, and public appearances are a strong evidence for the fact and reality of Christ’s resurrection. The large number of varied people who saw and interacted with Christ after his resurrection show that his resurrection was real, and history does not offer any witnesses that refute this. Praise God that Jesus did resurrect from the grave, providing the guaranteed promise of life to all who believe on him – eternal life, new life, resurrection life, true life.

Did Jesus Contradict Himself?

As a bonus, here is a question that some people ask about Jesus after his resurrection? At one point after Christ’s resurrection, he told Mary Magdalene not to touch him (Jn 20:17), but then later he permitted Thomas to do so (Jn 20:27).

To answer this question, it is helpful to note that the KJV chooses the word "touch" in Jn 20:17, while other translations choose either "hold onto" or "cling to," instead. The Greek verb is a present imperative form, indicating that Mary was doing more than reaching out to touch Jesus. She was touching him persistently, as in "holding onto him" or "clinging to him."

Can you imagine how, once she realized who Jesus was, she seems to have fallen down before him and grabbed hold of his feet? But Jesus urged her to stop doing this. By urging her to stop, Jesus was not necessarily teaching that no one could touch his resurrected body. Instead, he was teaching her that the proper response to his resurrected appearance was not to cling to him, but to go tell others that he had risen. She immediately responded and did so.

Did Anyone Else Touch Jesus?

Now here is an interesting question. Did anyone else touch Jesus in his post-resurrected state? I've already mentioned Thomas (Jn 20:27), but a careful examination reveals that Jesus invited Thomas to reach out his finger and look at his hands, and to reach out his hand and put it into his side. Technically, these are not verbs that convey touching, though touching may have occurred.

Furthermore, John never tells us that Thomas did any of these things. Perhaps he did, but we only know for certain what he said: "My Lord and my God!" Jesus himself tells us that Thomas saw and believed, but he does not say that he touched and believed.

"My Lord and my God!" Jesus himself tells us that Thomas saw and believed, but he does not say that he touched and believed.

Yet still, the question remains, did anyone else touch Jesus after the resurrection? In Luke 24:39, we learn that Jesus invited all of the disciples, not just Thomas, to touch his resurrected body. But we only know that he showed them his scars, with no clear evidence that they actually did touch him.

In Matthew 28:9, we see that some other women held Jesus by the feet and worshiped him. Unlike his encounter with Mary Magdalene, there is no mention of Jesus forbidding them to touch him, but there is a repeated emphasis on the more appropriate response - go and tell others what they had seen.

One more indication that others touched Jesus after his resurrection appears outside of the four gospels in 1 John 1:1. In this verse, the apostle John tells us that the disciples both saw the resurrected Jesus with their eyes and handled (or touched) him with their hands. This may refer to the encounters previously mentioned, or to others off record. But here John verifies the fact of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ based upon multiple disciples having touched him. That they did touch him proves that Christ did rise from the grave and that he did rise with a physical body and was not merely a ghost, spirit, or apparition.

Getting the Word Out Before the Ascension

What should we make of these observations? Perhaps the answer is simple. Jesus invited certain disciples to touch him, to verify his bodily resurrection and to affirm his claim to be the prophesied Messiah, the Son of God. That this happened was important and appropriate. Jesus would never invite his followers to do the wrong thing (Jam 1:13). But when Jesus told the women to stop holding onto his feet, he was teaching another lesson. The women were not looking for evidence. They believed and worshiped.

Knowing this, Jesus urged them to go tell others that they had seen the Lord. The appropriate response to the resurrected Christ was not to hold on to him, but to go and spread the word! After all, Jesus was on the move. He had not completed his mission. He had not yet ascended to the right hand of God. And others, especially the band of soon-to-be apostles needed to see him before his impending ascension took place (Jn 20:17).

Discussion Questions

• How do the varied and numerous appearances of Jesus after His resurrection, as described in the lesson, strengthen the evidence for the reality of His resurrection?
• What can we learn from Jesus’ interactions with Mary Magdalene and the other women about the appropriate response to encountering the risen Christ?
• Why might Jesus have invited some disciples to touch His resurrected body while urging others, like Mary Magdalene, to stop clinging to Him?