1 Corinthians 15:5-8

Did Jesus only appear to believers?

PROBLEM: Some critics have attempted to cast doubt on the validity of Christ’s resurrection by insisting that He appeared only to believers, but never to unbelievers. Is this so?

SOLUTION: It is incorrect to claim that Jesus did not appear to unbelievers. This is clear for several reasons.

First, He appeared to the most hostile unbeliever of all, Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:1ff). The Bible devotes much of several Chapter s to relate this story (Acts 9; Acts 22; Acts 26).

Second, even Jesus’ disciples were unbelievers in the resurrection when He first appeared to them. When Mary Magdalene and others reported that Jesus was resurrected “their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them” (Luke 24:11). Later, Jesus had to chide the two disciples on the road to Emmaus about disbelief in His resurrection, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” (Luke 24:25) Even after Jesus had appeared to the women, to Peter, to the two disciples, and to the ten apostles, still Thomas said, “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” (John 20:25, NIV). He was hardly a believer in the resurrection.

Finally, in addition to appearing to His unbelieving disciples, Jesus also appeared to some who were not His disciples at all. He appeared to His brother James (1 Corinthians 15:7), who, with his other brothers, was not a believer before the Resurrection (John 7:5). So, it is simply false to claim that Jesus did not appear to unbelievers.

1 Corinthians 15:5-8 — Why did Jesus appear to only a select few?

PROBLEM: Some critics have suggested that the fact that only a few saw Jesus after His resurrection indicates that He was essentially invisible to the human eye, and only materialized to a few people on select occasions. But this is contrary to the orthodox contention that Jesus’ resurrection was literal and physical.

SOLUTION: First of all, Jesus did not appear to only a few people. He appeared to over 500 people (1 Corinthians 15:6), including many women, His own apostles, His brother James, and to Saul of Tarsus (the chief anti-Christian of the day).

Second, Jesus did not simply appear on a few occasions. He appeared on at least 12 different occasions. These were spread over a 40-day period of time (Acts 1:3) and in many different geographical locations. (See chart on Matthew 28:9.)

Third, Jesus did not allow just anyone to lay hands on Him even before His resurrection. On one occasion, an unbelieving crowd tried to take Jesus and “throw Him down over the cliff. Then passing through the midst of them, He went on his way” (Luke 4:29-30; cf. John 8:59; John 10:39).

Fourth, even before His resurrection, Jesus was selective about those for whom He performed miracles. He refused to perform miracles in His own home area “because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58). Jesus even disappointed Herod who had hoped to see Him perform a miracle (Luke 23:8). The truth is that Jesus refused to cast pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6). In submission to the Father’s will (John 5:30), He was sovereign over His activity both before and after His resurrection. But this in no way proves that He was essentially invisible and immaterial either before or after His resurrection.