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Jesus’ appearance (Mk 16:9-18; Mt 28:9-10,16-20; Lk 24:13-48; Jn 20:11-29, 21:1-19)
Jesus appeared to many of his followers after he had risen from the dead.
(Mary Magdalene)
The first person he appeared to was Mary Magdalene, who was among the first group of women to discover the empty tomb. “Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.” (v9) The Book of John describes in detail how Mary encountered Jesus at the tomb. As soon as she found the empty tomb, she immediately returned and told Peter and John, “they have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid him.” (John 20:2) Then Peter and John ran to the tomb right away and found as Mary said. Mary was there after returning again with the disciples to the tomb. As Peter and John departed the tomb suspiciously, John 20:11-18 says, “But Mary stood without at the sepulcher weeping; and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulcher, and seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, ‘Woman, why weepest thou?’ She saith unto them, ‘Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.’ And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, ‘Woman, why weepest thou?’ She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, ‘Sir, if thou have borne him hence (若是你把他移了去), tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus saith unto her, ‘Mary.’ She turned herself, and saith unto him, ‘Rabboni’, which is to say, Master (拉波尼—就是夫子的意思). Jesus saith unto her, ‘Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.’ Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.”
While other Gospels record that Mary and the other women saw the angel(s) in the tomb and then went to tell the disciples joyfully about it, John had a very different record. First, it recorded that the first time Mary told the disciples about the empty tomb, she had not seen the angels yet. It was after she returned to the tomb again that she saw two angels inside the tomb. They asked her a simple question, “Woman, why weepest thou?” Facing the empty tomb, Mary was so sad at missing the body of Jesus and was anxious to know where her Lord was taken, as she answered the angels, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.” Why was she not astonished at all the moment she saw the angels inside the tomb? Probably, she only thought that they were workers of the tomb and her mind only cared for the whereabouts of the body of Jesus.
Being so perplexed at the time, all she did was weeping and all she wanted was to get back the body of Jesus. That’s why as she turned back and saw Jesus standing in front of her, she naturally mistook Jesus for “the gardener”. Interestingly, Jesus asked her the same question, “Woman, why weepest thou?” Why would Jesus ask her the same question? The first time it was the angels who asked Mary this question, but now it was Jesus himself who posed this question, which was entirely different. When Jesus asked her, “whom seekest thou?”, Jesus of course knew that she was looking for himself. Since the person she was seeking was right in front of her, Jesus was asking why she still wept so bitterly? Just because she had not recognized him yet! She answered instantly, “Sir, if thou have borne him hence (若是你把他移了去), tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.” At that moment, she was still thinking of the whereabouts of the body of Jesus, she quickly thought that the gardener of the tomb might know where his body was and might even be the one who took the body away. She seemed to be the only one among the women and the disciples who missed the Lord so much that she chose to hang around the tomb until she found Jesus’ body so as to bring him back to the tomb. Apparently, it was her heart of loving the Lord so deeply that moved Jesus to appear to her first, and to comfort her right away by showing his own body right in front of her. Not until she heard the ‘gardener’ suddenly call her “Mary” so warmly did she notice the familiar voice of the one she missed so much. As she was wondering why this ‘gardener’ would know her name, she was not facing Jesus. When Jesus called her name intimately, “she turned herself” and called him “Master” with big surprise and excitement.
As soon as Jesus revealed himself to her, she must be overjoyed with emotion to find that Jesus was not a dead body but was alive! Thus, we can see that the Lord Jesus especially cared for her sad feeling and appeared to her personally. Jesus not only proved to her that he was risen from the dead but also told her of a new relationship that she had with God: “my Father, and your Father”; “my God, and your God”. He disclosed to her that now she had an equal status with the Son of God in God’s family and was a child of God like Jesus. That’s the reason why Jesus called his disciples “my brethren” too. Why did Jesus tell her not to touch him? Perhaps Mary intended to touch Jesus to make sure Jesus was truly alive and it was not just his soul that was standing in front of her. But it was not known why Jesus allowed his disciples to touch him later but now disallowed her from so doing.
Both Mark and John state that Mary was the first witness of the resurrected Lord Jesus. However, when this witness told the disciples of this shocking news, they had a negative reaction: “And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.” (v10-11). The disciples still mourned for the death of their Lord. But the good news of Mary failed to comfort their grief.
(a group of women)
While John recorded Jesus appearing to Mary only, Matthew recorded Jesus appearing to the women on their way return after seeing the angel at the tomb: “And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, ‘All hail (願你們平安).’ And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him (她們就上前抱住他的腳下拜). Then said Jesus unto them, ‘Be not afraid; go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.’ ” (Matt 28:9-10) Notice that Jesus also called the disciples “my brethren” here, implying a new relationship with his disciples. Jesus once proclaimed in Mark 3:35, “For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.”
Initially, the women expected to pay tribute to the dead Jesus at the tomb, but now they saw the live Jesus. Their joy and excitement were no less than that of Mary! After the angel had reported to them the good news, they “departed quickly from the sepulcher with fear and great joy” (Matt 28:8) at that time. Now, they were overjoyed to see that the Lord was truly alive as testified by the angel just a moment ago. Their natural reaction was to kneel down and worship the Lord. As a reminder, the Lord repeated the instruction of the angel that they tell his disciples to meet him in Galilee.
(two disciples on the road to Emmaus (以馬忤斯) & Simon Peter)
“After that he appeared in another form unto two of them (變了形象，向他們顯現), as they walked, and went into the country (往鄉下去)” (v12). This incident of Jesus appearing to two disciples is recorded in full detail in Luke 24:13-35. “And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs (二十五里).” The two disciples went to Emmaus on the same first day of the week that Jesus rose from the dead, as they said to Jesus on the road, “today is the third day since these things were done”. One of the disciples’ names was Cleopas (革流巴) and the other was unknown. Both were not among the eleven apostles, as Luke 24:33 said, “they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together.” Before they departed Jerusalem for Emmaus, they had already heard the story of the women who saw the angels, as well as the testimony of the disciples who went to the tomb afterward, as they said to Jesus, “Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulcher, and when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulcher, and found it even so as the women had said; but him they saw not.”
While they were on their way walking and talking about what had just happened in the morning, “Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden (迷糊) that they should not know him.” Mark 16:12 described it this way, "he appeared in another form unto two of them (耶穌變了形像，向他們顯現), as they walked, and went into the country." Mary’s encounter with Jesus was a bit different from these two disciples in that it was more natural for her not to recognize Jesus at first sight. She was so sorrowful at the time that her sight might be kind of vague. Besides, her eye contact with Jesus was very brief, compared to the long journey the two disciples were accompanied by Jesus. So, it was intended that they could not recognize Jesus until they received the bread from Jesus at dinner and then “their eyes were opened, and they knew him”. In contrast to Mary’s case in which Jesus just wanted to bring her immediate comfort, there was something that Jesus wanted to accomplish more than just showing himself before the two disciples, as we shall see later.
Jesus at first asked what they were communicating. They said, “Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?” Jesus pretended to be unaware of everything and let them disclose his own story. They said, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people”, he was condemned to death by the chief priests and the rulers and was finally crucified. They further said, “But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel. (但我們素來所盼望、要贖以色列民的就是他)” Jesus was the Messiah in the hearts of the disciples but, to their despair, failed to redeem Israel. After they had told him of the empty tomb with the body of Jesus missing, Jesus interrupted, “O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?” As said before, the disciples did not believe the angels’ word that their Lord was alive. Even after they had seen the empty tomb by themselves, they still would not believe this fact, merely wondering what was going on. So, Jesus pointed to them outright that their hearts were slow in believing. What’s more, they had the misconception that Christ was supposed to be an awesome king to be empowered to redeem Israel from the hands of the Gentiles. As Jesus said, they missed all the words of the prophets about his suffering and resurrection. From that moment on, “beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” He was probably holding the scriptures while pointing to them the parts of the scripture about him. Their hearts were burnt while listening, as they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn (火熱) within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures (給我們講解聖經的時候)?”
That was what Jesus wanted to accomplish besides showing himself to the two disciples—expounding the scripture to them. Like Mary, by showing himself to the disciples, he made them believe that he was really alive as witnessed by Mary. However, unlike Mary, the Lord Jesus kept from revealing his identity initially but explained to them in detail the prophetic words of the scripture concerning himself. Expounding the Bible made them understand that Jesus was truly the Messiah spoken by the prophets. Opening their eyes at the end gave them a full understanding with life evidence that all the prophesies regarding the Messiah were completely fulfilled on the crucified and risen Jesus that was standing right in front of them, and thus confirmed their full trust of himself as Jesus Christ their Lord.
Later in the same evening, when Jesus showed himself before a group of disciples, he also explained to them the scriptural prophesies pointing to himself for the same purpose. (Luke 24:44) Considering that most of these disciples were not Bible scholars like the Pharisees and the scribes, they needed to be lectured about the Christ-related prophesies to cast away their doubt about his Messianic identity. Another purpose, or benefit, of explaining to them the scripture was that they would not just serve as the eye-witnesses of Christ but have the solid biblical knowledge to quote the Bible verses to support their testimonies, as what Jesus was doing to them. Matthew was a distinct example as he often quoted the Messianic prophesies in the Gospel of Matthew when recording Jesus’ birth (Matt 1:23), Judas’ betrayal of him (Matt 27:9-10) and his crucifixion (Matt 27:35), to name a few.
As the two disciples drew near the village of Emmaus, it was about the evening. Jesus was going to say good-bye to them, but they “constrained (強留) him, saying, ‘Abide with us (請你同我們住下吧), for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent (日頭已經平西了).’ And he went in to tarry with them (耶穌就進去，要同他們住下).” After listening to the full explanation of the reasoning behind all the strange events about Jesus that bothered their minds so much, they were so glad at this time and anxious to know more of the Messianic matters, and would not let this master quit so early. Of course, Jesus had not finished his duty on these two disciples yet. He took dinner with them and finally made their eyes open to let them recognize this companion who had been with them along the way. “And he vanished out of their sight.”
In that instance, they were certainly as excited as Mary the moment they recognized the live Jesus standing right before them. They did not even consider staying for one night but returned right away to report this exciting news to the disciples in Jerusalem. Like Mary who hurried back joyfully to the disciples, “they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, saying, ‘The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.’ And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.” (Thomas was absent according to John’s account.) The above-mentioned Simon was Peter. As a matter of fact, the disciples were discussing about the Lord’s appearance before Simon the moment the two disciples returned to them from Emmaus. Simon’s encounter with the Lord is also mentioned in I Cor 15:4-5, “that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve”. So, the Lord appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus as well as to Peter in separate accounts, followed by his appearance among the other disciples in that evening.
What’s the reaction of the disciples? Mark 16:13 told us that these two disciples “went and told it unto the residue (其餘的門徒); neither believed they them (其餘的門徒也是不信).” Like their reaction to Mary’s and other women’s testimonies, the disciples had the same reaction of unbelief, exactly as Jesus commented to the two disciples before: “O fools, and slow of heart to believe.”
(first appearance to a group of disciples in Jerusalem)
After the two disciples had finished their testimonies, Luke continues, “as they (the two disciples) thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, ‘Peace be unto you.’ But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit (以為所見的是魂).” (Luke 24:36-37) John records as such, “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, ‘Peace be unto you.’ ” (John 20:19) So, on the same first day of Jesus’ resurrection, he appeared first to Mary, then to a group of women on their way back, then to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus as well as to Simon Peter individually, and now to an assembly of disciples in a house in the evening. What did they fear as they assembled in the same house with the doors shut? Probably, they feared that they might become the suspect of stealing the body of Jesus and could be arrested at any time by the chief priests and the Roman officials. At this critical moment of wondering the missing of the body of their Lord and fearing being arrested, the disciples really needed the kind of peace that Jesus offered them in his greetings.
Since the two disciples returning from Emmaus were with them, the time should be late evening. When they saw the risen Jesus appearing and speaking to them, their eyes could hardly believe that he was a human body but a ghost who could appear and disappear at any time! Instead of having peace in their hearts, they were feared more. Mark tells us the reason why Jesus appeared to the disciples: “Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief (責備他們不信) and hardness of heart (心裡剛硬), because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.” (v14) Thomas was not with them according to John’s account. Since the disciples still suspected that Jesus was truly risen after listening to so many live testimonies, Jesus said to them, “ ‘Why are ye troubled (愁煩)? And why do thoughts arise in your hearts (為什麼心裡起疑念呢)? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see (摸我看看); for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.’ And when he had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet.” (Luke 24:38-40) Jesus asked them to touch his hands and feet in order to make them believe that he was not a ghost but their living Lord. “And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered (他們正喜得不敢信，並且希奇), he said unto them, ‘Have ye here any meat?’ And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish (燒魚), and of a honeycomb (一塊蜜房). And he took it, and did eat before them.” (Luke 24:41-43) Jesus tried every possible way to make them believe that he was just a human body like them all. John states that Jesus “showed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.” (John 20:20) Since Jesus’ hands and feet were nailed on the cross and his side was pierced by the soldier, the wound was still there after three days from his death. With all this tangible evidence of the live Jesus before their eyes, the disciples cast no more doubt but deeply believed in their Lord who was the crucified Jesus three days ago—not a ghost. They began to turn from fear into ecstasy.
Luke further states that Jesus “said unto them, ‘These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.’ Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer (照經上所寫的，基督必受害), and to rise from the dead the third day.’ ” (Luke 24:44-46) As he did for the two disciples, now it was a great opportunity for him to give them a lecture so that they might understand that all that had happened so far was the exact fulfillment of the prophesies about him in the Bible.
Apart from the books of the prophets, messianic prophesies were also found in the law of Moses and the psalms. For instance, Psalm 22 gives a subtle depiction of Jesus’ suffering on the cross. As for the Pentateuch, a distinct example in the law of Moses concerning Christ is the event of Moses suspending a brass serpent on a pole in Numbers: “And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.” (Num 21:9) In that case, the people of Israel complained to Moses why he led them out of Egypt to die in the wilderness. God was so furious that He “sent fiery serpents (火蛇) among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.” (Num 21:6) The people realized that they sinned against God and pleaded with Moses to pray for them that God take away the serpents from them. After Moses had finished his prayer, God instructed him to make a serpent of brass and set it upon a pole for healing all who were bitten by the serpents. Jesus cited this Bible story in John 3:14-15 to foretell his crucifixion: “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
By expounding the scripture to the disciples, Jesus was indeed paving way for them to become preachers of the Scripture. John states, “Then said Jesus to them again, ‘Peace be unto you. As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, ‘Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whosesoever sins ye remit (你們赦免誰的罪), they are remitted unto them (誰的罪就赦免了); and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained (你們留下誰的罪，誰的罪就留下了).’ ” (John 20:21-23) Why would Jesus greet them again with a blessing of peace? It is because he was about to give them the risky mission of gospel preaching all around. He was sending them with the peace of God to preach the good news and with the presence of the Holy Spirit, just as he received the Holy Spirit prior to beginning his preaching ministry (Mark 1:10). The disciples would do the same as their master who, while “preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God”, proclaimed, “repent ye, and believe the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15) Luke also mentioned Jesus’ charge of preaching the gospel of repentance for the disciples: “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name (並且人要奉他的名傳悔改、赦罪的道) among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.” (Luke 24:47-48)
Did the disciples really have the authority to forgive and not to forgive sins as said in John 20:23? Jesus had also said to Peter the similar word, “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matt 16:19-20) Needless to say, for the hearers of the gospel, whether their sins are forgiven depends on their willingness to repent from sin and believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. As the messengers of Christ, the disciples do offer an invitation to the hearers to believe in the gospel. If they believe, they will receive the grace of the forgiveness of sin. Mark states clearly, “And he said unto them, ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” (v15-16)
Mark further states that the preachers of gospel would have the power to perform “signs” (miracles): “And these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” (v17-18) As a supplementary tool, miracles allow the preachers to serve people (heal the sick and cast out devils), to protect themselves from danger and to help them communicate with people of different cultures in different tongues.
(second appearance to a group of disciples in Jerusalem)
Both Mark 16:14 and Luke 24:33 mentioned “eleven” disciples were there when Jesus appeared to them in the evening for the first time after resurrection. John, however, specifically pointed out that Thomas was not with them for some unknown reason: “But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus (低土馬), was not with them when Jesus came.” (John 20:24) When the other disciples told him later of the Lord’s appearance, “ ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said unto them, ‘Except I shall see in his hands 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.’ ” (John 20:25) His tone told us that he cast full doubt on the testimonies of the other disciples. Remember that according to Luke 24:38-40, Jesus had earlier invited the disciples to examine his hands and feet to prove himself not a spirit. Now when Thomas had heard of so many disciples having witnessed the live Jesus and even touched him, he still refused to believe their word, unless he saw with his own eyes and touched by his own hands. Such a stubborn disciple who only believed by his first-hand experience of personal contact! No wonder Jesus later commented his low degree of faith compared with those who believed solely by hearing: “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)
In order to satisfy Thomas’ wish, Jesus appeared to the disciples again: “And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them, then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, ‘Peace be unto you.’ Then saith he to Thomas, ‘Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing.’ ” (John 20:26-27) “After eight days”, Jesus again appeared suddenly to their surprise. He greeted them again with peace. This time, Jesus invited Thomas to personally touch the parts of the wound on his hands and side. He wanted to clear all of his doubt on him. He wanted to make sure all of his eleven disciples had no more doubts regarding his resurrection so that he could be confident of gaining their full commitment of preaching the gospel.
Now, Thomas saw no more need to touch Jesus, since he was greatly impressed by the Lord’s sudden appearance and his personal invitation. He could hardly imagine that his challenge concerning the Lord’s resurrection eight days ago had been perceived by Jesus, whose appearance now was just for that challenge! All of his doubts about his Lord vanished completely. Instead, he felt ashamed for his faithless heart and responded with embarrassment, “My Lord and my God.” (John 20:28) His humble answer also expressed his full faith in the Lord.
(third appearance to a group of disciples in Galilee)
The last chapter of John records that Jesus appeared to seven disciples by the sea of Tiberias (提比哩亞海). (John 21:1-25) John 21:14 states that “this is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.” The seven disciples were “Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.” (John 21:2)
Peter first suggested fishing and the rest followed him. Then they “entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.” (John 21:3) Fishing was the original profession for Peter, the sons of Zebedee (James and John), and perhaps the other four disciples as well. By this time, the disciples had already returned to Galilee from Jerusalem. Remember that the women had heard the angel saying at the tomb, “tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.” (Mark 16:7) Since they returned to their hometown with nothing to do, it was natural for them to go fishing again while waiting for any news from Jesus. However, to their astonishment, the fishermen caught no fishes for the entire night!
“When the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore; but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.” Jesus said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.” (John 21:4,6) To their bigger surprise, they caught so many fishes that they were unable to draw the net to the ship! When the disciples recognized it was Jesus their Lord standing on the shore, they came to meet him after dragging the net of fish to the shore. They saw that Jesus was preparing fish and bread over fire. Jesus gave them bread and fish to eat as their breakfast. By this time, they should have learned that their Lord cared for their basic needs and was their all-provider. Thus, there was no need for them to worry about their living at all.
After the breakfast, Jesus began to ask Peter a very serious question, “ ‘Simon, son of Jonah, lovest thou me more than these?’ He saith unto him, ‘Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.’ He saith unto him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ ” (John 21:15) Three times Jesus asked him this question “lovest thou me?” Three times Peter answered “thou knowest that I love thee”. Then three times Jesus said “feed my sheep”. (John 21:15-17) While Peter was thinking of resuming his family job of being a fisherman in these days, Jesus now kept reminding him the calling he had once made for Peter when he invited Peter to follow him by the sea of Galilee: “Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.” (Mark 1:17)
On the other hand, Peter was pondering over the Lord’s repeated saying: ‘Is the Lord asking me to be a shepherd instead of a fisherman?’ The shocking experience last night should have reminded him of a similar fishing experience in the lake of Gennesaret (革尼撒勒湖). (Luke 5:1-11) In that experience, Peter and his companions “have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing.” The next day, Jesus preached to the crowd by the seaside on board of Peter’s ship. After the preaching was over, Jesus asked Peter to sail out and fish in the sea. The result was that they “filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. (把魚裝滿了兩隻船，甚至船要沉下去)” Astonished by such great miracle, Peter feared Jesus so much that he “fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’ ” Jesus in turn comforted him, “Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.”
Now back to the seaside of Tiberias. Jesus finally said to Peter, “ ‘Verily, verily, I say unto thee, when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.’ This spake he, signifying by what death he should glority God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, ‘Follow me.’ ” (John 21:18-19) The first time Jesus called Peter to follow him, Peter quit his profession and family and became his disciple. This time, Jesus called Peter to follow him again. Peter might still wonder how to follow the risen Lord this time. Yet Jesus required the same full commitment from him—quitting his family job and family to resume his mission as a disciple of Jesus Christ. As he would find out later, he was to become the church leader and “feed my sheep” (John 21:16).
(the Great Commission)
The angel at the tomb charged Mary and the other women to tell the disciples that Jesus would go before them to Galilee and he would meet them there (Matt 28:7; Mark 16:7). Even Jesus himself gave the women this charge. (Matt 28:10) After the disciples had returned to Galilee, only Matthew recorded the event that Jesus appeared to the disciples on a mountain in Galilee: “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.” (Matt 28:16) It is believed that Jesus told them to leave Jerusalem and return to Galilee because it had been the sensitive period since Jesus rose from the dead and it was safer for the disciples to depart Jerusalem. As we shall see in the next section, the disciples returned later to Jerusalem to meet their Lord on a mountain before his ascension.
On the appointed mountain, “when they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted (然而還有人疑惑).” (Matt 28:17) It is interesting to note that some of the eleven disciples still doubted about Jesus. What they doubted was not told. It is unlikely at this time that they still doubted if he was the Lord crucified and rose from the dead. As they all worshipped him as Jesus Christ the Lord, some might still doubt about his Christly kingship that he himself claimed, in the sense that they might still wonder how he was to redeem Israel from Roman governance. Just like the moment before his ascension, the disciples asked him, “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6)
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, ‘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 Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ Amen.” (Matt 28:18-20) This so-called the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus was similar to Jesus’ proclamation to the disciples in Mark 16:15-16: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” In the Great Commission, however, apart from preaching the gospel everywhere and baptizing the believers, the disciples are to teach them to obey the Lord’s command in the Bible. The Lord promised to be with us always as we keep obeying his command.
(Jesus appeared to more than 500 disciples)
Jesus also appeared to a number of disciples in different occasions. Paul in I Cor 15:4-7 reveals to us, “And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. And that, he was seen of Cephas (磯法), 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.” Cephas was Peter. James was probably the brother of Jesus who was one of the church leaders in early church period. He was also the author of the Book of James. Other than the eleven close disciples, Jesus had appeared to more than 500 believers at one time. “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses (我們既有這許多的見證人，如同雲彩圍著我們)” (Heb 12:1), plus the evidence of the empty tomb, it is an undeniable fact that Jesus was the true Messiah as foretold by the prophets.
(Jesus’ last appearance to the disciples before his ascension)
The very last time Jesus appeared to his disciples was when he was about to ascend to heaven, which we will discuss in the next section. According to Acts 1:3, Jesus stayed on earth for 40 days after his resurrection and spent the time to teach the disciples about the kingdom of God: “To whom (the disciples) also he showed himself alive after his passion (他受害之後) by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” We have already seen that in some occasions of Jesus’ appearance, he took the opportunity to explain to the disciples the scripture concerning himself. Besides, he taught them again the messages of the kingdom of God which the disciples did not fully comprehend during his preaching years. He tried to deepen their understanding of the Bible in preparation for their future ministries.
Before Jesus rose to heaven, he assembled the disciples and “commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.” (Acts 1:4) Without doubt, Jesus asked them to wait for the Holy Spirit to descend upon them. As a result, “when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place…And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1,4) ‘The day of Pentecost’ is also called ‘the feast of weeks’ or ‘the day of the firstfruits’, which is held on the 50th day following the day of the Passover to celebrate the first harvest of crops in a year. (Exo 34:22, Num 28:26) Jesus suffered on the Passover day and rose 3 days after, and then stayed on earth for 40 days before the ascension. In other words, the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples about a week from Jesus’ ascension.
(Jesus’ appearance after ascension)
After Jesus had ascended to heaven, he appeared to the apostles Paul and John in two rare occasions, but in different forms. According to Acts 9, Saul (who changed his name to Paul after conversion) went to Damascus, the capital of Syria, to arrest Jesus’ followers and bring them back to Jerusalem for judgment. On his way to Damascus, “there shined round about a light from heaven. And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, ‘Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?’ And he said, ‘Who art thou, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom thou persecutest…’ And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.” (Acts 9:3-7) Paul only saw a great light and heard the voice of Jesus, but did not see his figure. Strangely enough, his companions did not even see the great light but only heard the voice of Jesus. Why would the Lord reveal himself to Saul? It is because he was going to entrust him with the ministry of witnessing Jesus before the Gentiles. He did this through a disciple called Ananias living in Damascus: “the Lord said unto him (Ananias), ‘Go thy way (你只管去): for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.’ ” (Acts 9:15-16)
The apostle John saw Jesus Christ in a vision when he was exiled to an island in his advanced years. According to Rev 1, the apostle John himself testified, “I was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book…’ And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks. And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle (胸間束著金帶). His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire. And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars; and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword; and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, ‘Fear not; I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth, and was dead (我曾死過，現在又活了); and, behold, I am alive for evermore. Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are (現在的事), and the things which shall be hereafter (並將來必成的事).’ ” (Rev 1:9-19) The entire Book of Revelation is the final revelation that Jesus left for us ever since he had risen to heaven.
(reflection)
Jesus first appeared to Mary and the women at the tomb. As they returned to tell the mourning disciples, nobody believed their word. Even after the disciples discovered the empty tomb with their own eyes, they still wondered what was going on. That’s why Jesus blamed the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, “O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.” (Luke 24:25) When Jesus appeared to the disciples in a closed house, they thought that he was a “spirit”. (Luke 24:37) Not until he let them see and touch his hands and feet did they truly believe that he was the risen Lord Jesus. When the disciples told Thomas of the Lord’s appearance, he was still skeptical about the authenticity of their word. He insisted on touching “the print of the nails” in Jesus’ hands and his pierced side if they were to make him believe in his resurrection. (John 20:25) Then Jesus appeared again before all eleven disciples to cast away Thomas’ doubt. Even when Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples again on a mountain in Galilee, some of them still put doubt on their Lord. Thus we can see that even the disciples who had been with Jesus for over three years still found it so hard to persuade themselves to believe in the resurrection of the Lord, how much harder it is for the people nowadays to believe in such a legendary figure in the history of mankind as the Son of God!
As a matter of fact, many people, having heard the gospel and the testimonies of the believers through various means, are still slow in believing the gospel like Thomas. A majority of them are still standing on the path of faith as onlookers. Nevertheless, for those who are willing to be his faithful witnesses and loyal disciples, the Lord Jesus will strive to use different means to appear to them and strengthen their faith by showing them powerful miracles and evidence that he is still the living Jesus after 2000 years! To his faithful believers and followers, the Lord is delighted to pass on the Great Commission of preaching the gospel and teaching the word of God, that sinners can be saved and not be condemned, and that they live a life pleasing to God.