Jesus’ Post-Resurrection To-Do List

Where did Jesus appear alive between his resurrection and ascension? And who were the witnesses, beyond just the holy women and the apostles? It can be very confusing. So we will lay it out in an orderly manner.

Jesus had repeatedly informed his disciples in advance of his death and resurrection, “And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise” (Luke 18:33).

Luke summarizes Jesus’ activity before his ascension into heaven. “Jesus presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).

We will start with a brief summary of the twelve places and events. We will continue with more detailed information.

Short Summary of Resurrection Appearances
Summary of Places and Events

1. At the Tomb — To Mary Magdalene alone (Mark 16:9; John 20:11-18)

2. Leaving the Tomb — To Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” (Matt. 28:1, 9-10)

3. To Simon Peter — Unspecified location (Luke 24:34, 1 Cor. 15:5)

4. Road to Emmaus — Appeared “under different form” to Cleopas and his companion (Mark 16:12-13, Luke 24:1-35)

5. Upper Room in Jerusalem — All the apostles “and those with them,” excluding Thomas (Mark 16:14; Luke 24:33, 36-43; John 20:19-23)

6. Upper Room — Eight days later with Thomas (John 20:24, 1 Cor. 15:5)

7. To Galilee, 90 miles north — “Tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me” (Matt. 26:32, 28:10; Mark 14:28)

8. Shore of Galilee — Peter and six disciples go fishing (John 21:1-24)

9. Mount Tabor (Transfiguration) — The Great Commission (Matt. 28:16-20)

10. 500 brethren — Probably around Capernaum, where he had lived, taught, and healed and fed 5,000 men (1 Cor. 15:6)

11. To James, probably in Galilee — “James the Lord’s brother,” kinsman of Jesus, and the first appointed bishop of Jerusalem (Matt. 13:55; Acts 12:17, 15:13; Gal. 1:19)

12. Mount of Olives — Ascension (Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:6-12, 1 Cor. 15:7)

13. Road to Damascus — To Paul—“as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me” (Acts 9:1-6, 1 Cor. 15:8)

Resurrection Appearances
People, Other Witnesses, and Sites

1. Jesus’ Mother Mary

• It is a pious and worthy tradition that Jesus’ mother was the first witness of his resurrection.

• Pope St. John Paul II echoes many others in saying the Gospels’ silence “must not lead to the conclusion that after the Resurrection Christ did not appear to Mary.” And “it is legitimate to think that the Mother was probably the first person to whom the risen Jesus appeared.”

• In the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, we read, “He appeared to the Virgin Mary. This, although it is not said in Scripture, is included in saying that he appeared to so many others” (160)

2. God the Father and the Holy Spirit

• Acts 2:24: “God raised him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”

• Galatians 1:1: “Paul, an apostle . . . through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead.”

• Romans 8:11: “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you.”

3. Angels at the Tomb

• Matthew 28:1-2: “After the sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the sepulcher. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone, and sat upon it.”

• Matthew 28:10: “The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay’.”

4. Mary Magdalene and the “Gardener”

• Mark 16:9: “When he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.”

• John 20:11-16: “Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. . . . She turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned and said to him in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means Teacher).”

5. Roman Soldiers

• Matthew 28:2-4: “An angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.”

• Matthew 28:12-13 “They gave a sum of money to the soldiers and said, ‘Tell people, “His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’”

4. Souls in Hades

Editor’s note: Granted, not strictly after he rose from the dead.

• Apostles’ Creed: “Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day, he rose again from the dead.”

• 1 Peter 3:19-20: “He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah.”

• 1 Peter 4:6: “This is why the gospel was preached even to the dead, that though judged in the flesh like men, they might live in the spirit like God.”

• CCC 632: “Presuppose[s] that the crucified one sojourned in the realm of the dead prior to his resurrection. . . . Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Savior, proclaiming the good news to the spirits imprisoned there.”

5. Satan

• Satan did not understand the Resurrection beforehand, or he would not have participated in Christ’s crucifixion.

• 1 Corinthians 2:8: “None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

• Though Scripture is silent on Satan and the Resurrection, he was surely and instantly aware of it. At that moment, he was utterly surprised and horrified to learn that the crucified one had risen. Satan realized he had lost. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, the works of the devil were destroyed (1 John 3:8).

• Scripture uses a metaphor taken from a Roman military triumph. Having stripped the devil and his minions of their power, Jesus made a public spectacle of them by leading them as captives in his victory procession. Colossians 2:15: “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”

8. Peter and John running to the tomb

• John 20:6-8: “Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed.”

9. Thomas the Doubter

• John 20:24-28: “Thomas . . . was not with them when Jesus came [the first time]. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.’ Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”

10. Cephas, then to the Twelve

• 1 Corinthians 15:4-5: “That he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”

• Paul omits the resurrected Christ’s appearance to the holy women, mentioning only men, since by Jewish law, only men’s testimony was accepted as valid in legal matters.

• “The Twelve” had become an official title for those chosen as Apostles, and it was used even after Judas’s death.

• The Apostles would not willingly suffer horrific martyrdoms for a lie. Being convinced of the truth, they gave their lives as their final witness to the resurrection.

11. 500 brethren at one time (probably over 1,500, including women and children)

• 1 Corinthians 15:6: “Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.”

• The 500 men who saw Jesus are not identified.

• Likely, they were his followers in Galilee for whom he multiplied the loaves and fish for 5,000 men “besides the women and children” (Matt. 14:21), probably totaling 20,000 in all. So, with the resurrection appearance, there were probably 2,000 people, including women and children.

• News spread rapidly in Galilee, and those to whom he had preached, whom he had fed, and whom he had healed rushed to see Jesus alive, after hearing he had been crucified and risen from the dead.

• Some of the younger children present may have still been living witnesses to the Resurrection until the end of the first century.

12. James, the brother of the Lord

• 1 Corinthians 15:7: “Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.”

• We are not told where or when Jesus appeared to his relative James, though it was probably while in Galilee, since they lived in Nazareth.

• The appearance to James is significant since he is one of “the brothers of the Lord” (Matt 13:55; Gal 1:19). Until the end of Jesus’ life, “not even his brothers believed in him” (John 7:5).

• Due to the Resurrection—and likely because of this appearance to James—the brothers experienced a profound conversion and became believers. They were present in the Upper Room praying with the 120 before Pentecost. Acts 1:14: “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”

13. Two Men on the Road to Emmaus

• A disciple named Cleopas, with his unnamed companion, is joined by Jesus on the way to Emmaus. This appearance took place on the morning of the resurrection.

• In Luke 24:13-35, “their eyes were kept from recognizing him,” and in Mark 16:12, “he appeared in another form.” They eventually recognized him in “the breaking of the bread,” when Jesus took, broke, blessed, and gave. These four verbs are used in the multiplication of loaves and in the institution of the Eucharist (Matt 26:26, Mark 6:43, Luke 24:30).

14. Matthias (the eyewitness who took Judas’s place)

• Acts 1:21-26: “‘One of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.’ . . . And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was enrolled with the eleven apostles.”

15. Resurrected bodies come out of their tombs

• Matthew 27:52-53: When Jesus “yielded up his spirit” on the cross, “The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.”

16. St. Paul on the Road to Damascus, about three years after the Resurrection

• 1 Corinthians 15:8: “Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.”

And so we join this happy throng of original witnesses! He is risen! We are a resurrection people, and “Hallelujah” is our song!