Bible Timeline · Sunday, AD 30 or 33

The Resurrection: He Is Risen

Early on Sunday morning, the third day after the crucifixion, women came to Jesus' tomb and found it empty. Over the next forty days Jesus appeared alive to Mary Magdalene, to Peter, to the Twelve, to Thomas, and to more than five hundred people at once. The resurrection is the center of the Christian faith.

Read it in the Bible: Matthew 28 Luke 24 John 20-21 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 Acts 1:3

On the Sunday after Jesus was crucified, in AD 30 or 33, a group of women went to His tomb at dawn to finish preparing His body. They found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. An angel told them He had risen. Over the next forty days Jesus appeared alive to His followers again and again, until hundreds had seen Him. Christians call that morning Easter, and it is the hinge the whole faith swings on.

He is not here; He has risen, just as He said! Come, see the place where He lay. Matthew 28:6

What Happened on Easter Morning?

Jesus had been buried late Friday afternoon in a new tomb cut out of rock, owned by a wealthy follower named Joseph of Arimathea. A large stone was rolled across the entrance. Matthew says the chief priests asked Pilate for guards and had the stone sealed, because Jesus had said He would rise.

Saturday was the Sabbath, so nobody could do the work of burial. Early Sunday, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene and other women came with spices. They found the stone moved and the body gone. Angels met them with the most famous question in history.

As the women bowed their faces to the ground in terror, the two men asked them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Luke 24:5 to 6

Why Were Women the First Witnesses?

All four Gospels say women found the empty tomb first, and John and Matthew say Jesus appeared to women first. In the first century, a woman’s testimony was often given less weight, and the Jewish historian Josephus says women were not accepted as witnesses in court. If someone were making this story up to convince people, they would never have chosen women as the star witnesses.

Even the apostles did not believe the women at first. Luke is brutally honest about it.

But their words seemed like nonsense to them, and they did not believe the women. Luke 24:11

John tells how Mary Magdalene stood crying outside the tomb and mistook Jesus for the gardener. Then He said her name, and she knew Him. She ran to the disciples and became the first person to announce the good news: “I have seen the Lord!” John 20:18.

Who Saw Jesus After He Rose?

The New Testament lists many appearances over forty days, Acts 1:3. Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and the other women, to Peter, to two disciples walking to Emmaus, to the apostles in a locked room, to seven disciples fishing in Galilee, and to His brother James. Paul gives the oldest list we have.

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. And last of all He appeared to me also, as to one of untimely birth. 1 Corinthians 15:3 to 8

Paul wrote this letter about AD 53 to 55. But he says he is passing on something he had received. Many scholars think this short creed was being repeated within just a few years of the cross. Paul even adds that most of the five hundred were still alive. In other words, go ask them.

What About Doubting Thomas?

Thomas was not in the room the first time Jesus appeared to the apostles. He said he would not believe unless he could touch the nail marks himself. A week later Jesus came back and gave him exactly that chance.

Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas replied, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:27 to 29

Thomas gets a bad rap, but his doubt led to one of the clearest statements of who Jesus is anywhere in the Bible. Tradition says Thomas later carried the gospel as far as India, where the Saint Thomas Christians still honor him today.

Is There Evidence for the Resurrection?

Christians believe the resurrection by faith, but it is not a blind faith. Historians who study it often point to a few facts that most scholars, believers or not, accept:

Jesus died by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate.
His followers truly believed they saw Him alive afterward, and said so publicly in Jerusalem.
Skeptics like His brother James and the persecutor Saul became believers after reporting that He appeared to them.
The movement exploded in the very city where He was killed, where the tomb could have been checked.

Other explanations have been offered. Matthew 28:11 to 15 says the earliest one was that the disciples stole the body. Others have suggested the women went to the wrong tomb, or that the disciples had visions. Christians answer that frightened men do not usually die for a story they made up, and that a wrong tomb would have been easy to correct. The apostles went from hiding behind locked doors to facing prison and death. Something changed them.

Why Does the Resurrection Matter?

Paul says that if the resurrection did not happen, Christianity falls apart. He did not hedge.

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If our hope in Christ is for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 1 Corinthians 15:17 to 20

The resurrection shows that Jesus is who He claimed to be, Romans 1:4. It shows the Father accepted His sacrifice on the cross. And it is a preview of what is coming. Firstfruits are the first part of the harvest. Jesus rose first, and those who belong to Him will follow.

What the Empty Tomb Means for You Today

The resurrection is why Christians meet on Sunday, the first day of the week. It is why believers can grieve with hope at a funeral. And it means Jesus is not just a great teacher from the past. He is alive and can be known today.

Jesus said to Thomas that those who believe without seeing are blessed. That includes everyone reading this. You were not in the room with Thomas, but the same Jesus who showed him His hands still says, stop doubting and believe.

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Questions People Ask

Who saw Jesus first after He rose from the dead?

John 20:11 to 18 says Mary Magdalene was the first to see the risen Jesus. Matthew 28:9 says He met the women as they ran from the tomb. Women were also the first to find the tomb empty in all four Gospels.

How many people saw Jesus after the resurrection?

Paul says Jesus appeared to Peter, to the Twelve, to more than five hundred people at once, to James, to all the apostles and finally to Paul himself, 1 Corinthians 15:5 to 8. The Gospels add Mary Magdalene, the other women, the two on the road to Emmaus and Thomas.

How long was Jesus on earth after the resurrection?

Acts 1:3 says Jesus appeared to His followers over a span of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. After that He ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives.

What happened to Doubting Thomas?

A week after Easter, Jesus appeared to Thomas and invited him to touch His wounds, and Thomas said My Lord and my God, John 20:28. Church tradition says Thomas later took the gospel to India and died there as a martyr.

Why is the resurrection so important to Christians?

Paul says that if Christ has not been raised, faith is futile and we are still in our sins, 1 Corinthians 15:17. The resurrection shows Jesus is the Son of God, that His death paid for sin, and that believers will also be raised.

Sources

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