Resurrection Day Timeline
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Q: Concerning
the timeline of the Lord's appearances after His
resurrections given in the four gospels, Matthew says that
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the tomb as it
began to dawn (Luke also lists Joanna). John only mentions
Mary Magdalene. Clearly there were other women there and the
Holy Spirit makes that clear in the other passages. In
trying to understand the sequence of events by studying each
of the gospels, there appears to be a couple of different
possible timelines. What are your thoughts?
A: The chronological order of
the events surrounding the resurrection of Christ have been
confusing to many. It has also been used as an argument
against the validity of the Bible by some. However, the four
gospels each tell only part of the story. When all four
records are carefully compared, an order begins to come
together. The following order may not be perfect, but it
will solve the problems that some see in the order of the
events.
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Early Sunday morning,
several women brought spices to anoint the body of
Jesus. The tomb was empty and two angels told them to
report to the disciples that Jesus had risen from the
dead.
-
Mary Magdalene separated
from the other women and told the disciples first that
the tomb was empty (John 20:2)
-
Peter and John run to the
tomb and observe the empty tomb. John arrived first but
Peter entered the tomb. John believed that Jesus had
risen. They then returned home. (John 20:3-10).
-
Mary Magdalene slowly
returned to the tomb and arrived there after Peter and
John had left. She saw the two angels in the tomb. Then,
she saw Jesus but thought him to be the gardener. Jesus
revealed Himself to her and she became the first to see
the resurrected Christ. She was not allowed to touch Him
because he had not yet ascended to the Father
(evidently, to place His blood on the heavenly mercy
seat). (John 20:11-17)
-
This point is
controversial, but I believe that Jesus quickly went
into heaven to present His blood at the mercy seat in
the heavenly temple. (Hebrews 9:12, 24)
-
The other women are also
trying to catch up with the disciples. But, before they
find them, Christ appeared to them (Matthew 28:9-10).
Christ had evidently already appeared before the Father
at this time because He allowed the women to hold Him by
the feet and worship Him. The apparent time discrepancy
can be explained in many ways. One of the women may have
had to stop to catch her breath (remember, they were
severely frightened). They may have missed the disciples
while they were going back and forth. Or, something else
might have happened. But, the time did not have to be
long. The time between the appearance of Jesus to Mary
and then to the women could have been as short as half
an hour. Jesus did not need a duration time in order to
travel to and from heaven.
-
That afternoon, Jesus
appeared to the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke
24:13-16).
-
Somewhere around this
time, Jesus appeared to Peter. (Luke 24:34; 1Corinthians
15:5)
-
Before the day was over,
Jesus appeared to the ten disciples (minus Judas and
Thomas) behind closed doors. (John 20:19, 24).
Till He comes,
Pastor David Reagan
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