When Paul wrote to the Corinthians in what we call First Corinthians, he corrected them about the false belief held by some of them that there was not a resurrection of the dead. To introduce his correction he reminded them of the tradition that he received and passed on to them as of first importance. He said, “For I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.”
Consider especially that all of the things listed between Jesus rising on the third day and the appearance to himself are told for the first time and are not in keeping with the four narrative writers. He reports the appearing of Jesus to Peter in the sense that it was readily seen and understood by Peter. Yet, it was the two travelers to Emmaus who declared that the empty tomb that Peter experienced was the self-disclosure – the appearing – of Jesus to him. Nothing of that fact came from Peter. Next, Paul stated that Jesus appeared to the twelve. While that was true, it does not name the other disciples who were present with the twelve when Jesus appeared. The sense is that the twelve were isolated. Of course, it could have happened later when the twelve were isolated. The sense is that the appearances are first time appearances verifying the resurrection. The mention of appearing to more than five hundred brethren at one time is only stated here. Other than this statement, there is no historical record of the event. Many people have concluded that this occurred in Galilee on the mountain where Jesus told the eleven they would first see Him. This conclusion is without merit as being the only place of fulfillment. This could have happened at any place where there was enough space for the group. The next statement that Jesus appeared to James and then to all of the apostles implied that it was the half-brother of Jesus and the other apostles besides the twelve who were already mentioned. Again, this statement is the only instance of such occurrences. Especially weighty is the fact that not one of the original female witnesses were mentioned! The four writers strongly emphasized their direct involvement and participation. Why did Paul say nothing about them? I will answer these things in next page where I interpret and explain the resurrection discrepancies.