Why did Jesus only appear to those closest to Him after "resurrecting?

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   A Thousand Wordsposted 12 years ago

   Does anyone else find it curious that Jesus only appeared to His disciples and those closest to Him (family/intimate friends) after He was "raised from the dead?" If He came for the Jews and was supposed to be convincing them of his status as "God," and a savior of their souls, why would, after He was declared dead and buried, not show himself to the people He actually came for? Isn't that a bit shady, or is it just me? Why are the only people that "saw" Him the Marys and the Disciples? (Paul doesn't count, as what he supposedly experienced was a "vision" of Jesus. )
   
   Just curious. Although I feel some of the answers might have to do with this idea of belief without proof ("blessed are those who haven't seen and believe").

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      kessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Your "PROOF" is of the enlightened senses (sight, hearing), knowledge divided so therefore they can easily decieve the mind.
      
      "Proof" according to the Christ is of the wholeness of the enlightened mind, which sees all knows all and can never be deceived.

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         A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Hilarious. Reality based understanding is deceiving while fantasy based beliefs isn't.

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            kessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            It is well established that wisdom cannot be found in the hollow mirth of the perpetual Giggler.
            Who is persistant in his way, being totally convinced that his defficienciy is properly disquised.

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      oceansnsunsetsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Hello ATW,
      
      That is a fair question but you are leaving out some key scripture to come to this conclusion.  I Corinthians 15 chapter one speaks on that very thing about the resurrection. 
      
      I Corinthians 15:1-11
      
      1 Now I would remind you, brothers,[a] of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
      
      3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
      
      See also Acts 1:1-11
      
      1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
      4 And while staying[a] with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
      6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
      
      Jesus physically hung around for 40 days, and appeared to over 500 people,  not just to his family and the disciples.  I am using the same criteria you were using, the scriptures, which I personally think are trustworthy, over not being trustworthy.  I hope this helps shed light on your question from a while back.

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         Dr McLovenposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         It would appear we have some conflicting stories. Pick one.

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            oceansnsunsetsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            No conflict, well unless you need there to be one.

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   Emile Rposted 12 years ago

   That's an interesting question I never thought about. I believe the testimony was that many times, after the resurrection, the disciples didn't recognize Jesus at first. So, I'd have to agree with kess's statement. Those who had experienced the teachings of the master had become enlightened and could see the Christ where others couldn't. I suppose the Jews, having rejected the teachings, couldn't; so they had no testimony to add.

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      A Thousand Wordsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      But the Bible itself only mentions Jesus appearing to those people. In two accounts there was a third woman with the Marys. In one her name was Joanna, in the other it was a different name. Anyway, there's a story about how Jesus hid himself and HE caused them to be unable to see as he pleased. It may be in Mark or Luke where the scripture says that the Marys were gossiping about his supposed return, and that Jesus hid himself from them. When they sat down to break bread, he stopped disguising himself so that they "recognized" Him. So it seems in this story as though Jesus himself controls who sees who doesn't see.

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      A Thousand Wordsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      He could of easily made it so that the Jews could see Him, too.

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         Emile Rposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I agree. If Jesus came back from the dead and chose to play hide and seek he could certainly have included anyone in the games he choose to.

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   Paul Wingertposted 10 years ago

   Many gods besides Christ have been supposed to die, be resurrected and ascend to heaven. This idea has now been traced back to its origin among primitive people in the annual death and resurrection of crops and plant life generally. According to the advocates of the solar myth theory, the ancient crucified saviors were personifications of the sun, and their life-stories were allegories of the sun’s passage through the 12 constellations of the Zodiac.
   Vegetation cults, it seems are older than stellar or solar cults, but were later blended with them. In the primitive vegetation-god sacrifice, the victim was, it is believed, originally the king, or head-man, of the tribe or clan. It was believed by ancient man that the prosperity of the tribe depended on the well-being of the ruler. If the king became old and feeble, it was considered a foregone conclusion that the nation or tribe would suffer a similar decline. So the king, who was usually regarded as a god in human form, was sacrificed, and replaced with a younger and more vigorous man. He was generally slain while bound to a sacred tree, with arms outstretched in the form of a cross. After being entombed, he was believed to rise from the dead within three days; the three-day period representing the return of vegetation.”
   
   Other saviors with stories similar to life of Jesus, which contain a virgin birth, death, and resurrection, include Buddha, Krishna, Odysseus, Romulus, Dionysus, Heracles, Glycon, Zoroaster, Attis of Phrygia, and Horus.

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      oceansnsunsetsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Paul, thanks for sharing that.  I have heard of this kind of thing before.  What does that all mean to you?

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      Emile Rposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Other traditions of sacrifice were not meant to accomplish the same thing. Man was attempting to appease the gods through rituals, by the example you gave. The story of the sacrifice of Jesus is a story of one God attempting to use Man's need of ritual sacrifice in order to end ritual sacrifice.
      
      We can argue whether or not it happened. But, we can't argue whether or not it did, ultimately, end ritual sacrifice. What was said to be done was the same, but what was meant to be accomplished was different.

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         wildernessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Ritual Jewish sacrifice was stopped about 70 years AFTER the death of Christ, because the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and a mosque built in it's place.  The practice was revived briefly in about 135 AD but did not last long.
         
         It doesn't seem to have had much to do with the torture and murder of Jesus, just the destruction of the only place it was "legal" to perform the act.

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            Emile Rposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Well, since the Jews didn't recognize him as even a prophet, i think your argument addresses something completely different than what I was addressing.

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         oceansnsunsetsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Good points I hadn't thought about Emile.  It makes me think of the Mayans.  Many cultures have used sacrifice for all kinds of things.  In this case, it was to end the sacrifices for a greater accomplishment than the short term animal sacrifices.  Some still do a form of it, and some talk of getting back to animal sacrifices in the future, but one can't help but wonder how that will go. Human history in regards to sacrifice is very interesting and kind of awful in some ways.

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   schoolgirlforrealposted 10 years ago

   I think, since Thomas one of the Apostles, did not even believe it was him until he put his hand in his side...that these people...the Jews were even more unbelieving..and that sometimes, some people, no matter what they see Don't believe...so why would he waste time with them, especially since He needed to build up His church before he Ascended.

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