1 Corinthians 15:7 – Thereafter by all the apostles.

Thereupon He was seen by James, thereafter by all the apostles.

Earlier in the series of appearances of the resurrected Christ, Paul mentioned “the twelve.” Because he writes in this verse about “all apostles,” the two groups apparently do not coincide. The group of “apostles” is much larger than that of “the twelve.” In Luke 10: 1 we read that in addition to the twelve, the Lord delegated seventy-two others. That yields a total of eighty-four apostles. That is seven times twelve! “Apostle” means delegate and “an apostle of Jesus Christ” is delegated by the risen Lord and therefore also an eyewitness of him (Acts 1:22; 1 Cor. 9:1).

The here mentioned James did not belong to “the twelve” but is counted among the apostles (Gal. 1:19). Barnabas, Paul’s assistant, was also an apostle (Acts 14: 14). They and many more were eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ, as well as the aforementioned “more than five hundred brothers.” Moreover, what made them “apostles” was that they were also delegated by him.

All in all, there were literally hundreds of eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ. Many of whom met him during large meetings. They have confirmed this unanimously and completely. That is, the Lord has truly risen – a historical fact!

Delen: