Aftermath (9:89; 22:11)Paul a) is blinded by the intensity of the light, b) must be led by hand into Damascus, and c) fasts for three days. And hence, not like earthly man. There were at least three different men named James involved in the life of Jesus. Both Acts and Pauls letters demonstrate that Luke had frequent and direct access to Pauls testimony. The risen Jesus, Paul claims, appears separately before several of the disciples, to all twelve of the disciples together (at a time when there were supposed to be only eleven) and to a large crowd of five hundred. Pious belief has long held that Jesus Jesuss post-resurrection appearance to Paul is described in detail in Acts 9:119; 22:616; and 26:1223. The only comment of it is found in 1 Corinthians 15:7 where Paul writes, After that, He was seen by James, then by all the apostles, which suggests Jesus made a Although the NRSV and the ESV (I will argue correctly) translate the clause [God ] was pleased to re veal his son to me ( italics mine), both refer to marginal notes that state Gk . Based on other biblical uses, the en phrase most likely functions as the equivalent for the indirect object. Acts 6:9 and 7:58 shows that Paul partnered with the leaders of the Synagogue of the Freedmen in the stoning of Stephen. He does not specify an exact date when this event occurred. Longenecker, for example, argues that the en emoi of 1:16 corresponds to the en emoi of 2:20 (Christ lives in me) which is equivalent to in our hearts in 4:6 and thus emphasizes the internal reality of the Christian experience. These factors indicate that the appearance of Jesus to Paul was not a mere vision experienced only in his imagination. After the Resurrection. As far as Pauls account correlating with the Gospels, even the accounts of Christs resurrection in the Gospels seem to be contradictory because of the huge amount of detail left out, as John wrote: Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are Paul admits he had a heavenly vision acts 26:19. Scholars sometimes become intensely focused on differences between the three accounts and overlook their great similarity. So where exactly did Jesus appear, and to whom? One cannot assume that the prepositional phrase functions with God was pleased to re veal in the same way that it functions with the statement Christ lives (2:20) or God sent the Spirit of his Son (4:6). Paul regarded the crucifixion of Jesus as essential to the gospel (Rom 1:18; 1 Cor 15:34) and thus crucial for the forgiveness of sinners (1 Cor 15:17). J. 1 Bruce Chilton, R abbi Paul: An Intellectual Biography (New York: Doubleday Religion, 2004), 51. Initial Dialogue (9:45; 22:78; 26:1415)A voice asks, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me ? Paul replies, Who are you, Lord ? Lord replies, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting . Only slight variation exists between the three dialogue summaries. Thus Paul is not only a valid witness to the resurrection of Jesus, at least as far as the canons of history are concerned, he is one of the most important of all of these witnesses. Jesus said He would come back the same way He went to Heaven. A surprising number of evangelical commentators have adopted this translation, although they qualify the interpretation. Who was first to see Jesus after his supposed resurrection. The two women hurry off to find the male disciples, but on the way they suddenly encounter Jesus himself. Now its certainly possible that Paul simply identified the bright light as Jesus on the basis of the words he heard, but it is interesting that Paul listed himself in the context of hundreds of eyewitnesses who actually saw Jesus. 7502 Fondren Rd Simon Peter. On the other hand, Luke would likely have mentioned Jesuss direct commission to Paul in at least the initial account if such a commission had been given in order to set the stag e for Pauls Gentile mission. Occasion (9:2; 22:5; 26:12)Paul was traveling to Damascus to extradite arrested believers to Jerusalem for trial. A few modern commentators such as Timothy Georg e have adopted Lightfoots interpretation. Paul starts out in 1 Corinthians 15 by reminding them that Jesus did die and was raised from the dead for the salvation of man. Paul might at most be granted an honorable mention. Beginning on Resurrection Sunday, He showed himself The uses likely belong to the categories of time (2 Cor 11:6; 2 Thess 2:6; 1 Pet 1:5), location ( John 9:3; 2 Cor 2:14; 4:10, 11; 1 Tim 3:16; 1 John 4:9; Col 3:4), instrument or means (Rom 1:17; 1 Cor 3:13; 2 Cor 11:6; 1 John 3:10; 4:9), manner (Eph 6:19), and indirect object (Rom 1:19; 1 Cor 11:19; 2 Cor 5:11). And in affirming that the faithful will be raised (15:4244, 52), Paul affirmed that our present perishable bodies will be endowed, through the power of Jesuss resurrection, with imperishable life. Paul evidently appealed to his own eyewitness account of Jesuss post-resurrection appearance. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the The afternoon and evening of day one. Although this interpretation is more commonly assumed than argued, the occasional arguments offered in support of the interpretation are unsatisfying . Houston, TX 77074 This is implied by the charge For I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and a witness of what you have seen and of what I will re veal to you (Acts 26:16). The notes give the impression that the Greek preposition is the equivalent of the English preposition in and would seem to suggest that the translators adopted an alternative rendering for theological purposes rather than linguistic reasons. But did anyone actually see it? Time (22:6; 26:13)Event occurred at about noon or mid-day. This is multiply attested. Nowhere does Paul mention Mary Magdalene as the first person to allegedly see Jesus after his alleged resurrection. People tend to think or act like the Bible simply comes to a stop after Jesus is raised from the dead. The Gospels claim Jesus appeared first either to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (Matthew 28:9) or to Mary Magdalene alone as in Mark and John (Mark 16:9, John 20:18) or to two men Cleopas (Luke 24:18) and Simon (Luke 24:34). This lists, in chronological order, a first appearance to Peter, then to "the Twelve," then to five hundred at one time, then to James (presumably James the brother of Jesus), then to "all the Apostles," and last to Paul himself. Editors note: This is yet another example of the difference between Christianity vs Judaism. We have the written tradition found in all four canonical gospels independently bear witness to the resurrection. The earliest report of the post-Resurrection appearances of Jesus is in Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians. Campus Directory, Office of Institutional Research & Effectiveness, College of Education & Behavioral Sciences, Dr. Stanley Napper Named HBU Provost and VP for Academic Affairs, College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, Paul as a Witness to the Resurrection of Jesus.