And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. (Acts 10:39-41)

Jesus Did Not Appear To All Men

When Jesus came to earth the first time, He revealed Himself to all men. Born of a virgin, Jesus grew up in Nazareth as any young man maturing into an adult. What made Jesus different from His brothers and sisters was His perfection. At the age of thirty, Jesus left home to begin His ministry of teaching and showing the power of God through miracles. At the beginning of His ministry, thousands of people flocked to hear Him teach. His miracles astonished the multitudes, and no one doubted or dismissed His power. The Jewish leaders began to take notice of the man from Nazareth, and because of envy, began a campaign to discredit Him and turn the hearts of the people away from Him. They succeeded some three years later when they brought false charges against Jesus and prodded the Roman official, Pilate, to sentence Jesus to death.

The Romans were efficient in their skill at killing men, and they perfected it in the death of Jesus. First, Jesus was scourged rather brutally, with the soldiers taunting, spitting, and slapping Jesus. After they had tired of their sport, they led Jesus to Golgotha, where they continued their indignities of the man in the middle by nailing Him to a cross. Jesus writhed in intense pain at the suffering on the cross as the world stood and watched Him die. Death came as a welcome relief for Jesus, and He was buried in a tomb. To the world, the story of Jesus of Nazareth was over. He died and was buried, and the story was finished. But God had further plans for His Son.

On the first day of the week, Jesus rose from the dead. He was seen by Peter, then by the twelve apostles. At some point during the forty days Jesus remained on earth, He appeared to over five hundred disciples at once. He showed Himself to James and spent many days with the eleven apostles. Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus. There was no doubt Jesus had risen with all the testimonies of the early saints who saw Jesus, ate with Him, and communed with Him for those forty wonderful days.

When Peter was teaching Cornelius and his household the gospel of Jesus Christ, the apostle made a vital point that declares the work and mission of Jesus. The ministry of Jesus began with the Lord teaching as many people as would come to hear His words. After His resurrection, Jesus could have appeared to the whole world, but He chose not to. Given how the Sanhedrin treated Jesus, a natural human response would be for Jesus to appear in their midst and declare Himself risen. He did not. Pilate was the Roman official who cowardly allowed Jesus to die. He would have been a good candidate for Jesus to appear before. Jesus could have shown Himself to thousands of people and performed miracles, proving that He was God’s Son. None of those events happened. Peter says that Jesus appeared only to a select group of disciples, chosen by God beforehand.

The work of Jesus after His resurrection was to establish the core group of disciples who would take the story of His resurrection and teach the world the glory of the risen Christ. Jesus could have appeared to every human on earth in a visible form to prove He was risen, but that was not the will of the Father. After Jesus rose from the dead, only a select group of disciples were chosen to spend time with the Son of God. These disciples would be where the church would begin on Pentecost, ten days after Jesus ascended back to the Father. The twelve apostles were not the only ones who testified that Jesus was risen, and they saw Him with their own eyes. Paul would later write that many of the five hundred who saw Jesus at one time were still living and teaching the gospel of the risen Christ.

Faith comes from hearing the word of God. Jesus could appear to all men today, shocking them into believing He is risen – but He will not manifest Himself in that manner. The early church grew and multiplied because hearts heard the story of the risen Christ and believed. God has given the story of Jesus to the world today in a book men call the Bible. Like Abraham told the rich man who wanted Lazarus to return from the dead to teach his five brothers; if the word of God will not convict the heart, a dead man risen will not change their minds. The power is in the gospel. Jesus will not appear a second time for salvation but for judgment. If the Bible is not believed and the gospel is not obeyed, there will be no eternal life. Do not wait for Jesus to appear a second time because it will be too late. Hear the gospel – believe – obey the word.