Who Did Jesus Appear to First after His Resurrection?
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Many of us know the basics of the resurrection story. After his betrayal by Judas Iscariot, Jesus was arrested, beaten, mocked, and forced to endure an agonizing and humiliating death on the cross. He was buried in a tomb and then, three days later, rose from the dead and later ascended into heaven, where he is seated at the right hand of God the Father. His death paid the price for our sins, and because of it, salvation is available to those who repent and believe.
What many of us don’t know are the details of how all of this happened. For example, who was there when Jesus was crucified? What tomb was it, and where was it located? The Bible tells us all of this and more, but without sitting down to actually read the full account, many of us don’t know.
One of those details is what happened when he first rose from the dead. How did His followers know this had occurred? What did he say and do? Who did Jesus appear to first after His resurrection?
This last question — whom Jesus appeared to — is of particular interest, not only because we want to know the full story, but because of who it was: a woman.
That’s right, the very first person who saw Jesus after the resurrection was Mary Magdalene, according to most accounts.
Mary Magdalene was mentioned several times throughout the Gospels as having been part of the circle that traveled with Jesus.
Why is this significant, and how does know this affect us as Christians?
Who Was Mary Magdalene?
Mary Magdalene was an important figure in the group that followed Jesus. Scripture tells us she had been healed from demon possession, and specifically that seven demons had come out of her (Luke 8:1-2). Her name is mentioned 13 times in the New International Version of the Bible, and we’re told she was among those who helped support Jesus and the Twelve out of her own means (Luke 8:3).
Mark 15:40 and John 19:25 tells us that Mary Magdalene was present with some others, including Mary the mother of Jesus, at the crucifixion.
We can infer from this that she was part of Jesus’s inner circle, among those who genuinely loved and followed him and tried their best to look after him and the other apostles during that time.
It is interesting to note that Magdalene is not her last name, but a reference to her town of origin. That town, Magdala, is thought to have been located on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee and was probably among the villages Jesus visited in his ministry.
What Happened When Jesus Appeared to Mary after the Resurrection?
Each of the four Gospel accounts are similar but have differences.
John 20:1-18 contains the most information about their encounter after his resurrection. John details how, early on the first day of the week after the crucifixion, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and discovered the stone at the entrance had been moved. Immediately, she told Peter and another disciple that Jesus had been taken. They went running back to the tomb and also discovered Jesus’s body was gone.
When the excitement had faded and the disciples left, Scripture tells us Mary Magdalene remained at the tomb, crying (v. 11). Two angels spoke to her then, asking why she wept. She explained that she was upset because someone had taken Jesus, and she didn’t know where he was.
That’s when she turned and saw Jesus. At first, she did not understand that it was him, but soon enough, she knew.
As the Bible tells us:
“She turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, ‘Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?’ Thinking he was the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means ‘Teacher’). Jesus said, ‘Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: ‘I have seen the Lord!’ And she told them that he had said these things to her” (John 20:14-18).
Mark 16 shares that Mary Magdalene was bringing spices to the tomb with Mary the mother of James and Salome when they discovered the stone to the tomb had been moved. Inside the tomb, they encountered a man in white who explained that Jesus had gone ahead of them to Galilee (v. 1-7).
Mark 16:9 elaborates on this, noting that Jesus “appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons,” though the earliest manuscripts do not contain this sentence and those that follow.
Matthew 28:1-10 also tells us that, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb and there encountered an angel, who explained Jesus had risen, “Just as he said” (v. 6).
As the women hurried away, Matthew 28:9-10 tells us, “Suddenly Jesus met them. ‘Greetings,’ he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’”
Only the Gospel of Luke did not specify Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene. Instead, his Gospel shares how Mary Magdalene and some of the other “inner circle” women went with spices to the tomb but the stone was rolled away and Jesus’s body was gone.
“He is not here; he has risen!” they were told by two men in gleaming clothing (Luke 24:5-6).
How Did Others React When They Learned Jesus Had Appeared to Mary?
Two of the four Gospels indicate that no one believed Mary Magdalene when she and the other women revealed all this. Luke 24:11 tells us the apostles “did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.”
Mark 16:11 tells us that when the apostles learned “that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.”
After all, these were women, and in that time, women were considered lowly. Second-class citizens, they had less legal rights than men. They were forbidden from participating in synagogue worship and not permitted to enter the Temple beyond the Court of the Women.
Why Is It So Significant That Jesus Appeared to Mary First?
The fact that Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene is significant on a number of levels.
First, Jesus often dismissed the gender roles of that day. He spoke with women directly. For example, defying custom, he spoke with a divorced, seemingly sinful Samaritan woman at midday at a well in John 4. His first miracle came at the request of a woman, his mother.
Second, Mary Magdalene had been healed of demon possession. Indeed, we’re told, seven demons had come out of her. Imagine the difference such a miraculous healing might have had upon her — once compelled by evil, now things were different. She had been healed, and Jesus honored her by appearing to her before anyone else, just like the angel Gabriel honored Mary the mother of Jesus when he appeared and told her she would conceive the Messiah (Luke 1:26-38). She was indeed washed clean, made new through the transformative power of Christ.
The fact that this formerly sin-filled, demon-possessed, “lowly” woman was the first person to lay eyes on the resurrected Jesus, and the first person to share this good news with others, effectively also makes her the first apostle.
And it tells us a lot about the way Jesus felt about women — to Jesus, women are of value.
Who Else Did Jesus Appear To?
In addition to Mary Magdalene, Jesus appeared to many others:
- The other women with Mary (Matthew 28:8-10 and Luke 24:1-12)
- Two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35 and Mark 16:12-13)
- The eleven remaining apostles, both in the upper room (John 20) and on a mountain in Galilee (Matthew 28:16-20)
- The disciples while they were fishing in the Sea of Tiberius (John 21:1-3)
- More than 500 disciples (1 Corinthians 15:6)
- James (1 Corinthians 15:7)
- Saul, who changed his name to the apostle Paul (Acts 9:1-6)
Taking a look at details of the resurrection story in such a focused lens tells us important things about Jesus and his view about people — and about women. It also tells us Mary Magdalene was an important, special person in his life.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/joshblake
