What Happened Between Jesus’s Resurrection and His Ascension? Part 1

A harmony of Biblical events concerning the day of Jesus’s resurrection

No single Gospel records all the events surrounding Jesus’s resurrection. Each Gospel writer selects those events that are important to his distinct purposes and does not mention events that are not important to his purposes. Harmonizing the Gospels’ resurrection accounts can help us better understand what and how those events unfolded.

This article is the first of two Bible Says articles that attempts to harmonize the Bible’s resurrection accounts. 

This article attempts to chronologically syncretize the events that occurred on “the first day of the week” (Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:2, Luke 24:1, John 20:1)—the day Jesus rose from the dead.

The second article in this series attempts to chronologically syncretize the events that occurred after that day until the day of Jesus’s ascension (Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:9-12). It is called: “What Happened Between Jesus’s Resurrection and His Ascension—Part 2—A harmony of Biblical events after the day He rose until He ascended into heaven.”

Each event throughout this series is numbered, and its description is underlined and in bold font. The Biblical text(s) of that event are then given or cited. Finally, if any further explanation is needed it is given after the Biblical text is cited.

Before listing the events surrounding the resurrection of Jesus it is important to establish the following facts:

• Jewish days begin and end at sunset—specifically when the light of three stars becomes visible in the night sky.
• Jesus was crucified and hastily buried on the sixth day of the week before the Sabbath began (Mark 15:42, Luke 23:54, 56, John 19:31, 42). The sixth day is sometimes called “preparation day.”

• Jesus was in the tomb on the Sabbath. Matthew refers to this as “the day after the preparation” (Matthew 27:61-62b).
• On the Sabbath, the Jewish religious leaders request that Pilate protect Jesus’s tomb to prevent His disciples from stealing His body and falsely claiming that He has risen from the dead (Matthew 27:62-64). Pilate grants their request, and the tomb is guarded and sealed (Matthew 27:65-66).

Here is The Bible Says’ chronological listing of the events pertaining to Jesus’s resurrection:

1. The light of three evening stars dawned, signaling the end of the Sabbath and the beginning of the first day of the week.

“Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week…”
(Matthew 28:1a)

2. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought anointing spices.

“When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him.”
(Mark 16:1)

Jewish shops briefly reopened on the evening after the Sabbath. Once the Sabbath ended these women went to buy the spices they needed to complete the task of preparing Jesus’s body for burial. They did not intend to anoint His body in the dark of night. They wanted to have the spices ready for when they returned to anoint His body early in the morning.

Note: The Gospels sometimes refer to Mary the mother of James as:

• “the other Mary” (Matthew 27:61, Matthew 28:1)
• “Mary the mother of Joses” (Mark 15:47)
• “Mary the mother of James the less and Joses” (Mark 15:40)
• “Mary the mother of James” (Mark 16:1, Luke 24:10)

3. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary go to visit Jesus’s tomb.

“Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.”
(Matthew 28:1b)

Salome appears to return home with the recently purchased spices, while Mary Magdalene and the other Mary go to visit Jesus’s tomb. After staying a while, they return to their homes for the night.

4. An angel descends from heaven, causing a great earthquake. He rolls away the stone and sits on it. The guards protecting the tomb are terrified.

“And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.”
(Matthew 28:2-4)

These events describe the moment of Jesus’s resurrection. They appear to have happened in the early morning hours while it was still dark.

Sometime after the angel descended and rolled away the stone, the following three events took place in one order or another:

5. Jesus came out of the tomb.
6. The frightened guards ran away from the tomb.
7. The angel entered the tomb.

The Bible does not explicitly describe these three events, but it implies that they happened. Furthermore, based on some things the Bible says about events 8 and beyond, it is apparent that these three things occurred sometime between event #4 and event #8.

8. Mary Magdalene arrives at the tomb before sunrise.

“Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. So she ran…”

(John 20:1-2a)

Mary Magdalene arrived at Jesus’s tomb first. She arrived while it was still dark (John 20:1) She appears to have come alone. When she saw the stone rolled away, she feared the worst—that the authorities had removed Jesus’s body out of the tomb and relocated it to some undisclosed place. Mary Magdalene did not appear to enter the tomb or see any angels. So, she ran off to tell the disciples what she saw (John 20:2a).

9. The group of women arrive at the tomb.

“Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  They were saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?’ Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large.”
(Mark 16:2-4)

“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.”
(Luke 24:1-2)

After the sun came up (Mark 16:2b) and apparently after Mary Magdalene had already come and gone, Joanna (Luke 24:10), the other Mary (Matthew 28:1, 16:1, Luke 24:10), and other unnamed female followers of Jesus (Luke 24:10) arrived at the tomb to finish anointing Jesus’s body. Salome, the wife of Zebedee and mother of James and John (Matthew 27:56), was probably with them (Mark 16:1). They also saw that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb.

10. The group of women enter the tomb to discover Jesus’s body is gone and an angel is inside of the tomb.

“Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed.”
(Mark 16:5)

“but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.”
(Luke 24:3)

     11. A second angel appears. The women are terrified. The two angels encourage them, inform them that Jesus has risen, and instruct them to go tell His disciples that Jesus will meet them in Galilee.

“The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.’”
(Matthew 28:5-7)

“And he said to them, ‘Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples and Peter, “He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.”’”
(Mark 16:6-7)

“While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, ‘Why do you seek the living One among the dead?  He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered His words.’”
(Luke 24:4-8)

12. The group of women run out from the tomb quickly, trembling with excitement, fear, and great joy.

“And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.”
(Matthew 28:8)

“They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them and they said nothing to anyone; for they were afraid.”
(Mark 16:8)

13. Mary Magdalene finds the disciples and tells Peter and John about the rolled away stone and how she thinks the religious authorities have removed Jesus’s body to a new location.

“So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.’”
(John 20:2)

14. The group of women find the disciples and tell them what they saw and what the angel said, but the disciples do not believe them.

“and [they] returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.”
(Luke 24:9-11)

It seems that Mary Magdalene found the disciples first and either had just explained what she saw and thought had happened, when the group of women suddenly arrive to tell what they had seen and what the angel had told them. The two reports (Mary Magdalene’s and the group of women’s) were both startling and starkly different.

• Mary Magdalene did not enter the tomb or see an angel, so she assumed the religious leaders took Jesus’s body away.

• The group of women did enter the tomb, saw an angel who told them Jesus had risen from the dead, and believed the angel’s message when they saw the empty place where His body used to be and remembered Jesus’s words predicting His resurrection (Luke 24:7-8).

These different takes concerning what has happened, combined with the group of women’s trembling joy and their most remarkable claims—an angelic being, that Jesus was alive again—were more than the grief-stricken disciples could process. The disciples dismissed the women’s claims that “Jesus has risen” as delirium and nonsense and would not believe them (Luke 24:11).

15. Peter and John go to the tomb to investigate the women’s claims.

“But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.”
(Luke 24:12)

“So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first”
(John 20:3-4)

Note: “the other disciple” mentioned by John is John himself.

16. Peter and John find the tomb opened, and upon entering it, they see Jesus’s grave clothes set aside, but they do not see Him or His body. Neither do they see any angels.

“…stooping and looking in, [Peter] saw the linen wrappings only;”
(Luke 24:12b)

See John 20:6-9 for a more detailed account

John says that he personally believed when he saw the empty tomb and linen wrappings rolled up by itself (John 20:8), but he did not fully comprehend everything he saw.

17. Peter and John return home.

“and [Peter] went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.”
(Luke 24:12c)

“So the disciples went away again to their own homes.”
(John 20:9-10)

• Mary Magdalene returns to the tomb where she eventually encounters the risen Lord.

“Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons.”
(Mark 16:9)

See John 20:11-17 for a more detailed account.

This was the first appearance of Jesus after His resurrection.

Mary Magdalene seems to have followed Peter and John back to Jesus’s tomb but she did not return home with them. She lingered and wept (John 20:11a). Mary may have hoped that the other women’s story was true about the angel who told them that Jesus has risen, but when Peter and John did not see an angel she seems to have reverted back to her original assumption—that the religious leaders had secretly relocated Jesus’s body.

She entered the tomb alone and saw two angels sitting there where Jesus’s body was, but in her grief and confusion she did not seem to recognize them as angels (John 20:11b-12). The angels asked her why she was weeping and she explained that she thought they had taken Jesus’s body away (John 20:13).

Mary turned around and saw someone else in the doorway. This someone else was Jesus, but she assumed he was the gardener in charge of this garden tomb (John 20:14, 15b).

Jesus asked her, “Why are you weeping?” and “Who are you seeking?” (John 20:15a).

In her distress, Mary mistook Jesus for the gardener who might know where Jesus’s body was relocated to asked Him to tell her where Jesus’s body was, so she could bring Him back to the tomb (John 20:15b).

Jesus calls Mary by name, and she recognizes Him for Who He is and runs to hug Jesus (John 20:16). He asks her to stop clinging to Him because He has not yet ascended to His Father in Heaven. He asks her to tell the disciples that He is ascending to His Father and God and their Father and God (John 20:17).

19. Mary Magdalene returns to tell the disciples that she has seen Jesus alive, but they still do not believe her.

“She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping. When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it.”
(Mark 16:10-11)

“Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord,’ and that He had said these things to her.”
(John 20:18)

20. The group of women, who had previously seen the angel, returned to the tomb and encounter Jesus also.

“And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.’”        
(Matthew 28:9-10)

This was the second recorded appearance of Jesus after His resurrection.

The group of women probably returned to Jesus’s empty tomb because they heard that Mary Magdalene claimed to see and talk with Him there. While they were there, He appeared to them and greeted them. They took hold of His feet and worshipped Him. He asked them to remind His disciples what the angel had previously asked them to tell His disciples (Matthew 28:7), that the disciples were to go to Galilee and see Him per Jesus’s original instructions before He was crucified (Matthew 26:32).

21. Jesus appears to Simon Peter

The two disciples who saw Jesus on the road to Emmaus (see event #22) were “saying [to the main group of disciples], ‘The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.’”
(Luke 24:34)

“and that He appeared to Cephas [Peter]…”
(1 Corinthians 15:5a)

This was the third recorded appearance of Jesus after His resurrection.

The Bible reports this encounter with Simon Peter but does not describe it in detail. It only says Jesus appeared to Cephas before He “then appeared to the twelve” disciples (1 Corinthians 15:5b). Jesus would appear to the main group of disciples that evening—probably on the second day of the week. His appearance to the main group of disciples is event #25 and is also recorded in Luke 24:36-42 and John 20:19-23.

And logically, Jesus would have to have appeared to Simon Peter sometime before He appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (event #22) who later informed the main group of disciples that Simon had also seen the risen Lord (Luke 24:34).

22. Later that afternoon, two disciples encounter Jesus on the road to Emmaus.

“After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country.”
(Mark 16:12)

See Luke 24:13-32 for a more detailed account.

This was the fourth recorded appearance of Jesus after His resurrection.

These two disciples (one named Cleopas—Luke 24:18a) were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus and were discussing the things which had taken place (Luke 24:13-14). Jesus approached them but they did not recognize Jesus as they walked (Luke 24:15-16). Jesus entered their conversation about the unusual claims and events of that morning (Luke 24:17-24). Jesus then explained how all the prophets from Moses onward predicted the things that would happen to the Messiah—and which Jesus had fulfilled (Luke 24:25-27). The two men invite Jesus, still unaware of His identity, to go further with them and spend the night with them and He accepted their invitation (Luke 24:28-29). Jesus gave the blessing as they broke bread, and the disciples recognized Him and He vanished (Luke 24:30-31).

23. The two disciples hurried to Jerusalem and found the main group—the eleven—gathered together and reported what they saw. But the disciples did not believe them.

“They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either.”
(Mark 16:13)

“And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, saying, ‘The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.’ They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.”
(Luke 24:33-35)

Note: The term “the eleven” refers to the main group of disciples. Originally they were the twelve (Matthew 10:2-4), but after Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of Jesus and his suicide (Matthew 27:3-5), the twelve became “the eleven.” John and Paul seem to continue to refer to the group of original disciples, sans Judas, as “the twelve” (John 20:24, 1 Corinthians 15:5b).

It is also possible Matthias was with the eleven then, and Paul counts him as part of “the twelve” since Matthias would eventually replace Judas Iscariot as an apostle. Matthias was present throughout the ministry of the Lord and saw Him resurrected and ascended (Acts 1:21-26). Paul had never met Judas Iscariot, and would only have known Matthias as the twelfth disciple/apostle, therefore he was perhaps referring to Matthias as one of “the twelve” in 1 Corinthians 15:5.

Also note: The term, “the eleven” (and/or “the twelve” at this point) is being used generically to refer to the main group of disciples and does not necessarily mean that all eleven disciples were present. Of the eleven, neither Simon Peter (Luke 24:34) nor Thomas (John 20:24) seem to be present.

24. Jesus suddenly appears to the eleven/twelve disciples while the disciples who returned from the Road to Emmaus were trying to convince them that they really had seen Jesus.

Luke 24:36-49

John 20:19-20

“and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve”
(1 Corinthians 15:5)

This was the fifth recorded appearance of Jesus after His resurrection.

John says this happened when “it was evening on that day” specifying that it was still “the first day of the week” (John 20:19). This indicates that it was very late in the afternoon or early in the evening before the light of three stars had appeared. This event was likely the last thing that occurred on the day Jesus rose from the dead.

Jesus suddenly appeared to the disciples while they were in hiding inside the city of Jerusalem (John 20:19) and while the two disciples who returned from Emmaus were trying to convince the group that they too had seen the risen Lord (Luke 24:36).

The disciples were startled (Luke 24:37) and Jesus proved that He really was risen from the dead by letting them see and touch His scars (Luke 24:38-40, John 20:20a). The disciples were overjoyed and amazed (Luke 24:41a, John 20:20b). Jesus ate food (Luke 24:41b-43). He explained why His death and resurrection were necessary (Luke 24:44-47). And finally, Jesus gave them instructions (Luke 24:48-49, John 20:21-23).

Thomas was not present at this encounter (John 20:24). Simon Peter was also likely not present because when this encounter took place, the disciples were discussing how the Lord had previously appeared to Simon Peter (Luke 24:34). Simon Peter does not seem to be there to speak for himself. Nine of the eleven/twelve disciples were present.

This was the final recorded event to have occurred on the day Jesus rose from the dead.

To read a harmony of the resurrection events that happened between Jesus’s fifth recorded appearance (Luke 24:36-49, John 20:19-20, 1 Corinthians 15:5) and His ascension (Mark 16:19, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:9-12), see Part 2 of this series.

For a list of Jesus’s post-resurrection events and post-ascension events, see The Bible Says article: “How Many Post-Resurrection Appearances of Jesus Does the Bible Record?”