Returning to the Witnesses - 1 Corinthians 15:5

Devotional Thoughts on 1 Corinthians 15

Week 8
 
Returning to the Witnesses - 1 Corinthians 15:5

     5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.


Because of my parallel work on the Book of the Revelation for Adult Bible Studies on Sundays and this set of devotionals, I sense the need to scratch where (perhaps) no one else is itching.  We Bible students and theologians tend to do this, and without apology, because this is how we answer the questions that are sometimes pushed under the rug.  I will return to the regular progression of chapter 15 in Week 9 with a study called “Glory.”

The problem we are returning to is that of the first witnesses mentioned by Paul in verse 5.  He mentions Cephas and the twelve.  The problem has two parts: first, why is Cephas (Peter) mentioned separately; and second, why are the twelve mentioned when technically there were only eleven.  Except for the Book of the Revelation, this is the only place where the expression “the twelve” is found referring to the twelve disciples/apostles after the book of Acts.  

In Acts chapter 1, the disciples had watched Jesus’ ascension (verses 9-11), and then they returned to the room where they were staying in Jerusalem (verses 12-13).  Those mentioned as being in the room in verse 13 are Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.  So, eleven disciples were listed (along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers (Acts 1:14).  Joining them, by the time of Peter’s address about the death of Judas (verses 15-22) were over 100 others (verse 15).  

Peter then went on and described the need for a witness of the resurrection who had been with Jesus from the beginning to take the place of Judas.  He used portions of two Messianic Psalms to underscore the need for a replacement for the traitor Judas.  Here they are with some context:  
“In return for my love they act as my accusers; But I am in prayer.  Thus they have repaid me evil for good, And hatred for my love. . . .  Let his days be few; Let another take his office.” (Psalm 109:4-5, 8); and “Reproach has broken my heart, and I am so sick. And I looked for sympathy, but there was none, And for comforters, but I found none. They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. … May their camp be desolate; May none dwell in their tents.  For they have persecuted him whom Thou Thyself hast smitten, And they tell of the pain of those whom Thou hast wounded.” (Psalm 69:20-21, 25-26).  

Two men, Joseph (called Justus and Barsabbas) and Matthias, were put forward for selection.  They drew lots (probably colored stones), and Matthias was the one (presumably under the direction of the Lord) whose lots were most numerous.  Matthias was then considered the newest member of the twelve.  Some have suggested that this was premature, since, as we’ve mentioned, Paul was made an apostle later, and it is possible that he was intended to be the apostolic replacement for Judas.  

But back to our two questions.  First, Peter’s being mentioned as the first male eyewitness of the resurrection is probably based upon his and John’s report of their arrival at the tomb, and a subsequent appearance of the Lord Himself to Peter that is the testimony of the disciples in Luke.  John apparently ran faster, but Peter was the first one to enter the tomb (John 20:4-8).  In Luke 24, Luke explains that after the disciples heard from the women about the empty tomb, Peter rose and ran to the tomb (verse 12).  Later in the same chapter, after the arrival of the two disciples who had met Jesus on the Emmaus Road, they told “the eleven” (verse 33) that Jesus had appeared to them, and the disciples told the two that “"The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon."  (verse 34).  After that discussion, the Lord appeared to all of them but Thomas, who saw Him the next time He appeared.

In Luke 24:9, those who had been to the empty tomb reported what they had seen to “the eleven.”  In Mark 16:14, Jesus appears to “the eleven” after His resurrection.  In Matthew 28:16, we are told that “the eleven disciples” went to Galilee to meet Jesus.  In Acts 2:14, Peter stood before the crowd “with the eleven.”  Other than the selection mentioned in Acts chapter 1, this is the first time that the “12” are described with the inclusion of Matthias.  When Paul wrote about Jesus’ appearing to “the twelve,” he was either including Matthias in the group, or he was using “The Twelve” as a descriptive term that was in common use to refer to the original followers of the Lord Jesus.  

Those who care little about the details assume that we are being a bit too picky in insisting that in certain places, for instance Revelation 21:14, “And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb,” a specific number of individuals, not including Judas, must be meant.  Whether the twelfth apostle is Matthias or Paul, the “twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb,” should be a specific number, not just a common designation of the group.

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