How many apostles were in office between the resurrection and ascension? Eleven.

The person who posed this question cited these other references to point out an inconsistency in the words of God.

1 Corinthians 15:5 (where the Lord appeared to the 12)

Matthew 27:3-5 (minus one from 12 since Judas hung himself)

Acts 1:9-26 (where Matthias was not selected until after the ascension)

Matt 28:16 (where the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them)

The obvious discrepancy that this person sees is that Jesus could not have appeared to “the twelve” in 1 Cor 15:5 if Judas was already dead and Matthias had not yet been chosen to fill his spot.  He is implying that God made a mistake when he said that Jesus appeared to the twelve.  He thinks God should have said that Jesus appeared to “the eleven” like he said about “the eleven” going into Galilee.

Well, Jesus did appear to the twelve.  That’s why Paul wrote it that way.  In Lk 24:33-36, Jesus appeared to the disciples in Jerusalem.  He had already appeared to Simon Peter (v. 34), just like Paul said in 1 Cor 15:5.  When he appeared to them, “the eleven” were “gathered together, and them that were with them,” (v. 33).  So, they were not alone.  You get one guess who one of the ones was that was with them.  If you guessed Matthias you would have to be right.  Because by the time that Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, Matthias was one of the twelve.

What threw this fellow that raised an accusation about the accuracy of God’s words is that he failed to recognize that when Jesus appeared to the disciples, the eleven weren’t alone.  There were others gathered with them that Paul didn’t mention.  The only one he added to the eleven was Matthias, who had not yet been chosen by the others but who was the twelfth by the time that Paul wrote about this appearance.

This is what is typically referred to as destructive criticism.  It is designed to destroy your faith in the words of God.  The men who perpetrate this kind of criticism work for the devil.

This question reveals the laziness, maliciousness and foolishness of the one who posed the question.  This man’s laziness was revealed because he wouldn’t look up the answer himself (this question is not original with him).  This man’s maliciousness was revealed because he posed the question in such a way as to destroy the faith of the simple.  This man’s foolishness was revealed because he asked the question to justify his lack of faith in the words of God – as if there is something wrong with them.

Don’t be suckered into falling for the trap these guys lay when they suggest that there is something wrong with God’s book.  There is nothing wrong with the book, just with the unbelievers.

Hope this helps,

Pastor Welder

 

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