What did Jesus do after he rose from the dead? I mean, after he got out of the tomb and everyone shrieked “It’s a miracle!”, did he stay on earth for any length of time afterwards?
Not witnessing, just curious.
In the earliest manuscripts Mark, chapter 16 (probably the oldest of the four Gospels) ends rather abruptly at what is now considered verse eight; Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Salome find the tomb empty; they are told by a “young man” (presumably an angel) that Jesus has risen, and to go tell Peter and the other disciples. The women flee in fear; “They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.”
The modern Gospel of Mark goes on for another dozen verses, in which Jesus himself appears first to Mary Magdalene, to a couple of the apostles, and finally to all the apostles. He tells them to go preach the gospel, that they will be able to cast out demons, heal the sick, and handle poisonous serpents or drink deadly poisons without being harmed. He then is taken up into heaven.
In Matthew, Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” (his mother? some other Mary? “Mary” was evidently about like “Jennifer” in New Testament Palestine) find the tomb empty, and encounter an angelic figure; there are also guards posted at the tomb. Both Marys encounter Jesus himself as they leave the tomb to go tell the other followers; the guards also report back to the chief priest. Jesus again meets with all the remaining apostles and delivers the Great Commission; Matthew omits any references to faith healing, snake handling, or other miraculous signs. There is no explicit reference to Jesus being taken up into heaven.
In Luke “the women” (apparently Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and “the others with them”) find the tomb empty and encounter two angels. When Jesus first meets with two of the apostles, they do not recognize him at first. When he meets with all the apostles, he eats food with them to prove he’s not just a ghost of some kind, but actually resurrected. The Great Commission is somewhat muted, as Luke’s Gospel continues on in Acts; the Gospel and Acts overlap a bit, with both recounting the ascension. In Acts, it is stated that Jesus remained with the apostles for 40 days before ascending.
In the last gospel, John, Mary Magdalene alone finds the empty tomb. A couple of apostles go and investigate, but only M.M. is there for the first encounter with two angels and then Jesus himself. Jesus appears to all the apostles except Thomas, who isn’t at the meal where he drops by; he doesn’t believe the rest (“doubting Thomas”) and makes his famous demand to see and touch the wounds. Jesus appears and Thomas is convinced; although Jesus is evidently not supposed to be a “ghost”, he can apparently walk through walls. The ending of John may have been subject to later additions; it continues on for another chapter after the resurrection, appearing to the apostles up at the Sea of Galilee (who, although having met him after the resurrection, most of them twice already, don’t initially recognize him). He makes them breakfast, and speaks with the apostles, especially Peter. There is no mention of the ascension; John closes by indicating that Jesus did a great many miraculous things, too many to be written down–I don’t know, though, if that means after the resurrection only, or if it means in the course of his entire career, i.e., that John has left out many events from his gospel (besides turning water into wine at the start of his public ministry, the resurrection itself, and so on) in the interest of concision.
I see. Thank you.
I believe the LDS (Mormon) church also holds that he did some work to try to get the message across to other parts of the world (Americas) before ascending.