First to See, First to Lead

When the two disciples from Emmaus return to Jerusalem, they greet the others with the words, "The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon." At first glance, this statement seems to clash with the resurrection narratives in the other Gospels. Matthew, Mark, and John all show Jesus appearing first to the women at the tomb–especially Mary Magdalene. How, then, can Luke insert a declaration about Peter's private encounter, when he has not mentioned it before in his account?

The answer lies in the different purposes of the Gospel writers. The women were indeed the first to experience the resurrection. They discovered the empty tomb, received the angelic announcement, and, in Matthew and John, encountered the risen Lord Himself. This was no small matter. In a culture where women's testimony was often discounted, God chose them as the first heralds of the greatest news in history. Their role demonstrates that the gospel overturns social expectations by elevating the weak and disregarded.

Luke, however, emphasizes another vital truth. His Gospel was the first volume of a two-part work that includes Acts, where Peter emerges as the spokesman of the apostles and leader of the early church. For Luke's narrative purpose, it was essential to establish that Peter had personally encountered the risen Christ. Even if Luke does not describe the meeting in detail, he acknowledges it as fact, much as Paul does in his own listing of appearances in I Corinthians 15:5: "He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve."

This is not a contradiction, but a matter of perspective. The women were first in experience; Peter was first in apostolic witness. The Gospel writers, inspired by the Spirit, highlighted different aspects of the resurrection story to communicate theological truths. The women's testimony reminds us that God often chooses the least expected to bear His message, while Peter's encounter confirms his restoration and grounds the apostolic witness upon which the church would be built. Together, they testify to the full beauty of the resurrection: inclusive in its reach, and authoritative in its proclamation.