1 Corinthians 15:8Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

How then does the Gospel say, on the contrary, that Christ appeared first of all to Mary? Among the men, He appeared first to Peter, who especially desired to see Him.

Of what eleven apostles does Paul speak here, when Matthias was chosen after Christ's ascension, and not immediately after the resurrection? Probably He appeared also after the ascension. Therefore this very apostle was both chosen after the ascension and saw Him.

Paul does not indicate the time, but simply and indefinitely lists the appearances, which were probably many. Therefore John also says, 'This is now the third time He appeared' (Jn. 21:14).

'After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren.' Some say that the word 'more' means 'from above,' from heaven. That is, He appeared to them not walking upon the earth, but above, over their head, because He wished to assure them not only of His resurrection, but also of His ascension.

Others maintain that 'more than five hundred' means more than five hundred. 'Of whom the greater part remain to the present.' Though I am recounting past events, he says, I still have witnesses who are alive.

'But some have fallen asleep.' He did not say 'died,' but 'fallen asleep,' confirming by this expression also the truth of the resurrection.

'After that He appeared to James.' I think he means His brother. They say that He Himself ordained him and made him the first bishop in Jerusalem.

'Then to all the apostles,' because there were also other apostles, namely the seventy.

'Then last of all He appeared to me also, as to one born out of due time.' He says this more from humility. Christ did not appear to him after the others because he was lower than all. Although he calls himself last, he proved more glorious than many called before him, indeed than all.

Nor were the five hundred brethren better than James because Christ appeared to them before him.

Why did Christ not appear to all together? In order first to sow the seeds of faith. The first who saw Him and was fully assured spoke of it to others. Then the report spread, produced in the hearers expectation of this great wonder, and prepared the way for faith in His appearance.

Therefore Christ did not appear to all together, nor to many at the beginning, but first of all to one only, namely to the chief and most faithful of all. The most faithful soul had to be the first to be counted worthy of such an appearance.

Those who saw after others had seen, and when they had already heard from them, had no small help in their testimony. It disposed them toward faith and prepared the soul. But the first who was counted worthy to see the Lord needed great faith, as I have said, so as not to be troubled by the extraordinary sight.

For this reason Christ appeared first of all to Peter. The one who first confessed Him as Christ was rightly the first counted worthy to see His resurrection. Christ appeared first of all to him alone not only for this reason, but also because he had denied Him.

To comfort him completely and show that he had not been rejected, Christ counted him worthy of His appearance before the others and entrusted the sheep to him first.

For this reason He appeared first also to the women. Since their sex was subjected to humiliation, it was the first to be counted worthy of grace both at Christ's birth and at His resurrection.

After Peter, Christ appeared both to each separately and to few and to many, so that they might become witnesses and teachers for one another in this matter, and so that the apostles might be trustworthy preachers.

'Then last of all He appeared to me also, as to one born out of due time.' What does he wish to say here by these humble words, and for what reason? If he wishes to show himself trustworthy and to number himself among the witnesses of the resurrection, he ought to have done the opposite.

He ought to have exalted and magnified himself, as he does in many places when circumstances require it. Yet here he humbles himself because he intends to do the same thing, though not immediately, but with his characteristic prudence.

First he humbles himself and says many reproachful things about himself. Then he magnifies his deeds. Why? So that when he says of himself the great and lofty statement, 'But I labored more abundantly than they all' (1 Cor. 15:10), his words may be beyond suspicion and received as spoken in the course of the discourse, not by design.

So also in the epistle to Timothy, when he intends to say something great about himself, he first sets forth his offenses. Whoever says something great about others speaks boldly and confidently. But whoever is compelled to praise himself, especially when presenting himself as a witness, feels shame and blushes.

Therefore this blessed man first humbles and then magnifies himself. He does this both to soften the unpleasantness of self-praise and to give credibility to the words that follow.

By speaking truthfully about what deserves condemnation, and by concealing nothing of this kind, for example, that he persecuted the Church and laid waste the faith, he makes his praiseworthy deeds also beyond doubt.

And see how great his humility is. Having said, 'Then last of all He appeared to me,' he was not satisfied with this, since the Lord says, 'Many who are first will be last, and the last first' (Mt. 19:30). He adds, 'as to one born out of due time.'

Nor does he stop there, but adds his own judgment and gives the reason: 'For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God' (1 Cor. 15:9).

[...] See how he abounds in words of humility: 'Then last of all,' he says, 'He appeared to me.' In this way he does not compare himself with anyone else. And by saying, 'as to one born out of due time,' he acknowledges himself last of the apostles, and even unworthy of that name.

Not content with this, he wished to show that his humility was not only in words, and so he gives reasons and proofs. He is one born out of due time because he saw Jesus after all the others. He is unworthy of the name apostle because he persecuted the Church.

One who humbles himself only in words does not act this way. But one who also gives reasons speaks everything from a contrite heart. He mentions the same thing elsewhere: 'I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man' (1 Tim. 1:12-13).

Thus Paul compares himself to an untimely birth, saying: after all the other Apostles, the Lord appeared also to me, as to one untimely born, as to the lowest and most insignificant creature. Then he gives the reason for this: because, he says, I am the least of the Apostles, and "am not worthy to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God."

"Persecutor of the Church" and "Apostle" are two phrases truly opposed to one another. Therefore he mentions here the persecutions he carried out against the Church before his conversion, in order to show himself unworthy even of the apostolic name. In this way he humbles himself to the very last degree of humility.

Hear also the words of his exaltation, and notice how he moderates and conceals it. Then you will be convinced that he says nothing special or excessive about himself, and will understand that even his apparent exaltation is the utmost humility.

Moved before the greatness of the grace of God manifested in him, he calls himself the least of all the Apostles. Yet lest anyone despise his testimony because of this, he turns the readers' attention to the presence of God's grace in him. This grace was clearly revealed in the multitude of his successful labors, and especially in their fruits, which grew through the faith of the Corinthians themselves.

Finally, he persuades them to receive the objects of faith not with regard to persons, but according to the essence of those objects and their undoubted reliability.

Dwelling on the Apostle's words, in which he speaks of himself with great humility, Bishop Theophan says: "Having touched upon himself and his calling, the Apostle could not refrain from pausing on this. He did so both from his feeling of humility and gratitude, and because of the purpose for which he was bringing forward testimony to the resurrection.

"I persecuted the Church, he says, and therefore I am not worthy to be called an Apostle. This is a strong expression of humility. Yet at the same time, if he formerly persecuted the Church, and now became a preacher of the faith whose foundation is Christ's resurrection, then everyone could infer from this that this persecutor must have received a striking assurance of the resurrection, since he became a preacher of the faith from being a persecutor.

"This inference gave Paul's testimony concerning Christ's resurrection a higher value than all the others. It also exalted them all and crowned them with itself."

"What does he wish to say here by such humble-minded words, and for what reason? If he wishes to show himself trustworthy and to number himself among the witnesses of the resurrection, he ought to have done the opposite. He ought to have exalted and magnified himself, as he does in many places when circumstances require it.

"But here he lowers himself because he intends to do the same thing, only not suddenly, but with his characteristic prudence. Having first humbled himself and uttered many reproaches against himself, he then magnifies his deeds.

"For what purpose? So that when he says about himself the great and lofty statement, 'I labored more abundantly than they all,' his words might be beyond doubt and accepted as spoken by the course of the argument.

"One who says something great about others speaks boldly and fearlessly. But one who is compelled to praise himself, especially when presenting himself as a witness, is ashamed and blushes.

"Therefore this blessed man first humbles himself and then magnifies himself. He does this both to soften the unpleasantness of self-praise and thereby to make his following words trustworthy.

"For by speaking truthfully about what is worthy of condemnation, and by hiding nothing of this kind, for example that he persecuted the Church and ravaged the faith, he thereby makes his deeds beyond doubt and worthy of praise.

"And see how great his humility is. Having said, 'Last of all He appeared also to me,' he was not satisfied with this. For the Lord says, 'Many who are last will be first, and the first last' (Mt 19:30). But he adds, 'as to one untimely born.'

"Nor does he stop there. He adds his own condemnation and gives the cause" (St. Chrysostom).