The Apostle Paul gives a list of those who saw the Lord Jesus after His death and resurrection.  He wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.” 

Paul’s was not a complete list of those who saw the post-resurrection Lord.  We also know that:

The Lord appeared to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary in Matthew 28:1 and 9-10, “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre…And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.”

The Lord appeared to two who were on the road to a town called Emmaus.  Luke 24:13-15, “And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.”

Paul does mention that the Lord was seen of the disciples.  These were at different times and every disciple was not present when the Lord appeared to them.  (Luke 24:34; John 20:19-24; John 20:26-28; Matthew 28:16).

The Lord’s appearance to Saul (Paul) was later, after He had ascended back to Heaven.  In Acts 9:3-5 we read, “And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”

Of all the instances we have of the Lord appearing after His resurrection, we do not read that He ever appeared to an unbeliever.  You might think that if the Lord did appear to a group of unbelievers who had seen Him die, then they surely would believe at the sight of the resurrected Lord.  However, that is not true.  In Luke 16, we have the event of the death of two men, Lazarus and a rich man.  In Hell, the rich man asked that Lazarus would be sent to warn his brothers of this terrible place.  We read in Luke 16:27-31, “Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”

Moses and the prophets represent the Word of God.  The Lord told the rich man that if people will not listen to God’s Word, then they would surely not listen to one who rose from the dead.  We are told in Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  It is the Gospel of Christ in the Word of God that is capable of convicting men of their sins and lead them to put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Romans 1:16 tells us, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.”  (439.4)