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11. But one might say, how does Matthew say that the eleven, having gone to the mountain of Galilee, saw Jesus, while John, after the two appearances in Jerusalem, relates that he appeared for the third time not on the mountain of Galilee, but by the sea of Galilee? This I myself also agree was truly the third time the Savior appeared to the disciples, the first being on the very day of the resurrection, on which Mary Magdalene saw him in the morning; and Luke also relates this first appearance. And a second time after eight days, that is, on the following Lord's Day, on which the Savior, appearing again, heals Thomas of his unbelief, showing him his side and his hands. And since they had been ordered to gather together in Galilee, the eleven, with the rest, were doing what was commanded, and each of them was gathering, but before the eleven had assembled, and while they were still about to do so, for the third time he appears by the sea of Galilee, not to the eleven, but only to the seven mentioned by John; these were Peter and Thomas and Nathanael, and the two sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. Therefore this third time he truly appeared to these, the eleven not yet having been gathered. For which reason, precisely, John, not excluding the others from the appearance of the Savior, noted that after the first and second appearance, he made the third only to those named at the sea of Galilee. And it is not unlikely that after these things he appeared also a fourth and a fifth time, and at other times and often; for which reason John does not describe all the deeds of the Savior; but going on he says, "And many other things Jesus did." Therefore, after he appeared this third time to the said seven, you would not err in saying that the fourth appearance was the one in Matthew, which he wrote was made to the eleven on the mountain. And after these you would not be mistaken in saying that he appeared to them gathered together at the same time, both the eleven and the seventy. And Paul relates that the Savior was seen by even more than these after the resurrection, having learned this from others. "For he appeared," he says, "to Cephas, then to the twelve, then to five hundred, then to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all," he says, "to me also." Do you see how many times and to how many he appeared after the resurrection? Thus he also appeared to those hiding in Jerusalem; and before them to those with Cleopas going to Emmaus; and before all, of men, to Simon, and of women, to the Magdalene. From this, Luke in the Acts, since he often showed himself to the disciples, observes by saying that indeed, appearing to them for forty days and being in their company, he delivered teachings about the kingdom of God, and he advised them to set out for Jerusalem, and there to preach the word first to the Jews; and not to depart from the city before, but to wait for the promise of the Father, about which we will speak a little later.

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ΙΑʹ. Φαίη δ' ἄν τις, πῶς ὁ μὲν Ματθαῖος πορευθέντας τοὺς ἕνδεκα εἰς τὸ ὄρος τῆς Γαλιλαίας ἑωρακέναι φησὶ τὸν Ἰησοῦν, ὁ δὲ Ἰωάννης μετὰ τὰς δύο ὀπτασίας τὰς ἐν τῇ Ἱερουσαλὴμ τὸ τρίτον ὦφθαι αὐτὸν οὐκ ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῆς Γαλιλαίας, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν τῆς Γαλιλαίας ἱστορεῖ; Τρίτον μὲν ἀληθῶς τοῦτο σύμφημι καὶ αὐτὸς τὸν Σωτῆρα ὦφθαι τοῖς μαθηταῖς, τὸ μὲν πρῶτον κατ' αὐτὴν τὴν ἡμέραν τῆς ἀναστάσεως, καθ' ἣν Μαρία ἡ Μαγδαληνὴ πρωΐας αὐτὸν ἑώρακε· ταύτην δὲ τὴν πρώτην ὀπτασίαν καὶ Λουκᾶς ἱστορεῖ. ∆εύτερον δὲ μεθ' ἡμέρας ὀκτὼ, δηλαδὴ τῇ ἑτέρᾳ Κυριακῇ, καθ' ἣν αὖθις ἐπιφανεὶς ὁ Σωτὴρ τὸν Θωμᾶν τῆς ἀπιστίας θεραπεύει, δείξας αὐτῷ τὴν πλευρὰν καὶ τὰς χεῖρας. Ἐπεὶ δὲ κεκελευσμένοι ἦσαν ἐπὶ τὴν Γαλιλαίαν ὁμοῦ ἀπαντᾷν, ἔπραττόν τε μετὰ τῶν λοιπῶν οἱ ἕνδεκα τὸ κελευσθὲν, καὶ ὁ καθεῖς αὐτῶν ἐπισυνήγετο, μήπω τῶν ἕνδεκα ἠθροισμένων, ἀλλ' ἔτι μελλόντων, τὸ τρίτον παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν τῆς Γαλιλαίας, οὐ τοῖς ἕνδεκα φαίνεται, ἀλλὰ μόνοις ἑπτὰ τοῖς ὑπὸ Ἰωάννου δεδηλωμένοις· οὗτοι δὲ ἦσαν Πέτρος καὶ Θωμᾶς καὶ Ναθαναὴλ, δύο τε οἱ υἱοὶ Ζεβεδαίου, καὶ ἄλλοι ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ δύο· τοῦτο δὴ οὖν τρίτον τούτοις ἀληθῶς ὤφθη, οὔπω ἕνδεκα συνηγμένων. ∆ιόπερ ἀκριβῶς οὐκ ἀποκλείων καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς ὁ Ἰωάννης τῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ὀπτασίας, ἐπεσημήνατο, μετὰ τὴν πρώτην καὶ δευτέραν ὀπτασίαν, τὴν τρίτην μόνοις τοῖς κατωνομασμένοις πεποιῆσθαι αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης τῆς Γαλιλαίας. Οὐκ ἀπεικὸς δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα καὶ τέταρτον καὶ πέμπτον, καὶ ἄλλοτε καὶ πολλάκις ὦφθαι αὐτόν· διὸ οὐδὲ περιγράφει ὁ Ἰωάννης πάσας τοῦ Σωτῆρος τὰς πράξεις· προϊὼν δὲ ἑξῆς φησι, Καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ ἐποίησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς· μετὰ γοῦν τὸ ὦφθαι αὐτὸν τοῦτο τρίτον τοῖς εἰρημένοις ἑπτὰ, τετάρτην ὀπτασίαν οὐκ ἂν ἁμάρτοις τὴν παρὰ τῷ Ματθαίῳ φήσας εἶναι, ἣν ἐν τῷ ὄρει τοῖς ἕνδεκα πεποιῆσθαι ἀνέγραψε. Καὶ μετὰ τούτους οὐκ ἂν σφαλείης ὁμοῦ κατὰ ταυτὸν συνηγμένοις ἅμα τοῖς ἕνδεκα καὶ τοῖς ἑβδομήκοντα αὐτὸν ὦφθαι εἰπών. Ὁ δὲ Παῦλος καὶ ἔτι τούτων πλείοσιν ἑωρᾶσθαι τὸν Σωτῆρα μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν ἱστορεῖ, τοῦτο παρ' ἑτέρων μαθών· «Ὤφθη γὰρ, φησὶ, Κεφᾷ, εἶτα τοῖς δώδεκα, ἔπειτα πεντακοσίοις, ἔπειτα Ἰακώβῳ, ἔπειτα τοῖς ἀποστόλοις πᾶσιν, ἔσχατον δὲ πάντων, φησὶ, κἀμοί.» Ὁρᾷς ὁσάκις καὶ ὅσοις ὤφθη μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν; Οὕτω καὶ τοῖς ἐν Ἱερουσαλὴμ κρυπτομένοις ὤφθη· καὶ πρὸ αὐτῶν τοῖς περὶ Κλεόπαν ἀπιοῦσιν ἐπὶ Ἐμμαοῦν· καὶ πρό γε πάντων, ἀνδρῶν μὲν Σίμωνι, γυναικῶν δὲ τῇ Μαγδαληνῇ. Ἔνθεν ὁ Λουκᾶς ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσιν, ἐπεὶ πολλάκις ἑαυτὸν ἐδείκνυ τοῖς μαθηταῖς, ἐπιτηρεῖ λέγων, ὡς ἄρα δι' ἡμερῶν τεσσαράκοντα ὀπτανόμενος αὐτοῖς καὶ συναυλιζόμενος, τὰ περὶ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ παρεδίδου μαθήματα, παρῄνει τε ὁρμᾷν εἰς τὴν Ἱερουσαλὴμ, κἀκεῖ κηρύττειν Ἰουδαίοις πρώτοις τὸν λόγον· μηδὲ πρότερον ἀναχωρεῖν τῆς πόλεως, ἀλλὰ περιμένειν τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν τοῦ Πατρὸς, περὶ ἧ; μικρὸν ὕστερον διαληψόμεθα.