So it’s fairly likely it really was only a couple, but they were already devout and already had teammates to go and start this new church, which explains their success and gumption in starting a new church. Within a few years the descriptions of Jesus post-crucification become more and more elaborate and more and more robust against doubt. Essentially, as the disciples encountered resistance to their word, their stories became harder and harder to refute. Afterall, what’s a little embellishment when you’re trying to save people’s souls? In the earliest gospels we have, Jesus is only seen by a few people and he ascends almost immediately. It’s not until the later gospels that we get Doubting Thomas and Jesus walking around for 40 days before ascending.
So it’s fairly likely it really was only a couple, but they were already devout and already had teammates to go and start this new church, which explains their success and gumption in starting a new church. Within a few years the descriptions of Jesus post-crucification become more and more elaborate and more and more robust against doubt. Essentially, as the disciples encountered resistance to their word, their stories became harder and harder to refute. Afterall, what’s a little embellishment when you’re trying to save people’s souls? In the earliest gospels we have, Jesus is only seen by a few people and he ascends almost immediately. It’s not until the later gospels that we get Doubting Thomas and Jesus walking around for 40 days before ascending.