Question
Could one be saved apart from Jesus after His resurrection?
Short answer:
If God is faithful and just, yes.
Short Explanation
Those faithful to God who never had the chance to know Yeshua (Jesus) or the Spirit have the same right to the coming Kingdom as those who have the Spirit within them. Those who were revealed only the the first part (God the Father) and remained faithful will also share in the inheritance (Hebrews 2:11; Mark 3:34; Titus 3:7) of the second part (Jesus the Son) and the third part (the Set-Apart (Holy) Spirit) because the three parts are one united whole (A Three-Part God?). To worship one part in the spirit of truth is to worship all that you know of Him (John 4:24), and that little bit of righteous faith is salvation in ha-Shem (the Name) (Psalm 37:39).
Exemption
Now, had they known the any part and rejected another part, they would then alienate God from their lives because the three parts are wholly united. Millions of Jews are with God now though they died before the ministry of Yeshua. Hundreds more died before the giving of the Spirit. Those who devoutly worshiped God in spirit and in truth would still reap the benefit of the promises He made to them (Deuteronomy 7:9). Still, though, thousands more went without ever hearing about Jesus for decades after His resurrection. They, too, must go to the good and faithful God if they were also good and faithful. But, had these people rejected Jesus or the Spirit, they would also reject the One Who sent Them as They are messengers of His truth (John 1:1). Thus, rejecting one is a rejection of the whole. Millions knew the one and now share in the whole, but those who reject a part reject the whole. The difference? The whole was not entirely revealed to us till Pentecost, and even then it was up to the apostles and disciples to share it with the world (Mark 16:15).
Passages Over Salvation Only in Jesus
Where does one even begin with passages claiming that Jesus is the only way to salvation? Some, when excised from their context, claim that only Jesus and the Holy Spirit lead to salvation. I need not address them beyond the context. Take Mark 16:16 or John 3:18 for example. Whomever disbelieves Jesus stands condemned. It seems pretty clear in what it’s saying, but, to be candid, the context most people read this in is wrong. One cannot disbelieve if one had no opportunity to believe. The context is in hearing the word and accepting or rejecting it, since faith comes through hearing (Romans 10:17). John 3:36 makes this context clearer, for it mentions that the rejection is where the non-believer is wrong. While there are dozens of passages over the topic, I need not address them because this argument– when thoughtfully considered– applies to them all the same. Rejection, not lack of hearing, is what condemns us.
Case Study
Apollos: Proponent of the Messiah without actually knowing Him!
24Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. 25He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit,d he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 27And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, 28for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.
Context of Passage
Apollos knew about Yeshua, but only in light understanding. He did, though, know the Scriptures concerning Him and defended Him from them. He was a Christian minister not quite meeting the definition of Christian that we assign, for he knew only the baptism of John (water), not the baptism of fire (energy, Spirit) that Jesus propounded (Acts 1:8). Still, he spoke as one with power and authority from the Spirit that had not yet been revealed to him as he would understand it. Surely, the Spirit came upon people before Yeshua; but it was not as well understood, nor was it permanent in the way that we have Him (1 Corinthians 6:19).
Apollos was a Kingdom worker, for his faith and life were entirely given over to the one true God. God is a trinity: three in one. How well Apollos knew this is uncertain (Is There Anything Jewish About the Trinity?) He long knew the God of his ancestors, and he knew about the Messiah (though only little) and still fully believed in Him (indeed, as Yeshua said, ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed!’ (John 20:29)). If you worship God in the spirit of the truth you know about Him, such as from the Scriptures, then you are worshiping Him: for He is the truth.
Those who worship Jesus are still worshiping God. The Lord’s prayer tells us to pray to God through Jesus, but this is best done by the power of the Spirit which makes us complete in Him. Apollos was revealed the first part in whole, and he was revealed only a taste of the second part: but because he had a portion in the first part (God), he would still be allotted a portion in the second (Jesus) and third part (the Spirit). So he was revealed the fullness he would still have had part in had he died prior to the giving of the Spirit. Now, had he rejected Jesus or the Spirit, then he would also reject God. But he accepted Them both and was made complete in Them.
Conclusion
Millions of Jews went to Paradise before Jesus died. Hundreds went before the giving of the Spirit. Even after Jesus and the Spirit, many devout Jews died without ever having heard about Jesus. Would a righteous, faithful, just God destroy them for never having had a chance to know the fullness of the story? Would not He, rather, see how they were faithful with the little they knew, and bless them to life in Him in the coming Kingdom? Apollos was an excellent minister, faithful, loyal to God: had he died before knowing Jesus, he would have been saved. Had he rejected Jesus, though, he would have also rejected God.
Seeking God 