As the whole account...
Illustration
Object:
As the whole account of the resurrection seems to indicate, no one, family or disciples, seemed to have believed Jesus when he spoke of his resurrection. Would it make sense to us today? They all heard his prophetic words -- many quoted from the Old Testament. It is always hard to believe prophecies. Few believed them in the entire Bible. Maybe they were poetic and not to be understood literally.
In the Old Testament some were killed because of their prophecies some of which were not fulfilled until years and maybe even decades or a millennium later. It is hard to sort through all the "prophecies" we see offered in Bible bookstores today.
Easter started as the saddest day for Mary and the other disciples who were preparing for the traditional burial practices to be performed.
The empty tomb was not received with joy at first. They thought it might have just been that someone carried away the body. Mary's first thought was to let the disciples know. Let them do the investigating! So Peter and probably John (he did not mention his name in his gospel) ran to check it all out. They were puzzled to see the graveclothes carefully folded. God does things neatly. They failed to understand and left again after their investigation, leaving Mary alone.
It says they believed her, but it is not certain whether they believed in the resurrection or just in the message that Mary gave them that the body was gone. They still didn't understand the scriptures that foretold the resurrection, even when they saw the empty tomb. I'm not sure we would have done any better!
Obviously Mary did not immediately accept the resurrection, because the text says she stood outside crying instead of shouting for joy. When she looked in again she saw two angels who asked her why she was crying. So she asked who took the body and where it was.
The moment of shock comes when she hears Jesus' voice calling her name. She shouts out rabboni, which is the highest and most honorable title. She must have rushed over to him and tried to hug him, but he stopped her and told her it was not right as he had not gone home to heaven yet. First he had to return to the Father. It is a question why he allowed Thomas to touch him shortly after that. We can only speculate whether he had gone "home" and come back.
This time when Mary rushes to report to the disciples it is with joy, the joy that should be in all our hearts this Easter day. Joy should come before understanding. That will start to come later as we begin to see God's plan for humankind. If you have a problem like they did, ask God to give you his Spirit and then you will find peace in believing.
In the Old Testament some were killed because of their prophecies some of which were not fulfilled until years and maybe even decades or a millennium later. It is hard to sort through all the "prophecies" we see offered in Bible bookstores today.
Easter started as the saddest day for Mary and the other disciples who were preparing for the traditional burial practices to be performed.
The empty tomb was not received with joy at first. They thought it might have just been that someone carried away the body. Mary's first thought was to let the disciples know. Let them do the investigating! So Peter and probably John (he did not mention his name in his gospel) ran to check it all out. They were puzzled to see the graveclothes carefully folded. God does things neatly. They failed to understand and left again after their investigation, leaving Mary alone.
It says they believed her, but it is not certain whether they believed in the resurrection or just in the message that Mary gave them that the body was gone. They still didn't understand the scriptures that foretold the resurrection, even when they saw the empty tomb. I'm not sure we would have done any better!
Obviously Mary did not immediately accept the resurrection, because the text says she stood outside crying instead of shouting for joy. When she looked in again she saw two angels who asked her why she was crying. So she asked who took the body and where it was.
The moment of shock comes when she hears Jesus' voice calling her name. She shouts out rabboni, which is the highest and most honorable title. She must have rushed over to him and tried to hug him, but he stopped her and told her it was not right as he had not gone home to heaven yet. First he had to return to the Father. It is a question why he allowed Thomas to touch him shortly after that. We can only speculate whether he had gone "home" and come back.
This time when Mary rushes to report to the disciples it is with joy, the joy that should be in all our hearts this Easter day. Joy should come before understanding. That will start to come later as we begin to see God's plan for humankind. If you have a problem like they did, ask God to give you his Spirit and then you will find peace in believing.
