For as yet the disciples did not know the Scripture, that Jesus must rise again from the dead.
Life often presents us with things both bitter and sweet that, at first, may be difficult to accept. We simply can't believe our eyes. We hesitate to believe our ears. Curiously, the cognitive dissonance a person experiences when confronted with the unexpected, has led many to walk away from infinite blessings.
The resurrection of Jesus was one such unexpected event. Though, among the Pharisees, there was a belief in an eventual, end of the ages resurrection, hope in a Messiah didn't include his death, never mind his resurrection. Whoever Jesus was, his death permitted them to dismiss him as the Messiah. Not withstanding that Jesus had brought Lazarus back to life, all, including the disciples of Jesus, assumed that his crucifixion meant that he wasn't the Messiah, that the kingdom of God had not arrived, effectively flushing all their cherished hopes down the sewer.
On Sunday morning, the first day of the week, just before dawn, several women - Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome, Joanna, and other women (Mk 16:1; Lk 24:10) - left their homes and made their way to the tomb with more burial spices to anoint Jesus (Lk 24:1). Suddenly everything changed. There was another great earthquake similar to the one that had opened the graves on Friday afternoon immediately after Jesus had released his spirit. This time, though, the quake signaled the moment that Jesus arose from the dead - and with him many saints (Mt 27:53).
Angels had been sent not only to greet their Lord, but to serve the needs of those who would first learn the truth. An angel, breaking the Roman seal, rolled back the stone with ease. He then, rather boldly, perched himself upon the stone as Jesus walked out of the tomb. The angels had joyfully expected the resurrection of Jesus.
Those posted to guard the tomb were startled into a new reality. Their job was to make sure no one stole the body of Jesus. Though deceased, the body of Jesus could still become a potential threat to the religion of status quo if the whereabouts of his body were questioned. Obviously that assignment wasn't going to work out so well. Matthew wrote that at the presence of the angel - with a countenance like lightning and clothing as white as snow (Mt 28:4) - the guards helplessly 'shook with fear'. They had not expected a resurrection.
Seemingly frozen in place, the guards remained as reluctant witnesses to the next unfolding events (Mt. 28:11). Contra-Mark (Mk 16:9), these guards were the first to witness the resurrection. By the time the sun had risen, the women had arrived at the tomb. They had distracted themselves from their grief with a discussion over the "very large stone" that would need to be removed to give them access to the body of Jesus. Maybe the guard would help? As they approached the tomb though, their chattering ceased when it was obvious the that stone had already been rolled out of the way.
I imagine that the spices dropped out of their hands as their jaws dropped in wonder. They ran to the tomb probably without even noticing the guards standing like wax museum pieces. Matthew wrote that the angel, presumably the one still sitting on the stone, answered the question that their mouths hadn't yet expressed.
"Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." (Mt. 28:5,6).
The women entered the tomb (Mk. 16:5; Lk. 24:3). Perplexity was etched on each of their faces. Though they had heard the words of the angel outside, they had only really heard that the body of Jesus was no longer in the tomb. It is difficult to 'hear beyond our expectations'. All manner of explanations, other than the truth - "he has risen" - began to race through their minds. Their eyes immediately confirmed the words of the angel. The body of Jesus was no longer in the tomb.
Again, having entered the tomb (Mk 16:5), they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side. He repeated the message,
"Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him" (Mk.16:6).
No matter how many times we hear a truth, no matter who it is that tells us a truth, if we cherish our own notion of truth we will not see or hear anything contradictory. Jesus had referred to this frustrating fact earlier saying, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead' (Lk 16:31).
Two in shining garments, standing next to the women, asked, "why do you seek the living among the dead? Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee, saying, 'the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again'" (Lk 24:6,7).
The women were clearly not expecting a resurrection. They heard. They even 'remembered' (Lk 24:8), but they didn't comprehend 'risen'. It was a truth that was outside their paradigm.
Even though the gospels present the angels appearing as men in shining white garments. We don't know for sure that the women perceived these beings as angels or as men. They, the angels, knew all that Jesus had taught during his ministry on earth. They knew each character involved and what to expect of them. As anticipated, the angels found that the women weren't convinced by their testimony. So, they sent them to the eleven with a message:
"Go, tell the disciples - and Peter - that Jesus is risen from the dead and that he is going before you into Galilee; there you will see him, as he said to you." (Mt. 28:7; Mk. 16:7)
The reference to 'his disciples' simply meant the eleven. It was not meant to suggest that these women of faith were any less 'disciples' of Christ. Mark specified Peter, maybe because he, along with the others, was inordinately discouraged (Mk 16:11).
The women did as they were told, hastening out of the tomb to the find the disciples (Mk.16:8; Mt.28:8). Their emotions have been described as a blend of fear and great joy (Mt 28:8), trembling with fear and amazement (Mk 16:8). When Mary and the women (Lk 24:9,10) arrived at the place where Peter and John were staying, they blurted out their discovery.
"They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have laid him."(Jn 20:2)
Curiously, if the sequence of these events is as traditionally rendered, despite having heard the angels explanation and having remembered (Lk 24:8) Jesus promising to rise from the dead on the third day, the women rendered a sadly pessimistic report.
The disciples, like all those before them that Sunday morning, hadn't expected the resurrection of Jesus. They believed in an eventual resurrection, had even witnessed the resurrection of Lazarus, but - despite the teaching of Jesus, they too had not imagined this. They did not believe. The words of the women seemed to the eleven (Lk 24:9) to simply be like idle tales, nonsensical, a vain and impossible hope (Lk 24:11). Even the women hadn't believed all that they were repeating to the eleven. This suggests to me that they hadn't noticed the angels as spirit beings, but simply as men with opinions about what happened to the body of Jesus.
Nevertheless, despite doubt, Peter jumped up, along with John, and ran to the tomb (Lk 24:12; Jn 20:4). John overtook Peter's lead and arrived at the tomb first. He stooped down and looked in, without entering, and saw the burial cloths of Jesus lying there as the women had reported. Peter, arrived, and without hesitation - being true to character, immediately entered the tomb. The linens were arranged in such as manner as if Jesus had just disappeared from within them. In other words, the head cloth was separate from the rest and laying where the head of Jesus would have been. All the cloths were folded as they would have been if wrapped around a body. The body of Jesus hadn't been unwrapped.
None of the gospel account suggest that the angels were still present. We may assume there were, but just not visible to the disciples. No reason is given. John, not hearing anything from the usually verbose Peter, decided to enter the tomb as well. It must have been a rather sizable tomb dug out of the limestone. He quickly realized what had distracted Peter. It should have been evident when he first looked inside. Jesus was not only not there, but must have, somehow, been resurrected. He believed (Jn 20:4-8). Up to that point the disciples had not expected the resurrection of Jesus (v. 9).
One question loomed in their minds. If Jesus had been resurrected, where was he? They, marveling (Lk 24:12), decided to return to their own homes (Jn 20:10). At least that part of the women's message made sense. Jesus had risen from the dead.
As the men left the garden, Mary Magdalene briefly tarried behind, weeping as she stood outside by the tomb (Jn 20:11). The other women slowly began to walk away hoping Mary would soon catch up to them. She stooped down and took one more tear-filled look into the tomb. The angels were back. This time the two of them were in the tomb sitting on either end of where the body of Jesus had lain.
"Why are you weeping?" asked an angel. It was as if to say, 'what's your problem woman? Why can't you believe?'
"Because", she may have even impatiently replied, "they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him" (Jn 20:12-13). Mary hadn't observed the details that both Peter and John had noticed. They, obviously, hadn't explained their new 'belief' to the women before leaving. She was still under the assumption that someone had taken the body of Jesus away. Any remnants of hope that he had risen seemed to have vanished.
Mark made it clear that Jesus first - at least in face-to-face conversation - appeared to Mary Magdalene (Mk 16:9). Here is how it seems to have played out.
Mary turned around, maybe, also, to leave, and unexpectedly saw someone she rashly concluded to have been the gardener. It was Jesus. He, supposedly, was fully dressed, but we are not told where the clothing came from since the soldiers had taken them on Friday and his body had been wrapped in linens and spices for a couple of days. He should have been naked.
Jesus asked the same question previously asked by the angel,
"Why are you weeping? Whom (note: not 'what') are you seeking?
Making it clear that she hadn't yet accepted the words of the angels, which may have played a part, along with her tears, in the fact that she didn't recognize Jesus, she said,
"Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away" (Jn 20:15). That would have, in itself, been difficult, but love always finds a way even when faced with seeming impossibilities. Love hopes and believes all things...well, except at this point, in a resurrection.
Not waiting for an answer, or because there was a delay in his response, she turned away from the 'gardener'. Was Mary looking disconcertedly back at the empty tomb, or pleadingly towards the angels, or even frantically surveying the area to see if she could find his body herself?
Jesus spoke up, grabbing her attention. "Mary".
When she heard her name, said with the same kindly tone and enduringly familiar Galilean accent, she quickly spun around no longer seeing a gardener, but her precious Lord. "Rabboni!"
I don't think it would be irreverent to imagine, considering the angst generated in the last few days, that Mary excitedly embraced Jesus with all of her strength leaving little indication that she would ever let go of him again. Such as scene would make more sense of the next words of Jesus.
"Do not cling to me." Why? Why not? She was overjoyed to see him, to know that he was alive. Was it some how inappropriate? No, I don't think so. Was there something about ascending that would be unacceptable to heaven if anyone touched him beforehand? No. He later allowed the women and Thomas to touch him. Was Jesus tempted to not return to his Father, preferring the touch of a woman? Lord no.
"Don't cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God.'" (Jn 20:17)
The word translated as 'cling' in the English is most often translated 'touch' throughout the New Testament. Are translators reading into this word what they want to see? Though there are many interpretations of this verse, it seems to me that Mary just kept touching Jesus as if she couldn't believer her eyes and/or in a manner that suggested she was not going to let him get out of her sight again.
When Jesus tells her to stop, it is not because what she was doing was wrong or inappropriate, rather a new margin of time came into play - the period between his resurrection and his ascension. In other words he was saying, "Mary, don't keep touching me as if you can't believe it or as if you refuse to share me with others. There is much to be done before I return to my Father. We need to let the others know."
Mary ran to find the disciples. Along the way, supposedly, she caught up with the other women and told them that she had seen Jesus. Together, as they continued on to find the eleven, Jesus met them, again honoring these faithful women as first witnesses.
"Rejoice!", he said. The women came to him, falling on their knees they worshiped him as they clung to his feet.
"Do not be afraid, Go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me?" (Mt. 28:9,10). There wasn't any disallowing of their touch. In fact, the Greek word translated as 'clung', is more accurately applied to this setting that Mary's earlier - which was more like 'touch'.
Contrary to all human expectations, the authoritative first proclamation for the greatest event in human history was not given to church leaders, secular world leaders, nor even to the eleven, but to a few women whose testimony had little legal weight in society. I wonder if the eleven ever wondered about why Jesus appeared to Mary and the other women first?
Of course, in the meantime, some of the soldiers were also telling the story, yet not as a proclamation of faith to receptive ears. Rather, they were relating the events with fear to the chief priests. Their story contained elements of fact that no other human beings, even the women, hadn't witnessed. They had seen the arrival of the angels, felt the earthquake, watched as the stone was rolled away from the entrance to the dead Nazarene's tomb, and then beheld the man called Jesus walk out of his tomb alive! What a story they had to tell.
The chief priest listened to the guards accounting of events. It didn't make any more sense to them than it had to the disciples. Sure, the dead Jesus rose to life? Angels appeared and removed the stone? It was indeed an incredible story. They didn't believe it, yet they knew if this became the prevailing narrative - true or false - it would only escalate what they had tried to terminate in the crucifixion of Jesus.
These guards had a margin of time in which to embrace Jesus by faith as the Way, the Truth, and the Life - or to cling to the bribe offered by the chief priest if they would perpetuate a lie, to deny what they had reportedly 'seen'. Unfortunately, amazingly, they chose the latter (Mt 28:11-15). Maybe they too couldn't believe their own eyes, so unexpectedly strange were those few moments of time.
Mary Magdalene caught up with the disciples and told them that she had actually seen the Lord (Jn 20:18). Though they believed that he had risen from the dead, they did not believe that he had been seen by her (Mk 16:11). Jesus appeared first to Mary? Even that was unexpected.
So, what does it really mean to believe in the resurrection? We'll look more into that idea next week.
Life often presents us with things both bitter and sweet that, at first, may be difficult to accept. We simply can't believe our eyes. We hesitate to believe our ears. Curiously, the cognitive dissonance a person experiences when confronted with the unexpected, has led many to walk away from infinite blessings.
The resurrection of Jesus was one such unexpected event. Though, among the Pharisees, there was a belief in an eventual, end of the ages resurrection, hope in a Messiah didn't include his death, never mind his resurrection. Whoever Jesus was, his death permitted them to dismiss him as the Messiah. Not withstanding that Jesus had brought Lazarus back to life, all, including the disciples of Jesus, assumed that his crucifixion meant that he wasn't the Messiah, that the kingdom of God had not arrived, effectively flushing all their cherished hopes down the sewer.
On Sunday morning, the first day of the week, just before dawn, several women - Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome, Joanna, and other women (Mk 16:1; Lk 24:10) - left their homes and made their way to the tomb with more burial spices to anoint Jesus (Lk 24:1). Suddenly everything changed. There was another great earthquake similar to the one that had opened the graves on Friday afternoon immediately after Jesus had released his spirit. This time, though, the quake signaled the moment that Jesus arose from the dead - and with him many saints (Mt 27:53).
Angels had been sent not only to greet their Lord, but to serve the needs of those who would first learn the truth. An angel, breaking the Roman seal, rolled back the stone with ease. He then, rather boldly, perched himself upon the stone as Jesus walked out of the tomb. The angels had joyfully expected the resurrection of Jesus.
Those posted to guard the tomb were startled into a new reality. Their job was to make sure no one stole the body of Jesus. Though deceased, the body of Jesus could still become a potential threat to the religion of status quo if the whereabouts of his body were questioned. Obviously that assignment wasn't going to work out so well. Matthew wrote that at the presence of the angel - with a countenance like lightning and clothing as white as snow (Mt 28:4) - the guards helplessly 'shook with fear'. They had not expected a resurrection.
Seemingly frozen in place, the guards remained as reluctant witnesses to the next unfolding events (Mt. 28:11). Contra-Mark (Mk 16:9), these guards were the first to witness the resurrection. By the time the sun had risen, the women had arrived at the tomb. They had distracted themselves from their grief with a discussion over the "very large stone" that would need to be removed to give them access to the body of Jesus. Maybe the guard would help? As they approached the tomb though, their chattering ceased when it was obvious the that stone had already been rolled out of the way.
I imagine that the spices dropped out of their hands as their jaws dropped in wonder. They ran to the tomb probably without even noticing the guards standing like wax museum pieces. Matthew wrote that the angel, presumably the one still sitting on the stone, answered the question that their mouths hadn't yet expressed.
"Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." (Mt. 28:5,6).
The women entered the tomb (Mk. 16:5; Lk. 24:3). Perplexity was etched on each of their faces. Though they had heard the words of the angel outside, they had only really heard that the body of Jesus was no longer in the tomb. It is difficult to 'hear beyond our expectations'. All manner of explanations, other than the truth - "he has risen" - began to race through their minds. Their eyes immediately confirmed the words of the angel. The body of Jesus was no longer in the tomb.
Again, having entered the tomb (Mk 16:5), they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side. He repeated the message,
"Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him" (Mk.16:6).
No matter how many times we hear a truth, no matter who it is that tells us a truth, if we cherish our own notion of truth we will not see or hear anything contradictory. Jesus had referred to this frustrating fact earlier saying, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead' (Lk 16:31).
Two in shining garments, standing next to the women, asked, "why do you seek the living among the dead? Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee, saying, 'the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again'" (Lk 24:6,7).
The women were clearly not expecting a resurrection. They heard. They even 'remembered' (Lk 24:8), but they didn't comprehend 'risen'. It was a truth that was outside their paradigm.
Even though the gospels present the angels appearing as men in shining white garments. We don't know for sure that the women perceived these beings as angels or as men. They, the angels, knew all that Jesus had taught during his ministry on earth. They knew each character involved and what to expect of them. As anticipated, the angels found that the women weren't convinced by their testimony. So, they sent them to the eleven with a message:
"Go, tell the disciples - and Peter - that Jesus is risen from the dead and that he is going before you into Galilee; there you will see him, as he said to you." (Mt. 28:7; Mk. 16:7)
The reference to 'his disciples' simply meant the eleven. It was not meant to suggest that these women of faith were any less 'disciples' of Christ. Mark specified Peter, maybe because he, along with the others, was inordinately discouraged (Mk 16:11).
The women did as they were told, hastening out of the tomb to the find the disciples (Mk.16:8; Mt.28:8). Their emotions have been described as a blend of fear and great joy (Mt 28:8), trembling with fear and amazement (Mk 16:8). When Mary and the women (Lk 24:9,10) arrived at the place where Peter and John were staying, they blurted out their discovery.
"They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have laid him."(Jn 20:2)
Curiously, if the sequence of these events is as traditionally rendered, despite having heard the angels explanation and having remembered (Lk 24:8) Jesus promising to rise from the dead on the third day, the women rendered a sadly pessimistic report.
The disciples, like all those before them that Sunday morning, hadn't expected the resurrection of Jesus. They believed in an eventual resurrection, had even witnessed the resurrection of Lazarus, but - despite the teaching of Jesus, they too had not imagined this. They did not believe. The words of the women seemed to the eleven (Lk 24:9) to simply be like idle tales, nonsensical, a vain and impossible hope (Lk 24:11). Even the women hadn't believed all that they were repeating to the eleven. This suggests to me that they hadn't noticed the angels as spirit beings, but simply as men with opinions about what happened to the body of Jesus.
Nevertheless, despite doubt, Peter jumped up, along with John, and ran to the tomb (Lk 24:12; Jn 20:4). John overtook Peter's lead and arrived at the tomb first. He stooped down and looked in, without entering, and saw the burial cloths of Jesus lying there as the women had reported. Peter, arrived, and without hesitation - being true to character, immediately entered the tomb. The linens were arranged in such as manner as if Jesus had just disappeared from within them. In other words, the head cloth was separate from the rest and laying where the head of Jesus would have been. All the cloths were folded as they would have been if wrapped around a body. The body of Jesus hadn't been unwrapped.
None of the gospel account suggest that the angels were still present. We may assume there were, but just not visible to the disciples. No reason is given. John, not hearing anything from the usually verbose Peter, decided to enter the tomb as well. It must have been a rather sizable tomb dug out of the limestone. He quickly realized what had distracted Peter. It should have been evident when he first looked inside. Jesus was not only not there, but must have, somehow, been resurrected. He believed (Jn 20:4-8). Up to that point the disciples had not expected the resurrection of Jesus (v. 9).
One question loomed in their minds. If Jesus had been resurrected, where was he? They, marveling (Lk 24:12), decided to return to their own homes (Jn 20:10). At least that part of the women's message made sense. Jesus had risen from the dead.
As the men left the garden, Mary Magdalene briefly tarried behind, weeping as she stood outside by the tomb (Jn 20:11). The other women slowly began to walk away hoping Mary would soon catch up to them. She stooped down and took one more tear-filled look into the tomb. The angels were back. This time the two of them were in the tomb sitting on either end of where the body of Jesus had lain.
"Why are you weeping?" asked an angel. It was as if to say, 'what's your problem woman? Why can't you believe?'
"Because", she may have even impatiently replied, "they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him" (Jn 20:12-13). Mary hadn't observed the details that both Peter and John had noticed. They, obviously, hadn't explained their new 'belief' to the women before leaving. She was still under the assumption that someone had taken the body of Jesus away. Any remnants of hope that he had risen seemed to have vanished.
Mark made it clear that Jesus first - at least in face-to-face conversation - appeared to Mary Magdalene (Mk 16:9). Here is how it seems to have played out.
Mary turned around, maybe, also, to leave, and unexpectedly saw someone she rashly concluded to have been the gardener. It was Jesus. He, supposedly, was fully dressed, but we are not told where the clothing came from since the soldiers had taken them on Friday and his body had been wrapped in linens and spices for a couple of days. He should have been naked.
Jesus asked the same question previously asked by the angel,
"Why are you weeping? Whom (note: not 'what') are you seeking?
Making it clear that she hadn't yet accepted the words of the angels, which may have played a part, along with her tears, in the fact that she didn't recognize Jesus, she said,
"Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away" (Jn 20:15). That would have, in itself, been difficult, but love always finds a way even when faced with seeming impossibilities. Love hopes and believes all things...well, except at this point, in a resurrection.
Not waiting for an answer, or because there was a delay in his response, she turned away from the 'gardener'. Was Mary looking disconcertedly back at the empty tomb, or pleadingly towards the angels, or even frantically surveying the area to see if she could find his body herself?
Jesus spoke up, grabbing her attention. "Mary".
When she heard her name, said with the same kindly tone and enduringly familiar Galilean accent, she quickly spun around no longer seeing a gardener, but her precious Lord. "Rabboni!"
I don't think it would be irreverent to imagine, considering the angst generated in the last few days, that Mary excitedly embraced Jesus with all of her strength leaving little indication that she would ever let go of him again. Such as scene would make more sense of the next words of Jesus.
"Do not cling to me." Why? Why not? She was overjoyed to see him, to know that he was alive. Was it some how inappropriate? No, I don't think so. Was there something about ascending that would be unacceptable to heaven if anyone touched him beforehand? No. He later allowed the women and Thomas to touch him. Was Jesus tempted to not return to his Father, preferring the touch of a woman? Lord no.
"Don't cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God.'" (Jn 20:17)
The word translated as 'cling' in the English is most often translated 'touch' throughout the New Testament. Are translators reading into this word what they want to see? Though there are many interpretations of this verse, it seems to me that Mary just kept touching Jesus as if she couldn't believer her eyes and/or in a manner that suggested she was not going to let him get out of her sight again.
When Jesus tells her to stop, it is not because what she was doing was wrong or inappropriate, rather a new margin of time came into play - the period between his resurrection and his ascension. In other words he was saying, "Mary, don't keep touching me as if you can't believe it or as if you refuse to share me with others. There is much to be done before I return to my Father. We need to let the others know."
Mary ran to find the disciples. Along the way, supposedly, she caught up with the other women and told them that she had seen Jesus. Together, as they continued on to find the eleven, Jesus met them, again honoring these faithful women as first witnesses.
"Rejoice!", he said. The women came to him, falling on their knees they worshiped him as they clung to his feet.
"Do not be afraid, Go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me?" (Mt. 28:9,10). There wasn't any disallowing of their touch. In fact, the Greek word translated as 'clung', is more accurately applied to this setting that Mary's earlier - which was more like 'touch'.
Contrary to all human expectations, the authoritative first proclamation for the greatest event in human history was not given to church leaders, secular world leaders, nor even to the eleven, but to a few women whose testimony had little legal weight in society. I wonder if the eleven ever wondered about why Jesus appeared to Mary and the other women first?
Of course, in the meantime, some of the soldiers were also telling the story, yet not as a proclamation of faith to receptive ears. Rather, they were relating the events with fear to the chief priests. Their story contained elements of fact that no other human beings, even the women, hadn't witnessed. They had seen the arrival of the angels, felt the earthquake, watched as the stone was rolled away from the entrance to the dead Nazarene's tomb, and then beheld the man called Jesus walk out of his tomb alive! What a story they had to tell.
The chief priest listened to the guards accounting of events. It didn't make any more sense to them than it had to the disciples. Sure, the dead Jesus rose to life? Angels appeared and removed the stone? It was indeed an incredible story. They didn't believe it, yet they knew if this became the prevailing narrative - true or false - it would only escalate what they had tried to terminate in the crucifixion of Jesus.
These guards had a margin of time in which to embrace Jesus by faith as the Way, the Truth, and the Life - or to cling to the bribe offered by the chief priest if they would perpetuate a lie, to deny what they had reportedly 'seen'. Unfortunately, amazingly, they chose the latter (Mt 28:11-15). Maybe they too couldn't believe their own eyes, so unexpectedly strange were those few moments of time.
Mary Magdalene caught up with the disciples and told them that she had actually seen the Lord (Jn 20:18). Though they believed that he had risen from the dead, they did not believe that he had been seen by her (Mk 16:11). Jesus appeared first to Mary? Even that was unexpected.
So, what does it really mean to believe in the resurrection? We'll look more into that idea next week.
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