“Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell hisdisciples that he has risen from the dead,. . .” (Matthew 28:5b-7a)
These days, conspiracy theories seem to be quite popular. People apparently believe many bizarre things that defy logic and the natural order of life and creation. They accept and believe in vampires, zombies, and UFOs although there is no evidence to prove such things actually exist. And yet, at the same time, many will reject the idea that Jesus died and rose from the dead. Many people cannot or will not accept as it not only defies logic, it also demands a life altering decision, one which many are loath to make as they are too comfortable in their sin affirming, self-centered lifestyles. Accepting the resurrection of Jesus as fact means that Jesus is alive.
The proof of the great miracle of Jesus rising from the dead rests upon the testimony of eyewitnesses who, at first, could not make sense of the reality of what Jesus had accomplished. His resurrection is the greatest miracle that He ever performed. It is evidence that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior of the world and that His sacrifice for sin was acceptable in the Father’s sight. And that is cause for great rejoicing.
We see that joy in the gospel accounts of the events that occurred on the day of the resurrection. That joy did not break forth immediately for, as we know, the disciples had experienced great fear and confusion because of the crucifixion. Consequently when they first heard of the disappearance of the body from Mary Magdalene and other women, they were extremely skeptical. Why believe the testimony of hysterical women who in that society were extremely unreliable.
We cannot really fault the disciples for how they reacted. Although they had seen Jesus raise people from the dead, the idea of someone raising himself was so foreign to their way of thinking that it made no sense. Despite our so-called advanced scientific minds and methods, we cannot explain it or reason it out. Only by faith does it make sense. We accept it as truth because the Word and of God testifies that these things are so. And with that truth alive in our hearts we go forth into the world to tell others.