Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. Mark16:14
This is one of those verses that I wish wasn't in the Bible. I wish Jesus didn't have to rebuke the disciples. I wish they'd believed completely from the word go.
But the truth is that they didn't.
The women didn't get it. Mary mistook Jesus for the gardener. Peter went off by himself wondering what had happened. The two on the road to Emmaus spent a whole day without recognising Him and Thomas demanded tactile proof.
It seems discouraging that the early church battled to get it right. If they battled, what chance do we have? Why were they so "lacking in faith" and filled with "stubborn refusal" to believe?
Firstly, we must recognise that resurrection is counter-intuitive.
It counters all our earthly experience. We see everything winding down. Plants die, pets die, people die. This is the way of the world. This is what we know. It is very hard for us to believe otherwise.
Secondly, we must realise that we are marred by our sin. We carry guilt for the past and brokenness into the present and the future. There is a sense in us that this brokenness _must_ die. It must not and cannot live forever. And so we resign ourselves to death. (We forget that Jesus makes us a "new creation" (2Cor5:17))
Thirdly, this same sinfulness dulls the edge of faith and makes it difficult to believe. Our guilt and personal darkness inhibits our "faith muscles."
Jesus has patiently appeared to them on more than one occasion. He has reassured them, eaten with them, and even invited them to touch His wounds. Now He also rebukes them. Not cruelly or harshly, but to waken them.
Why?
Because the resurrection MATTERS!
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
