Jesus Failed?
On that terrible Friday afternoon, Peter, John, Thomas, and the rest thought it was over. Jesus had failed. They had failed. Their dreams of the kingdom had failed. Everything they had hoped for was finished.
Two days later they were hearing crazy rumours about Jesus being seen around Jerusalem. Some women were telling wild tales about seeing and touching him. Was there no respect for the dead? Were they trying to add insult to injury? Would there never be an end to this taunting?
Some of them rushed to the tomb and found it empty. But that probably meant only that the Romans had taken his body and reburied it in a secret place. One thing they knew: death is final and irreversible. It was over. Nothing would ever be right again. Jesus was dead.
Then, in a room whose door was shut and secure, Jesus was standing before them! Could they believe their eyes? Had the rumours been true? Maybe they pinched themselves. But they weren't dreaming. He was there - alive and with them again.
Death wasn't irreversible after all. Neither, then, were their pain, unbelief, and fear final. Their crushing sense of failure could give way now to confidence. They could be bold in Jesus' name. When this startling understanding fixed itself in their hearts, the same men who had crept away from Golgotha in fear would stand in the streets of Jerusalem to preach that the crucified-but-raised Christ is the Saviour of All.
Rubel Shelly
The FAX of Life