There may be many reasons for their reaction.
They were tired – it had been a long week with late nights.
They were emotional wrecks – all that excitement when they entered the city; the way He turned over the traders stalls in the temple; that meal together; seeing Him taken away to the chief priests, to Herod, to Pilate; and then, and then seeing Him on the cross.
Their friend, their teacher was gone. He was dead, dead and buried, with a stone covering the tomb.
And now the woman were saying about having seen men in gleaming robes. Something about ‘He’s not here, He has risen!’
The men couldn’t make head nor tail of what the women were talking about but they were insistent, ‘He is risen!’
Finally John and Peter decided to go and look for themselves. John got there first but waited outside. Peter did his usual and just went straight in. The grave clothes were there but no body.
And then John came in. They both just looked, first at the grave clothes and then each other. What was it He’d said before they came into Jerusalem?
"We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be turned over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him, insult Him, spit on Him, flog Him and kill Him. On the third day He will rise again."
They will mock Him, insult Him, spit on Him, flog Him and kill Him. And on the third day He will rise again!
And on the third day HE WILL RISE AGAIN!
They ran back to the others so fast.
‘It’s true, He is risen!’
The women worked it out and believed first, followed by Peter and John, and then the rest of the disciples. He is risen - Jesus is alive!
Alleluia, Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed, alleluia
Rev Phil
