Daily Devotions
John
John 20:11-18 "WAS THERE SOMETHING WRONG, SOMEWHERE?"
Day 334 – John 20
WAS THERE SOMETHING WRONG, SOMEWHERE?
The confidence of the Disciples was all but shattered when Jesus died! The women disciples, though they were devoted to Jesus and they loved Him with all their heart, could not exercise enough faith to believe what they had been taught!
It took the angels of God, sent by the Lord mercifully to cause the women disciples to re-think the kind of faith they possessed!
“Why do you seek the living among the dead?
He is not here, but is risen! 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.'”
Luke 24:5-7
It took Jesus to appear to Mary, before she could be comforted! Where was the faith that they were supposed to have in Jesus, in God and in the Scriptures!
Surely, they could not expect that the angels would be making appearances to ALL the Disciples who had scattered when Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane!
INTIMATION THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING NOT QUITE RIGHT
After the angels made the announcement that Jesus had risen from the dead, they were given a special task to perform. The angels were not going to appear to the men Disciples! Their appearance to the women folk was a special one-off thing. The women were given specific instructions.
“You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.
He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they
laid Him. But go, tell His disciples – and Peter –
that He is going before you into Galilee; there you
will see Him, as He said to you.”
Mark 16:6-7
There, the angels had said it quite clearly. The women were to be witnesses to their fellow-disciples! They were not to expect that angelic visits were to be a common-place event!
Jesus had already taught the Disciples deeply concerning His suffering, His death and also His resurrection! They must seek to remember what Jesus had taught them. They must seek to exercise their faith much more!
The angels would not appear to Peter. They would also not appear to any of the other men Disciples! The Lord did not deem that necessary! They all had sufficient faith and knowledge. They must put into practice what they already had in their hearts! Not all was well, if they had to depend upon angelic visits for encouragement and instruction. He who was Saviour and Lord was far greater than His angels. They were but servants, though they were angelic beings. The word of the Lord should have been enough. This should generate faith to believe that He would rise from the dead!
God had been most gracious to them. He pitied their struggles. He sought to lift them out of the doldrums their spirits had entered into! But they must not depend upon angelic visits to get on with life.
The words of the angels lifted up the hearts of the women folk, but they were also given in admonition as well! This must not go on. There was important work that Jesus had planned for His Disciples. If they could not bear suffering, and if they could not exercise faith in Jesus and His Word, how would they be able to endure personal suffering later?
THE UNBELIEF OF THE APOSTLES
How did the women fare when they obeyed the angels and returned to share their story of a Risen Saviour? Luke recorded the response of the men when the women Disciples shared their new-found faith.
“And they remembered His words. Then they
returned from the tomb and told all these things
to the eleven and to all the rest. It was Mary
Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James,
and the other women with them, who told these things
to the apostles. And their words seemed to them like
idle tales, and they did not believe them.”
Luke 24:8-11
The men Disciples had even more problems with their faith than was realized! They just couldn’t bring themselves to believe their fellow Disciples! Surely these women must be deluded! (Only Peter and John went to the tomb to check out the story of the women folk – John 20:1-10). And these were the apostles of Jesus! How would they be able to serve as servants of Christ, if they couldn’t even believe in His resurrection!
A DEEP PROBLEM THAT MUST BE TACKLED!
This was a problem that had to be dealt with, severely and in great depth! Nothing that the men said could dissuade the women who had seen and heard the angels of God. Certainly nothing could have moved Mary Magdalene from her conviction that Jesus has risen from the dead! He had chosen to speak to her. He had graciously given her deep and profound words to feed her soul.
What had happened to the faith of the Disciples? Just a few days ago, they had been with Jesus! They had shared the Passover meal with Him. They had entered into the Garden of Gethsemane with Him too. They had tried to watch and pray as He had instructed. They had been with Jesus for three wonderful years! What happened to the knowledge that He had given to them? How had unbelief settled in so deeply? Something was dreadfully wrong. And it had to be put right!