Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. (Mark 16:9-11)

They Forgot What Jesus Said

The resurrection of Jesus should not have surprised the eleven. In the final year of His ministry, Jesus told the apostles that He was going to Jerusalem, where He would be handed over to the Romans, who would kill Him, but that He would rise on the third day. He told them this on numerous occasions. On one occasion, Peter was so upset about the Lord speaking of His suffering in Jerusalem that he took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him. How dare Jesus suggest He would suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed? What the eleven did not hear was how often Jesus said He would be killed and rise on the third day.

Listening is more than hearing words. Understanding what is being said requires paying attention to the message. Thomas was one of the apostles who understood more of what Jesus was teaching than the others. When Peter told Jesus he would lay down his life for the Lord, Jesus told Peter that in a short time the emboldened apostle would deny Him three times before the rooster would crow. Jesus tells Peter not to be troubled by what the Lord was saying because the will of the Father was for the Son to give His life to prepare the way of salvation. The Lord tells the eleven that He must go away, and they should know where He is going. It was then that Thomas told the Lord they did not understand and wanted to know more.

The arrest, trial, and crucifixion came as a shock to the eleven. On the evening of the day Jesus rose from the dead, ten of the apostles were gathered in a house with the doors shut for fear of the Jews. They were crying and mourning the death of Jesus, fearful of reprisals; the mob of Jews who cried for the death of Jesus would do the same to them. When Mary Magdalene burst in the door telling them Jesus was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Joanna, and Salome, had been to the tomb and found it empty. Peter and John inspected the tomb and found it empty. The women’s report seemed to the apostles like idle tales, and they did not believe them.

Jesus told the apostles He would die and rise on the third day, but they did not realize what they were witnessing was the fulfillment of that promise. They forgot the words of Jesus, causing them to disbelieve. The miracles of Jesus proved He was the Son of God. Jesus brought Lazarus from the dead after four days. This should be the testimony that if Jesus could raise the dead, God would make a way to raise His only begotten Son from the grave. The proof was in the word of God. Forgetting what Jesus said led to a lack of faith in God’s promises. They relied on their own understanding and wisdom to understand how Jesus was crucified and how, according to those who saw Him, He was alive.

Jesus was alive because His word testified to the Father’s will. Faith comes from hearing the word of God, but hearing is not just about making a sound. It requires a deep understanding of what Jesus is saying, remembering the words of God, and accepting them as truth. The word of God is truth. Hosea, the prophet, declared that Israel’s fall was because the people lacked knowledge. The apostles would believe when Jesus stood before them, and the following week Thomas would see his Lord face to face. Jesus reminds the eleven that the ones who are blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Trust the word of God. Do not forget the promises of God. God can’t lie. If Jesus said He would rise on the third, the eleven should have been looking for Him. It was Jesus who found them. Praise God.