Can you imagine what it would have been like to experience Jesus’ resurrection? For those who chose to follow Jesus for the past three years while He ministered publicly, this news that He was alive after death caused a great shaking in their faith! News of this nature causes every believer to wrestle with questions and doubts for humans have finite minds that can grasp only so much.
You read the challenges that these believers had in Luke 24:1-12. God gave every tangible clue to the fact that His Son, indeed, did conquer death, so those who walked by faith would know that Jesus is worth following. Everyone can trust Him.
Jesus is who He says He is!
Today, you have God’s Word to tell you. It is alive and active, see Hebrews 4:12. The Holy Spirit will lead you into knowing for certain that God is real and you can trust Him. For His followers back then, the New Testament wasn’t written yet. Let’s look at how God presented clear clues to Jesus’ resurrection and how His followers responded. May this help you in your questions and doubts that keep you from walking wholeheartedly with God.
Clue #1 began with an empty tomb. Jesus’ body was gone. This puzzled the women that went to anoint Jesus’ body. They had to process what Jesus had told them. Their finite minds couldn’t grasp the enormity of what took place. As you seek God and learn from the Bible, you, too, will be processing and piecing together your faith. What seems like something that is too good to be true is actually reality. You and I can believe wholeheartedly the love that God has for us through His Son. We can take to heart who Jesus says He is. We can fully trust Him.
Clue #2 reveals the caring heart of God. While in their confusion, God sent two angels to tell them what had happened. This terrified them, yet they bowed in respect with their faces to the ground. They understood that something bigger than them had taken place and they responded in humility with surrendered hearts. Their response should be your response as well as mine.
Clue #3 helps to keep your faith moving forward. What did the angels tell the ladies, see verses 5-7? A good habit to learn as you walk by faith and not by sight with your Savior and Lord is to remember what Jesus tells you in His Word. God gives you the Holy Spirit to lead you to obedience in Jesus’ words.
The angels presented the Gospel to them in simple words, using betrayal, crucified, and risen. As they spoke, the Spirit helped the ladies to remember; see verse 8. Jesus’ words now were true in their ears. God was taking their faith to a deeper place! Your faith will go deeper when you allow God to reveal Himself to you. He speaks to you in the scriptures, as well as different situations you find yourself in. Look and you will see.
With these three clues, the women from Galilee rushed back to tell the disciples and everyone else what had happened. You could say that they were the first missionaries of the New Testament. Notice how everyone responded to the news; see verse 11. Human nature has a difficult time believing in something that is too good to be true. The magnitude of what took place left Jesus’ followers bewildered. They couldn’t fully comprehend it. This makes faith challenging, for you and I have to choose to believe the testimonies of God’s chosen prophets. We choose to believe God’s Word. And in this choosing, and pondering, and questioning, God reveals Himself to us the in the most intimate ways. One cannot help but not believe.
In this seeking, God is faithful to reveal Himself in the most clear ways. You will know that He is with you.
Peter gives the most perfect example of how to respond to the news that is too good to be true. “Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look.”12 You are to look for yourself when the Gospel is presented to you. You are to seek the Bible when you hear truth. You are to learn to hear the Spirit’s voice within you and become obedient to what He tells you.
Even Peter, who was quick to tell Jesus that he would die with Him, only to deny Him three times soon afterwards, saw the empty tomb and went home wondering what happened. He needed time for God to show him, and our amazing God would show Himself to Peter in ways that ran deep to his core.
God wants to go deep with you too. He wants to prove Himself so you will believe and have faith in the “too good to be true” story. It’s the story for all ages that can stand the test of time. It is eternal and it is for you. Won’t you believe?
Carol J German 