Amy C Walters

The Resurrection | Luke 24:1-12

After the women see the empty tomb and hear the message from the angels, they return to the disciples and tell them everything. But the disciples dismiss their words as nonsense. They continue to wallow in their grief because they’re fixating on their own plans, instead of looking for what God is doing.

At the start of this story, the women go looking for Jesus’ body in the tomb to prepare it for burial. But instead of finding the body, they find an empty tomb and two angels. Then they finally remember Jesus’ words that he would be raised on the third day.

Can you imagine the roller coaster of emotions that they are on? They probably trudged toward the tomb in sadness and despair and hopelessness. Then when they can’t find his body, there’s confusion and wonder. Then when the angels show up, they’re terrified. And then as they remember Jesus’ words, maybe there’s a little glimmer of hope that awakens in them. 

After getting this news from the angels, the women hurry back to where the rest of the apostles are and tell them the news. Notice that in this story, the disciples are called the Eleven. They had been the twelve disciples, the men who were the closest to Jesus. But Judas, one of those twelve, was gone after betraying Jesus. So now it’s the Eleven who are left. 

This title reminds us of all the time that they had spent with Jesus, how close they were to him, all the miraculous things that they had seen him do and heard him teach. If anyone would believe the words of the women, it would be these disciples.

Notice, too, that this is the first time that any of the disciples have been mentioned since Luke 22. They were totally absent in all of chapter 23 throughout Jesus’ trial, sentencing, crucifixion, death, and burial. 

So, how do these Eleven, the apostles of Jesus, his inner circle, respond to the news of his resurrection?

Disbelief. The apostles dismissed the women’s words as nonsense. 

That had to be so frustrating for those women. The stakes have never been higher. These women had world-changing news, news that would be the dividing point in history of before and after, news that would transform them forever.

And it’s just dismissed. 

If I were these women, I would want to talk about it, to pour over the words again and again, to think back to the other things that Jesus said. I would have wanted to go out and find him, not stay stuck in that room. “He’s got to be out there somewhere. Let’s go find him!” I would want to tell everyone about this. Everyone who knew him and loved him and followed him needs to know that he is alive again. 

But the disciples are a big wet blanket to those plans. Here they are thinking that the women are just making up nonsense about Jesus, and so they try to silence them.

Ten of the disciples aren’t even curious enough to go and check it out. Peter does run off to see the tomb, and we’ll get into that in tomorrow’s blog post. But the rest of the Eleven and the others who were in that room, they don’t even bother.

So what is going on here? Why the dismissal? Why the lack of curiosity? Why the utter despair from these men? 

We’re told that the apostles didn’t believe the women because “their words seemed to them like nonsense.” Seemed to them. They’re relying on appearances, on what the situation looks like right now. 

And it does look bleak. Their leader is dead. They’re hiding in fear. Everything they had worked for and hoped for is gone. They are defeated.

And this doesn’t match up with what their dreams had been. They had plans. They were going places with Jesus.

Just a few days before this, at the Last Supper, these men had been arguing about which of them would be the greatest. Now that argument seems utterly ridiculous. Who wants to be the greatest of something that failed so horribly?

The disciples were still hung up on their own plans, how they had envisioned things would go. And they ignored any other possibility. 

You know who else this sounds like? The Pharisees. The religious leaders had their own ideas of who the Messiah would be. And when Jesus came claiming to be the Messiah, but didn’t match the Pharisee’s vision, they had him killed.

The disciples are sitting in that upper room, despondent, doubting, and grieving. But they shouldn’t be grieving Jesus. They should be grieving over their own plans, and then release them, so that they can then look for what God is doing.

That’s our key truth for today. If the disciples had looked for what God was doing, they would have been quicker to see this absolute miracle that will stun the world and transform generations to come. They’ll see that Jesus is accomplishing salvation for everyone who believes in him, and that he’s giving us access to God and heaven to look forward to. And soon, Jesus is going to take these doubting disciples and turn them into world changers.

Even though at this moment, they think a resurrection is nonsense, they will soon see it as the ultimate demonstration of God’s wisdom and power. Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it’s the power of God.” 

If you, too, hear the story of the resurrection and think it is nonsense, it may be because, as Paul says, you are perishing, that is, dying. Not physically dying, but spiritually. Maybe you’ve had your own ideas about how religion works and how you’re going to approach God. But like the disciples, you need to let your own plans die. Have a funeral for them, mourn them, so that you can instead look for what God is doing.

And in the process, you will see the power and the freedom and the joy of the gospel. Those disciples prolonged their agony because they weren’t willing yet to give up their ideas of how things should be. What about you?

Has life gone a different direction than you expected, and you’re struggling to let go of your own vision for it? You’re still insisting that God do things your way, but it’s not working out. It’s time to have the funeral.