You have to pity
the disciples. They were, in the days right after Easter, confused and scared.
The brutality of the crucifixion took away their dream of a Messiah. They were
left with shattered dreams and painful doubts. Everything they had counted on
had been ripped away — they had been thrown into a new land without a map or
directions.
From our 21st-century
perspective, of course, we have an advantage over the disciples. We are 2,000
years removed from the violent events of Holy Week. We know that Jesus’ story
did not end on Good Friday. Here we are, in the midst of the Easter season. We
have shared the joy of Easter and Christ’s resurrection. We celebrate the
glorious, mysterious events — we know about the rolled-away stone, the empty
tomb and the neatly folded burial cloths. We have heard about the heavenly
messengers who asked the women, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?
He is not here, but has risen.”1 We know there is great reason to
celebrate.
But those poor disciples! They were
still lingering in the sadness of Jesus’ death. They had only heard rumors and
confused descriptions of a risen Christ from breathless witnesses. They had
received a jumble of reports that didn’t make any sense. Instead of thinking
“resurrection,” they were concerned about grave robbing. Rather than rejoicing
at new life, they were still grieving a sudden death, even as they tried to
comprehend the announcement “The Lord has risen indeed.”2 Instead of
rushing out to share life-giving good news, they seemed frozen in place, able
to only talk about these recent, overwhelming events as they sought to gain
some clarity. They were paralyzed by fear.
When Jesus does finally appear to
them, the disciples still do not understand. We might expect them to
immediately break out in praise and worship, but the opposite is true. They are
“startled and terrified.” Instead of seeing a visio
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