(NOTE: I’m not a theologian or a Bible scholar. Nor do I play one on TV. I didn’t even stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.)

This morning I was reading Mark’s account of the first Easter morning. and I jotted down some thoughts in my notebook…

  • The three women bought spices to anoint Jesus’ body. When they got to the grave, they found the stone rolled away from the entrance and saw a young man in white, and Mark records that they were amazed. The young man said, “Don’t be amazed.”
  • His instructions were to go and tell Jesus’ disciples what had happened. But, he implied, you’d better get a move on, because Jesus is already on the move!
  • Their response? They ran like crazy! They were shaking and amazed. And they said nothing because they were scared!
  • Mary Magdalene went and reported that she’d actually seen the risen Christ, and the disciples “refused to believe it.”
  • Later, Jesus Himself appeared to two others on the road to the country, and they, too went and reported their encounter, “but they did not believe them, either.”
  • Later, He appeared to the eleven at dinner, and “He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.”

I think there is a huge disconnect between what He says and what we see, so for us, the seeing always seems to trump the listening/believing/responding/obeying.