How Would They Recover!

Mark 16:10-11
She went and reported it to those, who had been with Him, as they grieved and wept. And when they heard that He was alive and that she had seen Him, they did not believe it.

The air was filled with half-truths and rumours.
Neighbor spoke in hushed tones with neighbor about this man who some claimed  had risen from the dead.
"What do you think? Did he really come back from the dead?"
"It's a trick by his followers to keep their movement alive!"
Over the coming days, it seemed as if the story would not go away.
There were tales told by passersby on the street of being present when Jesus had healed someone, or had cast out a demonic spirit. "I saw Jesus bring a woman's son back from the dead as the family was taking him to be buried!" This Jesus of Nazareth seemed to be on every ones tongue.

Coupled with this incredible tale of resurrection were others which said that departed loved ones, long since dead, had been seen in the city, walking around. This was more than a body could take. It was bad enough that everything had been turned upside down because of the earthquake that had taken place on the same day Jesus had died. Throw in the fact that the Temple had been damaged and it was enough to shake ones faith.
It's the Temple! It's the one place that seemed to escape all the tug and pull of governmental politics. It was the one solid, stable thing in the life of those who lived in Jerusalem.Now it was as if God himself had stepped in and ripped the veil of the Holy of Holies to reveal some dark truth.
That's exactly what had happened. The Temple veil was torn top to bottom to reveal that a new covenant had been established by God himself. No longer would the blood of animals be needed to atone for the sins of the people. There on the hillside outside the town, Jesus had become the "perfect lamb" as he gave himself to atone for the sins of Jerusalem........Samaria...........Judah..........and the ends of the earth, for all time.

While the entire town seemed focused on Jesus, many had forgotten about his disciples...well, that was a different story.
They huddled in rooms darkened for fear that they too would be singled out by the authorities for crucifixion.
Depression and grieve seemed to hang so thick in the air, you could slice it with a knife. Each disciple was left to his own personal grief. They had all run away at the very time Jesus needed them most. All the things they had seen Jesus do..........all the teachings they had heard him speak, faded and only illuminated their failure.

Now, here in the midst of this grief, Mary Magdalene had burst into the room with news that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him.
"Of course you have!" one of the disciples screamed out. This was coming from the woman who had been demonized at one time until Jesus cast them out of her. Perhaps the demons had come back now that Jesus was dead. But she wouldn't be silent. "I tell you, I have seen the Master. He is alive," Mary spoke as she tried to catch her breath. They wanted to believe her. There would be nothing better than to see Jesus walk through that door, but the pain of their sorrow would not allow their faith to come out. It lay buried under all the guilt and shame.

I think the thing I take away from this particular portion of Scripture is that God's plans supersedes my emotions and feelings. Even though the disciples had a right to feel the way they did, they could not see the greater picture of what God was accomplishing through this time of pain and guilt. Out of this time of great spiritual and personal darkness would come a group of men and women who would be waiting in an upper room. That room would be filled with a noise that sounded like a mighty, rushing wind, as the Holy Spirit was poured out on them. These men who cowered under cover for fear of the authorities, after the day of Pentecost, would be the same men who would stand boldly and proclaim the message of Jesus. These are the same men who went to the their death's with the name of Jesus on their lips.

Where the devil saw the defeat of God and His kingdom at Calvary.....
God saw the ongoing restoration of humanity and this planet.
Hey! I've read the end of the book....
We win!

God on you....
mb