“From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
Matthew 16:21 (RSV)
Jesus fully warned His disciples about what was about to happen to Him, in advance. They heard Him talk about suffering and dying, but also rising again on the third day. It doesn’t get much clearer than that, but it’s obvious that they didn’t comprehend what He was telling them.
The disciples still didn’t get it, based on their skeptical response to Mary’s news that Jesus had risen, on that Sunday morning. Thomas claimed he will believe it, when he feels it with his own hands. On the road to Emmaus, the disciples never recognized as He walked alongside them. The tone of His voice became familiar, when He broke the bread, prayed and ate with them. That was their moment of revelation.
Faith shouldn’t rely on the senses, and yet we are all sensual beings. The bible defines faith as the assurance of things not seen, but when it came to the resurrection of Jesus, most of the disciples needed to see, hear, touch and feel it, to believe it.
Even after Jesus told them ahead of time that he would rise on the third day, the disciples probably forgot everything, because they were so traumatized by seeing the intensity of all that Jesus suffered.
If they had remembered what Jesus said about rising, they would have camped out at His tomb on the third day. Instead, the reaction of His disciples was just as the prophet foretold, “Strike the shepherd, that the sheep may be scattered.” (Zechariah 13:7)
Like the disciples, we have all lived through a Friday in our lives where our hopes were shattered and we were overwhelmed with grief and disappointment. It leaves us feeling like all our dreams were sealed away in a tomb somewhere, but we need to rely on His truth, not our feelings.
Friday is not the end of the story. We have a living hope within us, of resurrection, eternal life and the day we meet Jesus, be made whole and see our lost loved ones again. God was loving us through all of those difficult Fridays of our lives. Friday is good because Sunday is coming. Even today, Jesus stands before us saying, “Trust Me, I have good plans for you, follow Me and I will take care of you.”
Lord, our living hope is in you, our resurrected, merciful Savior. Remind us that whatever Friday looks like in our lives, our hope is in the love and victory that comes from your cross and resurrection on Sunday. Amen
