“Just as He Told You” (Mark 16:6)

The disciples had been full of anticipation as they made their way the Jerusalem for the Passover. They had no more doubts that Jesus was the Messiah. They had heard His teaching on the kingdom of God. They heard His message from the beginning that the time was fulfill and the kingdom of God was at hand! They had even argued about who would get to sit on His left and right after He set up His kingdom. They had fed on every word that came from His mouth. Or had they? 

From the time Peter had put into words what they all believed, that Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus had spoken plainly about what to expect. He had told them that He would suffer many things and be rejected by the chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and rise after three days. He had repeated this to Peter, James and John as they descended from the Mountain of Transfiguration. A third time in the gospel, Jesus taught His disciples that He would be betrayed and killed, and again He told them that He would be resurrected. On the third day after His crucifixion was anyone expecting His resurrection?

After they ate the Last Supper together they went out to the Mount of Olives. It was there that Jesus told them, “All of you will run away, because it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. But after I have resurrected, I will go ahead of you to Galilee” (Mark 14:27,28). Did they hear what He said about the resurrection? I don’t think so, because what follows is Peter arguing with Jesus that he would never deny Him! All the disciples felt the same way. However, everything happened just as Jesus said it would. Peter denied Him, and the disciples scattered. Could they see past their failure to Jesus’s faithfulness? After the crucifixion where they anticipating seeing Him in Galilee like He had told them? 

They didn’t understand. Why? For years the Jewish people had waited for the Messiah to come. They had waited for Him to come and establish the kingdom, a kingdom like they had experienced under King David. They longed for the yoke of oppression to be broken. Then Jesus came. He healed the sick, opened blind eyes and deaf ears, He raised the dead. He taught with authority and told them that the Kingdom of God was at hand. He also taught His disciples that He would be rejected, betrayed, and killed, but He always added that He would rise after three days.

Three days after the crucifixion where were the disciples? They were hiding in fear. The angel told the women who had come to anoint Jesus’s dead body that He had risen from the dead. He went on to tell them to go tell Jesus’s disciples and Peter that He was going ahead of them to Galilee, just as He had told them. Isaiah had prophesied that Galilee of the Gentiles would be filled with glory. He had gone on to say, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness” (Isaiah 9:2). What had prevented them from hearing what Jesus said? I think perhaps it because it was so different from their preconceived ideas. This leaves me with a question. What keeps us from truly hearing what Jesus says?