John 20:16-20
Three Hopeless and Fearful Days
16Jesus said to her, "Mary."
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
17Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "
18Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.
19On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
Luke 24:7-11
Disbelief and Doubt
7'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " 8Then they remembered his words.
9When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.
The disciples lived, worked, and knew Jesus for three years...They would have been amazed at what they had seen Him do, and equally amazed at what He said...It is surely true when He says "Behold, I make all things new."...Jesus never bored anyone...No one knew what He might do (next), or even could do...He can do all things...Because of this, Jesus must of been what the disciples thought about, when they go up, and they must have thought about Him when they went to bed...Now He is dead...
Imagine their closeness, and His mystery, and their love for Him and know the Jews and Pilate has crucified Him...He is dead...The most hopeless and fearful time of His disciple's lives would have been these three days after His death...The disciples (Thomas was not there, at this time) were so fearful of the Jews, they locked the doors, as they were gathered together...For those three long days the disciples would have been emotional exhausted, feeling hopeless, and fearful...They would have questions...What was Mary Magdalene and the women talking about?...Why did He appear to the women and not to us?...Was this the Messiah whom we thought it was, now that He has died?...Why did His death happen, He was just a Teacher?...Are the Jews going to crucify us, we are His closest followers?...
Even when word started coming in that He was still alive, after His death they did not believe...Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary and others with them told His disciples that His tomb was empty, they did not believe any of these women...Thomas would not believe until later...
Then Jesus mysteriously appears to them...He has resurrected...This is the most important fact, the most important miracle, and the most important mystery ever to grace the earth...This greatest fact, this greatest miracle, and this greatest mystery is Jesus' resurrection...It was not until His disciples saw Him in the flesh did they believe...Even Thomas, who was not there, still did not believe until later, when He appeared to Him...
Doubt and disbelief come upon us...When others give us strong evidence about Him, we sometimes do not believe like His own disciples...His disciples had seen Him resurrect Lazarus, and Jairus' daughter so they knew He could do all things...They still had doubt...Doubt is a strong emotion...After His death, His disciples got to see Him for the next forty days...Their belief and faith would become so strong, many would go on to die for Him...They now had no reason to fear anything...Why fear man, or bad health, or old age, or the most fearful thing of all, death...Jesus overcomes death, His disciples had now seen even this...They were now free from the fear of death...When they died they knew now, they would be with Him again...Their doubt is gone...He is risen and alive...
We do not have the ability to see Him like the disciples, but He tells the doubting St.Thomas that he believed because you have seem Me, but blessed are those who have not seen Me and yet have believed...
His resurrection took this small group of locked in their room -hopeless, scared, defeated, discouraged men and turned them into a robust, dynamic, powerful small group of powerful men who would change the earth...