When we think about the resurrection of Jesus, it can be easy to get caught up in trying to explain or prove its validity.
However, I believe that the goal really shouldn’t be understanding it, but rather living in wonder of it.
Peter’s Wonder
On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary (James’ mom) and the other ladies head over to the tomb, and guess what? It’s empty!
Sounds like good news, right? Well, here’s the twist. As they share the news with the disciples, instead of high-fives, they get more of a “yeah, right” vibe.
Luke 24:9 –11 says, “When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.”
Translations might soften it to “an idle tale,” “foolish talk,” or “nonsense,” but the Greek word they used is similar to “garbage.” The women are all excited about Jesus’ promises coming true, and the disciples, who should be the most pumped, are like, “Yeah, well, that’s a bunch of rubbish.”
Honestly, there’s some real talk and authenticity in their reaction. Let’s face it, good news often seems too good to be true. I mean, if the tomb is really empty, and Jesus is up and about after being dead, everything we thought we knew about life gets flipped on its head (Acts 17:6).
Now, if the world is topsy-turvy, how are we supposed to figure out how to live? And if the disciples thought the whole resurrection thing was trash, imagine what folks will think when we start confessing our belief in it. “Could it really be true?”
I bet Peter had that question on replay in his head. But he did something different than the rest of the disciples.
Verse 12 says: “Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.”
A Game Changer
With hope driving him, he sprints to the tomb to check it out. Peter goes back home in a state of wonder, and that wondering is where the real meaning of the resurrection hits.
The resurrection isn’t about having all the answers. It’s not about proving or making a case for it. Nope, it’s about living in constant amazement, marveling and wondering at the crazy love of God that kicked death in the teeth.
We’re not here to explain the resurrection; we’re here to live in wonder. Because waking up each day believing in the God of resurrection, in the God who raises the dead to life, that’s a game-changer that can seriously rock the world.
Do you believe?
