Siobhan 123

It is the empty tomb and the changed lives of the disciples. They were totally sold out for Jesus, to the point of dying for their love of and faith in Him.

Had the term 'reverse psychology' been around in the first century A.D., I'm sure the liberal scholars would have pinned it on the disciples. Their state of mind epitomized those who were bereft of the crucifixion of the One they had devoted their thought, word, and deed to for the past 3 years. Examining the Gospels to find insight about the disciples, it is easy to see that men and women alike were from fairly simple backgrounds. The men would have likely had preliminary study of the Torah, those who would have been chosen to continue their studies under a Rabbi would not likely be fisherman, farmer, merchant, tax collector, etc. But they were men of faith and they put all their faith in Jesus. When they didn't understand his arrest, crucifixion, and death, real fear, real disappointment, real grief set in. The women were used to cleaning up, taking care of the day to day details of life. It is no wonder that they would be the first to the tomb, the first to discover it empty, and the first for Jesus to appear to. The point is that all of these facts follow to a natural conclusion, the disciples saw the crucifixion and death of Jesus as the end of all they had invested in. How miraculous, how marvelous and magnificent, how mysterious and empowering the Resurrection! Those same folks we see in the Gospels became the powerful preachers in Acts. Those that would be martyred for What they believed in with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.

I can only answer this question with a question of my own: doesn't it take faith to be a Christian? I really have a hard time with those who would call themselves Christian when for them it is just liking the story of Jesus Christ but not believing it. Their god is 'knowledge' not Jesus, they worship 'knowledge', not Jesus. Perhaps we could distinguish between those that worship 'knowledge' and those who worship Jesus by identifying those that like the story with 'christian', small 'c'.

We understand from the gospels that Jesus' body truly was a resurrected body in that it had not only the 'appearance' of a body, but also the function and form as a physical body, to be touched, to eat, to walk and talk, etc. Yet He was also improved in that he could be out of the room and in the room instantly without using the doorway as a means for entry, alluding to His Omnipresence in deity. In John's gospel, chapter 20, Mary was instructed by Jesus to not touch Him as He had not yet ascended to the Father, but further on in the same gospel Jesus instructs Thomas in verse 27 to touch His wounds. It remains unsaid, but it would seem from the verbage that Thomas had no desire to touch the wounds of Christ at this time because 'seeing was believing'. In Matthew 28 verse 9, the other women leaving the sepulchre to tell the disciples that "He is risen" see Jesus "and held Him by the feet, and worshipped Him". Does this indicate that between seeing Mary moments before and then seeing "the other women" that Jesus asceended and then returned once more? Or would this be indication of His omnipresence, "in a moment in the twinkling of an eye", can you shed some further light on this Dr. Wilson?

Hello! I am new to this study and this medium, so bear with me please. I am 49 forever, a wife and the mother of 2 children. My son is a pastor, 26, married to a wonderful girl who calls me 'Mom' and they are expecting our first grandchild any day or St . Patrick's Day! My daughter is 11, a pure delight, loves her 3 fish, 2 gerbils, 3 dogs, 3 cats, her family and is homeschooled. We live in the mountains of Southern Oregon. I thank God for my husband who is supporting me through a season of extreme health challenges which has been a gift in disguise as it has freed me in so many ways to pursue God! Each day I get to "...work out my own salvation with fear and trembling." In this day and age when so many things in the church come under attack and are being redefined even within the orthodox arm of the church, it is a blessing to have time to pursue my First Love with a hunger and thirst that is reminiscent of my first days with Him over 20 years ago. I am looking forward to this study!