Why is it so Hard to Just Believe God?
“Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm (salvation) of the LORD been revealed?” (Isaiah 53:1, NKJV)
The Twelve
The disciples of the Lord were told over and over again by the Lord that He would suffer and die and be raised from the dead. Apparently, they never believed what the Lord had said until after the resurrection. For example:
“And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan (or adversary)! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”” (Mark 8:31-33, NKJV)
And after the resurrection after he had appeared to Mary Magdalene we read,
“Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.” (Mark 16:14, NKJV)
Why Didn’t They Believe?
I believe that they didn’t believe because they didn’t want to and because it made no sense to them. The disciples had seen the raising of Lazarus, and the raising of a widow’s son, and some of them had seen the raising of a young girl. So they knew it was possible for the dead to be raised. But they didn’t want the Lord to die and He must die if He was to be raised from the dead. If He died they thought that their hope of being a part of the earthly Kingdom of God’s administration would be dashed. They were looking for an earthly King and not one whose Kingdom would be spiritual. Also, the Lord could raise people from the dead, but who was available to raise the Lord?
But
But the Lord was raised from the dead. Mary Magdalene saw Him first. The other disciples saw him after she had seen Him. However, they didn’t believe her when she told them He was alive even though some of them had been at the tomb and had seen that it was empty.
Fortunately, the disciples’ minds were changed (this is called repentance) and they preached the cornerstone truths of the Gospel as found in 1 Corinthians 15. Paul says,
“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, NKJV)
I Believe God
Even though I have never seen a resurrection, I have God’s word for it that Christ was raised from the dead and I believe God. But I do wonder how many other things we have trouble believing that God has told us. He tells us what is moral and He tells us what ceremonies please Him when we worship. And to the extent that we understand those truths, we should adhere to them whether society does or not. And we need to be faithful in preaching the fundamental truths of the Gospel. The souls of mankind depend upon it. Often they don’t read the instructions (the Bible) but some of them will listen to us.
Again, I ask the question, “Who has believed the report?”
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of April 10, 2022