The Unbelief of the Two Disciples

from Google Images

As two of his disciples walked to Emmaus, Jesus asked them what they were discussing so seriously (Luke 24:17). The two seemed astonished with Jesus’ question, and one named Cleopas replied, wondering how there could be even one pilgrim in Jerusalem who didn’t know about the recent events that occurred there (Luke 24:18). It is, therefore, implied that the stranger (Jesus) was coming out of Jerusalem, so the city was still in view. Therefore, Jesus had joined them very near the time in which they had departed the city themselves. So, consequently, it was perceived by the two that Jesus couldn’t have been coming from any other direction. This makes Jesus’ appearance to the two men not long after they left the other disciples in the Upper Room. So it was still very early in the morning, perhaps cir. 6:30 to 7:00 AM as we measure time today.

 

The Unbelief of the Disciples

from Google Images

The Apostles and the other (male) disciples of Jesus simply wouldn’t believe the testimony of the women (Mark 16:11), for the same reason they couldn’t believe Jesus’ testimony that he would rise again the third day(Matthew 16:21-22; cf. John 12:34). They simply had no context in their worldview where such an understanding would fit (Mark 9:31-32), and they were afraid to ask Jesus to clear up their ignorance. Therefore, they considered the report of the women nothing more than idle tales (Luke 24:11). The Greek word (G3026) is used only here in the New Testament, but it is used in secular literature as a medical term for delirium or hysteria.

 

A Hidden Highlight in Jesus’ Appearances

from Google Images

When chronology can be discerned, the order of Jesus’ post resurrection appearances is often very important. One such instance concerns the chronology of Jesus’ appearances to the women. It seems the first two of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances were to Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18) and the other to a group of women on their way back to Jerusalem from the gravesite (Matthew 28:8-10). Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were probably part of the Bethany group of women, which I presume arrived at the tomb before the Jerusalem party, because they wondered about the stone (Mark 16:1-3), but the Jerusalem party did not (Luke 24:1-2). The reason being, Mary Magdalene had met them on their way to the tomb, after she left to tell Peter and the other disciple that someone had stolen the body, and informed them what she had already found.

 

Why Were the Women Afraid

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When the women came to the sepulcher where Jesus was laid, they found the stone that sealed the tomb (Matthew 27:66) was rolled away (Luke 24:2-3). Luke tells us that the women were perplexed (G1280). That is, didn’t know why the tomb was empty (Luke 24:4-5). In other words, the thought that Jesus had arisen from the dead, hadn’t even occurred to any of them. The Greek word (G1280) is used of Herod being in doubt of who Jesus was in Luke 9:7. It is also used for the confusion of the chief priests and the captain of the Temple when they found out the Apostles had escaped their prison cell and were teaching in the Temple (Acts 5:34).

 

How Many Came to Anoint Jesus’ Body?

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Scholars have tried to piece together the four witnesses in a manner in which told one clear story about what occurred on Resurrection Sunday, but some of the differences in the four Gospel records prevent a definitive chronology that would be accepted by all. To be sure, there is no doubt among believers that the records are true as they pertain to Jesus rising from the dead, but the order in which his resurrection was discovered and the chronology of his later appearances leave many in doubt of an accurate and orderly arrangement. Therefore, whatever may be said about the chronology of the day’s events should be taken with some skepticism, since another, and perhaps equally plausible account, could be presented by someone else. There simply isn’t enough information in all four witnesses to establish chronology beyond doubt. That said, I will now begin to offer my understanding of those events.

 

How Was Jesus Buried and When?

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A man named Joseph took upon himself the responsibility to bury Jesus (Luke 23:50-53). He went to Pilate and all three Synoptics declare he asked, perhaps begged for Jesus’ body, that it would be given him for burial (Luke 23:52; cf. Matthew 27:57-58; Mark 15:43-45). According to the Gospel of John, Joseph had been a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one, who came to Jesus at night (John 19:38). It is interesting that none of the Synoptics tell us that his relationship with Jesus was a secret one. They say only that Joseph was a righteous man (Luke 23:50, a rich man and a disciple (Matthew 27:57), and that he waited for the Kingdom of God (Mark 15:43). It is almost as though the author of the Gospel of John makes a confession about himself.

 

The Context of the Parable of the Sower

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As Jesus entered his second year of public ministry, some women, Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Susanna, mentioned in Luke 8:2-3, became his financial supporters in the same vein as the women who sustained Elijah (1Kings 17:1, 9-16) and Elisha (2Kings 4:8-11). It appears that Luke mentions these women here in order to identify figures he mentioned previously in Luke 7. The mother of the Roman centurion’s servant is Joanna,[1] the widow of Nain is Susanna, and the unnamed woman at the Pharisee’s dinner held in Jesus’ honor is Mary Magdalene.

 

A Great Prophet Has Arisen

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With the raising of the dead son of the widow of Nain, great fear came upon all the people and they began to spread the news, saying “a great prophet has arisen” among them. Just as the raising of the woman’s son in 1Kings 17:23 proved to the widow of Zarephath that Elijah was a prophet, and God spoke through him, when the crowd who followed Jesus witnessed what he had done, they and the people of Nain began spreading the news that Jesus was a great prophet of God (Luke 7:16-17). While Jesus didn’t entrust himself to men (cf. John 2:23-24), he did use men to spread his fame throughout the land of the Jews through the miracles he did. News of him spread out from Capernaum (Luke 4:37), and he took advantage of the Jewish festivals when visitors would be present from all the neighboring regions (Luke 5:15, 17; 6:17-18). In the case of the people of Nain and the crowd who followed Jesus there, they would spread the news back to Jerusalem (Luke 7:17) when they would go to Jerusalem to celebrate the next Jewish festival (cf. John 5).