Once again, the truth was more than the religious leaders could handle. On the morning of the third day, they received word that the body of Jesus had vanished. They remembered He said He would rise from the dead. That was why they had fortified His tomb with Roman soldiers and a massive stone. But rather than acknowledge the truth, they fabricated an elaborate lie. Rather than celebrating the miracle of the risen Savior, even if it seemed too good to be true, they devised a story to explain it away.
They expected everyone to believe that trained Roman soldiers fell asleep on duty and that while they slept, a rag-tag group of misfits came along, moved a massive stone, and snuck away with the body of Jesus. And the soldiers slept through it all.
Is it too good to be true?
Many believed this story because they didn’t want to believe the truth. They didn’t want to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead just as He said He would. That would mean He was the Messiah, and they would have to do something with that knowledge. To them, ignorance was bliss.
At first, even His own disciples struggled to believe He had risen from the dead. When Mary Magdalene told them she had seen Him and He was alive, they didn’t believe her. When the two believers walking to Emmaus told them they had seen Him and He was alive, they didn’t believe them either. After grieving His death, His resurrection seemed too good to be true.
“Look… You can see that it’s really Me.”
Then Jesus stood before them displaying the wounds from the cross and they finally believed. He opened their eyes to the Scriptures and the truth about who He is and why He came. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection were part of God’s plan all along.
After all they had been through, the disciples could finally rejoice. God’s redemptive plan had unfolded before their eyes, and now they had a job to do.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:19-20 ESV
This was Jesus’ Great Commission. His first disciples started the job, and it is up to us to continue it. People still need to hear about the gospel that saves. People still need to be discipled so they can grow in the knowledge of Christ.
The wonderful news of the Resurrection seems too good to be true, but it is true. And it is good enough and true enough to save everyone who hears and believes.
