Re:Verse passage – John 20:1-21 (day four)
We have the advantage over the disciples. We get to see the picture of the resurrection after centuries of the story being told. Verse 9 says, “For as yet they did not understand the Scriptures, that He must rise again from the dead.” If we go back to Luke 24:45…after Jesus was meeting with the disciples, post-resurrection…it says, “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” As believers, we also have the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us understand the Scriptures.
Imagine someone today who has no knowledge of Scripture at all…how strange it must sound to hear of a man who rose from the dead. Without the Scripture being explained through a relationship with Christ, how can they understand? They cannot understand apart from faith or the drawing of the Holy Spirit. It is a work only God can do. When you see someone who understands that Jesus rose from the dead, you can know that God is at work. Let’s join Him!
I must admit I did not buy in the concept of rising from the dead at first. Theoretically, it is hard to believe unless we see the evidence and witness by our own eyes that someone we know was walking out from his or her tomb and has risen from the dead.
It is true that without the Scriptures, the story of Jesus rising from the dead will be viewed as superstitious by nonbelievers. Apart from the Scriptures and apart from faith and the help of the Holy Spirit, I am convinced that we will not see that God was at work in Jesus’ resurrection story.
Only God can do the perceived impossibles!