1. Disciples 1-10 – went home – moving on 10
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I doesn’t say why they went home. I do know that there are many who give up and go home though.
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Solved Jesus Appeared 19-23 – not glad 2
2. Mary – Cried 11-13 – she thought someone had taken him
- Resurrection last thing on her mind.13
- Wrong understanding lead to opposite reaction.
- Solved Jesus Appeared 14-18
3. Thomas – Denial – 24-25
- He wasn’t any worse than the other disciples. They had just already seen.
- Solved Jesus Appeared 26-29
Jesus appeared to solve the unbelief in the resurrection in all three cases. His appearing after death change their understanding which changed their reaction.
Personal encounters with God are a must for personal faith decisions.
- All true faith gripping moments come from a personal encounter with God.
- When children make decisions based on their parents faith without having a personal decision themselves there will be problems.
- When a decision is made based on a friend or family members decision there will be problems.
- Not just salvation but other faith-based decisions as well.
Personal encounters with God often happen at crucial life events.
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It was the death of Jesus and now his missing body that was challenging them. It was getting them out of their normal stuff to a time of deep thinking. In this case it was something they considered bad. God uses both bad and good events to drive us to that point of serious faith questioning. It can be good things like the birth of a child, a new job, or marriage. It could also be “bad” things like a sickness, loss of a job, money problems, marriage problems, or even death.
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Their reaction was wrong in their crisis for two reasons
- They did not understand the Scripture. 9
- Thomas didn’t trust his friends.
Personal encounters with God lead to a change in behavior.
- It happened in both Mary, disciples and Thomas
- Whatever the decision is it will lead to strongly held believes that are hard shake.
- Right belief in the resurrection lead to gladness, excitement, and worship.
