No doubt you will hear an atheist this season telling you Easter is a bunch of nonsense – “An ancient myth only stupid people believe”.
The Resurrection Chapel in the crypt of the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. PICTURE: Tim Evanson (licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)
This is the exact reaction the disciples had when they first heard the story.
The women had gone to the tomb of Jesus to embalm His body. When they got there, confusion reigned.
The guards were gone. The stone was rolled away and Jesus’ grave clothes were perfectly intact – but empty.
Then a stranger told them, “Jesus is not among the dead but the living!”
When they told the disciples, the disciples said “their words sounded to them like nonsense”!
That’s what makes the fact that these same men, days later, were proclaiming the resurrection all the more compelling.
They recognised nonsense when they heard it. They also recognised Jesus when they saw Him again alive.
I believe.
Paul Clark’s musings can be heard on radio across Australia and at atthetop.org.au.