v 10. Then they went home.
Nearly everything in this passage shouts at me at the disciples hadn’t really latched on to what Jesus had told them about His resurrection. The only person who seems to have caught on was the unnamed disciple, probably John himself; the rest – totally mystified – turned round and went home again. Just imagine – here you are in the presence of the most amazing event in history, and your response is to go home and finish your breakfast!
This resurrection reality is at the heart of the message that turned the world on its head. – so let’s go back and finish our toast and coffee! (or whatever).
Now of course, the truth eventually dawned on them and with the coming of the Holy Spirit their message went round the known world in double quick time. This resurrection narrative was the central plank in their preaching (note it in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.) The fact is that you cannot present the Christian message without standing on the reality of these events. Our faith is not founded on strange myths but the mind-blowing truths of death and resurrection.
Our present experience of life only makes some sense in the bigger story of God and eternity. So don’t just put this reading aside and call across the breakfast table ‘Pass the marmalade please’. If it is true, and I believe it is, it is the most significant and far-reaching truth imaginable! It can shape your life, as it did for the disciples, eventually!
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