The crucifixion aftermath

I recently watched a portion of a documentary on the final days of Jesus’ life.  While it was very interesting, there was a glaringly noticeable omission: at no point did the filmmakers give the faintest of hints about Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead.  In fact, the film seemed to assert that it was Jesus’ death that inspired the religion of Christianity.  I disagree.  In today’s blog, I want to lay out why I disagree with that idea.

First of all, make no mistake about it: Jesus was dead.  The notion of a ‘swoon theory’ which suggests that Jesus managed to survive the crucifixion is wrong.  The executioners at Calvary knew what they were doing; they wouldn’t make such a glaring mistake.  The Bible says that Jesus’ body being placed in a tomb is an essential aspect of the Gospel message (1 Corinthians 15:4).  Why is that?  One reason is because placing Him in a tomb indicates that His body really was limp and lifeless.  He was not just badly injured, only to appear to His disciples later, claiming to be resurrected.  No, a thousand times no.  He was dead.

Therefore, based on this, what was the mood of the disciples after Jesus’ crucifixion?  Did they high-five each other, so inspired by a heroic death that they subsequently went out and preached about the greatness of who Jesus was?  The answer is a clear and resounding no!  Actually, I don’t have to use my imagination on how they were feeling.  My life story includes unexpectedly losing a loved one to the icy waters of death.  It feels like someone has punched you in the stomach and you can barely breathe.  There's an intense pain, gripping sorrow, and profound loneliness; and it is so intense, you wonder if it will ever go away.  The disciples felt the same way, I'm sure.

Furthermore, going back to my Palm Sunday blog, these men misunderstood the nature of what Jesus was going to do.  They thought He was going to defeat the oppression they were under, and set up an Earthly kingdom.  Now that Jesus had been crucified, they thought it was all over.  In the booklet I quoted from last time Why Did Christ Have to Die? The author has this to say: “We are fortunate to be able to look back to the cross and see it in perspective.  The first disciples of Christ were not so privileged.  For them the crucifixion came as a terrible, heart-rending tragedy, their beloved Leader was dead.  Their hopes of a messianic kingdom had evaporated…Only later when Christ surprised them with His resurrected presence did the disciples begin to understand that the Old Testament pointed to a cross as well as to a kingdom.”

In conclusion, I’m not suggesting that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ isn’t important.  I think you know my views well enough to know that I wouldn’t say such a thing.  The death of Christ is very important.  But so is the resurrection of Christ.  You can’t have one without the other; they are two vital sides of the same coin.

Kevin