Matthew 28:10 …Be not afraid: go tell…
Regardless of whether you believe in creation or evolution, everyone you know believes in something far greater than what he has ever seen. If you are an evolutionist, you believe in something that could almost be termed a miracle since it is far greater than anything you have ever actually observed. The same, of course, is true with the creationist. Everyone believes in miracles if you are talking about that which is extraordinary, that which is out of the ordinary.
The bookends of the story of Jesus’ earthly ministry are the words “fear not.” These were the words the angels spoke to Mary when they told her that she would bear the Christ child. This is also the angelic message to the disciples when Jesus ascended. So, both Jesus’ earthly coming and going were surrounded by fear and even doubt.
When it comes to miracles, the resurrection is the biggest miracles there is. If you believe Genesis 1, “In the beginning God,” then you have no problem with anything else you find in the Bible. Who would have trouble with the virgin birth if God spoke the world into existence? Who could have a problem with the resurrection of Christ if God spoke the worlds into existence? If you don’t believe God spoke the world into existence, then you believe something that is just as big and powerful as what we know to be God. All that is to say the life you live is your response to the truth.
When it comes to the resurrection we read of in Matthew 28, this was the end of the status quo for both the enemies and the disciples of Jesus. For the religious leaders, if Jesus was alive that was trouble. For Peter who denied, for the other disciples who had run, and for Judas who had betrayed Jesus, this was problematic as well. Jesus was alive. They were going to see Him again on this earth. So, you find a number of responses to the resurrection of Christ, and one of these may be similar to yours.
First, you have ignorance. Jesus said and the angels said, “Come, see…go tell.” What was there to see? Nothing! He was risen! So the angels were addressing that which people did not know. They were pushing back the ignorance. Come see and go tell. So, there is ignorance.
The second response is fear. Both the angels and Jesus essentially said, “Be not afraid, go tell.” So, there is fear. A lot of people can’t accept the truth because they are afraid of it. It puts some obligation onto them. If Jesus is alive, that means there is an obligation on me as to how I live, think, and talk today.
The third response is denial. The angels had told Mary about the resurrection. On the other hand, the guards who had vainly watched the tomb of Jesus were given a lot of money to deny the resurrection and to say that Jesus’ disciples stole the body in the night. The fact is that this did not even cross the disciples’ minds. The Pharisees had not forgotten Jesus’ prediction that He would rise again. The disciples seemed to have totally missed it altogether.
A fourth response is doubt. The Bible tells us in verse 17, “When the disciples saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.” There is always someone to rain on the parade. You may worship Jesus, but there will always be someone to doubt.
The final way we respond to the truth is action. Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” So, go, tell, and make disciples. There are those who believe in the birth and death of an historical Jesus, but that is not enough. There are those who have looked closely at the historical and empirical evidence for the Lord Jesus, and that is not enough either. The question is, “What about the current life He is living in you right now?” “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
In short, the life you live is your response to the truth.