LUKE 24:10-12 TRUTH THOUGHT TO BE TALL TALES

TRUTH THOUGHT TO BE

TALL TALES

LUKE 24:10-12

Luke 24:10 It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.

Susie: The women who had seen the angels obeyed them immediately by running to tell the disciples what they had seen.

Susan: From Mark’s gospel we learn that Mary Magdalene was the mouthpiece for the group of women.

Susie: Mark also gives the detail that she found the disciples “weeping and mourning.” They are holding a wake because they are convinced Jesus is dead and gone!

Susan: Mary Magdalene and the other women found the men distraught in their grief.

Mark 16:9-10 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.

Luke 24:11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.

Susie: The women share what should have been the best news the men had ever heard—He is not in the tomb! Jesus has risen!

Mark 16:11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

Susan: Mary Magdalene even testified that she had seen the risen Lord in the flesh! Jesus had prophesied that He would be killed and would rise again on the third day. But the disciples could not believe what the women were reporting. Women were not deemed to be reliable witnesses in the first century A.D., and this seemed be a tall tale to the men. Even so, Peter and John decided to see for themselves.

Luke 24:12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

Susie: The Apostle John brings out more details about the scene at the tomb since he was the “other disciple” who ran there with the impetuous Peter.

John 20:3-4 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.

Susan: Peter and John raced to the tomb as fast as their feet would carry them. John, being the faster runner possibly because of his youth, arrived first.

John 20:5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.

Susie: John peaked in the door but did not enter the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there but waited at the entrance. 

Susan: We do not know why John did not enter the tomb, but here are some ideas. Perhaps he was awe-stricken and feeling the place was holy. Perhaps he was timid, . . .

Susie: . . .although I can’t picture one of the “Sons of Thunder” being afraid. 

Susan: Perhaps he was waiting for Peter . . .

Susie: . . . who may have been his elder and was an acknowledged leader of the disciples.

John 20:6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.

Susie: Simon Peter caught up with John at the tomb and . . .

Susan: . . . barged in with no hesitation. 

Susie: He saw the linen that had been wrapped around Jesus’ body just neatly lying there. 

Susan: The face cloth was strategically placed by itself, folded differently from the rest. 

Susie: The fact that the linen cloths were still there and nicely arranged would indicate the body had not been stolen since robbers would not have taken such care. Also, it would have been much easier to move the body while still wrapped up.

Susan: It is awesome to picture Jesus just rising right out of His grave clothes.

John 20:8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

Susan: As soon as he saw the linen cloths arranged in the tomb, John believed that Jesus had resurrected as He said He would.

Susie: Prior to that, the disciples had not clearly understood what Jesus meant when He had predicted that He would rise from the dead. 

Susan: When John realized that Jesus had risen from the dead, pieces of the Messiah puzzle began to finally fit together in his mind.  

Ponder this and Apply it:  The tomb was empty! Although Jesus had told them in no uncertain terms many times that He would be killed and would rise on the third day, they could not comprehend that it had actually happened. Would you have believed? We like to think we would, but would we? Do we believe modern day miracles when they occur, or do we search for a scientific explanation? Another lesson to learn from this passage is that Jesus chose to appear to women before appearing to men. Some people have the false notion that Christianity suppresses women. Far from it! Jesus elevated women in many ways. Having women (who were thought to be unreliable witnesses) be the first to see Him after rising from the dead honored women greatly.