Part 5: Jesus’ friends lied about Him being alive
Some people have said, ‘Well, maybe Jesus friends’ lied about Him being alive.’ Let’s take a look at what the Bible tells us about Jesus’ friends.
Jesus’ closest friends – His disciples – had spent three years getting to know Jesus more and more; they had seen the amazing things Jesus had done. They truly believed He was the promised Saviour of the world, and then … they watched Him died the most horrific death on a cross.
I wonder how you might have felt if you were in their shoes?
Understandably they were frightened. In John chapter 20 we see that they had locked themselves in a room; BUT then everything changed. Verses 19-20 say:
‘When it was evening on the first day of the week, Jesus’ followers were together. The doors were locked, because they were afraid of the elders. Then Jesus came and stood right in the middle of them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. His followers were thrilled when they saw the Lord.’
The Bible – John chapter 20 verses 19-20 (New Century Version)
The disciples go from being ‘afraid’ to ‘thrilled’! Jesus is here, in their midst. The one who they thought was dead has just showed them the wounds in His hands and side. The disciples were so excited that of course they wanted others to know.
Thomas, another disciple, had not been with them in the locked room and so they repeatedly told Thomas, ‘We saw the Lord!’. Thomas’ response wasn’t quite what we might have expected and he earned himself a bit of a nickname as a result. John chapter 20 verse 25 tells us that:
‘Thomas said, “I will not believe it until I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were and put my hand into his side.”’
The Bible – John chapter 20 verse 25 (New Century Version)
Thomas became known as ‘Doubting Thomas’. Perhaps many of us can relate to Thomas’ feeling; struggling to understand how the seemingly impossible had happened. I find Thomas’ story a great encouragement in processing these thoughts, because Thomas’ story doesn’t end there.
John chapter 20 goes on to say:
‘A week later the followers were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. The doors were locked, but Jesus came in and stood right in the middle of them. He said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand here in my side. Stop being an unbeliever and believe.”
Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you see me. Those who believe without seeing me will be truly blessed.”’
The Bible – John chapter 20 verses 26-29 (New Century Version)
Thomas saw Jesus with his own eyes and proclaimed ‘My Lord and my God!’. What Thomas had deemed impossible, had seemingly happened!
The gospels report a number of occasions where Jesus appeared to His followers, post-resurrection, why not go and check one (or more!) of them out. Here are where you can find Jesus’ post resurrection appearances in the Bible:
- Matthew 28:1-10
- Matthew 28:16-20
- Mark 16:9-11
- Mark 16:12-12
- Mark 16:14-20
- Luke 24:13-35
- Luke 24:36-49
- John 20:10-18
- John 20:19-23
- John 20:24-29
- John 21:1-14
After Jesus’ followers had seen Him alive, they were brave and full of excitement to tell anyone who would listen all about Jesus. The book of Acts is full of stories of the disciples spreading the gospel. On many occasions they were not well received; being beaten, imprisoned and in some cases even killed. Even when they were tortured, they continued to declare that Jesus had come back to life.
Would you be willing to die for a lie?
