He (Jesus) rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
Mark 16:14
Standing in that upstairs room with the other disciples, I peered out the window. We had been watching since the day He died. Scared, I guess. I could not help but think about Mary’s story, how she was so convinced that she saw Him. But alone in a garden? Why not something bigger, more God-like? Surely, if He was going to rise from the dead, He would come see us. We were His disciples. It was probably just her emotions. We are all a little emotional now and then.
And the guys on the road to Emmaus, they didn’t even recognize Him for most of the trip. How could anyone not recognize His brutally beaten body?
Yet something rings inside when I hear their stories; I just can’t get my head around it. All I know is that I want to believe them, but I’m afraid that if I hope again, I will be disappointed. I do not think I can go through that kind of disappoint again. I do not understand. But then again, even when He was alive, I did not understand much.
As I was pondering these things, everyone suddenly turned to look at something on the wall. There was something happening, something different about this one piece of wall. We did not know what we were waiting for, but we were all drawn to this one place. Then all of a sudden, there He was. He just appeared. No angels. No singing. No light. Just Jesus. We all gasped and fell down, joyously terrified. None of us knew what to do or say.
Out of all the things He said to us that day, I remember the look in His eyes when He confronted our pride and unbelief in Him and the others. I will never forget that day. I should have listened to my heart. I knew Mary was not a liar, and the Emmaus guys have never given me a reason to doubt their integrity. Now I understand.
We live in a culture that communicates a person is wiser for doubting than for believing. However, you can be a fool and say, “I don’t believe” or “That won’t work” or “Why?” Sometimes our skepticism is a safeguard for our insecurities. We can be so fragile in our insecurities that we simply cannot handle disappointment, looking foolish, or being lied to. When fear is the motivation behind skepticism, it becomes a false security.
Theologically, belief is not simply understanding or knowledge, though knowledge is important to belief. Belief is the readiness to act as if what we believe to be true was actually the case. Belief comes about through the witness of the Holy Spirit to one’s spirit when God reveals the truth of Christ Jesus through the preaching of the gospel. The Apostle Paul at the height of his writing on the nature of conversion in Romans 8:16 states, “The Spirit bears witness to our spirits that we are the children of God.” This is a difficult and delicate matter to describe. It is, however, a common Christian experience, and a key part of Christian discipleship is learning to recognize this voice and nurture one’s sensitivity to it. This does not mean the only evidence of faith is a subjective “witness” of one’s spirit. Romans 8:16 arrives on the backdrop of a conversation about walking or yielding to the Spirit and not the flesh. The point being made is that one can believe what is true without having comprehensive knowledge of how it all might work.
Sometimes, the seemingly more rational option can be a lie. Sometimes we refuse to believe because we are afraid. When it comes to believing another’s experiences, we are always to look at the fruit of that experience in their life. Is there something that the Lord may be doing around you that you have been afraid to believe? Is there something that the Bible affirms to be true yet you still struggle to believe? Would you ask the Lord if there is any hardness or unbelief in your heart? Would you invite Jesus into your unbelief?