Pointless to think back at what had happened, especially if everything was a lie. But... He claimed to be the One... No, no, no. Can't be, He's dead now. Plus, there is no time to think back, only time to think of what was going to happen now. The inevitable was awaiting, surely death was coming to them. They would die just like Jesus died, as "another lunatic." Judas got out just in time. Smart guy. Even though his life ended just as their lives would too. They were too courageous for suicide and too confused to talk. How could they have been stupid enough to waste three years with this guy?
Every silent mind thinking, "What if?! What if we get out alive?" Maybe it was possible to map out an escape route once the Sabbath was over, or maybe it was possible to slip out if caught up in a crowd. Maybe? Well, that didn't seem likely. No point in playing the "what if" game now, anyways. Ah, what's the point? Death was around the corner no matter what. And if they didn't die what would they do now?
I guess sitting in a room accepting that Roman soldiers would be coming in at any moment is not the most peaceful of situations. Yet, what else could they do? I guess it would be shocking then to see the last person you would expect. Possibly so shocking that you wouldn't even recognize him.
They say there is hope for a cut down tree, because it can be replanted. Job was hoping for this. But can you replant a dead man? Not hardly. David had hope that he could kill the biggest man anyone had ever seen with a mere rock. Samson had enough hope with the jawbone of an ass to kill a thousand people. Moses had hope that the Pharaoh would listen to him even though Moses was a murderer. Elijah had hope that fire would come and the prophets of Baal were wrong.
Would this unrecognizable man who walked into the room of the disciples provide them with enough hope?
Great post. It does seem as if all their hope is lost beneath the ashes of an unsuccessful life. But maybe his seemingly ineffective futile life was in fact successful in the most paradoxical way. Only because he laid down life as a servant, only because he submitted, and only because he suffered, did he convert the brute force to vital energy. In his weakness is he made strong. Bondage and Suffering are apparently the precursors for deliverance and liberation. Who would have thought?
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