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Many Christians celebrate Easter and the resurrection with great joy. For some, it’s a great comfort their Lord and Savior lives even after He died. Others see the resurrection of Jesus as the first fruits, or the first bit of harvest, of the general resurrection to come. But these ideas took time to develop. They were true on the first Easter, but the disciples were shocked and confused. It took some reorienting, prayer, conversation, thinking, and insight from the Holy Spirit to begin to articulate the significance of the resurrection.

The movie Resurrection portrays well the doubt, desolation, fear, and sadness of the disciples after Jesus was crucified. This was just part of the emotional roller coaster of the prior week. 

On Palm Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, and it looked for all the world like He would be crowned king right away. The disciples sure thought so. James and John asked to be seated and the right and left hand of Jesus, places of prestige and power, when he became king.

At the Last Supper, the disciples felt some tension, knowing something bad might happen. But they still shared an intimate and meaningful dinner with Jesus, who explained how he fulfilled the significant symbols of the Passover festival. 

In the garden, Jesus’s closest disciples fell asleep when He asked them to pray, because they were exhausted from sorrow (Luke 22:45). 

Their sorrow turned to terror when the soldiers arrested Jesus. At least Peter showed some bravado by trying to kill someone. He was still convinced Jesus would become king. But as Jesus was led away, the reached a low point: “Then everyone deserted him and fled” (Mark 14:50).

As each disciple heard that Jesus had been executed, they were flooded with sadness, shame, and remorse, and all their dreams and expectations for the kingdom of God were crushed.

It’s possible by the time of the resurrection, the “reality” had begun to set in. Was it time to head back to their old jobs? Would they be identified as followers of Jesus and punished? But just as it was sinking in that Jesus was gone, they hear He is alive. It’s like ripping a bandage off a wound, to put it tritely. How dare someone make a sick joke like that? When one is starting to tell a different story without the loved one in it, that is not the time to say they’re back. The disciples are starting to have a tiny bit of closure, and everything gets scrambled up again. And if He has returned, what if he abandons them again? Yet, even as they are trying to find their feet, there’s a flush of hope and joy. It’s disorienting, but maybe it’s true! 

Then Jesus appears in the locked room with ten of the disciples and some of the women. That also feels like a mean joke, but how else was Jesus going to get in? They’re afraid of the authorities with a little bit of hope from the crazy story they’ve heard, and now they’re terrified. Is it a ghost? Are they hallucinating? Did someone dress up to act like Jesus? 

No. Everything is as it appears. With knowing compassion, Jesus speaks to their fears and doubts. Luke says, “They still did not believe it for joy and amazement.” This is exactly the right frame of mind to be in to experience the loving presence of the resurrected Lord. 

To learn more about the film, Resurrection, visit discoveryplus.com/resurrection.