Murals (2008) by PHANTAST - Graffiti - Cultural Music & Art Association inc. - 98 Milne St. Benleigh
People who discount the resurrection of Jesus tend to portray the disciples in one of two ways:
- either as gullible rubes with a weakness for gost stories,
- or as shrewd conspirators who conceived a resurrection plot as a way to jump-start their new religion.
As for the first theory, the Gospels portray Jesus' followers themselves as the ones most leery of rumors about a risen Jesus. One disciple especially, 'doubting Thomas', has gained the reputation as a skeptic, but in truth all the disciples showed a lack of faith. Even after Jesus appeared to them in person, says Matthews, "some doubted".
The alternative, a conspiracy theory, falls apart on close examination for, if the disciples had set out to concoct a seamless cover-up, they failed miserably. Cover-ups only work if all participants maintain a unified front of assurance and competence. That, the disciples surely did not do. The Gospels show the disciples cringing in locked rooms.
Too afraid even to attend Jesus' burial, they left it to a couple of women to care for his body.
In short, the Gospels do not present the resurrection of Jesus in the manner of appologetics, with arguments arranged to prove each main point, but rather as a shocking intrusion that no one was expecting, least of all Jesus' timorous disciples. (Philip Yancey)