Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

The men who had sworn that they would die for Jesus on Thursday evening are hiding. They are afraid that the Jewish leaders will find, arrest, and execute them as they did the followers of Bar-Abbas. To the Jewish leaders, Jesus was an insurrectionist. To Pontius Pilot He was someone that the Sanhedrin was jealous of.

To these men in hiding, He was their chance to be free of Roman rule. He was their friend and teacher. They were willing to die for Him when He could lead them to victory. Now Jesus is in a tomb, dead and buried. They and He are despised by the Jews.

That is exactly what the Messiah had told them would happen. Now all they have to do is believe what they were told and walk to Galilee to wait for the resurrection. It sounds so simple. But they are not yet believers. The hoped-for Savior was murdered. They may be next.

I would probably be in that room with them. We say that we would not, but we have evidence of the resurrection, the foundation of the Church, and all the teachings in the New Testament. All they had was their mustard seed of faith, which would soon grow into a tree.

Peter would preach at Pentecost, Matthew and John would write gospels; John Mark, who ran and left his clothes, would tell Peter’s story. That will be later. Today, they will not go to the Temple even if it is the Sabbath. They could be arrested there. They might be next.

They do not know what to do. You and I wonder why. They heard Him speak and knew Him better than anyone. Remember what Jesus told them in Nazareth about a prophet not being accepted in his hometown. Their friend was just a man like everyone else.

Or was He? He said He was the Son of Man, the Messiah. Peter called Him the Son of God. A centurion said, “This must be the Son of God.” And here they are hiding like we would. We are no better than them and they are no better than we are. They will get up tomorrow and meet the Lord when He is risen. Will you? This is all He asked of them, or me, or you. Believing what He said about Himself is as difficult for us to accept as it was for those who were alive at the time of His death.

It was not easy to believe that a man was crucified and rose from the grave at that time. Unless you were someone who knew Jesus before the crucifixion, watched His death and burial, and then saw, spoke, and ate with the risen Christ after Sunday. Talk to you again, then.

©Copyright 2026 by Charles Kensinger