What Old Testament prophecies affirm the resurrection, enhancing our understanding of Luke 24:11? Setting the Scene: Luke 24:11 “ ‘But their words seemed like nonsense to them, and they did not believe the women.’ ” Even after hearing eyewitness testimony, the disciples dismissed the report of an empty tomb. Scripture had already laid the groundwork for the resurrection, yet they missed its clear witness. Why the Disciples Struggled to Believe • Expectations of a political Messiah overshadowed the prophecies of a suffering, dying, and rising Savior. • Rabbinic teaching in the first century emphasized a general resurrection at the end of the age, not an individual rising in mid-history. • Grief can cloud memory; sorrow over the cross muffled recollection of earlier promises. Old Testament Voices Pointing to Resurrection —Davidic Psalms— • Psalm 16:10 — “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see decay.” – Peter quotes this in Acts 2:25-32, stressing that David spoke prophetically of Messiah’s body not decomposing. • Psalm 22:21-24 — “Save me from the mouth of the lion… I will proclaim Your name to my brothers… You who fear the LORD, praise Him!” – A psalm that moves from death-like agony to renewed life and public praise, foreshadowing resurrection triumph. —Isaiah’s Servant Songs— • Isaiah 53:10-11 — “Yet it pleased the LORD to crush Him… He will prolong His days… After He has suffered, He will see the light of life and be satisfied.” – The Servant dies, yet lives to enjoy the fruit of His atonement. • Isaiah 25:8 — “He will swallow up death forever.” – A promise of death’s defeat, fulfilled when Christ rose. —Prophets Using Explicit Time Markers— • Hosea 6:2 — “After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live before Him.” – A corporate promise realized personally in the Messiah, then shared with His people. • Jonah 1:17; 2:10 — “Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights… and the fish vomited Jonah onto dry land.” – Jesus calls Jonah a sign of His own three-day entombment and rising (Matthew 12:40). —Job’s Confession of Personal Resurrection— • Job 19:25-27 — “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth… yet in my flesh I will see God.” – An early witness to bodily resurrection grounded in a living Redeemer. —Daniel’s Vision of End-Time Awakening— • Daniel 12:2-3 — “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake… some to everlasting life… those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars.” – Affirms a literal, bodily resurrection that Christ inaugurates. Typological Pictures That Anticipate the Empty Tomb • Isaac rescued on Mount Moriah (Genesis 22) — Hebrews 11:19 says Abraham reasoned “God could raise the dead.” • Joseph “dead” to his family yet “alive” to save them (Genesis 37 → 45). • The firstfruits sheaf waved on the day after the Sabbath during Passover (Leviticus 23:10-11); fulfilled when Christ rose on that very morning (1 Corinthians 15:20-23). How These Prophecies Illuminate Luke 24:11 • The women’s report harmonized with a broad scriptural chorus; disbelief stemmed from forgetfulness, not lack of evidence. • Each prophecy underscores that Messiah’s resurrection was God’s plan “from Moses and all the Prophets” (Luke 24:27). • Recognizing these threads deepens confidence that the empty tomb is the inevitable fulfillment of God’s unbreakable word. |
    |