Isn’t it annoying when you know something to be 100% true, and you share it with someone, and they respond by saying, “I don’t believe you”?
Then, after time and circumstances prove you right, how hard is it to keep yourself from blurting, “I told you so”?
One of my favourite parts of Jesus’ resurrection account is when the angel said, “He is not here; for He is risen, as He said” (Matthew 28:6).
In modern English, that’s like saying, “He’s gone. He rose again, just like he told you he would!”
Throughout his ministry, Jesus often spoke truths that were difficult for people to understand or accept.
There are many instances in the Bible where Jesus told people something, but they did not believe him:
- In John 8, Jesus tells the religious leaders that he existed before Abraham, and that he is the “I am” referred to in the Old Testament. The leaders are outraged by this claim and accuse Jesus of blasphemy.
- In Mark 8, Jesus tells his disciples that he will be crucified and rise again on the third day. Peter, one of his closest disciples, rebukes him for saying this, and cannot accept the idea that Jesus will suffer and die.
- In Luke 24, after Jesus has risen from the dead, he appears to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Even though Jesus explains to them how his death and resurrection were foretold in the Old Testament, the disciples do not recognize him until he eats a meal with them.
These are just a few examples of times when people did not believe what Jesus was saying. As a human myself, I can sympathize with these people of little faith.
Seriously, how could a person claim to come back to life again after dying?!
But in the ultimate “I told you so” moment in history, Jesus rose again, just as he said.
Over and over again during his life on earth, Jesus made bold promises and then backed them up. He fulfilled every prophecy that was made about him before he arrived, and he fulfilled everything that he said that he would do while on earth.
Now, we wait for him to fulfill his promise to return: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3).
Still find any of this hard to believe? You’re not the first.
After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples, and even then they did not all believe: “When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted” (Matthew 28:17).
However, just because you don’t believe something doesn’t mean it’s not true.
The disciples found this out on Resurrection Sunday when the angels said, “He told you so!”
An angel looked on, full of sinister glee; he finally had triumphed, and now he was first!