The Chicken Who Cried Murder and A Doubting Thomas

"Atta' boy Luther!"
 

Over the weekend I  came across the television showing  The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, a classic Don Knotts comedy from 1966. Don Knotts plays timid reporter Luther Heggs, who carries with him a wide range of imagination. An imagination so crazy the small town labels him "the boy who cried wolf".

One night Luther sees the murder of the town drunk and tells his story to the police at the station, only later to see the town drunk's wife dragging him into the police station... alive!

Luther is also convinced by his newspaper contingents to spend the night in an old mansion who some claim is to be haunted. When Luther agrees to stay the night he gets involved in some humorous haunting events which he then reveals to the whole town in a newspaper story. Of course the entire town laughs at him in unbelief, for he is forever known as the boy who cried wolf.

Upon also reading this weekend of Jesus and Mary Magdalene finding the empty tomb in the book of John, I couldn't help but also think about how others might have perceived Mary at first when she does claim,
 "He has risen!"

 Mary Magdalene did not carry the image of a boy who cried wolf, but what if there were just a glimpse or thought of disbelief by others, what would happen? Well, there were instances of unbelief from others.
In fact there are two different instances of unbelief, first from Peter and the other Disciple, who's name is not mentioned:

Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. ² She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
³ Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. ⁴ They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, ⁷ while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. ⁸ Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed— ⁹ for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. ¹⁰ Then they went home.
(text taken from John 20)

It is important to note exactly what it says in verse nine, 
for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead.

It is when they see the physical evidence within the empty tomb that they believed,
 He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings.

And the second event within this story of those who carried unbelief without seeing evidence, is the story of Thomas, forever known as Doubting Thomas.

 ²⁴ One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. ²⁵ They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”
²⁶ Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”
²⁸ “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.
²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”


Probably the most emphatic part of the whole story of the empty tomb of Jesus, is when Jesus Himself says, "Blessed are those who believe without seeing me."

Although the tomb is empty, that in itself should be enough physical evidence for us to exclaim,

"Hallelujah, He is Risen!"