They lost their awe …

Jesus’ disciples had just witnessed the Lord calming a storm simply by rebuking the wind and waves (Mt. 8:23-26).

“The disciples were amazed. ‘Who is this man?’ they asked. ‘Even the winds and waves obey him!'” Matthew 8:27.

They were in awe of Jesus!

That was earlier. Now, as Jesus laid dead in a tomb, they had lost their awe.

Dr. Lynn Anderson, in his book, “If I Really Believe, Why Do I Have These Doubts?” recounts a story told him by a journalist friend:

Years back, my friend Juan Monroy, a Christian journalist in Madrid, Spain, was among those reporters selected by the Spanish government to interview the American astronaut James Irwin, who was on a European tour after his Apollo 15 mission to the moon. Monroy asked the astronaut, “What did you feel when you stepped out of that capsule and your feet touched the surface of the moon?”

To Monroy’s utter surprise, Irwin replied, “It was one of the most profoundly disillusioning moments of my life.”

Irwin explained, “All of my life I have been enchanted by the romance and the mystery of the moon. I sang love songs under the moon. I read poems by moonstruck poets. I embraced my lover in the moonlight. I looked up in wonder at the lunar sphere. But that day when I stepped from the capsule onto the lunar surface and reached down at my feet, I came up with nothing but two handfuls of gray dirt. I cannot describe the loss I felt as the romance and mystery were stripped away. There will be no more moon in the sky!”

It would seem that Irwin had lost his “awe.” The dusty, gray, barren surface of the moon just didn’t live up to his romantic expectations.

And now that the dead body of Jesus was sealed away in a tomb, the disciples had lost their “awe.” It was the most disillusioning moment of their lives. This One who could silence the winds and waves with just His words appeared to be utterly defeated by death.

But wait, Sunday is coming …

Scotty