Tavern Talk #88 - Easter: the Story Nobody Expected

Apr 7
2 min read

Easter is not the story of people who believed too easily. It's the story of people who didn’t believe at all.

Our Easter Tavern Talk walked us through the surprising, even jarring reality at the heart of the resurrection story: nobody was expecting it. Not the disciples. Not the women. Not the religious leaders. Not Rome. If anything, every group involved was operating with the same basic assumption: death means the end.

And then, something happened.

The talk began at the cross, where the first crack in certainty appears not from a follower of Jesus, but from a Roman centurion - the very man overseeing the execution. Even before the resurrection, he sees something different and confesses, “Surely this man was the Son of God.”

From there, we watched as every group surrounding the tomb revealed not faith, but skepticism.

The religious leaders remembered Jesus’ prediction of resurrection—but only enough to try to prevent a hoax, sealing the tomb and posting guards.
The women came to anoint a corpse, not celebrate a risen Savior. Their question wasn’t “Will He rise?” but “Who will move the stone?”
The guards witnessed something undeniable - so undeniable they had to be paid to lie about it.
The disciples dismissed the first reports as nonsense.
Peter ran to the tomb, but left confused, not convinced.
The travelers to Emmaus spoke of Jesus in the past tense. “We had hoped…”
The gathered disciples locked themselves in a room out of fear - even after hearing the reports.
Thomas gave voice to what many felt. “Unless I see… I will not believe.”
And even after seeing the risen Jesus, some still doubted.

This is not a sanitized story of instant faith. It is a deeply human story full of grief, confusion, doubt, and hesitation.

And that’s precisely the point.

Christianity did not begin with gullibility. It began in a world of sealed tombs, armed guards, imperial power, and disappointed followers. Yet something so disruptive occurred that it transformed everything. Cowards became proclaimers, skeptics became martyrs, and an empire was turned upside down. And we’re still celebrating it today.

The resurrection wasn’t expected. It wasn’t orchestrated or staged. It wasn’t even believed at first.

It had to be encountered.

The invitation of the Easter story then, is not “shame on you for doubting,” but something far more personal: Jesus meets people in their doubt. Behind locked doors. On long roads, walking away from hope. In questions, not certainty.

Wherever you find yourself - curious like Peter, disappointed like those on the road to Emmaus, guarded like the disciples, or honest like Thomas - the message remains the same:

He still shows up.He still speaks peace.And He is still alive.

Oh snap!

Further Readings (read them all – it’s not that much):

Matthew 27-28

Mark 15-16

Luke 24

John 20