The First Sceptics of the Resurrection

If Jesus Christ didn’t bodily rise from the tomb on the first Easter Sunday, then Christianity falls apart. Christians have always acknowledged that. The Apostle Paul, who wrote most of the books of the New Testament, put it like this: “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins”.

I’ve had the misfortune of being an away fan at a football match and seeing my team go 3-0 down after half an hour. The home fans started singing: “You might as well go home”. There’s no point staying for the rest of the match; it’s already clear what the result will be. And if there’s no resurrection, those of us who are Christians might as well go home. There’s no point trying to reinvent Christianity as some sort of moral code for life. If there’s no resurrection, it’s time to shut up shop.

But one of the interesting things about the Bible’s account of the resurrection is that even though Jesus had told his followers it was going to happen, most of them took a while to be convinced it was real. They certainly weren’t queuing up to believe in a resurrection.

The first sceptics of the resurrection were Jesus’ own disciples. What made them sceptics? Mostly the fact that they’d seen him crucified — and dead people don’t tend to come back to life.

Jesus’ friends had seen him die in a way there could be no doubt about. They’d seen him nailed to a cross. They’d seen an experienced Roman centurion, who’d likely overseen 100s of crucifixions, pronounce him dead.

And so on that first Easter Sunday morning, when a group of women walked to the tomb, laden down with spices and ointment, they were going for one reason — to embalm a body. They weren’t hoping against hope that the person they’d seen killed would have come back to life.

When they got to the tomb they were perplexed to find that the stone covering it had been rolled away. They went in — but they didn’t find a body. At which point they didn’t say: “Oh, silly us, he must have risen from the dead!” That would not be my conclusion on coming across an empty grave, and it wasn’t theirs. Instead, they jumped to the obvious conclusion that someone had moved the body.

The Bible is clear both that Jesus had predicted his resurrection, but also that when it actually happened, his friends weren’t expecting it — and in fact refused to believe it.

Two angels then appeared to the women and told them that Jesus had risen from the dead. The women went and told the apostles — the men would be the leaders of the early church. But the women’s story seemed to them to be an idle tale. Just a silly story; ‘they did not believe them’. Only two of them thought it was even worth checking. 

And yet — many of the same people would go on to die for their faith in Jesus. Which means that if Jesus hadn’t really been raised and appeared to them – they wouldn’t simply have been dying for a lie. Many people die for a lie thinking it’s true. But they would have been dying for something they knew to be a lie.

And so Jesus’ friends were the first sceptics of the resurrection. The first ones to pour cold water on the idea that he had risen from the dead. And yet they would become the very same people to take the message of Jesus to the ends of the earth.

Why does this all matter? Because if there’s no resurrection, then this world, with all its pain, suffering, heartache, shame, disappointment — this is all that there is. There isn’t a day coming when all wrongs will be put right. Again, the Bible acknowledges that when it says: “If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’”

If the dead are not raised, you might as well try and fit in as much pleasure as you possibly can. Forget about other people – never mind God — and just live for yourself.

But if the resurrection is true, it changes everything.

Last year, I met a man from China who had been about to take his own life. As he prepared to jump off his apartment building, five words came into his mind: “I am the resurrection and the life”. The Bible is banned in China, so how could he have known those words? Because in school he had read “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens, and it contained that quote. Soon after, he became a Christian and his life was transformed.

If the resurrection is true, it means that no-one is beyond hope, and that even the bleakest situations can be transformed. Death itself has been defeated.

Published in the Stranraer & Wigtownshire Free Press, 26th March 2026

World Book Day - Bible Distribution

Earlier this month we gave out free Bibles and gospels of Mark for World Book Day. We were grateful for good weather, good conversations, and one man at church the following Lord’s Day as a result.

2026 marks 500 years since the publication of William Tyndale’s English translation of the Bible into English. Tyndale’s Bibles were printed on the continent and smuggled into Scotland – owning one would have got your arrested. Those who missed the distribution can get a free copy of the Bible by contacting us via this website.

Who Doesn’t Love a Hometown Hero?

Pride and disappointment were the dominant emotions on Saturday night as the Team GB, with strong Stranraer representation, came up just short in the men’s curling final. Just as it was four years ago in Beijing, they had to settle for silver — despite leading after six ends and looking on course to end a 102-year wait for gold.

Curling has a rich heritage around these parts. Someone recently shared an article from the Galloway Gazette reporting on a match that took place between the Rhins and Machars in December 1875. The match took place at the suggestion of a “Dr Easton of Stranraer”, who, it turns out, was an elder in our congregation. In those days, of course, curling was an outdoor sport. Easton had first broached the idea the previous year, but “John Frost was unfavourable”. Not to be deterred, the “Grand Bonspiel at Loch Skerrow” took place the following year, despite melting ice forcing the pitch to be shortened at places. The Gazette dubbed it “the most important match that has ever been played in Galloway”.

Fast forward 150 years and the BBC website was running articles about the hotel ice rink in Stranraer producing some of Scotland’s best curlers. Given all the local interest, anticipation was at fever pitch as Team Mouat recovered from a mixed showing during the round robin matches to reach the final. Alas, the Canadians saw their opportunity and took it.

Will our boys give it one more go in 2030? Time will tell, but either way they are local heroes. They won’t be welcomed back home with anything other than open arms.

It’s the same sort of pride in the achievements of locals that saw Andy Murray greeted by 15-20,000 people in Dunblane (population 9,000) after winning Olympic gold and the US Open.

It reminds me of the time that Jesus returned to his hometown, after making a name for himself by preaching and healing elsewhere. It looked like he too would be welcomed with open arms. As he stood up to preach in Nazareth, “the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him”. Indeed, “all spoke well of him and marvelled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth”. And yet before the day was out, his hometown crowd would try to kill him. 

A few verses earlier we’re told that as Jesus had taught in other synagogues he had been “glorified by all”. What was different in his hometown? In short it was the old adage that familiarity breeds contempt. They said: “Is this not Joseph’s son?” We can almost hear them: “Aye, it’s the carpenter’s boy – we kent his faither”.

It’s the same today. Many have a sense that something is badly wrong with the world — but the idea of going to church and hearing why that is, and what God has done about it, doesn’t cross their minds.

At one point, being found with a Bible could have got you killed. 2026 marks 500 years since William Tyndale’s translation of the Bible into English; he was burnt at the stake for his efforts. Nowadays – in the West, at least – there’s no such danger. Yet many reject it without ever having read it. Familiarity breeds contempt.

So, too, with biblical morality. Fraser Nelson wrote in the Times last year that “If marriage had been invented in 1970s Scandinavia, it would be hailed as a progressive superweapon — the first, best and cheapest source of health, wealth and education … But somehow, being pro-family has ended up seen as moralistic, judgmental and old-fashioned”.

Some have understandably been put off by bad church experiences, or seeing those those who “trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt” (Luke 18:9). But don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

In the wake of the Winter Olympics, it’s been heartening to see the popularity of “Try Curling” sessions. The North West Castle had to add more because of the “incredible demand”. Our kids can’t wait until they’re old enough to give it a go. What a pity it would be to live within a stone’s throw of a rink and never try it!

Yet many in Scotland live and die without every really considering the claims of Christianity. They assume they know what it is, and write it off as irrelevant. But why not try it?

It can be daunting to walk through the doors of a church for the first time, but we tend to find that once people do, they don’t look back. Ourselves and the Baptist Church also offer a 3-session introduction called “Hope Explored”. Think of it as a bit like our version of “Try Curling”! There’s no commitment – but you might be surprised at what you find.

Published in the Stranraer & Wigtownshire Free Press, 26th February 2026.