Outsider's Perspective

   I think we can learn a lot from the confusion and blindness displayed by Jesus followers after His death. When I read John 20, it is easy for me to think "come one guys! Jesus told you this was going to happen and there have been continuos references to it all through scripture and now you're seeing play out right in front of you and you still don't get it! It's so obvious what's going on!" And in truth, I'm right in saying that it is extremely obvious, but only because I have the outsider's perspective. 
   The outsider's perspective is the ability to see more of the big picture and analyze what's going on in a calm and collected manner. It is an ability that is usually only possessed by someone who is not directly involved in the given situation because they aren't not emotionally invested.* It explains how we know exactly what to do in hypothetical situations but are completely lost when those types of situations arise in our actual lives. I think John 20 can serve as a great reminder that asking an "outsider" for advice can often be very helpful because they have a less clouded view. However, we also see that the people the disciples could have asked would have given the wrong advice, whether because of bias (the Pharisees) or ignorance (the Romans). There is only one guy we can always depend on to know exactly what's going on. His name is God. Thankfully He's always available to talk to! :)


*The exception to this is God because He is invested in every situation, and every aspect of every situation so He gets the full picture that way. I think this is a cool thought because it shows that God's omniscience comes from His omnipresence. (Here's a dictionary just in case you need it!:))

Fun little visual:
From outside the towns walls we can see a bigger than the people inside the town (our view includes the hills and horizon) but also a less detailed one. Only God can see everything because He alone is in every detail of the town and every detail of the hills. He understands everything about His creation not only because He's great enough to do so but because He's loving enough to care.