This syndrome also reminds me of when we had our first child. We’re in the delivery room in Northside Hospital in Atlanta, while my parents and her parents are in the waiting room getting minute-by-minute updates form me! In fact, I recall running out there telling everyone it was a girl because as the head started showing, there was hair. And men in my family just don’t have hair. I no sooner came back to the delivery room and watched Brett unfold into life and had to go back and correct the newswires – it was a boy. A real, live son!
Just as I could hardly believe I actually had a son (when I saw him it affirmed what I knew I had believed all along), and just as we could hardly believe that we were really getting married to one another (the ring sure helped affirm Julie’s belief that I wasn’t kidding), so the disciples were filled with such joy and amazement that it took a physical, visible sign to show them that what they thought was too good to be true was exactly that – really true! That’s what visible signs do – they confirm that what we’re seeing is really accurate and true.
Such was the case for the disciples – Jesus’ visible, physical actions were proof positive they weren’t seeing a ghost or dreaming a dream. It was real, and really amazing. And it was these visible proofs that led them out of doubt towards belief.