And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. Luke 24:11
While I was yet in my teens, I went one time to visit some friends who were staying at a county home that cared for people who were unable to look after themselves. While we were tending to some chores in the home, we went into the secure section for residents who were mentally unstable. A staff member was working with a small, slender man who was not in the least interested in getting ready for his bath. In a high sing-song voice, he was rattling off an unending string of what appeared at first to be sentences. But they were not sentences, they were not even words. He was uttering meaningless sounds that may have conveyed his feeling, but which carried no information. On and on he went, as the staff member tried to convince him to cooperate. The resident’s ‘conversation’ was exactly what is meant by the word that is translated ‘idle tales’ in our text. The Greek word λῆρος, pronounced ‘leros’ is used only here in the entire Bible, a very strong word that tells us how utterly the other followers of Jesus rejected the accounts of those who came to tell them that Jesus was alive. It is also very descriptive of the attitude toward people around us when we try to tell them of our faith.
The women knew that Jesus was alive. They had seen the open and empty tomb, and had heard the words of the angels who declared that He was risen. The angels reminded them that Jesus had told them that He would rise again, and they recalled those words, Rejoicing, they rushed to pass on the news, and found themselves ridiculed and their message totally rejected. They knew the resurrection was true, but they could make nobody believe them. We encounter the same reaction when we try to share the Gospel with others. We know it is true; we have experienced the joyful knowledge of sins forgiven and Heaven assured. We have discovered the wonder of a personal relationship with our Lord and Saviour. And yet, our attempts to share that with others seldom are met with anything better than a blank stare and often with open scorn. Is it our fault for failing to convince them that the Gospel is true and that our salvation is real? In most cases, no. The problem lies with them, not us.
The truth of the Gospel is meaningless to those who are enamoured by religion, that pathetic doctrine of Cain that insists that we must provide the works of our own hands for our redemption. With its requirement for repentance, the Gospel is offensive to those who insist that their lives are as good as others and better than most. And of course those who deny the deity of Christ and the existence of God have nothing but ridicule for anything from the Word of God. But should all that keep us from sharing the Gospel and our testimony? Of course not! The women who had seen the open and empty tomb knew the truth, and they told it, leaving the results to God. That should be our approach, too.
Do our words seem as idle tales to those around us? Relax, it’s not something to worry about. The truth of the Gospel is no less the truth for all their rejection. – Jim MacIntosh