John 12:16

These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.

The failure of Jesus' most intimate and faithful disciples to comprehend the spiritual nature of his kingdom, and the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies concerning him, was evidently due to their also having been so full of the "earthly kingdom" idea which dominated the minds of the Jewish leaders. Not until after the resurrection did the apostles finally get everything into the proper focus and have the full glory of the Saviour's glorious work finally dawn upon their understanding. We should be thankful for this; because here is the positive and unanswerable proof that the disciples, having the attitude they held, could not possibly have contrived any such thing as stealing Jesus' body, or any kind of hoax regarding his resurrection. As a matter of truth, they did not even expect his resurrection, having no thought of it whatever, until after it happened.