Tag: lay hands
Jesus rebukes unbelief!
Scripture reading for March 3: Mark 16
“Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and He rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw Him after He had risen. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in My Name the will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Mark 16:14-18
In our permissive and spoiled culture we tend to let each person believe as they want and accept their attitudes and actions. But Jesus had a different assessment of His own disciples who had been given the opportunity to walk with Him for three years. They had watched and then participated in healings, deliverances from demons, and even raising the dead. They had witnessed Jesus teaching and demonstrating His authority and the Father’s compassion. They had been plainly told on numerous occasions about Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. He had patiently appeared to many of them on numerous occasions after His resurrection and eye witnesses had shared, but they had refused to believe and had hardened hearts.
After Jesus’ loving rebuke, He charged them with a clear mission of doing what He had taught them to do and preaching the Gospel to all. He emphasized that those who would believe and baptized would be saved. Those who hardened their hearts and refused to believe would be condemned. By faith God would work with them and through them to continue Jesus’ ministry of compassion and spoiling Satan’s kingdom of demonic oppression, sickness, and withstanding Satan’s attempts to destroy them. Their faith would move them forward to go, preach and obey in response to Jesus’ powerful Word.
Have you ever mocked or rejected a believer in Jesus who sought to witness to you? Have you responded to the Gospel message of Jesus and His followers? What does Jesus’ rebuke to His disciples say to you and your current life direction?
Prayer: Loving Father, thank You for Your life-giving rebuke for those who follow Jesus and harden their hearts. I have been there and done that. Thank You for the clear instructions on how to walk in faith and fulfill the Great Commission to preach the Gospel and proclaim Satan’s defeat. Use me today! Amen.