Tag: Mark 16
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.
Disciples are not alone!
Scripture reading for March 2nd: Mark 16
Key scriptures for over-comers: Mark 16:19-20 “After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and He sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed His word by the signs that accompanied it.”
Jesus appeared to the disciples a number of times after the resurrection to prepare them for their ultimate mission to reach the lost people of all nations. Jesus conferred His authority on them to go and preach the “good news to all creation.” (Mark 16:15) He promised them that as they went and preached this ‘good news’ that they would not be alone but He would work with them confirming their message with miraculous signs. These signs would be Christ’s way of showing His love to the lost and confirming the authenticity of His disciples. It would require the disciples to walk by faith and do what Jesus commanded them to do–reach out to lost people everywhere! Mark records that they were sent and then they went!
Observations for over-comers: Christians want to see the signs and miracles but are not being obedient to go and preach to the lost! We must be going and preaching the good news and Jesus will do His part! “One generation will commend Your works to another; they will tell of Your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and I will meditate on Your wonderful works. They will tell of the power of Your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds.” (Psalm 145:4-6)
Jesus is alive!
Scripture reading for March 3rd: Mark 16
When the women came to the tomb on the first day of the week, they expected to anoint the body of Jesus with spices. They found the tomb open and saw a young man dressed in white robes sitting where the body had been laid. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go and tell the disciples and Peter. “He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.'” (Mark 16:6-7) The women did as they were told, but the disciples did not believe them. Jesus appeared to two others as well, but the rest again refused to believe.
It may seem surprising that those who had been with Jesus had a hard time with the resurrection. Jesus had plainly told His disciples what would happen. (Mark 10:33-34) But they had also witnessed the crucifixion and were humans of Adam’s line themselves. Jesus met them where they were, and rebuked them for their unbelief as He had done on other occasions. He then sent them out to share the good news with the whole world!
The resurrection of Jesus Christ marked a turning point in the history of mankind. In Adam, all men and women were born in sin and had the curse of death. There was nothing that they could do to save themselves. But God sent His Son, born of a woman, to come and live among men. He demonstrated the love and mercy of God by forgiving sins and healing sickness and disease. But the greatest miracle, was His defeat of the curse of sin and the resulting penalty of death on the cross and resurrection from the dead!