Mark 16:1-20
1And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. 3And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? 4And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 5And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. 6And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. 7But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. 8And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid. 9Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. 10And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. 12After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. 13And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. 14Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. 15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 19So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
The story is not over yet. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, but because he is sinless the power of death could not hold him. He has risen. When a person identifies with Jesus and becomes a christian, that person too shares in Jesus resurrection and is freed from death.
Notice that the women of Jesus retinue were given the blessing of being the first to encounter the ressurected Jesus. And they are the first to be charged with spreading this good news. Jesus elevates the status of women for all time with this honor.
Now here is something truly amazing: once more Peter and the disciples experience a hardness of heart and do not believe what they have heard about Jesus from the women. Then Jesus comes to them and rebukes them. This shows me two things. First, people can hear the gospel and not believe until somehow Jesus becomes real to them. They must have an encounter with him that changes their hearts. Secondly, even the worst sinner can be made an effective servant for Christ. The disciples consistently disbelieved and failed Jesus, yet Jesus redeems them and sets them on a path that will change human history. The lesson: there is NO ONE that is not able to be of service to Christ. What a great way to end this gospel — on a note of hope and victory.
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Well, that’s it, folks. Seventy Days in the Gospel of Mark. I thank those of you who put over 700 hits on this blog (and this number does not include my own hits to the page, in case you were wondering). I appreciate so much those of you who were supportive of my task and who either commented on this blog or who commented to me in person. Some of you have said that what I wrote touched you or confirmed something that the Lord laid on your hearts. There is no higher compliment that you could have given me. Thank you!
And, conversely, the opposition I have received after I undertook this writing project…. well, I will not be silenced. Not now, not ever.
;D
Best regards.
LJG (c) 2009
2 Comments
August 9, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Lori:
What you have “blogged” has been thoughtful, well-written, right-on and quite heplful. Thank you for a job really well done.
John
August 9, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Thank you, John!