Mark 16:15-20 New Living Translation 15 And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. 16 Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. 17 These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. 18 They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.” 19 When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.20 And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs. Incarnational ministry is a phrase I'll never forget. As a new believer the Bible and the Christianese (stuff Christians say) that people were speaking were all new to me. But they not only said it, they explained it and lived it! Incarnational means that you physicallly go into the world you want to reach. Jesus is our greatest example. He did not send a message, He came and was born, lived and died as one of us, for us and so He sent the 11.
If you remember our devotional from yesterday the Stubborn 11 just refused to believe any testimonies that Jesus was risen from the dead. It wasn't until Jesus Himself came and rebuked them for their unbelief that they finally believe but part of the good news is that He wasn't finished with them yet. It was NOT their great faith that qualified them to do what Jesus asked, it was Jesus Himself. Jesus told them, " “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. " This Good News would go into all the world not just Jerusalem, Judea and Galilee where the Jewish people lived. They had to go so this meant the ministry had to be incarnational as they had learned from Jesus. Anytime someone is reached with the Good News it means that someone took time and energy out in order for this to happen. Mark tells us that, "the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them." These Stubborn 11 became the Trusting 11. Thank God the Gospel of Mark did not end with a rebuke but with Jesus working mightily in and through His 11. Know this, He will never waste His time but rather accomplish what He set out to do in and through you even if He has to knock you straight first.
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Mark 16: 9-14 New Living Translation 9 After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went to the disciples, who were grieving and weeping, and told them what had happened. 11 But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen him, they didn’t believe her. 12 Afterward he appeared in a different form to two of his followers who were walking from Jerusalem into the country. 13 They rushed back to tell the others, but no one believed them. 14 Still later he appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their stubborn unbelief because they refused to believe those who had seen him after he had been raised from the dead. Just recently a movie was released on video called The Magnificent 7 where Denzel Washington plays a bounty hunter who,along with 6 other less reputable individuals, is paid to help a town get free . These individuals come together as a team and knowingly step into overwhelming odds and some even sacrifice their lives not necessarily for money but for the cause.
While many put the Apostles on pedestals even hailing them as intercessors on our behalf, they in fact were just like us, maybe even more than we like to admit. They could have easily been called the Stubborn 11. Even when they refused the testimony of Mary Magdalene, Jesus presents Himself alive and well to two other of His followers and the 11 still doubt. As if that wasn't enough Jesus Himself appears to the 11 and, "rebuked them for their stubborn unbelief ". The Gospel of Mark does not end with this rebuke but we'll read about that tomorrow. For now let us remember that but by the grace of God we would still be in our unbelief but as Jesus told Thomas, “You believe because you have seen Me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing Me." John 20:29 Truly we are blessed. Mark 16: 1-8 New Living Translation 16 Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside. 5 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, 6 but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. 7 Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.” 8 The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened. For some people it's only natural to go back to doing what you have always done when life throws you a curve ball. Although Jesus told his disciples that He would be crucified and raised on the third day they still did not believe, their lives continued as it was before the crucifixion. The disciples went back to fishing, "Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples. Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.” “We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night." John 21:2,3 The women went right back to meeting Jesus' needs even after His death, "Some women were there, watching from a distance, including Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James the younger and of Joseph), and Salome. They had been followers of Jesus and had cared for him while he was in Galilee. Many other women who had come with him to Jerusalem were also there." Mark 15:40,41 These women actually went the day before Jesus resurrection and, "purchased burial spices".
Could you even imagine! They believed they would find Jesus' dead body still lying in the tomb come Sunday morning. What a surprise it was for them to find the tomb open and empty and an angel who said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. 7 Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.” Again, as I have said plenty of times before, it's easier said than done. There will be times we believe and yet we live life as if there was no resuurection. Paul prayed for the church in Ephesus, "I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 1:16-20 This is my prayer for you, our students and leaders, as we start our new year. Love you guys, God bless you real good! (I will buy buy lunch this week for the first person who leaves a comment below to today's devotional/blog.) |
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