Key Verse:
Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked
with them and confirmed His Word by the signs that accompanied it.
Mark 16:20
The passage in the gospel of Mark may be one of
the most difficult and controversial for us to understand. Many scholars do not even believe that it is
a part of the original text, but was added later by a writer of the early
church.
Some of the signs Jesus mentions here in Mark,
such as tongues and handling snakes bring questions of their own. Was handling snakes referring to Paul, when
he picked up a snake on the Island of Malta and shook it off into the fire, (Acts
28:2-5) or are the snake handlers of today justified in performing such feats
as a means of demonstrating their faith? Were tongues and healings only meant for the Apostles, or are they signs
for today's followers of Christ as well?
Once again, I choose not to deal with those
questions here. What I like about Mark's
passage, if it is indeed authentic, is how it nicely wraps up the last forty
days of Jesus’ resurrected life here on earth, from the resurrection to the ascension. Over and over we read in Mark how hard it was
for Christ's followers to really believe that Jesus had risen from the
dead. Too often, we look down on them
for their struggle of faith. We are so
used to just accepting Jesus' resurrection as part of our system of belief and
statement of faith that many of us have been taught from early childhood. We need to remember that these disciples were
middle aged, at least. In their world
view, when someone died, they were dead.
There was no resurrection until the end of time when the judgment would
take place. They were having to make a
huge adjustment in their world view. The
impossible had become possible. A dead
man had come back to life, seemingly on His own! Everything had changed because of this new
reality.
Jesus understood their slowness to accept the
new reality. He took forty days to
continue to be with them and convince them of the truth. Paul added further
details of how Jesus increased His audience to build confidence and assurance
in His followers that His resurrection was not a hoax. If He had not, surely
doubt would have begun to creep back in, as it does for so many today. These first disciples had to be convinced
beyond a shadow of a doubt that Christ had risen. They were being entrusted with the
responsibility of convincing others of this same truth so that Christ's body of
followers would grow. Yes, the signs and
miracles would help, but it was the Word, the new gospel that needed to be
unshakable. Miracles are momentary, but
the mind, when it is transformed through belief, is a powerful thing indeed.
As we now know, Jesus' investment of time paid
off. The disciples went on to do as
Christ had commanded. They did not keep
the good news to themselves, but moved out to convince others, "Jesus is
risen, and because He has, there is hope for you!"
Hymn: "Forth in Thy Name, O Lord, IGo"
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