Getting More Than We Deserve
Thursday, April 20, 2006
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, I realize how hard it must have been for the first followers of Jesus to believe Mary Magdalene and the others when they came proclaiming that Jesus had risen from the dead. It is even more challenging for folks to believe now, nearly 2,000 years later—when they don’t have the confirmation of actually seeing Him, and when many times it seems that we who follow Him aren’t all that different from them. That’s why I pray for a fresh outpouring of Your Holy Spirit upon me, and upon Your Church—fill all of us with Your Holy Spirit that we may live with boldness and power, with humility and love in Jesus’ name. May Your church be the best testimony available of the truth of Jesus’ victory over sin and death! I pray that You will give me the courage of those first followers of Jesus, who steadfastly followed Jesus even when it meant imprisonment, torture and death. I pray that in this place and time when all following Jesus costs me may be some ridicule by those who don’t believe, that You will give me the grace to live boldly and sincerely in Jesus’ name, that He may be glorified and that Your Kingdom may grow. This I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God’s Word Today – Mark 16:1-18
1The next evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene and Salome and Mary the mother of James went out and purchased burial spices to put on Jesus’ body. 2Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they came to the tomb. 3On the way they were discussing who would roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb. 4But when they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone—a very large one—had already been rolled aside. 5So they entered the tomb, and there on the right sat a young man clothed in a white robe. The women were startled, 6but the angel said, “Do not be so surprised. You are looking for Jesus, the Nazarene, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He has been raised from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. 7Now go and give this message to his disciples, including Peter: Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died!” 8The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, saying nothing to anyone because they were too frightened to talk.
Then they reported all these instructions briefly to Peter and his companions. Afterward Jesus himself sent them out from east to west with the sacred and unfailing message of salvation that gives eternal life. Amen.
9It was early on Sunday morning when Jesus rose from the dead, and the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10She went and found the disciples, who were grieving and weeping. 11But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen him, they didn’t believe her.
12Afterward he appeared to two who were walking from Jerusalem into the country, but they didn’t recognize him at first because he had changed his appearance. 13When they realized who he was, they rushed back to tell the others, but no one believed them.
14Still later he appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their unbelief—their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
15And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere. 16Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. 17These signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak new languages. 18They 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 heal them.”
Reflecting on God’s Word
Do you think you would have believed the news that Jesus was alive if you had been one of the original disciples when Mary and the others came to tell you? Why or why not?
A Deeper Exploration of God’s Word
Why do you suppose that Mark’s gospel incorporates these to encounters with Jesus by Mary and the two men as part of the “longer ending” of the gospel? What is gained from these accounts that would be lost if they were missing?
Understanding God’s Purpose for Us
What does today’s highlighted Scripture tell us about God’s purpose for us?
Applying God’s Word to Our Purpose
Today’s Scripture makes it clear that we don’t always believe the truth when it’s presented. Think of some of the truths of Scripture that you struggle with in your life. Take the time right now to ask Jesus to increase your faith AND to give you the desire to search His word and seek answers to the questions you have. Make a list of the questions below, and seek out the answers from the Bible, or from someone you know who has studied the Bible extensively:
Thoughts—No One Believed…
Belief is an incredible reality. It literally moves mountains! When Jesus rose from the dead, Mary Magdalene saw Him, but when she told the other followers of Jesus, they didn’t believe her. Two men walking along the road saw Jesus, but when the told the other followers of Jesus, no one believed them either. Surely they wanted to believe! Surely their lives would have been immediately filled with a sense of meaning and purpose they never thought they would know again. But they didn’t believe. No one did. So, they were stuck in the same rut they’d been in since Friday evening—their hopes were dashed. For all practical purposes their lives were done. Imagine the frustration of Mary and the other two men when they told their accounts of seeing Jesus and no one believed. Their lives HAD been changed. They knew that their hope in Jesus had been well-placed. They BELIEVED in Him more now than ever before. They knew that their belief in Him could bring life and peace they hadn’t yet imagined. But for the rest it was not so. For the rest life was dull, gray, disappointing. Have you ever been there? Have you ever thought that life wasn’t worth the effort? Have you ever thought that Jesus wasn’t really there, when you called out to Him? Most of us have been there at some point. The reality is Jesus IS there. Mary and the other men were right even though no one believed them. In fact, in the very next verses, which we’ll be looking at tomorrow, Jesus rebuked the rest for their failure to believe. Sometimes we need to “rebuke” ourselves for our unbelief. A famous preacher, Harry Emerson Fosdick, once wrote a sermon titled, “The Importance of Doubting Your Doubts.” Great title, don’t you think? Sometimes we DO need to doubt our doubts, and simply believe---because if Jesus promised us something it IS true whether we believe it or not. The first followers missed out on a great deal of joy—if only for a brief time, simply because no one believed the truth. May we believe God’s truth when we read it or hear it, and then by the presence of the Holy Spirit may we LIVE what we believe that the world may believe as well!