Focus Scriptures:
Read Mark 16:9–20
And I say focus scriptures because I believe they are indeed true and holy scriptures. These particular verses are controversial because two ancient manuscripts, the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, are two of the oldest that we have seen, and they do not include these verses. There is typically a note added by the scribe after verse eight that explains this.
The codex Sinaiticus dates back to about the year 400 A.D. and was found on Mount Sinai, hence the name. Other prominent verses are missing as well in that manuscript. For instance, the conclusion to the Lord’s Prayer: "For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen" (Matthew 6:13). And the woman caught in adultery in John 8 is also omitted in Codex Sinaiticus. Two other omissions in the Codex Sinaiticus that carries concerning theological significance is the reference to Jesus’ ascension in Luke 24:51, and Mark 1:1 omits reference to Jesus as the Son of God.
It almost seems as if this scribe had a particular agenda concerning the divine nature of Jesus Christ, especially beyond the grave. Not unlike the progressive church, the Mormon church, the Muslim's and others do today.
Two of the early church fathers around AD 180, unambiguously quoted Mark 16:19 as Scripture. Irenaeus is one them and he quotes this verse in "Against Heresies" (3.10.6). And that's good enough for me.
So, what's so controversial about these verses?
Well, let's take a look.
It's early Sunday morning. Jesus has risen from the grave.
Hmmm. Well right off the bat we see a problem for some. But then it turns out that he FIRST appears to "Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons."
Now, think about her situation in and among the first church followers. First, she's a woman. She's also got this history of having been possessed by SEVEN demons. She's perfectly possessed when she meets Jesus. And that sort of thing tends to color the minds of one's friends, even though they've seen her miraculous healing. So Jesus appears first to her. And she goes to the new ragtag church of unbelievers to tell them that he is risen from the dead and had appeared to her.
Mark 16:11
"But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it."
A little later on, Jesus, "appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country." (v.12)
These are likely the two disciples talked about in Luke's gospel who were traveling on the road to Emmaus and encountered Jesus in an unrecognizable form at first. And if you've heard this story before, you know that Jesus reveals himself to them in the breaking of bread and teaches them in great detail about himself from the scriptures.
And again; (13) "they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them."
After this Jesus lays into the whole bunch for not understanding all he had taught them prior to his crucifixion, and for rebuking the others who came to them with news of his resurrection.
Mark 16:14
"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 so, you see, this is the thing that truly divides the community of believers. This resurrection of the Lord is of great importance and controversy. And has been from the beginning. And I'm glad that this happened. I think it's important that these men were so skeptical. Especially in light of how much they were changed by this. What happened with them is the same context of every true conversion of every faithful Christian. There isn't one Christian who hasn't had to wrestle with this resurrection business. Everyone who would follow Jesus MUST pick up his cross and follow him. You can't move on into the very next verses if you don't first deal with the unbelief. Unresolved doubts and confusion are going to stifle what happens next if you don't put this one spiritual question to rest.
How can you say that, Mike? It isn't right to suggest that people can't be Christian and still have doubts and unbelief about his divinity and his resurrection.
Listen, I understand that sentiment. I don't want to take this line. But I love God, and I respect his Word with absolute conviction. If I don't, I am a fool for believing any of it. I might as well get the hell out of here and never come back. If I doubt ANY of his Word I might as well be dead, because that's what his word says.
For example: The very next verses.
Mark 16:15-16
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."
There it is. Plain as the nose on your face. Believe it or not. The choice is yours. What follows for you is His choice. Believe...be saved. Do not...condemned. There's no room for compromises in that. No room for indulgences paying your way out hell or for others, and no room for purgative places where you can eternally work out your unbelief in the afterlife. It's either life or death, only you can determine that outcome, only your converted heart and mind while living can determine that outcome.
1 John 5:12
"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."
The Bible does not mince words on these things. It's vote for life or for death. And Jesus goes on to explain how you'll know the truly converted people.
Mark 16:17-18
"And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they 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."
And so now we can maybe see now where the issue is with these verses. Some Christians are going to have difficulty tracking with these things. I mean how many Christians have you seen drinking poison and surviving unharmed? And what about healing the sick and speaking in tongues? Never mind snake handling. I mean, does anyone not find it odd that Jesus just commissioned the spreading of the good news to ALL CREATION and somehow the evidence for that effort is all these sorts of oddities?
I'm frankly confused by this. Unless I put it into the context of the book of Acts. So I imagine that the disciples are just as confused by these things at this first hearing of them. And it's good that they are because these things are specifically about them. They're confused because these are prophetic things. Jesus is telling them in advance of the things many of them will face in the months and years to come in their experiences.
I don't believe that these things are for every Christian of every age. These are prophetic words to his apostles who we will see later on in the book of Acts did indeed have these very experiences. Jesus shared these revelations with them to help them discern the things that are about to happen to them. And I believe Christians shouldn't tempt God with attempts at conjuring up these things as evidence of their faith as well. It's not necessary because you only need to remember just a couple of verses earlier, remember that it's about believing. So, you know your heart, you know your mind. You know your truth and so does God. Believe or not. That's on you, it's not contingent upon mysticism like drinking poison or wrangling deadly snakes and speaking in the tongues of angels.
Mark 16:19-20
"So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs."
And just as Jesus prophesied, they did these miraculous signs. They accomplished these signs because they had received the gift of The Holy Spirit (See Acts chapter 2). These signs were never meant to become a matter of personal revelation and satisfaction. These were meant to confirm to the apostles and the early church that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead. It is for his glory, not ours. It is NOT a service "performed" by Christians that confirms their power and glory or their eventual sainthood. These are not human-angel gifts. They don't speak as angels because they are angelic, these speak the tongues of men so that men will hear Christ proclaimed in ALL his glory as the risen Lord, for His glory alone, in their own language. The signs follow Jesus proclaimed as King of The Universe, they do not proceed that gospel. We should never try to put the signs before The King and his gospel being proclaimed. It is the gospel that changes hearts and minds, it is hearing the word that creates faith.
Now go...go and preach the good news. And if you haven't submitted yourself to life in Him, I want to encourage you to pray now for his life to live in you. Pray for his wisdom and for The Holy Spirit to recreate your heart and mind conformed to Christ. Pray for forgiveness of your sins, and for your unbelief and for help going forward with your continued unbelief.
I'll be praying for you.
God Bless you always.
(Next up, the gospel of Luke, it's Christmas again!)
Genesis 1:26-28
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them.
The first time that our Creator God said that something WASN'T good, was in the garden of Eden. There is his perfect creation he found something that wasn't good. Up until then everything was some form of what he determined WAS good.
God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good.
God created the earth, the waters, the dry land, and God saw that it was good.
God created all the growing things. The plants that bore seeds and fruits, and God saw that it was good.
God created the heavenly lights and bodies. He separated the dark from the light. He created the seasons and established time, and God saw that it was good.
God created the living creatures in the waters, on the dry ...
Mark 12:10-11
Have you not read this Scripture:
"‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?"
The vineyard, Jesus tells the temple leaders, is the house of Israel. God had promised the Messiah for Israel, and Israel rejected the Messiah.
Jesus said in Matthew 15:24, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
From the OT book Exodus to the NT book of Hebrews. The term "house of Israel" occurs about 150 times. The phrase refers to the nation of Israel, which was brought out of slavery in Egypt. Rachel and Leah "built the house of Israel"
Ruth 4:11
All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem."
The Lord made his covenant with this bloodline. As Jesus points out...
Mark 12:1
"A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for ...
Matthew 24:6-8 "You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these events are the beginning of labor pains."
There has been thirteen years of war for every one year of peace since the time of Christ. Mankind loves war.
"Many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another." (v.10)
Love grows cold. Lawlessness spreads faster than the gospel. But through endurance the kingdom of God will be preached. And the angels will fulfill this mission:
Revelation 14:6 "Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, 'Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.'"
And just as a side note, for all ...
Mark 16:1-2
"When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb."
They had been disturbed about how they might remove the stone that closed up the new tomb where Jesus' dead body had been laid. According to the story, the women expected no resurrection. They went there fully prepared to anoint his dead body which had been hastily placed there because of the Sabbath. The women come up to the sepulcher and find the stone already rolled away. And they encounter a young man who announces to them that "he is risen". He was there in the tomb sitting on the right side and dressed in a white robe.
I don't think the stone was rolled away to let the risen Jesus out. He no doubt could have passed right through it. He certainly does later in rooms and through walls. I think the stone was rolled away because the women were worrying about that.
Mark 16:3
And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the ...
Mark 15:21-22
"And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull)."
I find it interesting here in chapter fifteen all these "passerby's" having some influence on the narrative. We begin with Simon who is called the father of Alexander and Rufus. In Romans chapter sixteen there's a man named Rufus. Maybe Simon's son? We don't know. If Simon and his sons are well known among the early church communities in Rome, it's likely that Simon would be a person of interest having been so closely involved in the crucifixion of The Lord.
We know he was from what today we would call Libya, but we don't know much else. Was he a visiting traveler on business in Jerusalem or possibly a pilgrimage. Was he a resident there? We don't know. Probably visiting or pilgrimage since he was coming in from the country.
What do we know?
In Luke's gospel account we know that Simon carried the cross for Jesus from behind him, which is interesting in ...
Mark 15:12-15
And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?" And they cried out again, "Crucify him." And Pilate said to them, "Why? What evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Crucify him." So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified."
Under pressure Pilate caved into the demands of the crowd. Under Pilates authority Jesus was judged by the Jews to have committed crimes against God and his law, and against Rome. The primary charge was a crime against the Roman emperor. They said he was a tax cheat. They said he was assuming the position of king. Jesus was being treated like an insurrectionist. They scourged Jesus to get him to confess these crimes. He did not say a word. They accused him of many things, and he never said a word.
Luke 23:7
"And when he [Pilate] learned that he [Jesus] belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time."
...
