Mark 16:9-14 Witnesses to the resurrection
Notes
Transcript
Joel and Mary Nadel, Covenant United Reformed Church
Joel and Mary Nadel, Covenant United Reformed Church
From: The Holy Bible and J.C. Ryle’s “Expository Comments on the Gospels - Mark”
From: The Holy Bible and J.C. Ryle’s “Expository Comments on the Gospels - Mark”
House Rules: Phones, Respect, Stay on the Text
House Rules: Phones, Respect, Stay on the Text
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Review
Review
Mark: Three years of Jesus’ earthly ministry
Message: “Repent and believe the Gospel” - the Gospel was Jesus life and death
Preached, taught, performed miracles for three years”
At the conclusion of His public ministry, He came to Jerusalem, where He was arrested, convicted and crucified
As we begin this text, Mary Magdalene, Mary, and Salome have discovered an empty tomb, and have been told by an angel that Christ is risen
Pray
Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping. When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it. After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country. They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either. Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.
Introduction
Introduction
To begin, there is some disagreement about the text we are looking at.
Many believe that someone besides Mark added this text to Mark’s original letter - that the original letter finished at verse 8. this because some of the early copies of the letter omit the passage.
Because of this, they question its “authenticity”
I think that while this text was added later, it may well have been added by John Mark, after he spoke to Matthew, Peter and John, who would have been eye witnesses to the events discussed.
We do not have the original letter, only copies. It is possible that the original contained this text, but some of the copies omitted the text while others retained it.
Having said that, my faith in God says that He wanted this text passed down to us, and so we must respect it as His word.
Now - let’s see what we can learn from this text
#1 We have plenty of proof that Christ really rose again from the dead
#1 We have plenty of proof that Christ really rose again from the dead
In his Gospel, mark records at least three separate occasions when Jesus was seen after His resurrection
First he tells us that the Lord appeared to one witness, Mary Magdalene, then to two witnesses walking into the country, - and finally to eleven witnesses, the eleven apostles who were meeting together
Other appearances of the Lord are reported by the other writers in the New Testament, besides these mentioned by Mark. In all the Gospel letters, we find that hundreds of witnesses saw the risen Christ
Let us not hesitate to believe that of all the facts in our history of the Lord, there is none more completely established than the fact that he rose from the dead
God has been most loving and merciful in confirming this for us so completely
The resurrection of Christ is one of the foundational elements of the Christian faith
It was the crowning confirmation of the work He came on earth to do
It is the proof that the punishment He accepted for sinners had been accepted by the Father, the atonement for our sin was accomplished, that the power of death was broken, and He had won the victory over Satan
In their writings, the apostles refer to it often
Rom. 4:25 “He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.”
1 Pet. 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”
We ought to thank God that He has so clearly proven that fact of the resurrection
The Jew, the Gentile, the priests, the Roman guard, the women who went to the tomb, the disciples who were so reluctant to believe, all were witnesses, many of them reluctant, and their testimony cannot be contradicted
Christ not only died for us, but He has also risen again
Unbelief of this fact takes far greater faith than belief. I would offer that to deny it is delusional
To deny it someone must believe in massive and ridiculous theories
To believe, you only have to look at the simple, and undeniable facts and evidence as presented in the biblical record.
#2 The Lord Jesus Christ was particularly kind to Mary Magdalene
#2 The Lord Jesus Christ was particularly kind to Mary Magdalene
Mark 16:9 “Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons.”
Mary Magdalene, of all people, got the privilege of being the first to see the risen savior
Mary, Jesus mother, was still alive as was John, the beloved disciple - both were passed over in favor of Mary Magdalene
This was a woman who at one time had probably been one of the worst sinners - she had been possessed by seven devils
This was the first person Jesus showed himself to alive, after coming out of the grave
There is a lot we can learn from this fact
We can be sure that, for one thing, by appearing first to Mary Magdalene, the Lord intended to show us how much He values love and faithfulness.
Mary Magdalene was the last to come to the cross and the first to come to the grave - she was last to confess Jesus as her Master while He lived, and the first to honor Him when He was dead
She was the first to see Him, after He won the victory over sin, death, and the cross
This is a permanent tribute to the Church, and to those who love and honor Jesus - those who honor Him, He will likewise honor
Those who serve Him on earth, he also will serve on earth.
Let’s not forget that for those who give up everything for Christ, they will get back a hundred times that
The fact that He appeared to Mary Magdalene first should comfort all sinners who have repented and become believers, who have been serious sinners
No matter how far we may have fallen, by His resurrection we too are raised up to entire peace with God - if we repent and believe the Gospel
Even though we were once far from Him, we have come near
Though we were once His enemies, we are now His children
2 Cor 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
The blood of Jesus Christ makes us completely clean, in God’s sight
We may have started like Augustine or John Newton, and been leaders in every kind of sinful activity - but once we are drawn to Christ, we can know for sure that we are completely forgiven
We can come near to Christ in prayer boldly and confidently
Like Mary Magdalene, our sins and wickedness are no more remembered
#3 Finally, let’s note how weak is the faith of even the best Christians
#3 Finally, let’s note how weak is the faith of even the best Christians
Three times in this text we find Mark describing the unbelief of the eleven apostles
1 Mark 16:11-14 “(1) When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it. After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country. (2) They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either. (3) Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.”
These were some hard-headed people - never has there been such a striking example of man’s unwillingness to believe those things that run against their prejudice
Never has there been a better example or proof of how soon we forget plain teaching
Jesus has repeatedly told the eleven apostles He would rise again, yet when the time came, they forgot it all and didn’t believe it when it happened
they were convinced Jesus was dead, until He came and set them straight
Having said that, the over-ruling hand of God is seen in this unbelief
Eventually, as skeptical and unbelieving as they were, they all came around and believed
If their skepticism was overcome, the evidence that Christ rose must have been powerful
Those doubts of the apostles confirm our faith today
The unbelief of the apostles is a good practical lesson for us
We shouldnt be surprised when we have doubts arising in our own hearts about our faith
We still have our earthly bodies and we are people with emotions and feelings much like the apostles
We should not be surprised then, if we have the same experiences they did and if our faith, like their’s, sometimes becomes weak
We need to resist and pray against unbelief - we need to work hard to be delivered from it’s power
BUT, we should not feel that we have no grace, because we are bothered by doubts - nor should we think that we are not like the apostles because we have times when our faith becomes weak
The real question is whether we have risen with Christ, that we have been made spiritually part of His resurrection
This, after all, is the one thing we truly require
To know the facts of the Christian faith with our heads, and to be able to talk about them, will not save us
Rom 6:13 “present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”
We must be raised from the death of sin, born again, to walk in newness of life - this alone is saving Christianity
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Prayer Requests
Prayer Requests