Friday, June 26, 2009

Mark 16:9-20

Great belief gets great results. In the measure that you believe in Him, is the measure that you can receive from Him. Faith alone pleases God. Without Him we can do nothing. With Him nothing is impossible! We who believe are His hands and feet in this decaying world. We need to spread the Good News of the gospel of Jesus Christ's.

9 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

12 After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.

14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.

The NKJV Study Bible says this: The Greek voice of He is risen, which is passive, indicates that an act of God accomplished the raising up of Jesus. Chosen by God as the first human witnesses to Christ's resurrection, these women were commanded to go and tell. The special mention of Peter signifies that Christ still accepted him, even though he had denied the Lord three times. Jesus' resurrection was evidently not expected by anyone in spite of His repeated predictions. The Resurrection itself resulted in faith, rather than the expectation thereof. Jesus upbraided these disciples for not believing the accounts of eyewitnesses, but He pronounced a blessing on "those who have not seen and yet have believed". He who does not believe will be condemned. Those who believe in Christ will be saved. The final sign that Jesus was the Son of God is that He was received up into heaven to be seated at the right hand (the position of authority and power) of God. The obedience of Christ's disciples who went out and preached everywhere challenges us to engage in that same endeavor. We can be confident that as the Lord was working with them, He will also work with us.
Jesus Christ came to earth to conquer the sin and evil which plague this world by living a sinless life and sacrificially offering Himself on the Cross. In obedience to Christ's command, the apostles continued to share this Good News with the rest of the world because it is Christ's life-giving message to a world that is dying in its sins.


 


 


 


 


 


 

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