The Age of Enlightenment brought us to a place where we greatly esteem reason and intellect. Logic is important to us. And we like to consider ourselves rational people. Unfortunately, rationalism has given way to skepticism in so many. It has become hard for some to put faith in anything or anyone. Institutions have promised so much, and they have let us down. We’ve had faith in government and government has let us down. We’ve trusted people, and people have let us down. It’s easy not to believe any more. I’ll believe it when I see it," you may say. "Seeing is believing," goes the old adage.
But it may be too late when you discover that in some things believing must come before seeing. "Believing is seeing," becomes the new reality for the one who would enter the spiritual dimension of faith.
Jesus’ resurrection is one event in which both the elements of seeing and believing come together. His resurrection was verified by the eyewitness testimony of hundreds in His day. But now, we believe it by faith. It is faith which has a foundation in fact, to be sure. But it is faith, nonetheless. The Scripture says, "We walk by faith and not by sight." It is really only by faith that our blind eyes can be opened so that we can truly see.
In our text today, we see the resurrection as the central message of the good news. It is the object of our faith. The message of the resurrection is powerful. It can change lives and alter entire culture. But it can also merely be a theological concept. It can be only an idea which makes no practical difference to our daily existence.
What are you doing with the message of the resurrection? Is it making a difference in your life? The message of the resurrection is the crux of the Gospel for good news. As we believe in the Gospel, our lives are changed and the lives of others are changed as well. If we want to make a difference in our world, that should be important to us. The resurrection impacted the lives of the disciples, and it should impact us as well.
Our text gives us three important answers to the questions, "What are you to do with the message of the resurrection?" Let’s discover these answers together.
"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 morning and weeping And when they heard that He was alive, and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it. And after that, He appeared in a different form to two of them, while they were walking along on their way to the country. And they went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either." (vv. 9-14)
What are you to do with the message of the resurrection? You are to believe it! Believe is the key word in our passage today. In verses 9 through 14, the emphasis is upon the eyewitness accounts of the resurrection and how the disciples were more prone to disbelieve than to believe. In verses 15 and 16, Jesus gives us the Great Commission and the promise that those who believe will be saved. In verses 17 through 20, the emphasis shifts to the effects of believing as the power of God is poured out through lives surrendered to Jesus.
This entire section of Scripture, verses 9-20, has been the source of some controversy. Because some of the oldest manuscripts do not contain these verses, some scholars have concluded that they should not be contained in the book of Mark. In fact, depending upon the translation of Scripture you are using, these verses may or may not be there; and if they are there, they may either be included in italics or with a footnote of explanation. It is true that there are stylistic differences which separate these verses from the others in the book of Mark. Up to this point in the book, we have a narrative style. Verse 9 through 20, however, are written in summary fashion. Thus far, Mark, writing by the Holy Spirit, but under the influence of Peter, has been taking us through the events of Jesus’ life step by step. But in verses 9 through 20, many events which occurred over a good period of time are brought together in summary fashion. It is almost as if the original ending to Mark had been lost, and these verses later appended to complete it. Some say it doesn’t really matter who wrote these verses, whether Mark or a later author, since the Holy Spirit was really superintending the whole process. Others contend that stylistic differences aside, Mark was the author of the entire Gospel. In any case, we can say that even though a couple of the oldest manuscripts do not contain this passage, the rest do. That, coupled with the fact that you find reference to these verses in the early church fathers and in the early editions of the New Testament, leaves no doubt that the early Church felt that they were genuine. Therefore, we treat them as such.
Perhaps Mark felt led by the Spirit to make a summary statement at the end concerning faith. That indeed is the topic of this entire passage. The message contained in these verses truly summarizes the power of believing.
As we look at the account before us, we can conclude that Mary Magdalene must have lingered at the tomb longer than the other two ladies. The other Mary and Salome fled after hearing the angel’s remark. Mary Magdalene stayed behind. From the other gospel accounts, we know that Jesus encountered her in the garden. She did not recognize Him at first. But then He spoke to her and immediately she knew Him. Verse 9 summarizes that encounter. Mary then rushes off and reports to the other disciples that she had seen the Lord. Verse 11 says, "And when they heard that He was alive, and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it."
The disciples could not believe their ears. Here was an eyewitness testimony to the Lord’s resurrection, but they were skeptical. Perhaps they thought that she, in her grief, had been mistaken. In any event, they hadn’t seen the Lord. Why should they believe her?
Verses 12 and 13 summarize Jesus’ encounter with the disciples walking on the road to Emmaus. He joined two of them on their journey. Verse 12 says that He was "in a different form." Jesus, in His resurrection body, was unfamiliar to them. The other gospels record how Jesus and the two disciples discussed the Scripture as they were on their journey. When they sat down to eat and Jesus broke the bread, their eyes were opened and they recognized that it was the Lord. Their hears had been bearing witness to it all the time. They commented on how their hearts burned within them as Jesus was sharing the Scripture along the journey. So these disciples reported what they had seen to the others. But verse 13 says, "They did not believe them either."
I suppose all of us have a reluctance to believe. We say we want evidence; but even when we get evidence, we are skeptical. That was the case with the disciples, and it is also the case with us. We are like Thomas who said that unless he could see it with his own eyes, unless he could put his fingers into the wounds of Jesus, he would not believe. We call him "Doubting Thomas." All of us have some of Thomas in us.
Verse 14 says, "And afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at 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."
Mark is describing the persistent and stubborn unbelief which tends to prevail among men. Jesus upbraided the disciples for their unbelief and hardness of heart. The reason he gives is that they had not believed those who had been eyewitnesses to Jesus’ resurrection. Now, Jesus had certainly appeared to many. Certainly He wanted there to be eyewitness testimony to His resurrection. But He also wanted people to exercise faith. Jesus wanted not only those who believed because they saw, but those who saw because they believed.
We have already mentioned Thomas. From the other Gospel accounts, we find that Jesus did appear to the eleven while Thomas was with them. In that encounter, Thomas had the privilege of being invited by the Lord of touching His wounds. Thomas saw with his own eyes; and the scripture records in John 20:28, "Thomas answer and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God.’" What Jesus says back to Thomas is very interesting. In John 20:29, "Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen Me have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see and yet believed.’" Jesus wanted people who would exercise faith without having to see. He has certainly provided us with many infallible proofs of His resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus exceeds the standards of veracity for many historical events. Certainly the most compelling testimony is the eyewitness testimony of those hundreds of people to whom Jesus appeared after His crucifixion. Can we believe their testimony without seeing? We have the high privilege of doing so. And though we have not seen Him, we believe He is alive. And in believing, we come to see, in a much more clear way than we could ever see with our physical vision, the risen Christ. We see Him now through eyes of faith. And we experience Him in a very real way in our lives.
What are you to do with the message of the resurrection? You are to believe it. Only in believing it can you experience it for yourselves.
"And afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at 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. And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. (vv. 15-16)
What are you to do with the message of the resurrection? You are to believe it, and you are also to proclaim it! Here we have Jesus; Great Commission, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." Some, when they are preaching on the Great Commission, emphasize the word "Go." And, unfortunately, there needs to be an emphasis upon that word. Today, the Church has become ingrown. We have lost sight of the go of the gospel. Far too many believe they can erect a building and put a sign out, and watch people flock to their doors. But the truth is, we are living in an increasingly secular culture. In fact, our culture today in many ways parallels the culture which existed at the time of the early Church. For a while in America, churchgoing was a socially desirable practice. But it is now fallen from favor. While there is a resurgence of interest in spiritual things, that interest is not in organized religion. People are simply not looking for a church to attend. They are looking for meaning and purpose in life; they are looking for a new spiritual reality. But they have concluded, for the most part, it is not to be found in organized religion. After all, they conclude, organized religion has brought us all kinds of evils – from the crusades to the abuses of the televangelists. So they are not looking for organized religion. Unless we go with the Gospel, we will not reach our secular society. Unless we go and share with them, they will never hear. We need to emphasize the word "Go."
But the emphasis really does not lie in that word. The emphasis lies in the word "Preach" or "Proclaim." Jesus’ command could be translated, "As you go into all the world, preach the Gospel to all creation." Jesus assumes that we would be going. And as we go, we are to share the good news.
When you think about it this is really the only way the Gospel can be shared with all creation. If we wait for people to come to our churches before we share the Gospel with them, the world will never hear. If we expect people to tune in Christian TV and radio, we are naïve. Certainly, there are those who happen upon a Christian television or radio program. There are those who are seeking and who come to Christ through those ministries. We thank God for those. But most secular people do not listen for one minute to that kind of stuff. No, in order for the message to get out to all creation, Christians must infiltrate all areas of society. And we already have. Every one of you are prime examples of how God has placed believers in all walks of life. Look at what you do for a living and where you go, and the people with whom you come in contact. Your life touches the lives of so many others. And the reason you are where you are and you do what you do is because God desires to work through you. Jesus called us salt. But for salt to do any good, it must be shaken out of the salt shaker. And every day, every week, that is precisely where you are.
So while you’re out of the salt shaker, and while you are in contact with others in the marketplace, share your faith. Speak to them about Jesus. You’ll be surprised to find that when people encounter a real live Christian, they will listen. We must no longer settle for the world seeing only a caricature of Christianity. We must rise up and declare that what has passed for Christianity has not been true Christianity at all. And we must present the truth of the life-changing Gospel of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We must do it if the world is to be reached.
"And these signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it shall not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.’ So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received 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 word by the signs that followed." (vv. 17-20)
What are you to do with the message of the resurrection? You are to believe it, you are to proclaim it, and you are also to live it! This is the emphasis of verses 17 through 20. You see, the good news of the resurrection of Christ is that we receive power – power to have our sins forgiven, power to have our lives changed, and power to live lives supernaturally.
As we have said before, this passage of Scripture is all about faith. It is all about the power of believing. When we believe, our lives are change. Jesus proclaimed in the Great Commission, that those who believe shall be saved. Verses 17 through 20 reveal to us that those who believe will experience a power for living that is supernatural in origin.
"And these signs will accompany those who have believed. . ." (v. 17a)
This has been a troubling passage for many. I suppose some of the impetus for not wanting to admit verses 9 through 20 is to get rid of this passage. In my reading an study for this services on Mark, I came across one two-volume set of sermons by an expository preacher which dealt with every passage in the book of Mark, but ended with verse 8 without explanation. At first I was disappointed. But then I thought that he might not have wanted to deal with these signs. Maybe he just chickened out.
There has been some reluctance, in evangelical circles, to admit that there may be more than we have experienced in Jesus. With the advent of Pentacostalism and Neo-Pentacostalism, also known as the Charismatic movement, evangelicals have had to struggle with their own Christian experience. This struggle has produced some controversy at times. Some have dealt with it by writing books explaining how the gifts of the Spirit ceased with the death of the Apostles or with the formation of the canon of Scripture. But many of these arguments are themselves convoluted twistings of Scripture that would not otherwise be used to interpret the plain meaning of Scripture. Through inference and a one-sided reading of history, the elaborate fabric of their case against certain gifts is woven. But mind you, it is only certain gifts with which they have problems: primarily the gift of speaking in tongues. Some gifts, like the gifts of wisdom and knowledge, they would like to keep. The gifts of inspired preaching, as well as the many others listed in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 they would like to keep. But it seems to me you cannot have it both ways. I believe it is best summed up by Michael Green, the Oxford-educated English theologian, who may be best know in evangelical circles for his work, Evangelism in the Early Church. He writes, in one of his books, "Both Catholic and Protestant camps have been heavily infected by the rationalism of the Enlightenment, and our Christianity has been unduly cerebral (hence, its appeal to the educated only). If the Corinthians were inclined to identify the work of the Spirit with the abnormal, we tend to make the opposite mistake and suppose that He can only manifest Himself in moral renewal, spiritual illumination, and through either Bible or sacraments according to our theological reference! This attitude, however, is mere escapism from exposing ourselves to the Spirit’s powerful lift. He remains the spirit of wind and fire; He remains sovereign in the Church and is not to be boxed up in any ecclesiastical compartment."
The truth is: many are simply afraid that if they surrender to the power of the Holy Spirit, He is going to make them do something which is beneath their so-called dignity. We are afraid we might become "Charismatic." But I object to the term being used to refer to those who seem to emphasize only one of the gifts of the Spirit, namely the gift of tongues. The words, "Charismatic," means "gifts of grace" or "grace gifted." All Christians are Charismatic, whether they speak in tongues or not. Whatever gift God has given you, whether it be the gift of administration, or the gift of discernment, or the gift of helps, or the gift of giving, or the gift of hospitality, or the gift of wisdom, it is to be used as a gift of grace. These are not natural gifts of which I speak, but are supernatural enduments by the Holy Spirit. They give you power to live out your Christian life and to minister in Jesus’ name.
Now, let us look at these signs which are spoken of in our passage. While there are other passages of Scripture which speak of the gifts as they were exercised in the early Church, there is some indication that this passage has a particular application for the authentication of the message preached by the Apostles. Look at the signs spoken of: "In My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick-p serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it shall not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." These were powerful signs which had their fulfillment in the life and ministry of the apostles. We see some of them, such as speaking with new tongues, healing, and casting out demons in the life of the early church. But then we have this business of picking up serpents and drinking poison. Are we to conclude that we are to become snake-handlers and poison-drinkers because we are believers? There are some groups who handle snakes. Is that what we are to do?
I believe the answer can be found as we compare Scripture with Scripture. Verse 20 says, "And they went out and preached everywhere while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word by the signs that followed." Here we see that the Apostolic preaching was confirmed by the signs the apostles performed as the Lord worked through them. Consider another passage: 2 Corinthians 12:12: "The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance by signs and wonders and miracles." Here we see the apostles understood that they were given the power to work certain attesting or confirming miracles to confirm the word preached. Paul indicates they were "signs of a true apostle." Just as the apostles held a foundational and formative place in the establishment of the message of the New Testament, so there were certain special signs they were given to perform. Look, again, at Hebrews 2:3 and 4, "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will." Here, again, mention of the various miracles and signs by which God bore witness to His word.
We see, in the life of Paul, an event when a serpent latched onto his hand as he was gathering wood for a fire. He shook the serpent off and was unharmed, although those around him expected him to die. There is testimony in church history of poison being given to an apostle, which he drank without harm. I do not believe you can make a case for snake-handling and poison-drinking from this passage of Scripture. But the message is unmistakably clear: those who believe will experience the resurrection power and life of Jesus. Those who believe will be endued with power. Those who believe will receive various gifts of the Spirit which the Spirit distributes according to His will. Those who believe will have the power to live out the supernatural, abundant life which Jesus gives.
The Scripture teaches us that all believers have the Spirit. Romans 8:9b says, "But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him." All believers have the Spirit, or else they are not believers at all. But is possible to quench the Spirit. It is possible to grieve the Spirit. It is possible to suppress the activity of the Spirit in your life. What believers need is the fullness of the Spirit. What we need is to allow God to release the power of the Spirit in our lives in such a way that the power of God begins to work through us. This is what the resurrection has made possible for us. It has made possible the power to live for Jesus. We can rise above the natural and live by the supernatural endument of power the Spirit within us can give. We must yield to the power of the indwelling Spirit of Christ. As we do, He will powerfully live His life through us, and we will burn for His glory.
What are you to do with the message of the resurrection? You are to believe it; you are to proclaim it; and you are to live it.
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