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| Mark 16 Memory Verses: 1 John 1:5-7 Good Morning Brothers and Sisters, I am emailing this study a little early, I am stuck in Yuma again, it is good go be caught up. Tomorrow we start Hebrews, I am excited about starting Hebrews and a little bit nervous. It is probably one of the greater New Testament books because it helps us to understand the Old Testament, the Law and Salvation. I hope that I am up to the task of studying it. As always, if you feel led to comment, email me with your opinion, or what the Lord has laid on your heart. We serve a risen savior! The message of this chapter is clear. Although after verse 8 of this chapter does not appear in the oldest manuscripts, we can see God's hand on whatever scribe added the extra verses. I don't think I would want to test the Lord in regards to verse 18, but other than that, the rest is reasonable and seems to flow with the Gospel message. Mark 16:1-8 They thought Jesus was dead. They forgot about all the times that He had told them it was necessary for Him to be killed and to rise from the dead. They forgot about all the people that Jesus had raised from the dead. They still could remember the horrible torture that Jesus had went through, the flesh hanging off of Him, the inhumane way they checked to see if He was still alive by stabbing His side with a spear. Put yourself in their shoes, Jesus had looked like He went through a meat grinder, He was as dead as anything that they had ever seen. It would be impossible for Him to rise from the dead. Yet, He did. The women went prepared to treat the body, they had bought spices, and the other articles necessary to complete the burial process, only He wasn't there. Their main concern was not if He was alive, it was who would roll the stone away. But He had risen from the dead. Referring to v. 5, can you imagine the impact of the moment? There was an angel sitting in the tomb, John 20:12 records that two angels were sitting there. All four gospels record the same message, He is alive, He has risen. Matt 28:5-7, Also referring to Matthew 27:62-66, it is interesting that the chief priests remembered that Jesus said He would rise again and had posted a guard, to ensure that no one would steal the body and claim that Jesus had risen. Then we see in Matt 28:1-4 that the guard was stunned, lying as dead men before the grave. Look at this note: "The wonderful care they took, hereupon, to secure the sepulchre ( v. 66 ); They sealed the stone; probably with the great seal of their sanhedrim, whereby they interposed their authority, for who durst break the public seal? But not trusting too much to that, withal they set a watch, to keep his disciples from coming to steal him away, and, if possible, to hinder him from coming out of the grave. So they intended, but God brought this good out of it, that they who were set to oppose his resurrection, thereby had an opportunity to observe it, and did so, and told the chief priests what they observed, who were thereby rendered the more inexcusable. Here was all the power of earth and hell combined to keep Christ a prisoner, but all in vain, when his hour was come; death, and all those sons and heirs of death, could then no longer hold him, no longer have dominion over him. To guard the sepulchre against the poor weak disciples, was folly, because needless; but to think to guard it against the power of God was folly, because fruitless and to no purpose; and yet they thought they had dealt wisely." Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible : Complete and Unabridged in One Volume, Mt 27:57. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1996, c1991. Jesus had risen from the dead, just as He said He would, and the religious authorities made sure that it was genuine! Praise God. Mark 16:9-14 It is interesting that Mark records the unbelief of the disciples. Yet here we are, faced with the reality of life. It was incredible that Jesus rose from the dead, from human standards. Mark summarizes the stories in the other gospels very well, John 20:18, Mary reports to the disciples, Matthew 28:17, they were following Jesus instructions, and some still did not believe. Luke 24:11 They did not believe the women's report. Luke 24:41 They did not believe it when Jesus stood before them. John 20:25 Thomas's confession. What is the point of all of this? Look to v. 14, Jesus attempted to tell them before He died, He came back and told them after He rose from the dead, yet it was still hard for them to believe. Mark 16:15-18 The great commission. We are to go into all the world preaching the gospel. This is also recorded in Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:7-8. This commission was given to disciples who were having a hard time believing. Today, we still fight the belief battle. We claim to believe in Jesus, yet many times if you closely inspect our lives, you will find that we believe more in ourselves than in Him. We are not too far removed from the disciples attitude. However, Jesus still gave us a job to do. I hold to the stand that as we walk in Jesus, and live our life in Him, our belief in Him becomes stronger. Don't get me wrong on this, I know that by believing in Him, we have salvation. Yet there is the practical side of this that I am thinking about now. Does our lives reflect that we believe in Jesus? If we look at our checking account, does it reflect that we believe Jesus? Are there notations where checks have been written toward our tithe? Do we help support the poor? Do we look for ways to spread our wealth according to the leading of the Spirit? I know that this is only one area in our lives, yet it is one of the closest guarded areas in our lives. I would say it is a pretty good indicator of our belief in the Lord. If God is who He says He is, then tithing, giving, and seeking ways to minister should be a small step of faith. But anyone who owns a checking account will tell you it is a great, huge step of faith. Why is this? Also, consider the belief as verified in our spreading of the Gospel. Do we look for ways to spread the Gospel of Jesus, or are we timid and talk the talk only when we are with the brethren? Does our lives reflect that we are Christians, to the point that people check their conversations around us? What I mean by this, is simple, if people know that you are Christian, they will be careful with their language, and their demeanor out of an attempt not to offend you. How do we handle this? Do we seek opportunities to share the gospel, or do we hide the fact that we are Christian, accept the respect others have shown us, and not work in the Gospel? Every day before I go to work, I pray that God will open the door for me to share with the conductor, and sometimes the engineer I am working with. Every day, He answers that prayer, sometimes it is a simple statement, other times, I have the opportunity to share for hours with them. I have the unique privilege of having a captive audience for 8 to 12 hours per day, I am very careful not to take advantage of this and am careful not to press the gospel when it is clearly not received. Where is our belief? Is it displayed in our lives? Does our prayer life reflect belief? Do we have a prayer life? Often we treat God like we treat our spouses, we acknowledge their presence, and say Hi in the passing. I wonder, if we were to believe God enough to spend lots of time in prayer with Him, what will happen to all the other areas of our lives? (For what it is worth, we need to change our attitudes toward our spouses, and set the example for our kids in how well we communicate with each other.) Getting back to the chapter, v. 17, our charismatic brothers will verify the speaking in tongues, some believe that this was just for the initial spreading of the gospel. This is a hot topic, just by mentioning it, it can open a can of worms. I see the value in tongues, I don't speak in tongues, God has not given me that gift. Rather than stepping on toes, it is much better to leave this alone. What is important regarding tongues is this, does it cause God to be glorified? If you are involved in a church that regularly exercises this gift, Praise God! If you are involved in a church that does not exercise this gift, equally Praise God. I believe it is a non-issue. Just as with other non-issues, what is important is whether the brethren is edified, and whether God receives glory, praise, and worship from the experience. I'll leave it at that. Now regarding casting out of demons, we don't deal with that much here in the States. For some reason, the battle is different here in the states than in other parts of the world. I believe that it may be because we are so hedonistic that Satan does not need to use demon possession to further his cause here. We do quite well enough on our own. If you talk with missionaries who have lived in other parts of the world, they can verify the reality of demon possession. I really believe that it is coming here as well, with the introduction of the eastern religions into our society. It's just a matter of time. Demons are scary to deal with, but in the name of Jesus, and through our faith in Him, He equips us for these battles when they arise. Regarding v. 18, I already spoke about the picking up of serpents and drinking of poison. I don't have belief enough in these verses to drink poison, or to join a snake-handling church. Paul demonstrated the reality of the serpents in Acts 28:3-5, but I am not going to try it out. I believe that God will protect us, and will not allow us to go home before our time. But I am certainly not going to test God on these verses! Regarding laying hands on the sick, why don't we do this more often? All of us in our churches have sick people. The ailments are incredible, ranging from colds to cancer. Yet how often do we go and lay hands on them and pray for their recovery? In biblical times they believed that ailments were brought on because of sin, maybe there is some truth in that. On the same note, Jesus showed us several times in the gospels that some ailments are brought on for the Glory of God, so that He can receive praise and worship from the healing of the people. Perhaps we should take more interest in praying for the sick and laying hands upon them. Jesus demonstrated the importance of this all through His ministry. It causes my mind to wonder when I think of this. The question still remains, why aren't we laying hands upon our sick? Mark 16:19 Here is a powerful verse, demonstrating the power of God. Jesus rose into heaven, that is well established through the Gospels, Acts and the Epistles. Luke 9:51; 24:51; John 6:62; 20:17; Acts 1:2, 9–11; 1 Tim 3:16 References from NASB. Jesus is seated at the right hand of God, Ps 110:1; Luke 22:69; Acts 7:55f; Rom 8:34; Eph 1:20; Col 3:1; Heb 1:3; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; 1 Pet 3:22, also NASB references. What is important about this? The work was finished, Salvation was complete. Jesus had finished His job, now it is up to the Holy Spirit to convict men of sin and lead them to the cross where the work is already finished. We are to spread this gospel. It is our great commission. Lord, as I prepared the study for today, my mind skipped around quite a bit. I ask that as we study this chapter, that You will teach each one of us what it is that we are to learn. If it is regarding belief, I pray that our belief will grow, if it involves faith, build our faith. If we are led to share the Gospel, open our minds and our hearts, enabling us to accurately handle the word of truth. Praise You Lord for the work, and we all glorify and worship You for allowing us to be Your servants. In Him, Joe Turner |
| Joe, Thanks for the study in Mark 16. I note that the predictions of signs following Christ's disciples were fulfilled in Acts. As you get into the Hebrews study, it is key for interpretation of some of the passages in Hebrews that have puzzled many, it is key to recognize to whom the writer to the Hebrews was writing and when. Who are these people? Saved? Unsaved? Mixed multitude? The book itself has the clues, but the interpreter must make the decisions, even before Hebrews 6 and 10 come into view. IHG, Erik |
| Hey Joe, I do want to point out that, according to my bible(s), the most reliable early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20. The commentaries I read indicate that 9-20 are not found in the Vatican or Siniatic Greek MSS., but is found in the Alexandrian. These are the three oldest and most reliable MSS. Some hold these verses to be a later addition, but as they are found in all the most ancient versions they must have been a part of Mark's Gospel when the first century ended. I particularly take issue with verses 16-18, in light of this… Verse 16 could be used to support the need for baptism for one to be saved. Verse 17-18 sound more like the practices of the Greek mystery religions than the witness of Christians. I agree you, Joe, in that I will follow Christ’s example, and I will not tempt the Lord my God. Mar 16:16-18 "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. (17) "These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; (18) they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." Regarding speaking in tongues, I believe they exist (yes, today), and I know and trust those who speak in tongues. I also know people who have been delivered miraculously from deadly peril, and I know and have seen people who were sick and in need of medical treatment who were miraculously healed. God is not inactive in our time, and the Holy Spirit still empowers and enabled believers today. The verses in question strike me as error mixed with truth found in the rest of the New Testament witness. Lee |
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