Baffled By

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16:15

This morning I am approaching things a bit slowly, and taking some time off for the Veterans Day holiday. Slowly I came to a set of words that left me baffled by them, conveyor-faced tire pack. Yes, the term was in an advert for a book on racing safety in the 1960-1970 time period. I had to look it up, and found out that I have been near these things many times back in the day. We called them dock bumpers, but they have other uses. I think the characters I worked with on the docks would have laughed me off of them had I asked the driver to back up to the conveyor-faced tire pack.

So, in that spirit we come to the start of the Great Commission, and He said to preach the gospel to every creature. There you have it, preach it to your dogs and cats. Preach it to the plants. Preach it to the cattle in the feedlot. If you have never been near a feedlot, you may not know that to open your mouth near such a place is to invite in the worst of odors and even several flies. And the cattles appear apathetic anyway. Of course preaching the gospel to some of God's human creatures may get the same reaction. So this verse speaks to the power of the gospel. Preach to the cattles, someone else may be listening.

Rejoice in the glorious day of Jesus the Christ!

Bucky

Considerable Effort

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. Mark 16:14

Sitting at the table, probably doing as men will do when sitting at a table, and the boss returns. These eleven disciples had been there for the parable of the master returning unexpectedly. They had heard Jesus say at least three times that He would be crucified by the authorities and then rise from the dead three days later. Then, as we read the past two days, He sent witnesses ahead of Him to announce His return. These disciples were there when Lazarus was raised from the grave. Furthermore, these same men had argued over which of them would be greatest in the coming kingdom of this same Jesus. The eleven disciples had put considerable effort into earning this rebuke we read of in today's verse.

A well-earned rebuke shames most, but will it change them?

Bucky

Still Unbelieving

After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either. Mark 16:12-13

For the second time, those bearing testimony of the risen Lord Jesus arrive at Disciple HQ and are met with unbelieving stares and dismissive grunts. I may have amplified the scripture a bit there, but that describes a group of men pretty well. So what does Jesus have to do? Appear to them in person behind locked doors? Actually the question we might ask by this time is, why not come to them in person in the first place? And the answer is faith. Jesus desires faith from us and those disciples gathered together after His death on the cross. These same disciples will soon be the ones bearing witness, and it might be a bit of poetic justice if they met with the same sort of unbelief. Sometimes they will, but the Holy Spirit of the Lord has gone out ahead of them and a great many Gentiles will believe in Jesus.

On this Veterans Day here in the U.S., thank you for your service in Christ Jesus by faith in Him.

Bucky

Unbelieving

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. She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.  Mark 16:9-11

Jesus had told the disciples to be watchful for His return, and He had told them plainly more than once that He would be executed and rise again. The first news of the risen Lord Jesus comes from Mary Magdalene, and she is not believed. Well, now what do we do? Jesus is risen, but the eleven hand-picked disciples who spent so much time with Him will not believe He did exactly what He said that He would do. Unbelief can be a mighty wall keeping Jesus out of the heart. The first report of the living Lord Jesus has arrived, and the disciples remain unbelieving. What next? 

Bucky

Said Nothing

So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.  Mark 16:9

Have you ever felt afraid to share the good news of our Lord's resurrection? It seems that you and I are not alone in this. The first group to have the good news that Jesus no longer occupied a grave site felt a new fear. I'm not going to attempt to name it, but believers in Christ have been feeling it for a couple of millennia now. This fear must be based in that sinful nature we are all born into. Perhaps it is similar to the new fear Adam and Eve faced after eating of the forbidden tree and God called out to them. So, maybe this fear is not so new after all. When the good news goes forth, we may feel both thrilled and frightened. The new spirit of Christ in us wants to stand up and shout for joy; while the old flesh wants to duck down behind the bushes for fear of being exposed. 

Praise God for the good news!

Bucky

And Peter

But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.”  Mark 16:7

As one astute reader pointed out yesterday - my sister, Kerri, it was - the angel in the tomb singles out Peter for some reason. "...tell His disciples - and Peter." Of course we want to take a stab at the reason why Peter was separated from the disciples at this momentous occasion. Could it be the three denials? That is a good reason, but why not Judas who had done the betrayal? Judas himself took care of that with his self murder. I have thought in these later years that Judas could have been forgiven too, if only he had stayed and allowed the Lord to restore him as He will soon do with Peter. It was important that Peter be notified of his appointment in Galilee because of those three denials. And so the messenger from the Lord says, "and Peter." Judas, in a final expression of 'my will, not Thine be done', took himself out of this meeting with the risen Lord Jesus. And we go on rejoicing with Peter and the risen Jesus, and mourning the loss of one of the Lord's own disciples. 

Meet Jesus, be restored to Him!

Bucky

Well Prepared

But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.” Mark 16:6-7

He had told them, and still they struggled to believe the Lord's messenger. But how difficult might it have been without seeing Lazarus raised up from a similar tomb after a similar time lying there in the cold, cold ground? How much easier may it be for us to see Jesus coming in the clouds of His glory with the witness of His resurrection by these women and the disciples? We have been prepared, much as they were, to receive Jesus once again when His time arrives. Be ready!

Love and grace to you in Christ our Lord,

Bucky