Mark 16:12-20 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Mark 16:12-20. With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage. Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage? After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
Mark 16:12-14 (NIV)
12 Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country.
13 These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.
14 Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
On verses 12-14: Even after Jesus had repeatedly told them that he would rise again, even after the incredible miracles the disciples had seen Jesus do, and even after multiple witnesses were testifying to them about Jesus’ resurrection, the disciples still refused to believe. Based on all that the disciples had been shown, the disciples should have believed earlier, but they didn’t. So Jesus rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe.
What can we learn from this? God will hold us accountable to the evidence that He makes available to us. It’s not up to God to have to keep convincing us of who He is as much as it is up to us to look at what God has already done and said and to ask humbly, “What does this mean? What is the best conclusion I can draw from the evidence in front of me?” May you not be held back by unbelief, which is the stubborn refusal to believe despite the evidence. Instead may wisdom and faith fuel the steps you take and the conclusions you reach.
Also, the fact that Jesus chose these eleven disciples when his ministry first began and even continued to choose them after He rose again shows that God chooses people not based on human merit but on God’s grace.
Mark 16:15-16 (NIV)
15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.
16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
On verses 15-16: The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest and most important “good news” of all time. For if Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, then:
– You don’t need to take Jesus’ words seriously.
– All those predictions Jesus made about him resurrecting were empty promises. Jesus was either lying or crazy.
– Contrary to what he said, Jesus can’t give you eternal life or life after death.
– Contrary to what he said, Jesus’ sacrifice was not sufficient to save you from your sins.
– Contrary to what he said, Jesus is not God.
– Christianity is just another religion, people following another dead leader.
– Death has not been conquered. Christianity offers a false hope that has no power beyond the grave, and as Paul would write, “We are to be pitied more than all men”.
But if Jesus did rise from the dead, that means that:
– Jesus was telling the truth. Jesus knows something about life after death and you can trust what He says about it.
– When Jesus promised to give us new and eternal life, that is a real promise you can count on.
– Jesus is no ordinary human being.
– Jesus has proven in the most powerful way who He claimed to be: the Son of God.
– Jesus can forgive your sins, which caused death.
– Jesus’ words carry more weight than any person who did not rise from the dead.
– Jesus has defeated death. In Jesus there is hope beyond the grave, and the world needs to know about this good news.
Here we are told how God wants us to respond to this most important good news about Jesus: believe, be baptized, and preach this gospel to all creation.
Mark 16:17-18 (NIV)
17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
On verses 17-18: We see a lot of these signs accompanying Christians in the early church. The disciples had already been driving out demons in Jesus’ name (Mark 3:14-15; Luke 10:17) and the early church would continue to do so (Acts 8:7). Christians would speak in new tongues starting at Pentecost (Acts 2:3-11). Paul would be attacked by a viper but would not be harmed (Acts 28:3-6). Over and over in Acts we read about the apostles praying for sick people and them being healed. The sign of drinking deadly poison is the one which is harder to find in the book of Acts, although that is not to say that it didn’t happen. Keep in mind that the signs of picking up snakes and drinking deadly poison were not things to be done for show but were more like reassurances that in the course of serving God, Christians could count on God’s protection from various attacks and persecution.
To what extent can we expect these signs to apply to Jesus’ church today? If you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, as a follower of Jesus you can believe that in Jesus’ name you have authority over demonic powers when you pray. You can also believe that God’s Holy Spirit who lives inside you will empower you to serve Jesus. This may come in the form of speaking in new tongues, praying for the sick and seeing them healed, or other signs. You can also believe that as a child of God you have God’s special protection on your life. That doesn’t give us a license to be reckless, but it means we don’t need to live in worry or terror all the time, knowing that God is our protector.
Mark 16:19-20 (NIV)
19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.
20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
On verses 19-20: The disciples would go from unbelieving, fearful followers of Jesus to the most courageous, passionate and selfless preachers of Jesus’ gospel, even giving up their lives as martyrs for Jesus. Why such a change? It was the resurrection of Jesus Christ that made the difference.
Likewise, because we know that Jesus Christ conquered our sin at the cross and conquered death at His resurrection, we can live courageously for His glory, knowing that God is with us.
Jesus, Your resurrection changes everything. Thank You for dying on the cross for our sins and rising from death just as You said You would. Because You are alive and seated at God’s right hand, You are the reason we celebrate today. May I live life courageously for You today and every day. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
copyright © 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
