Daily Bread 2010 - Mark 16
Daily Bread 2010 – Mark 16
The Resurrection
1When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. 2Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?"
4But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
6"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.' "
8Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
As we reach the last chapter of Mark’s Gospel, we have the story of Jesus’ resurrection. Well actually there are two stories. If you read further, you will see another story starting at Mark 16:9, which includes various details of other gospel stories, such as the “Road to Emmaus, in Luke”, and the “Great Commission, in Matthew”.
Personally I like the ending at Mark 16:8. Although it doesn’t give a lot the spicy details such as Jesus’ post resurrection appearances and eating with the disciples on the beach, it gives us enough information to move forward. Importantly the angel communicates to the women that Jesus was not there, He had risen from the dead and was going ahead of them to Galilee, where he would meet the disciples.
I love the fact that the women were the first on the scene. In a patriarchal culture, this is one of the details that makes the resurrection story even more believable. For, if you wanted to fabricate a story about Jesus’ rising from the dead, you probably wouldn’t have women to be the first to arrive on the scene, especially in that culture.
Second I love the phrase that “Jesus is going ahead of you!” As we seek to do ministry and make strategic plans to reach lost people for Christ, we must remember that Jesus is always ahead of us. Importantly let’s make sure not to get out ahead of him! That is a dangerous place to be!
As we trust the resurrected Jesus is ahead of us and live our lives accordingly, we will see God’s promises come true just as He has said.
Prayer: Jesus give us faith to take risks for you, knowing that you are ahead of us and you will be there to help us just as you have told us. We thank you for the miracle of the resurrection and look forward to joining you and the disciples some day in heaven! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The Resurrection
1When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. 2Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?"
4But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
6"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.' "
8Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
As we reach the last chapter of Mark’s Gospel, we have the story of Jesus’ resurrection. Well actually there are two stories. If you read further, you will see another story starting at Mark 16:9, which includes various details of other gospel stories, such as the “Road to Emmaus, in Luke”, and the “Great Commission, in Matthew”.
Personally I like the ending at Mark 16:8. Although it doesn’t give a lot the spicy details such as Jesus’ post resurrection appearances and eating with the disciples on the beach, it gives us enough information to move forward. Importantly the angel communicates to the women that Jesus was not there, He had risen from the dead and was going ahead of them to Galilee, where he would meet the disciples.
I love the fact that the women were the first on the scene. In a patriarchal culture, this is one of the details that makes the resurrection story even more believable. For, if you wanted to fabricate a story about Jesus’ rising from the dead, you probably wouldn’t have women to be the first to arrive on the scene, especially in that culture.
Second I love the phrase that “Jesus is going ahead of you!” As we seek to do ministry and make strategic plans to reach lost people for Christ, we must remember that Jesus is always ahead of us. Importantly let’s make sure not to get out ahead of him! That is a dangerous place to be!
As we trust the resurrected Jesus is ahead of us and live our lives accordingly, we will see God’s promises come true just as He has said.
Prayer: Jesus give us faith to take risks for you, knowing that you are ahead of us and you will be there to help us just as you have told us. We thank you for the miracle of the resurrection and look forward to joining you and the disciples some day in heaven! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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