Mark 16:1-20
We have reached the final chapter of Mark and we've been blessed by so much instruction in this book. It perfectly supplements the previous Book of Matthew and has prepared us well to venture through the next, the Book of Luke. These books give us a strong foundation on which to build our faith; they encompass the core of God's message to humanity. They introduce us to deeper concepts written of in the following books of the New Testament as well as the previous books of the Old Testament.
The time and effort we devote to reading, learning, understanding and working in the scripture is time and effort spent layering and strengthening our faith. We develop our ability to perceive lessons written in metaphor and become informed and skillful in navigating both the words in the Bible and the challenges and experiences our faith and life faces.
We study together -- and by together I mean with God: Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." God is with us even in independent study, because you and He make two but it's also special to Him when we, His children, work together in His name. He wants us to always remember that He is here with us.
16:1 Jesus' students and fellow children of God do not forget Him. They remain faithful and productive as He taught them to be.
16:2 They continue to be with Him, in so many dimensions of "being": in remembrance, in their physical presence, in their hearts and minds, and spiritually they know He is not "gone" and will return.
16:3 They wonder how they will move the stone in order to perform their work, to anoint Jesus. As faithful children of God, we are wise to acknowledge the fact that God prepares our way. When our "work" is good, God clears an easy path.
16:4 Upon reaching the tomb, they realize that the giant bolder which sealed it closed was moved. There is no thing or person that does not bend to God's perfect will. Our God, our God of the living, is victorious against death every time.
16:5 They enter to find a young man and are surprised to find the tomb of Jesus much changed. Based on what this young man will prophesy, we can understand that he is an angel. Angels are messengers of God, he will deliver a message from God.
16:6 The young man, a spiritually manifested person, informs them of Jesus' transfiguration into God' perfect form of life -- the spiritual (of which we will learn about in this New Testament).
16:7 Jesus told the disciples that He would return to them -- and therefore He will. Our God is a God of truth and He prepares us well when we listen. Mark 14:28.
16:8 The group is so deeply amazed they cannot even properly communicate. Their love and excitement couples with the anticipation and they go quickly to meet Jesus again.
16:9 Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene -- by doing this, we can understand how loved by God she is. We can understand how deep and true her faith is. There are many misconceptions about Mary Magdalene but the truth of her is this: her faith and love for God's compassionate word and her humility for His children. We learned in a previous message that there is a running metaphor throughout the Bible in which marriage is a symbol for our relationship with God -- and that only, a symbol. Mary's relationship with Jesus was platonic and if we read the metaphor of the Bible correctly, we easily deduce that.
16:10-11 They miss Him. We miss Him and so we can understand their grief. The possibility of His return is so needed by them that they even work hard to believe it.
They saw Him die. They do not have fully formed concepts of the spiritual world Jesus always spoke of -- they need tangible proof to expand their minds beyond the world that they know. Jesus understood this and God planned to show them so that they could overcome their fears and know the true eternity of life with God.
16:12 Jesus appears to two more faithful students "in another form." That's the amazing thing about God -- He can manifest in so many ways. Be vigilant for His presence in your life, His spirit is all around you.
16:13 Again, it's difficult for some to believe without seeing. Let's work through this with scripture: Let's go to John 20:24-29:
24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!”
27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
God understands. I think that phrase is one of the least spoken, least taught, least listened to phrase in the world. God understands. God loves you and He knows your abilities as well as your limitations and He loves you and He understands. He will work with each of us, individually, according to how we best learn and understand.
Jesus is understanding and works with Thomas in order to solidify his faith -- Jesus and God are impartial, they love all equally and so they offer this gentle nature of teaching to all of us in some form or another.
Jesus also acknowledges the students whose deep faith believes, lives for what God' word represents not because they have seen tangible proof but because their soul understands and unites with it naturally. So many people in the world are good, compassionate and humble and yet are not acknowledged as such because their religion or culture is different from someone else's. God acknowledges all behavior and He truly appreciates those who understand the meaning in the word rather than just... teaching rules, commanding others to obey them through fear and forgetting to live the core message in their lives.
So, returning back to Mark 16, we have some people who hear of Jesus' coming and quickly run to meet Him... and we have others who do not believe without seeing. God loves both types of His children, He works with both of them... but remember how much it makes Him happy when we believe in His message because it feels right... rather than just because it's right there in front of us.
Any scripture you read or is taught to you must align with your beliefs for it to have any truth for you.
16:14 Jesus is hurt because His disciples did not believe what He taught them. Jesus promised them He would return, that He would and could never die and their faith withered immediately upon His transfiguration.
We are made in God's image: Genesis 1:26. We can understand His emotions because we experience so many depths and heights of emotion here on Earth. He loves us and for us to forget Him so quickly... Jesus, a manifestation of all that God stands for... so easily forgotten. Don't forget that God loves you... and experiences with you all of the changed and evolving emotions of your life. Be with Him too. Be with Him as He is with you. He believes in you... believe in Him.
We are made in God's image: Genesis 1:26. We can understand His emotions because we experience so many depths and heights of emotion here on Earth. He loves us and for us to forget Him so quickly... Jesus, a manifestation of all that God stands for... so easily forgotten. Don't forget that God loves you... and experiences with you all of the changed and evolving emotions of your life. Be with Him too. Be with Him as He is with you. He believes in you... believe in Him.
16:15 Our mission from God is to go out into the world and BE a representation of all that He stands for. To preach to those who ask for it... but also to preach with our actions. We reach so many people by simply being our best selves. The way we live our life, through triumph and difficulty, is a testimony to the world. Let others see our faith so that they might learn to understand why we have it... and how to have it for themselves as well.
16:16 Not believing in this message from God... this message of humility, compassion, wisdom and truth... will naturally lead us to a difficult and dark path. God highlights the paths to take toward light... if we reject those paths... we chose to walk down dark roads. God does not punish us... God is a God of love and light. We punish ourselves when we reject the light.
Baptism is a symbol... it is an action your perform if you wish to proclaim your faith in God. Remember that it is only a symbol... your faith in God must be true in your heart and in the work that you do in live to be true. If you are baptized... but still reject the light and love of God, you will still find yourself living a dark and difficult life. By mentioning baptism, Jesus wants us to understand the symbol. To devote ourselves, souls and bodies to this kind message. This is something we will explore as we continue through the New Testament.
Baptism is a symbol... it is an action your perform if you wish to proclaim your faith in God. Remember that it is only a symbol... your faith in God must be true in your heart and in the work that you do in live to be true. If you are baptized... but still reject the light and love of God, you will still find yourself living a dark and difficult life. By mentioning baptism, Jesus wants us to understand the symbol. To devote ourselves, souls and bodies to this kind message. This is something we will explore as we continue through the New Testament.
16:17 With God, we will always accomplish seemingly impossible things. Our determination, motivation and success will be highlighted and preserved by His presence in our souls and lives. To speak in tongues is symbolic of much: to speak in tongues means that you will be able to reach many different people in many different formats. Your life will help bring darkness out of others' lives and will replace it with light.
God's hope is for all of us to realize His love for us... and for us to realize our love for Him and each other. When we devote our lives to promoting the well-being of others, we join God. With God on our team... we never fail, instead... we always produce abundant yields.
God's hope is for all of us to realize His love for us... and for us to realize our love for Him and each other. When we devote our lives to promoting the well-being of others, we join God. With God on our team... we never fail, instead... we always produce abundant yields.
16:18 God can do all, for us, in this verse, we can understand that with Him no evil idea or plan can overcome us. It's written symbolically but remember that whatever God wills is possible. You can heal a sick person by strengthening their mind and soul... you can always heal a sick person if you able able to strengthen their faith. A happy, light soul can withstand any challenge.
Our physical bodies are vulnerable to much but our spiritual souls are eternal, vulnerable to nothing. We have to discover our soul and create faith and wisdom inside of it. When we are strong, we are able to be strong for others... and that should always remain our mission.
There are many kinds of "poison" in the world: greed, vengeance, arrogance... none of these can corrupt you when you align with God. You will remain focused and triumphant with God.
Our physical bodies are vulnerable to much but our spiritual souls are eternal, vulnerable to nothing. We have to discover our soul and create faith and wisdom inside of it. When we are strong, we are able to be strong for others... and that should always remain our mission.
There are many kinds of "poison" in the world: greed, vengeance, arrogance... none of these can corrupt you when you align with God. You will remain focused and triumphant with God.
18:19 Jesus remained focused on God's mission, He adopted it as His own and He was triumphant. For generations Jesus' live inspires and heals so, so many across the globe. God happily, warmly, brilliantly accepted Jesus into His house... He will just as happily welcome each of His faithful, dutiful student. He will warmly, proudly receive you.
18:20 The disciples faith is solidified. Their lesson was taught in its completion by Jesus' life and instruction (in both word and action). This time, their faith was bold and dutiful. They completely devoted themselves to the message because they believed it in their hearts, they identified with it. They loved God and they loved His children and for that reason, they gave their lives to others... to us, so that we might find and feel the love and wisdom of God. This is our mission here... to identify and accept our true Creator and to nurture and support His children... WE are His children, we are each other's sibling.
After finishing the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John... we are able to read (in more depth) about the disciple's work throughout the word in The Book of Acts.
This is an important and instructive verse:
1) They went everywhere: Always remember that Jesus came to help those who needed help. Jesus did not come to praise and gather the kind. Jesus understand that so many needed guidance and instruction. Jesus understood that so many needed friendship, love and truth. Jesus went to places devoid of love and truth and brought those two things there. A student of God is humble in all places in the world and heaven, too. A student of God accepts all people, no matter how diverse, and always works to understand others, correctly perceive them, and be helpful to them.
God loves the humble. He teaches us to learn to perceive deeply. We must always be observant. Just because something, someone, or some idea is different to what we are used to... does not mean we should fear or reject it. God has beautiful children sprinkled all throughout the world and He loves them equally. He wants you to give them the same chance you would want for yourself.
There is light and kindness in all places... sometimes it just needs the motivation to come out. Sometimes it needs the opportunity to come out. As students and children of God... we are meant to create those opportunities and to inspire and foster that motivation.
None of us are better than the other. Associate with all who are kind to you... forgive all those who sincerely ask for it... you will inspire light in themselves and also in yourself.
There are many challenges in each of our lives and often we get side-tracked. They way in which we live our lives should be used to guide others away from darkness and difficulty. We don't have to do it alone...
2) The Lord working with them: He is with you always. He has declared this to you. God works so intimately with you that sometimes you won't even be able to explain it to others. He pours Himself into you in a new and brilliant way. He becomes the firm spark of light within you and together you journey through life. He strengthens you when you ask Him to help you strengthen others.
God's love for you is not comparable to any kind of love you've known before: it's so purely selfless. Everything He gives trickles around into you...and then into others. In every tiny speck of time, He is there. He is here. Become a tool for God, and loved instrument... through which He brings His music to the world.
3) Confirming the word: Scripture is not just a book filled with letters and words. Scripture is a book which works to capture the essence that God is: compassion, humility, wisdom, truth. We confirm the word when we live it and realize that life is, and should be, all of those things indeed. They are not words... they are life. They are what create life. They are what God is.
Always remember this: The Bible's purpose is not to tell you what to believe. Your soul already knows what it believes. The Bible is a confirmation and a reminder that the core message within it... is the definition and path of our souls here on Earth and beyond. It is not a book of rules. It is a book of disparate experiences told to explain truths.
God is not an authoritarian or a disciplinarian. God is love and light. He leads us toward it if we follow. He understands... He inspired these scriptures to be written so that we always remember who we are and why we are.
This is why we should always accept and respect other manifestations of faith and religion: as long as the core message is kindness, compassion, humility, wisdom and truth... it is a message of God. Even an atheist and agnostic who believe in those values are of God (without knowing it) because God is not a set of rules and fear... He is the manifestation of these beautiful, humble values.
After finishing the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John... we are able to read (in more depth) about the disciple's work throughout the word in The Book of Acts.
This is an important and instructive verse:
1) They went everywhere: Always remember that Jesus came to help those who needed help. Jesus did not come to praise and gather the kind. Jesus understand that so many needed guidance and instruction. Jesus understood that so many needed friendship, love and truth. Jesus went to places devoid of love and truth and brought those two things there. A student of God is humble in all places in the world and heaven, too. A student of God accepts all people, no matter how diverse, and always works to understand others, correctly perceive them, and be helpful to them.
God loves the humble. He teaches us to learn to perceive deeply. We must always be observant. Just because something, someone, or some idea is different to what we are used to... does not mean we should fear or reject it. God has beautiful children sprinkled all throughout the world and He loves them equally. He wants you to give them the same chance you would want for yourself.
There is light and kindness in all places... sometimes it just needs the motivation to come out. Sometimes it needs the opportunity to come out. As students and children of God... we are meant to create those opportunities and to inspire and foster that motivation.
None of us are better than the other. Associate with all who are kind to you... forgive all those who sincerely ask for it... you will inspire light in themselves and also in yourself.
There are many challenges in each of our lives and often we get side-tracked. They way in which we live our lives should be used to guide others away from darkness and difficulty. We don't have to do it alone...
2) The Lord working with them: He is with you always. He has declared this to you. God works so intimately with you that sometimes you won't even be able to explain it to others. He pours Himself into you in a new and brilliant way. He becomes the firm spark of light within you and together you journey through life. He strengthens you when you ask Him to help you strengthen others.
God's love for you is not comparable to any kind of love you've known before: it's so purely selfless. Everything He gives trickles around into you...and then into others. In every tiny speck of time, He is there. He is here. Become a tool for God, and loved instrument... through which He brings His music to the world.
3) Confirming the word: Scripture is not just a book filled with letters and words. Scripture is a book which works to capture the essence that God is: compassion, humility, wisdom, truth. We confirm the word when we live it and realize that life is, and should be, all of those things indeed. They are not words... they are life. They are what create life. They are what God is.
Always remember this: The Bible's purpose is not to tell you what to believe. Your soul already knows what it believes. The Bible is a confirmation and a reminder that the core message within it... is the definition and path of our souls here on Earth and beyond. It is not a book of rules. It is a book of disparate experiences told to explain truths.
God is not an authoritarian or a disciplinarian. God is love and light. He leads us toward it if we follow. He understands... He inspired these scriptures to be written so that we always remember who we are and why we are.
This is why we should always accept and respect other manifestations of faith and religion: as long as the core message is kindness, compassion, humility, wisdom and truth... it is a message of God. Even an atheist and agnostic who believe in those values are of God (without knowing it) because God is not a set of rules and fear... He is the manifestation of these beautiful, humble values.
