Today, we continue our study of Mark 16 where a group of female followers of the Lord Jesus have been having a conversation with an angel at the tomb where the Lord Jesus was laid after His crucifixion.
In some versions of Mark 16 there is a footnote indicating there has long been doubt on the veracity of v.9-20. It is true that the best of the Greek manuscripts do not contain these twelve verses, but it is also true that the overwhelming majority of the Greek manuscripts that we have today do contain these verses. The main thing is this: these verses do not contradict the whole of Scripture. So, it is safe for us to consider them a part of the canon of Scripture.
In v.9-10 of today's passage we read, "9 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. 10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept."
Mary Magdalene, according to John's gospel, was ahead of the other women who went to the tomb. When Mary saw the empty tomb, she ran to tell Peter and John. Evidently she did not hear the angel's explanation. Then, Peter and John both ran to the tomb. Peter went inside and saw the grave clothes lying there still wrapped. This convinced Peter and John that the Lord Jesus had risen. But they still had not seen Him for themselves.
In John's gospel we learn, as Mary stood weeping in the garden she saw what she thought was the gardener whom she asked where they had laid the body of the Lord Jesus. This supposed gardener spoke Mary's name and at that point, she knew it was the Lord. This was the first appearance of the Lord Jesus to anyone after His resurrection.
In v.11 of today's passage we read, "And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe."
When Mary told the disciples that the Lord Jesus was alive, they chose rather not to believe and they continued to mourn and to weep. Those last four words in v.11 are so important. I am so glad those words are there because those words help me when I find myself struggling to believe. And then, once I begin to recount the track record of the Lord in my life, I shake out of my unbelief.
I am also glad that those word are there for another reason. Those words, "they did not believe" add to the validity and authenticity of the resurrection story. It shows us, once again, the early disciples were not predisposed to the resurrection. So that even when an eyewitness says, "He is not there, he is alive," they responded with, "We do not believe it."
One of the reasons they didn't believe was due to the testimony of the women. You will remember that in their culture at that time, the testimony of a women was useless and invalid. Think of this: If it were a fabricated story, God surely would not have used the testimony of a group of women that would be automatically received with skepticism. God's culture is so inside out and upside down in comparison to ours.
In v.12 of today's passage we read, "After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country."
This speaks of the two disciples who were walking some seven miles to the nearby village of Emmaus. As they walked along the Lord Jesus just so happened to join them. As He walked with them, He began with Moses and the prophets and showed them all the things that referred to Messiah. According to Luke, later, as they sat at their dining room table with Him and they saw His hands as He broke the bread, they recognized Him. Then, all of a sudden, He disappeared. So, when these two disciples came running back to Jerusalem, they immediately told the eleven what they had seen. Again, their response was disbelief.
Life is full of contradictions, perplexities, pain, and lack of answers. Like those first believers, our pain is useful to the restoration of our vision. The two on the way to Emmaus recognized the Lord Jesus by the nail prints in His hands. When we get to heaven, we will recognize that there will only be one man-made thing there: the nail prints in the hands and feet of the Lord Jesus. It is through His and our suffering that we grow best in learning to know and love Him. And, this takes time, a long time. The Apostle Paul refers to this as the fellowship of His sufferings.
In v.13 of today's passage we read, "And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either."
The key to this verse is the word "believe." The death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is to be believed, because it is what makes it possible for us to know God and to know that our sin has been forgiven us by Him. But, when the disciples heard of Mary's experience with the Lord Jesus, they, initially, did not believe. They did not believe the testimony of those two Emmaus disciples. For the moment, their theology failed them, leading them to believe it was just too good to be true.
Of course, in time the disciples believed, even doubting Thomas. But, before they believed they had to wrestle with the questions created by their doubts. And then, having been convinced of heart they believed in the conquering of sin and death.
Doubt is a normal part of a life of faith because the development of our faith or our heart's ability to see God must involve our emotions and our minds. Faith that allows no room for doubt is ultimately too frail and limited. Biblical faith honestly wrestles with the parts that cannot be reduced to simple equations and measurable qualities and glib answers. Biblical faith, in the end, endures and leads us to an assured hope that wavers not. Wrestling with the questions created by our doubts is essential to the birth and the strengthening of our faith. It is through this process that we become so intimate with Him that we find it easy to tell others about Him. After all, this is what it is all about: Knowing Him and making Him known.
