Mark 16:9-15

Mark 16:9-15

9 After rising from the dead, Jesus appeared early on Sunday morning to Mary Magdalene, whom he had delivered from seven demons. 10 She went to his former companions, now weeping and carrying on, and told them. 11 When they heard her report that she had seen him alive and well, they didn't believe her. 12 Later he appeared, but in a different form, to two of them out walking in the countryside. 13 They went back and told the rest, but they weren't believed either. 14 Still later, as the Eleven were eating supper, he appeared and took them to task most severely for their stubborn unbelief, refusing to believe those who had seen him raised up. 15 Then he said, "Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God's good news to one and all.

Food for thought! 

Do you realize how many times in this text there is "disbelief" in the resurrection?

Verse 11 When they heard her report that she had seen him alive and well, they didn't believe her. 

Verse 13 They went back and told the rest, but they weren't believed either. 

Verse 14 Still later, as the Eleven were eating supper, he appeared and took them to task most severely for their stubborn unbelief, refusing to believe those who had seen him raised up.

And do you realize how Jesus, in spite of all this disbelief, told such unbelieving people "Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God's good news to one and all"? Jesus is telling doubting people to announce exactly what they doubt; he is telling them to go forward, in spite of their hesitations.

In other words:

Jesus does not wait for us to get all the knowledge there is on the resurrection; Jesus does not wait for us to understand everything on his resurrection; Jesus does not wait for us to know all the theology; Jesus knows that the resurrection is a mystery that we cannot fully comprehend; so he tells us to go on and announce him, none the less. 

Jesus entrusts to us, you and me, the announcement of this great news; with the little or much we know and believe, Jesus tells us, as he told them then, "Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God's good news to one and all." In other words, what we announce is not ours, it is Jesus' good news. In spite of ourselves, we can be of use to Jesus.

And note this one as well: Jesus tells us to into the world! Yes, it is into the world, the real world we live in, the main street, the down town, the office we work in day in and day out, the home we live in; it is there that he sends us to go and be, not the bad news, but the good news. Where we are, we are called to make people happy, not sad. If, when you move into a place, an office, a home, people feel sad, then you are not proclaiming yet the good news; if when you come back home your children run to you but from you, if your children run to hide when you come back home, then you are not good news to them. And your spouse, does s/he rejoice when s/he sees you? Does s/he smile when you return home? If not, you are not being good news to her/him. Something must be done. Go into your world and proclaim the good news.

We are called to leave our comfort zones and take the good news  into the world.  "Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God's good news to one and all."

2 Corinthians 12:9 

"My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness." It is the duty of the church, and that means that it is the duty of every Christian, to tell the story of the good news of Jesus to those who have never heard it. The Christian duty is to be the herald of Jesus. Read this:

2 Corinthians 4:7-18 

7 If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us. 8 As it is, there's not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we're not much to look at. We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we're not demoralized; we're not sure what to do, 9 but we know that God knows what to do; we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left our side; we've been thrown down, but we haven't broken. 10 What they did to Jesus, they do to us-- trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us-- he lives! 11 Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus 'sake, which makes Jesus' life all the more evident in us. 12 While we're going through the worst, you're getting in on the best! 13 We're not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, "I believed it, so I said it, "we say what we believe. 14 And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive. 15 Every detail works to your advantage and to God's glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise! 16 So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. 17 These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. 18 There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever.