And they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. …She [Mary Magdalene] went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. (Mark 16:8, 9-10)
There is a lot to digest and discuss in Mark 16 and I can’t begin to discuss it all here. As I meditated on this chapter, the three verses above impacted me most. Two thoughts came to me:
1. Fear can keep me from speaking the good news.
2. Grief can keep me from believing the good news.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most glorious truth in all of history. Death is defeated. It does not have the final say. We have a hope beyond the grave. Yet when Jesus was first resurrected, His disciples and followers struggled to believe. It is hard to blame them. Dead people just don’t come back to life. Intellectually the resurrection would be a difficult thing to swallow. But Mark chooses to focus more on the emotional element–fear and grief. Fear kept them silent. Grief kept them from believing. Often we struggle in the same way. Intellectually we know and affirm the resurrection but fear keeps us silent (”they won’t believe me”) and grief/sorrow/depression keeps us from wholeheartedly believing (”it’s too good to be true…and I can’t risk further disapppointment”). Faith calls us to move past our fear and past our sorrow to fully experience the joy and good news of the resurrection of Jesus.
Lord, help me not to give in to a spirit of fear or a spirit of grief and despair. Keep my eyes on You and on the power and promise of Your resurrection!
BTW….I think I would be remiss not to at least mention the issue of Mark 16:9-20. Your translation of the Bible may indicate that these verses are not in some of the ancient manuscripts of the New Testament. Mark 16:9-20 is actually the longest disputed passage in the New Testament. Basically there are 5700 existing Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. Whenever there is disagreement between these manuscripts (which is normally insignificant and rare), there are two theories on how to determine what is the true, authentic reading. One theory is that you go with the oldest manuscripts since they are closer to the original. Another theory is to go with the majority of manuscripts since they are more likely to represent the reading most accepted by the early church. In the case of Mark 16:9-20, the oldest manuscripts do not have it while the majority do. It would seem odd for Mark to end at 16:8 so most translations include verses 9-20 with the disclaimer that they may have been added later to supplement the book. I personally believe they are authentic but I can see why there is debate. As for the “signs” mentioned in these verses, I believe that these signs accompanied the apostles (as you see in Acts) and confirmed the authenticity of their message (just as the signs Jesus did were meant to confirm His message). That was the primary emphasis of Jesus’ words. So should we handle snakes and drink poison today? No way! Jesus does not command such actions nor does any other New Testament book even mention them as a normal or essential part of the Christian life. However, it is still important to remember that God, in His sovereignty, may choose to protect His witnesses in miraculous ways to allow their message to spread and to confirm it in the eyes of unbelievers. We should not seek these things but not be surprised if they do happen.