Sunday October 22nd - Mark 16

​Sunday October 22nd
Mark 16 (Baptism)
 
I guess you’ve noticed that the Rolling Stones aren't as young as they used to be. 
Rumor has it that they're working on a new album.


The tracks include: 
Hey! You! Get Offa My Lawn! 
Let’s Take a Nap Together
I Can’t Get No Circulation
I know it’s Only Dulcolax but I Like It 
Limpin' Jack Flash, he has gas, gas, gas
You Can't Always Chew What You Want


But of course we know that the most important rolling stone was the stone that was rolled away when Jesus rose from the grave! Let’s look at that story today as we wrap up the Gospel of Mark with chapter 16:
 
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3 They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”
The Sabbath was technically over at sunset on Saturday evening, which meant that buying and selling things was allowed again. That’s when the women went to buy the spices to anoint Jesus’ body, but actually they didn’t go to visit the tomb until early on Sunday morning.
They were wondering how they were going to roll away the stone to get to his body, because they had been there when he was buried and they had seen the large stone put in place to seal the tomb.
But they didn’t have to worry about that for long!
4 Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. 5 Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. 7 But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’” 8 They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
When they approached the tomb and saw that the stone had been moved, they entered the burial chamber, and they saw the slab or bench where Jesus’ body had been laid.
Mark says that they saw a young man dressed in white sitting there. Matthew 28:2 identifies the young man as an angel. And this angel informs them that he knows why they are there, but that they shouldn’t be alarmed or even surprised. Because although they saw Jesus crucified and buried…
He has risen.
He says, “You can see for yourself that this is where his body was placed, but he is no longer here!”
Then he gives them some instructions:
Go tell the disciples, and in particular tell Peter that Jesus is alive again (because Peter is still probably upset about denying knowing Jesus). And tell them to go to Galilee because Jesus is going to meet them there.
So that’s their orders – directly from an angel!
But do they follow their orders?
Not exactly.
Verse 8 says “They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”
What was their job? Tell Peter and the other disciples the good news, and that they need to head to Galilee to see him alive again.
What was their reaction? They said nothing to anyone!
Now obviously at some point somebody told someone something or we wouldn’t be reading this today.
In fact, verses 9 through 20 are considered by many bible scholars to be verses that were added later, possibly as a way of completing the story. Because if somebody doesn’t tell someone else that Jesus is alive, how will anyone ever get saved?
That’s what the Apostle Paul was talking about in Romans 10:13-14
13 for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?
So let’s look at these last verses to see how the gospel began to spread:
9 Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it.
So of all of the ladies who went to the tomb, it seems as though Mary Magdalene was the one who felt compelled to share the good news, even though nobody believed her!
12 After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country. 13 They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either.
This is a reference to the two men who were walking on the road to Emmaus when Jesus started walking along with them. The story is told in Luke 24:13–35.
Finally Jesus appears to the disciples directly:
14 Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. 17 These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
19 So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.
The instruction to “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel” is essentially the same Great Commission that is found in Matthew 28:19. And here in Mark 16:20 it says that “they went out and preached everywhere”.
So here’s what it all comes down to – the angel tells the women to go spread the good news, but they are afraid so they don’t tell anyone, at least not at first. Then Jesus tells the disciples to go into the world and preach the gospel, and they do it.
Those are the same two possible choices that each one of us can make – tell people about Jesus or keep it to ourselves.
The people who are getting baptized today are making the choice to let the world know what Jesus has done for them.
They understand what Paul meant in Romans 6:3-5
“Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection”
Let’s celebrate with these brothers and sisters today!