He reproached them for their unbelief

Mark 16 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

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?” 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.

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.

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.

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.

And they promptly reported all these instructions to Peter and his companions. And after that, Jesus Himself sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.

In today’s text it says:  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. She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping.  When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it.  After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country. They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either.  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.  Jesus reproached the disciples because they did not believe He had risen.   Romans 10:9-10 says:  If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.    John 3:16 says:  “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”   Believing in Jesus is more that just believing that He is the Son of God. It is more than just believing that He died for our sins. Believing in Jesus also means that we believe that God raised Him from the dead. The resurrection is not merely figurative. It is not only spiritual. The resurrection is not just literal. It is an actual physical resurrection. Jesus died as a man and was raised in body. In Luke’s account of Jesus presenting Himself to the disciples after the resurrection, in Luke 24:36-43 it says:  While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be to you.” But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; and He took it and ate it before them.   It is critical to our faith; critical to our salvation that we not only confess that Jesus is Lord, but that we truly believe God raised Him from the dead.

After reproaching the disciples for their unbelief Jesus says:  “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”  Our response to believing in the resurrection should be the outward confession that Jesus is Lord. We are to confess with our mouths, to all the world, that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead.  What Jesus says will be the result is not well accepted in our current culture and society. What He says does not meet the cultural standards of inclusion. What Jesus says is: He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.   It is not our place as disciples of Christ to condemn the world for their sin or their unbelief. In John 3:17-21 after saying whoever believes will be saved, Jesus says:  “God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”   Jesus does not condemn anyone. He came to save everyone, but it is by their own disbelief and by their own preference of darkness over light that they will be both judged and condemned.

In addition to our response to believing, look at what Jesus says the result of our believing should be:  “These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues;  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.”   In Mark 9:20-24 it says:  They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.”  Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” 

Lord Jesus Christ, like the father of the boy, regarding the evidence of my belief, I say: “I do believe; help my unbelief.”   As I am faithful to confess to the world that You are Lord; that You died for our sins and that You were raised from the dead, I believe You will be faithful as it says in today’s text, to work with me and confirm the word by the signs that follow. Amen.