We read these words in Mark16:14, “Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.” At first sight, it seems out of character for Jesus to be confrontational in His approach to His disciples. The word for ”rebuke” is [oneidizō; ὀνειδίζω] meaning also to reproach, revile, upbraid. The reason for His rebuke was the unbelief and the hardness of heart of the disciples. Some followers of Jesus had seen Him after He had risen from the dead and had excitedly shared the news with the apostles. Imagine their surprise and their disappointment when the apostles did not believe them. 

What was the news they rejected?

i].        It Was News Some Disciples Were Afraid To Share.  16:1-8

The first people to know Jesus had risen from the dead were three women who had gone to the tomb to prepare Jesus’ body for burial, “When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2  And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3  And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4  And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5  And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6  And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7  But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8  And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” Mark 16:1-8.

What a wonderful message they could have shared with the apostles and others. An angel told them that the crucified Jesus whose body had been placed in a tomb had risen from the dead and was going to meet with Peter and the disciples in Galilee. There was no need for them to be afraid. But they were afraid. Afraid of the unknown factors behind the supernatural and mysterious event that had taken place. It was beyond human explanation and experience. They had been told facts not theories but were afraid to share what was true.

There may be many in today’s world who likewise are afraid of what doesn’t concur with their human reasoning and experience. Because they have not experienced miraculous power they rubbish it or deny the possibility. But the Bible contains facts given by God in His word that humans are meant to accept and act on.

ii].       It was News Mary Magdalene Shared With The Apostles. 16:9-11. 

Mary Magdalene had seen the empty tomb and heard the angel of the Lord tell her and the other women that Jesus had risen. But she later had a personal visitation from the Lord, “Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10  She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept, “But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.” Mark 16:9-11. 

The angel had told her and the other women that Jesus had risen from the dead but she and the others were too afraid to share the news. Suddenly Jesus appeared before her. Now she believed He was alive. Jesus was later to say to someone [the apostle Thomas] who had been disbelieving until he personally saw Jesus, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29. Once Mary Magdalene was convinced that Jesus was alive she immediately went to share the good news with the apostles. What a shock it must have been to her when they would not believe what she told them. 

iii].      it was News Two Disciples Shared With The Apostles. 16:12-13.

“After these things, he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13  And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.” 16:12-13.

Luke records what happened when these 2 disciples were joined by Jesus as they travelled towards Emmaus.  They invited Him to stay with them and as they began to eat together the following happened, “When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31  And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32  They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 33  And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34  saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35  Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.” Luke 24:30-35.

But as Luke puts it, “…. but they did not believe them.” 16:12-13.

There were now 3 separate witnesses who told the disciples that they had seen Jesus now risen from the dead. Why didn’t they believe them?

iv].      It Was News The Apostles Believed When Jesus Appeared To Them. 16:14

Mark 16:14  “Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.” 16:14.

The apostles had to admit Jesus was alive when He appeared among them. But He chastised them for their unbelief and their hardness of heart. They were accountable for their attitude of unbelief. They should have been expectant that Jesus would rise from the dead on the third day because He had foretold exactly this, “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” Mat 16:21.  AND in Mat 17:22-23, “As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23  and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.”

So there was no excuse for them when they rejected the testimony of Mary Magdalene and the 2 Emmaus disciples. 

v].       It Was News The Apostles Were To Share With The World. 16:15-19 

Did Jesus see the disciples as a lost cause? No, He commanded them to take the message about Himself to the whole world, “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17  And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18  they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” 19  So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.” Luke 16:15-19.

Praise God that He can overcome human failures as those humans recognise the claims of the risen Christ on them and submit to Him as their Saviour and Lord!

THE CHALLENGE FOR US TODAY

This passage reminds us that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and is alive today, seated at the right hand of God in glory. There is also the testimony of millions of people throughout the world and throughout history to the fact that He is alive because they have entered into a personal relationship with Him.

It also reminds us that every human in every generation needs to put their trust in Him, for as Luke 16:16 records Jesus saying, “Whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

There is a tendency among humans today to try to be tolerant. But we cannot be tolerant when people’s lives are at risk or when they are facing eternal punishment for refusing to believe in Jesus. Every human in every age needs to hear the gospel in order to respond to it and accept Christ as their Lord and Saviour.u

That means praying for all our family and acquaintances that their hearts would be softened by the Holy Spirit so that their hardness of heart and their unbelief might disappear and they might give their lives to the Risen Jesus Christ. Then they will be able to sing the words of this hymn by an anonymous composer, 

“Jesus Christ is alive today

I know, I know it’s true

Sovereign of  the universe

I give Him homage due.

Seated there at God’s right hand 

I am with Him in the promised land 

Jesus lives and reigns in me

That’s how I know it’s true.”

Wishing you all a VERY BLESSED EASTER and may you experience the presence and the power of the risen Christ in your lives as you open your hearts wide open to Him.

Blog No.538 posted on Friday 15 March 2024.