I can only imagine what it was like… there they were looking for the body of Jesus and they see a young man dressed in white. “”Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’ ” ” (Mark 16:6–7, NIV84)
The women were faithful servants of Jesus. They had come to care for the body. In the unlikely place of being a servant, God honored them with a message from an angel. They were the first to know that Jesus had won the ultimate victory. No more tears! No more sadness! No more fears! Their response showed however that unbelief still had on hold on them. They were fearful of God’s messenger. And then they did not obey the messenger.
“” But go, tell his disciples and Peter,” Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid. ” (Mark 16:6–8, NIV84) These women, chosen by God to deliver a great message, kept silent because they were afraid.
Fear kept these woman from preaching the Gospel. Fear kept these women from proclaiming the truth of the good news. Fear kept the message hidden.
What did they fear? Perhaps they were afraid that no one would believe them. Perhaps they were afraid because everything had now changed. Death was no longer real and they feared learning the new reality of Jesus. Perhaps they were afraid that their testimony of the goodness of God that no one else had experienced would cause people to ostracize them.
A little later, the revelation of the Gospel comes to someone who had personally experienced the love of Jesus. “When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. ” (Mark 16:9–10, NIV84) Because of the deep love and deliverance Mary had received from Jesus, she was not afraid of the new revelation. Because her love was renewed by the resurrection of Jesus, Her love prompted her to obey. Mary told the others the Gospel and the good news. Jesus won!
You would expect that the disciples would rejoice at the news. You would expect that since Jesus had told them this would all happen, that they would believe the testimony of Mary who had experienced the reality of the promise of God. “When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it. ” (Mark 16:11, NIV84) They did not believe. It did not matter to Mary. Her great love for Jesus was enough to endure the disbelief of those around her who questioned her supernatural encounter with God. Mary stood firm.
Later to Jesus appeared to others. “Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either. ” (Mark 16:12–13, NIV84) The reality of that supernatural encounter prompted them to share the good news. They, like Mary, did not care or fear if the others would not believe the testimony of their supernatural encounter with Jesus. They believed and they spoke.
So finally Jesus appeared to the unbelieving eleven. These were the people who had done great miracles with Jesus and had learned for three years at His feet. “Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. ” (Mark 16:14, NIV84) Jesus rebuked their refusal to believe the supernatural encounters of others that had agreed with the Words of Jesus.
The experience always follows belief. You cannot wait until you yourself experience it to believe it. Jesus rebuked the eleven for not believing the testimony of the experiences of others. Stubborn disbelief comes when we refuse to believe the reality of a supernatural encounter based on the testimony of others. We disbelieve because we ourselves have not experienced that reality. We base our judgment on our experience and do not test the experience of the testimony by the word of God. Your lack of understanding my supernatural experience does not negate the reality of the truth of my supernatural experience.
Jesus expects believers to believe. He commands us to be supernatural people with a supernatural testimony based upon the supernatural experience that starts with being born again. Jesus told us now to do what Mary did and that is to tell others. “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. […] And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” ” (Mark 16:15–18, NIV84)
If we truly believe, fear cannot stop us. If we truly believe, signs and wonders will follow our testimony of the good news that we have experienced. If we believe, we will walk in the realm of supernatural experiences that invade our natural lives.
I believe Jesus. He still saves. He still heals. He still delivers. He still cleanses. I will proclaim to entire world the Good News of Jesus. I will rejoice if they believe with me. And if they do not believe me, I will not fear. The unbelievers too are in the hands of Jesus.
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