The Gospel Erases All Doubt :: Mark 16:14-20

By

[Introduction]

If only I had been there. That’s what we tell ourselves. If only I had seen the empty tomb. If only I had heard the angel’s announcement. If only I heard the voice of Jesus call me by name in the garden. If only I had been with the disciples in the upper room on the Sundays of Easter when Jesus appeared in their midst. If only Jesus had opened my mind to the Scriptures during the walk to Emmaus. If only I had recognized that he was with me in the breaking of the bread. If only I had been Thomas eight days later and was afforded the opportunity to put my hand in the mark of the nails. If only I had gone fishing with Peter and the boys so that I could eat breakfast on the beach with the Lord. If only I saw him ascend into heaven. 

Yes ... if only ... Because then it would be so much easier to believe ... that Hallelujah! He is Risen! ... and that ...

THE GOSPEL ERASES ALL DOUBT

I. But wouldn’t you know it, for the first 40 days of Easter, the disciples had their doubts.

Today, we observe the Ascension of Our Lord. Before this 40th day of Easter, the disciples not only downright struggled to believe that Jesus is risen ... they were rebuked ... censured ... denounced ... insulted sharply ... to their face by the Lord himself ... not only for their unbelief but for their refusal to accept the Word of God from heralds of Good News ... He is risen! 

Like Pharaoh and the Egyptians before them ... like the Israelites at Meribah and Massah, when they quarrelled with Moses and tested the Lord ... the hearts of the disciples were so hard, they were stubbornly determined to do things only one way, not the Lord’s. So the Lord let them have it! That’s how our Gospel reading from Mark 16 begins today. 

Because Mark writes so concisely, it’s hard to tell when this rebuke of unbelief actually occurred. You might think it’s the 40th Day of Easter ... in other words, just before the Ascension of our Lord. It might be earlier. 

Mark nevertheless writes, Finally, as they were reclining at the table, [Jesus] was revealed to the eleven, and he rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart because they did not believe those who saw that he was and still is risen (v 14).

Is it not shocking to think that our Lord’s own disciples didn’t believe those who preached the Good News of the Resurrection? 

Jesus had told them in no uncertain terms that ... after he was crucified, he would rise after three days ... first in Mark 8:31 after Peter’s confession that [Jesus] is the Christ. Then again while he was teaching the disciples in Galilee in Mark 9[:31]. Then again on the road to Jerusalem immediately before Holy Week began in Mark 10[:34]. But those weren’t even the only times Jesus preached the Gospel to them. He also told them he would raise the temple of his body in three days (Jn 2:20). And that he would fulfill the three-day sign of Jonah (Mt 12:40).

Yes, the disciples had every reason to trust the Gospel of the Resurrection. 

But they didn’t ... at least not yet. 

Pentecost, with the Promise of the Spirit to guide them into all the truth, hasn’t come yet. It’s still 10 days away. Yet for now ... they had their doubts that whoever confesses with their mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believes in their heart that God raised him from the dead has eternal life (v 16; Rm 10:9). They had their doubts that God still provides bread from heaven every day to give us eternal life and to lead us to salvation in the Promised Land (Jn 6:26). And many other disciples had their doubts that those who eat the body of Christ and drink his blood have eternal life (Jn 6:60). And unbelief is damnable. 

So Jesus rebuked them and called them to faith. And he said, when you have gone forth into the world, preach the Gospel to all creation. The one who has faith and has been baptized will be saved, and the one having unbelief will be condemned (vv 15-16). 

II. This is the Good News that erases all doubt for you because you have faith!

In his own baptism, Jesus has united himself with you. He has washed you clean and given you faith. He enables you to heed the first word following his baptism ... that is, to Repent and believe in the gospel (1:15). He enables you to mourn the fact that you are a sinner, and still trust the Word of Jesus, that like the father of a demon-possessed boy, God answers our prayer by bringing out of unbelief (Mk 9:24). And more than that, he enables you to have every reason to trust the word of the apostles, who teach us to be diligent to NEVER skip the opportunity to hear the Gospel, to ALWAYS receive the Gospel, and then to share the Gospel. They teach us to make every effort to attend Bible study and the Divine Service, and to trust the teaching that, through the Lord’s means, we learn to believe that Christ, out of great love, died for our sin, and also to learn to love God and our neighbor (LSB 330).

III. Yes, let us always receive the proclamation of the Gospel that erases all doubt (v 15). 

To be clear on what that is, remember Saint Paul’s word to the Corinthians ... The Gospel is ... Christ died on behalf of our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Afterward he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once ... then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles (1 Cor 15:3-7). ... There is not another Gospel (Gal 1:7). 

It is historical fact that Christ was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. 

It is historical fact that Christ ascended physically into heaven. 

And because all his promises find their yes in him, it is fact that he will come again, raise the living and the dead, and give eternal life to all who have faith in him. 

This is the Word the apostles preached everywhere. The was the Word the Lord was working with [them] and confirming ... through the accompanying signs (v 20).

We can trust that Jesus was the perfect sacrifice that appeased God’s wrath for our sin. We can trust that ... because Jesus actually died on a cross, your sin actually died with him, and therefore you actually have peace ... the only peace that matters, true peace, heavenly peace. We can trust, as Paul says in Ephesians, that God being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, he made us alive together with Christ ... by grace you have been saved ... and he raised us with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:4-5). 

Our trust has been made possible only on account of the Gospel, which comes to us as a gift, delivered through specific, tangible means ... the sacraments. Rather than being something we discover through reason or effort, both of which lead to doubts, the Gospel is delivered notably through tangible signs ... in Holy Baptism and Communion ... both of which erase doubt and proclaim the death of all sin and the resurrection into eternal life. 

As Peter taught us that baptism now saves you, not as a removal of filth, but as a pledge of a good conscience to God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having taken his journey into heaven, [with] angels, and authorities, and powers having been subjected to him (1 Pt 3:21-22). And the Lord’s Supper is no different, and no less important, due to the fact that it too delivers the forgiveness of sins, and therefore, life and salvation. 

[Conclusion]

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now that Jesus is at the right hand of God ... with all authority and power and dominion ... he is erasing all doubt among all the faithful (v 19). Jesus has given you his word. And he will do it all for our good and his glory ... in Jesus’ name.

Popular posts from this blog

The Good Shepherd Comes to Rescue and Restore - Ezekiel 34:11-16

By
  For thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I myself will search diligently for my sheep and I will seek them. As a shepherd seeks out to care for His flock in the day he is among His scattered sheep, so I will seek out to care for my sheep, and I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on the day of cloud and thick darkness. 500 years ago today, Martin Luther answered the Roman Catholic Church and the Roman Emperor who questioned his teachings. If he were to recant and take it all back, the Diet of Worms would barely be a blip in history. If he did not recant, he would be putting his own life in absolute, mortal danger. Being held captive by the clear Word of God as found in Holy Scripture, Luther stood up before the authorities of the church and the of world and gave his famous “Here I Stand” confession. He rested his case on Jesus as his only Shepherd - not the leaders of the Church or the Government. He relied solely on the Good Shepherd who promised neve...
Read more

Mutual Consideration :: Psalm 41:1-2

By
We prayed Psalm 41 in place of the Introit for the Day. Psalm 41 will be the focus of our attention for the entire season of Lent. David said in the opening words of that psalm, Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble, Yahweh delivers him; Yahweh protects him and keeps him alive; he is being blessed in the land; You do not give him up to the will of his enemies (Ps 41:1-2). Those words from David are like a man who painted a portrait of his friend, and then the two switched places, and his friend painted a portrait of him. Here is what I mean ... 1.  Blessed is the one who considers the poor! David’s word, “considers,” can also be translated as “pays attention” ... or “focuses upon” ... or “thinks about intently.” When you paint someone’s portrait, you must first look intently upon that person, studying his or her features very closely. When David said, Blessed is the one who considers , he was talking about someone who gives careful, attentive thought to ...
Read more

Whose Side Are You On? :: Luke 11:14-28

By
We live in a world filled with deep division. Everywhere, it seems, people are divided by ideology and theology, politics and economics. But there is not a bigger divide facing all humanity than the one we face today. It is more significant than whether you are a Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, man or a woman, adult or child.  Jesus said, Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters (v 28). It is the great divide.  So whose side are you on? Are you with him, or against him?  Are you a Christian, or are you an enemy of Christ? Are you with the Lord, or do you serve Satan? Brothers and sisters in Christ, there are no shades of gray here. Are you gathering or scattering? WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON? That’s the question of our Gospel this morning, and our theme.  Our Gospel reading from Luke 11 this morning illustrates that truth for us rather plainly. A house divided cannot stand. Those who are against Christ call evil g...
Read more

The Eyes Have It :: Luke 10:23-24

By
What do you see? What do you hear? These are the questions of the day on this Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity. What do you see? And what do you hear?  Before we get ahead of ourselves by jumping to conclusions and declaring you can see and hear just fine ... you need to know ... not everybody sees what you see or hears what you hear. Every week your pastor gives three sermons: the one I write, the one I preach, and the one you hear. And each of you might be hearing a different sermon than the person next to you. More than that, some of you may be seeing one thing and others may be seeing something completely different. And some of us will just fall asleep not seeing or hearing anything at all.  As Jesus tells the disciples ... For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to witness what y’all see and they didn’t witness it, and to hear what y’all hear and they didn’t hear it (v. 23-24). That is to say they longed to see Jesus, living, dying, rising, ascending. They long...
Read more

The Mind of Christ :: Philippians 2:5-11

By
The next day, the large crowd that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming into Jerusalem, took the branches of palms and went out to meet him and began crying out: Hosanna! Blessed is the one coming in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel (Jn 12:12-13). No story has ever had a bigger buildup to a greater letdown than this one. The Jews were all of the same mind: They had been looking forward to this day for more than a millennia. And here he came! Jesus of Nazareth in Galilee (Mi 5:2)! The prophet like Moses (Dt 18:15)! The son of David (2 Sm 7:12)! Our Messiah (Is 61:1) ... Here he came, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zec 9:9), fulfilling the scriptures. Zechariah, Micah, Isaiah, Deuteronomy, Samuel, the Psalms. This is the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it (Ps 118:24). ... These things are written so that you will believe Jesus is the Christ, the son of the Living God and that by believing you will have life in his name (Jn 20:31...
Read more

Joy of a Living Hope :: 1 Peter 1:3-9

By
Can you imagine what life would be like without hope?  It’s good to have hope. We all need more hope.  Researchers have discovered that you are three times more likely to live LONGER THAN eight years after a heart attack if you consider yourself to be a HOPEFUL person. If you’re a pessimist ... I should warn you that 21 of 25 of the hopeless died within eight years of their first heart attack.  It’s good to have hope. We all need more hope. According to one psychologist, hope reduces feelings of helplessness, boosts happiness, reduces stress, and improves our quality of life. Students with high levels of hope are more likely to succeed at school, more likely to have high-quality friendships, and less likely to suffer anxiety and depression. Hope improves your immune system, reduces stress, reduces joint pain. Hope is the voice inside that says, “Yes, I can.”  It’s good to have hope. We all need more hope.  So ... what is hope?  Technically, hope is an optim...
Read more

Fearing the Lord :: Jonah 1:4-16

By
The day we first receive our call to follow Christ, we face the temptation to run away. That is true on the day of our Baptism. It is true on the day of our confirmation. It is also true for us pastors, on the day of our ordination into the Holy Ministry. Sometimes we all want to run away. In fact, the older we get I think the more we want to run away. Of course, we’re not the first ones who’ve ever been tempted to do this. Adam and Eve fled their shame and the voice of the Lord. Moses fled Egypt for 40 years, afraid of the wrath to come for beating a man to death. Elijah fled Jezebel, fearing her wickedness. Even Jesus’ own disciples fled the Jews after our Lord was betrayed, afraid they too would face the same wrath. They locked the doors of the upper room in fear.  Fear. We all fear. Sometimes within moments of confessing that we believe in the One True God, the maker of heaven and earth, who has redeemed us, the lost and condemned, not with gold or silver, but with his holy pre...
Read more