8 The women were shaking and confused. They went out and ran away from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
9 Jesus rose from the dead early on the first day of the week. He appeared first to Mary Magdalene. He had driven seven demons out of her. 10 She went and told those who had been with him. She found them crying. They were very sad. 11 They heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him. But they did not believe it.
12 After that, Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them. This happened while they were walking out in the country. 13 The two returned and told the others about it. But the others did not believe them either.
14 Later Jesus appeared to the 11 disciples as they were eating. He spoke firmly to them because they had no faith. They would not believe those who had seen him after he rose from the dead.
15 He said to them, “Go into all the world. Preach the good news to everyone. 16 Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who does not believe will be punished. 17 Here are the miraculous signs that those who believe will do. In my name they will drive out demons. They will speak in languages they had not known before. 18 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 the people will get well.”
19 When the Lord Jesus finished speaking to them, he was taken up into heaven. He sat down at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere. The Lord worked with them. And he backed up his word by the signs that went with it.
For the Adults:
This is an interesting passage. In the earliest manuscripts we have, everything after the fearful women in verse 8 doesn’t exist. Most scholars agree that verses 9-20 were added later. “They were afraid” doesn’t seem like a very good way to end the good news. Among other reasons, the rest of the verses were likely added later to give Mark’s Gospel a “more complete” ending! But regardless of if v. 9-20 were added later or why, they tell God’s story continuing on in God’s people. The disciples preached and did miraculous signs. We could easily get caught up in these specific signs - especially the snake and poison bits - but the reality is that God is still doing great signs all around us.
In the middle of this global pandemic, more people are renewing their faith and drawing closer to Jesus. Our online service attendance and views on youtube are surpassing our regular Sunday and Wednesday attendance. Our church has continued to be faithful in giving even as many in our midst are struggling to make ends meet. Our church is still meeting needs in the community for those that are fighting the virus. God is alive. We must still go out (online perhaps) and preach everywhere! God has brought us into his great story of love and redemption and we can sing together in one voice:
This is [our] story, this is [our] song. Praising [our] Savior all the day long!
For the Kids:
How was your Easter?
How was it the same?
How was it different?
Hear:
Read the passage.
Pause:
Sit in silence for a few moments.
Wonder:
What stands out to you about this passage?
If v. 8 was the last verse of Mark, how might you end the verse instead?
How can we “go out and preach everywhere”?
Bless:
Dear God, thank you because the ending to our story doesn’t end in fear, it ends in hope! Help us to spread your story to everyone we come in contact with - even if it is online. Thank you for the story of resurrection that has become our story!