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Sermon Outline

The Gospel of Mark

The Risen Lord

Lesson #13 for September 28, 2024

Scriptures:Mark 15:42-47; 16;Colossians 2:10-12; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Daniel 9:25-27; John 20:11-18.

  1. From our last lesson, we remember that three men cooperated in taking Jesus’s body down from the cross and placing Him in the tomb. Those three men were: (1) Joseph of Arimathea, (2) Nicodemus, and (3) John the disciple. Meanwhile, the women, Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary the mother of the younger James and Joseph, were watching and saw where the body was placed.
  2. All four of the Gospels spend several chapters at the end, talking about that final week in the life of Jesus. Clearly, there is a sequence: He died, He was buried, He arose, and He was seen by a number of people. All of that happened within a three-day period.
  3. In this, the last chapter of Mark, Jesus was in the tomb after suffering and dying on the cross. The disciples were discouraged, even dejected, not knowing what to do or think even though Jesus had told them He would be killed and then He would be raised to life.

[From the Bible study guide=BSG:] The crucifixion of Jesus destroyed the hopes and faith of His disciples. It was a dark weekend for them as they not only grappled with their Master’s death but feared for their own lives, as well (John 20:19).―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Sabbath Afternoon, September 21.‡§

  1. The question that should have arisen in your mind is: Considering what we have studied so far in this series of lessons, where were the disciples? How did they react to Jesus’s death? What did it take to change them from people hiding behind locked doors into the gospel workers who spread the truth around the Mediterranean world in a single generation?

[BSG:] The event of Jesus’ death was devastating for His followers. Though prophecy foretold it, and though Jesus had already forewarned them about the trials He would face prior to His death, the disciples’ preconceived notions [their paradigm] about the Messiah prevented them from understanding the full import of Jesus’ words, and thus left them unprepared for its impact.―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 171.†‡

  1. Why could not the best Teacher who ever existed clarify to His students what was going to happen to Him in a way that they could grasp, understand, and retain? Was the biggest challenge trying to get them to give up their beliefs about Jesus as king?
  2. Women were some of Jesus’s closest followers. In Mark 16 we read about the women who, after the close of the Sabbath at the beginning of the first day of the week, purchased spices to anoint the body of Jesus. They prepared on Sabbath after sunset, and then, early on Sunday went to the tomb to tend to His body. Did they know about the myrrh and aloes that Nicodemus had taken to the tomb?

[From the writings of Ellen G. White=EGW:] The women who had stood by the cross of Christ waited and watched for the hours of the Sabbath to pass. On the first day of the week, very early, they made their way to the tomb, taking with them precious spices to anoint the Saviour’s [sic-Br] body. They did not think about His rising from the dead. The sun of their hope had set, and night had settled down on their hearts. As they walked, they recounted Christ’s works of mercy and His words of comfort. But they remembered not His words, “I will see you again.”John 16:22.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 788.1.†‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.3882&index=0]‡

  1. Early on Sunday, the angel called Jesus from the tomb; and He arose from the dead by the power within Himself.

[EGW:] When the voice of the mighty angel was heard at Christ’s tomb, saying, Thy Father calls Thee, the Saviour [sic-Br] came forth from the grave by the life that was in Himself. Now was proved the truth of His words, “I lay down My life, that I might take it again.... I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” Now was fulfilled the prophecy He had spoken to the priests and rulers, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”John 10:17, 18; 2:19.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 785.2.†‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.3866&index=0]‡

  1. Very early Sunday morning, the women took the spices to the tomb. They wondered who would roll the stone back for them; but, it was already rolled back. They saw a young man sitting at the spot where Jesus had been laid. That young man told them not to be alarmed because Jesus had risen from the dead. He said that they needed to tell Peter and the others to meet Him in Galilee. But, the women were frightened and did not say anything to anyone.

Mark 16:1-8: 1 After the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices to go and anoint the body of Jesus. 2Very early on Sunday morning, at sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3–4On the way they said to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” (It was a very large stone.) Then they looked up and saw that the stone had already been rolled back. 5So they entered the tomb, where they saw a young man sitting on the right, wearing a white robe — and they were alarmed. [Of what were they afraid?]

6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is not here — he has been raised! Look, here is the place where they put him. 7Now go and give this message to his disciples, including Peter: ‘He is going to Galilee ahead of you; there you will see him, just as he told you.’ ”

8 So they went out and ran from the tomb, distressed and terrified. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.—American Bible Society. (1992). The Holy Bible: The Good News Translation* (2nd ed.,Mark 16:1-8). New York: American Bible Society [abbreviated as Good News Bible].†‡

  1. Mark 16:7 tells us that the women were instructed to tell Peter and the disciples to meet Jesus in Galilee. That story of meeting in Galilee is recorded in John 21, and on a separate occasion is recorded inMatthew 28:19-20.
  2. Although Mark does not record it, the women were not the first ones to see the angels.

[EGW:] … Staggering like drunken men, they [the Roman soldiers] hurried on to the city, telling those whom they met the wonderful news. They were making their way to Pilate, but their report had been carried to the Jewish authorities, and the chief priests and rulers sent for them to be brought first into their presence. A strange appearance those soldiers presented. Trembling with fear, their faces colorless, they bore testimony to the resurrection of Christ. [Weren’t those the fearless Roman soldiers? Why were they “trembling with fear”?] The soldiers told all, just as they had seen it; they had not had time to think or speak anything but the truth. With painful utterance they said, It was the Son of God who was crucified; we have heard an angel proclaiming Him as the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory.

The faces of the priests were as those of the dead. Caiaphas tried to speak. His lips moved, but they uttered no sound. The soldiers were about to leave the council room, when a voice stayed them. Caiaphas had at last found speech. Wait, wait, he said. Tell no one the things you have seen.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 781.1-2.†‡ [Do you think they obeyed His orders to be quiet?]‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.3853&index=0]‡

  1. Why were the soldiers so afraid? Were they afraid of the Jewish leaders? Or, the Roman leaders? Had they failed in their assignment? Or, were they just afraid that no one would believe them? Or, were they afraid when they saw the angels, thinking they were ghosts?
  2. Let us give a preview of Jesus’s appearances on that resurrection day. Jesus appeared to a weeping Mary Magdalene in the garden. When she told the disciples that He was risen, they did not believe her. Then, the Gospel of Luke details and Mark mentions about Jesus’s trip to the countryside on the road to Emmaus when He walked with two of His other followers. (Mark 16:12-13;Luke 24:13-35) Finally, Jesus appeared to the 11 or 10 disciples, who were cowering, unbelieving in the upper room. He scolded them because they did not have faith and because they were too stubborn to believe those who had seen Him alive.

[BSG:] Almost all ofMark 16:9–20 has parallels to other passages in the New Testament—Mary Magdalene at the tomb seeing Jesus (Matt. 28:1, 9, 10;John 20:11–18; compare withLuke 8:2); two disciples see Him in the countryside (Luke 24:13–35); the 11 disciples are commissioned (Matt. 28:16–20,Luke 24:36–49,John 20:19–23).―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Wednesday, September 25.†‡§

  1. InJohn 20:11-18, we read of Mary, who was the first one to whom Jesus appeared. She immediately fell at His feet. He had to say, “Do not hold on to me” or keep holding Him because He had not yet ascended to the Father. Jesus asked Mary to tell His disciples that He was alive! However, they did not believe Mary! Lazarus, her brother, had been raised from the dead.
  2. Why do you suppose Mary was the first one to whom Jesus revealed Himself? He could have gone straight to the disciples. He could have gone to the Jewish leaders! However, there in the garden, He spoke first to Mary the former demon-possessed prostitute. Was it because she was there? He already knew that even when she told her story, the disciples would not believe it! Can you imagine in our day asking a formerly demon-possessed, prostitute to carry the premier announcement of the Gospels to the General Conference committee?
  3. Some of the people at the tomb saw one young man/angel, while others saw two angels. (SeeJohn 20:11-18.) Now, we know more about who those two angels were. Ellen White told us that the two most exalted angels from heaven had been working as Jesus’s guardian angels throughout His life. They were the ones who came to open the tomb. See Desire of Ages1. [https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.4094&index=0]
  4. Later in the day, Jesus walked with those two men on their way to Emmaus, and He gave them many details about interpretations of passages in the Old Testament before He revealed Himself as the risen Savior. But, when those men went back to the upper room with this exciting story, the disciples did not believe them either! And those were not women but men and followers of Jesus!

Mark 16:12-13: 12 After this, Jesus appeared in a different manner to two of them while they were on their way to the country. 13They returned and told the others [the disciples], but they [the disciples] would not believe it.—Good News Bible.*‡

  1. After the walk to Emmaus, those two young men raced back to Jerusalem in the dark, stumbling over the path to reach the locked upper room to bring the good news to the waiting disciples. And when they entered, Jesus entered with them, unseen. Before the encounter on the road to Emmaus, did any of the followers of Jesus have a correct picture of why He came to this earth? Or, were they still looking for a messiah to overthrow the hated Romans?

[BSG:] “ ‘But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened’ ” (Luke 24:21, NASB). What do the disciples mean by the words “redeem Israel”? The Greek word for “redeem” is lytroō, which has a basic meaning of “to liberate from an oppressive situation.”—Frederick W. Danker, et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, p. 606. So, for the disciples, the death of Jesus meant the death of their earthly aspirations, for they conceived of redemption in terms of liberation from the Roman oppression.―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 172-173.‡§

  1. Don’t you wish that you had a recording of those explanations that Jesus gave to the men on the road to Emmaus and later to the disciples? Did that become the pattern for many of the gospel sermons that were preached later by the disciples and apostles? Would that give all the Old Testament evidence pointing toward the life and mission of Jesus? Surely, Jesus must have tried to explain some of those things earlier in their times together. Where are all those details found in the Old Testament? Were they found in some document or documents we no longer have available to us?
  2. It is true that it is not every day that someone rises from the dead! So, the news was not easy for the discouraged disciples to believe. However, they had seen Jesus raise the dead!

[BSG:] As we saw early in the quarter, Mark starts his Gospel by stating that “ ‘the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;’ ” therefore people need to “repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15, NASB; emphasis added [by the authors of the Bible study guide]). Unfortunately, at the end of Mark’s Gospel account (Mark 16), people still possessed unbelieving hearts. These people were not the priests, nor the leaders of Israel, nor the Roman governor. They were Jesus’ own disciples.―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 173.†‡§

  1. Finally, Jesus appeared to 10 of the disciples (since Thomas was not there) in the upper room, and most of them believed! But, what was the problem? How many people have you read about that Jesus scolded?

Mark 16:14: 14 Last of all, Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating. He scolded them, because they did not have faith and because they were too stubborn to believe those who had seen him alive.—Good News Bible.*†

John 20:19: It was late that Sunday evening, and the disciples were gathered together behind locked doors, because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities. Then Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you,” he said.—Good News Bible.*

  1. When Jesus suddenly appeared to the 10 disciples in the upper room, they were terrified. They thought they were seeing a ghost. But, after He had assured them and ate a piece of cooked fish in front of them, He reminded them of many of the things that He had told them previously. All that was written about Him in the Law of Moses, the writings of the prophets, and the Psalms which had to come true. But then, He did something amazing. “Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:45) What did He do or tell them?

[BSG:] The first words of Jesus to His disciples are recorded only in indirect discourse inMark 16:14. He rebukes them for their unbelief and hardheartedness. This question of unbelief is not simply a modern problem. As we already have seen, the original disciples of Jesus struggled with belief (Matt. 28:17,John 20:24–29), and they were with Jesus in the flesh and saw, again and again, the miracles.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Thursday, September 26.‡§

  1. But, if you readJohn 20:24-29, even Thomas, one of the 11, could not believe the truth about the resurrection despite all that the other disciples and the women said until he saw Jesus for himself. Imagine what a problem it would be in our day if no one would believe without seeing for himself or herself!
  2. Luke 24:34 says that Simon Peter also had seen Jesus. However, we do not know anything else about that appearance if it was a separate appearance.
  3. Of course, the first question for the disciples, other followers of Jesus, and us would have to be: Is Jesus truly alive? Did Jesus really come to life after being dead and in the tomb? Was the resurrection real?
  4. What are some of the reasons that we have already mentioned why this story of Jesus’s resurrection cannot be a made-up story?

[BSG:] The first person [except the Roman soldiers, i.e., among His followers] to see Jesus alive was Mary Magdalene (John 20:11–18). Other women saw Him, as well (Matt. 28:8–10). It is significant that the first people to see the risen Lord were women. Because women in the ancient world did not have high status as witnesses, if the story were fabricated, it would have been much more likely to name men as the first witnesses. But it is not men, not the 11, but a woman. She goes to tell the good news to the disciples, but, not surprisingly, they do not believe her testimony, most likely because it seemed fantastic and also, unfortunately, because Mary was a woman.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Wednesday, September 25.†‡§

  1. The Gospels show the new church leaders, the apostles, in a very bad light. That would not be likely if the resurrection had been made up by the apostles.

[BSG:] Of course, if they were making the story up, why would they have made themselves look so bad? Jesus had to rebuke them for their “hardness of heart.” The Gospel accounts, from the time of His arrest to His appearances after the Resurrection, depict the followers of Jesus in a very negative light—fleeing, denying, disbelieving, and so forth. This would make no sense if the story were made up [by the disciples/apostles].

In contrast, their later bold and unwavering proclamation of the risen Christ, and the hope it offers everyone, presents powerful evidence for the veracity of their claims.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Wednesday, September 25.‡

[BSG:] Even atheist historians, those who cannot accept the reality of the Resurrection, admit not only that Jesus had been killed but that after His death many people claimed to have seen the resurrected Christ, and as a result they began the nucleus of what became the Christian church. Some, in an attempt to explain why they claimed this, said that Jesus had a twin brother or that the early disciples hallucinated, thinking that they saw Jesus. Others said that Jesus never really died but only swooned [fainted with emotion] and then, later, revived. Another person claimed that aliens came down and took the body. For a look at all these arguments and how they don’t work, see Clifford Goldstein, Risen: Finding Hope in the Empty Tomb (Nampa, Idaho: Pacific Press, 2021).―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Friday, September 27.‡§

  1. Think about the situation that the disciples were in. They were now the focus of the hatred of the Jewish leaders. Would they have lied about the resurrection if it had not been true, and thus, caused even more hatred toward them and the early church? Why didn’t the Jewish leaders accuse them of lying?
  2. What is the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus?

[BSG:] Some people find it incredible that Christians believe in a risen Lord. But the evidence for His resurrection is substantial and consistent with reason.

For starters, all one has to do is believe in God as the Creator (see Genesis 1 and 2) and the idea of the resurrection, of a miracle, becomes reasonable. The God who created the universe, and then life on earth, certainly had the power, if He chose, to resurrect Jesus. The existence of God doesn’t make the resurrection of Jesus inevitable, only reasonable.

Next, the tomb was definitely empty. Even atheist historians accept that fact. If it were not, the claim about His resurrection would fail right from the start because the existence of His body there would destroy any claims of His having risen.

Next, the explanation that His disciples stole the body does not work. The disciples surely couldn’t have gotten past the guards. And even if they had done so and got the body, why were the disciples never arrested for stealing it? The answer is that the religious leaders knew that the disciples had not done it.

Also, numerous people testified that they saw the risen Christ. Many, including the disciples, did not at first believe. And one very solid enemy, Paul, not only claims to have seen the risen Lord but that this experience changed the whole trajectory of his life—in very radical ways, too.

Finally (though there are many other reasons), how does one explain the rise of the Christian church, founded by people who claimed to have seen the risen Lord? Why would these people have been willing to die for what they knew was a lie? Their consistent testimony, both right after His death (Acts 3:15) and years later (1 Pet. 1:3), provides powerful evidence for His resurrection.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Monday, September 23.†‡§

  1. One of the most impressive reasons for believing that the story of the resurrection is true is found inActs 4:5-17. Peter and John stood up in front of the Sanhedrin, the very ones who had arranged for the crucifixion of Jesus. Peter directly accused them of being responsible for the death of the Son of God.
  2. One of the challenging issues that we have tried to study is the secrecy motif: the fact that Jesus throughout almost His entire ministry kept telling people not to talk about who He was or what He had done for them, especially healing them. Throughout Mark’s Gospel, Jesus told people to keep quiet about who He was or about a healing that He did for them. InMark 1:44, He told a leper to tell no one of his healing. InMark 5:43, He told Jairus and his wife to tell no one of the raising of their daughter. InMark 7:36, He told a group not to tell people about His healing of a deaf and mute man. And then, He commanded His disciples not to tell people that He was the Messiah (Mark 8:30; see alsoMark 9:9). God clearly knew what would happen when He told people not to say anything about what had happened to them.

[BSG:] From the beginning of the Gospel, the reader knows that Jesus is the Messiah. But in the text itself, the first non-demon-possessed person who proclaims Him the Messiah is Peter inMark 8:29. And this profession doesn’t happen until halfway through the book.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Tuesday, September 24.‡

Mark 8:29: “What about you?” he [Jesus] asked them [the disciples]. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”—Good News Bible.*‡

  1. So, why did He tell them to be quiet when He knew they would not be? Jesus did not want people to say that He was the Messiah because the Jews had such a distorted view of what the Messiah would do! The religious leaders and the people thought the Messiah would liberate them from the hated Romans. Furthermore, if people were told that He was the Healer, the crowds would have been even worse than they were, and He would not have had the opportunity to speak about the gospel and explain why He had come to this earth. (SeeMark 1:44; 5:43; 7:36; 8:30; 9:9.) Perhaps, the main reason for Jesus telling them to be silent was to give Himself time to finish His ministry according to the time prophecies ofDaniel 9:24-27.

[EGW:] Reasoning from prophecy, Christ gave His disciples a correct idea of what He was to be in humanity. Their expectation of a Messiah who was to take His throne and kingly power in accordance with the desires of men had been misleading. It would interfere with a correct apprehension of His descent from the highest to the lowest position that could be occupied. Christ desired that the ideas of His disciples might be pure and true in every specification. They must understand as far as possible in regard to the cup of suffering that had been apportioned to Him. He showed them that the awful conflict which they could not yet comprehend was the fulfillment of the covenant made before the foundation of the world was laid. Christ must die, as every transgressor of the law must die if he continues in sin. All this was to be, but it was not to end in defeat, but in glorious, eternal victory. Jesus told them that every effort must be made to save the world from sin. His followers must live as He lived, and work as He worked, with intense, persevering effort.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 799.3.†‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.3929&index=0]‡

  1. However, once that critical crucifixion weekend had transpired, the situation changed. Before long, everyone was talking about what had happened. The two men who accompanied Christ to the countryside, turned and looked at Him, not yet recognizing who He was and said: “‘Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that have been happening these last few days?’” (Luke 24:18, GNB*) That was Passover weekend; millions were there!
  2. Are there times today when we should be quiet about some aspects of the gospel? Do some people just find the stories boring? How can we make the gospel more exciting and interesting to the people in 2024?
  3. We know the rest of the story is that the gospel was carried to the Mediterranean world in one generation.
  4. Peter’s Gospel written by Mark describes the last encounter of the disciples with Jesus as they talked while they walked to the Mount of Olives, and then, His ascension.

Mark 16:15-20: 15He said to them, “Go throughout the whole world and preach the gospel to the whole human race. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17Believers will be given the power to perform miracles: they will drive out demons in my name; they will speak in strange tongues; 18if they pick up snakes or drink any poison, they will not be harmed; they will place their hands on sick people, who will get well.”

19 After the Lord Jesus had talked with them, he was taken up to heaven and sat at the right side of God. 20The disciples went and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and proved that their preaching was true by the miracles that were performed.—Good News Bible.*†

[EGW:] While the disciples were still gazing upward, voices addressed them which sounded like richest music. They turned, and saw two angels in the form of men, who spoke to them, saying, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.”

These angels were of the company that had been waiting in a shining cloud to escort Jesus to His heavenly home. The most exalted of the angel throng, they were the two who had come to the tomb at Christ’s resurrection, and they had been with Him throughout His life on earth.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 831.1-832.1.†‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.4091&index=0]‡

  1. Finally, 40 days after His resurrection and just before He ascended into a cloud of angels, Jesus said: “ ‘I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ ” (Matthew 28:20, NKJV*) How does that actually work?

[EGW:] To the believer, Christ is the resurrection and the life. In our Saviour [sic-Br] the life that was lost through sin is restored; for He has life in Himself to quicken whom He will. He is invested with the right to give immortality. The life that He laid down in humanity, He takes up again, and gives to humanity. “I am come,” He said, “that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” “Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”John 10:10; 4:14; John 6:54.

To the believer, death is but a small matter. Christ speaks of it as if it were of little moment. “If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death,” “he shall never taste of death.” To the Christian, death is but a sleep, a moment of silence and darkness. The life is hid with Christ in God, and “when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.”John 8:51, 52; Colossians 3:4.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 786.4-787.1.‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.3874&index=0]‡

  1. Ellen White tried to explain the ascension in some detail.

[EGW:] Before leaving His disciples, Christ plainly stated the nature of His kingdom. He called to their minds what He had previously told them concerning it. He declared that it was not His purpose to establish in this world a temporal, but a spiritual kingdom. He was not to reign as an earthly king on David’s throne. Again, He opened to them the Scriptures, showing that all He had passed through had been ordained in heaven, in the councils between the Father and Himself. All had been foretold by men inspired by the Holy Spirit. He said, You see that all I have revealed to you concerning My rejection as the Messiah has come to pass. All I have said in regard to the humiliation I should endure and the death I should die, has been verified. On the third day I rose again. Search the Scriptures more diligently, and you will see that in all these things the specifications of prophecy concerning Me have been fulfilled.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 820.1.†‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.4032&index=0]‡

  1. Jesus looked beyond the ascension. He promised to come back. And then, He gave the disciples the instructions to go into all the world. That challenge also has been given to us.

[EGW:] But the command, “Go ye into all the world,” is not to be lost sight of. We are called upon to lift our eyes to the “regions beyond.” Christ tears away the wall of partition, the dividing prejudice of nationality, and teaches a love for all the human family. He lifts men from the narrow circle which their selfishness prescribes; He abolishes all territorial lines and artificial distinctions of society. He makes no difference between neighbors and strangers, friends and enemies. He teaches us to look upon every needy soul as our brother, and the world as our field.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 823.1.‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.4049&index=0]‡

  1. Do you think it was easy for the disciples to go out to the people in Jerusalem and testify about the resurrection of Jesus? What kind of reception do you think they got?
  2. Do you find any evidence in the stories of the Gospels that the disciples ever fully understood the purpose of Jesus’s life and death? No! Or, did they just tell the story as it happened and leave their generation and us to draw their/our own conclusions?
  3. It is interesting that in addition to saying that the disciples would be able to speak fluently in foreign languages and cast out demons and perform miracles as they spread the gospel to the world, it also says they would be able to pick up snakes and drink any poison without being harmed. (Mark 16:18) An example of that is found inActs 28:3-6 when Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake and nothing happened to him. This is certainly not an indication that we can prove our authenticity by handling poisonous snakes!
  4. All four of the Gospels agree that Jesus died on Friday. (Matthew 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; andJohn 19:14, 31, 42.) And, of course, the body of Jesus rested in the tomb on the Sabbath. If Jesus intended for them to change their day of worship to Sunday, this is not the right way to start that tradition. While it is true that many Christian groups worship on Sunday, supposedly celebrating the resurrection, there is no command anywhere in the Bible to suggest that they should do that. We note first that He arose early on Sunday morning. This is not a reason for turning Sunday into a sacred day of worship.

[BSG:] Regardless of the false theology regarding Sunday worship, as Adventists we must rejoice in the Sunday morning resurrection of Jesus. Jesus has triumphed over death, and in His resurrection, we have the surety of ours.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Sunday, September 22.‡

  1. So, did Jesus leave us a ceremony to celebrate His death and resurrection? Yes, baptism!

Romans 6:4: By our baptism, then, we were buried with him and shared his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might live a new life.—Good News Bible.*

©2024, Kenneth Hart, MD, MA, MPH. Permission is hereby granted for any noncommercial use of these materials. Free distribution of all or of a portion of this material such as to a Bible study class is encouraged. *Electronic version. †Bold type is added. ‡Brackets and content in brackets are added. §Italic type is in the source. [sic-Br]=This is correct as quoted; it is the British spelling.

Last Modified: August 4, 2024                                                                                          Email: Info@theox.org