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Jesus, God's Servant A Survey of the Gospel of Mark CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE SERVANT'S TRIUMPH by Massimo Lorenzini IX. The Servant's Triumph (16:1-20) 1 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. 2 Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3 And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?" 4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away--for it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6 But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is 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 into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you." 8 So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. 9 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. 12 After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either. 14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." 19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen. v. 1 when the Sabbath was past - the Sabbath began on Friday at sundown (around 6pm) and lasted until sundown on Saturday (around 6pm). Bought spices - (in a liquid form such as perfumed oil) on Saturday night. spices . . . anoint Him - Bodies were normally anointed with oil (then rinsed with water) before burial, but because Jesus had died just before the Sabbath, this anointing had been postponed. v. 2 Very early in the morning - around 5:30 a.m. v. 4 the stone had been rolled away - not to let Jesus out, but to allow others to get in and see that He had risen just as He said. v. 6 He is risen! - The resurrection is vitally important for many reasons: Jesus kept His promise to rise from the dead, so we can believe that He will keep all His other promises. The resurrection ensures that the ruler of God's eternal kingdom will be the living Christ, not just an idea, hope, or dream. Christ rose from the dead, giving us the assurance that we also will be resurrected. The power of God that brought Christ's body back from the dead is available to us to bring our morally and spiritually dead selves back to life so we can change and grow (1 Cor 15:12-19). The resurrection provides the substance of the church's witness to the world. We do not merely tell lessons from the life of a good teacher; we proclaim the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. v. 7 Peter - Notice that Peter, the disciple who had denied Jesus, was singled out for special mention. In spite of Peter's denials, Jesus had not denied him. A special work of restoration needed to be done for him (see John 21:15-21). He is going before you into Galilee - see 14:27-28. Galilee is where Jesus had first called the disciples to be "fishers of men" (Matt 4:19). The events in Galilee are recorded in John 21:1-23 and Matthew 28:16-20. After that, we see the disciples in the Jerusalem area once again (Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:4-11). Also of note is Paul's description of the events following the resurrection in 1 Cor 15:1-8). v. 8 The women fled from the tomb with mingled shock and panic. They were too afraid to tell anyone what happened. vv. 9-20 Many modern scholars believe these verses are not authentic because two major ancient manuscripts omit them. However, there are strong arguments for their inclusion in the text: Virtually all other Greek manuscripts and many church fathers do contain this passage. Verse 8 is a strange conclusion, especially in the Greek where the last word is (gar, for). This word is rarely ever near the end of a sentence, much less a book. If, as some teach, Mark's original ending is lost, and this is a later summary, then our Lord's words about preservation of His words have apparently failed (Matt 24:35). The contents of the passage are orthodox. The style, and especially the vocabulary, closely parallel the first chapter of the book. v. 9 He appeared first to Mary Magdalene - From the other Gospels we learn that after finding the tomb empty, she ran and told Peter and John. Coming back with her they found the tomb empty, as she had told them. They returned to their home but she stayed at the empty tomb. It was then that Jesus appeared to her (John 20:1-18). vv. 11, 13 they did not believe . . . they did not believe them either - because of the disciples' unbelief Jesus gave them a severe rebuke in verse 13. v. 15 preach the gospel to every creature - The Great Commission - The messianic secret of Mark's Gospel is over. Now the disciples are told to tell everyone the Jesus is the Messiah. v. 16 There would be two results of the preaching. Some would believe, be baptized and be saved; some would disbelieve and be condemned. Verse 16 is used by some (Church of Christ) to teach the necessity of water baptism for salvation. We know it cannot mean that for the following reasons: The thief on the cross was not baptized, yet he was assured of being in Paradise with Christ (Luke 23:43). The Gentiles in Caesarea were baptized after they were saved (Acts 10:44-48). Jesus Himself did not baptize (John 4:1-2) - a strange omission if baptism were necessary for salvation. Paul thanked God that he baptized very few of the Corinthians (1 Cor 1:14-16) - an impossible thanksgiving if baptism were essential for salvation. Approximately 150 passages in the NT state that salvation is by faith alone. No verse or few verses could contradict this overwhelming testimony. Baptism is connected with death and burial in the NT, not with spiritual birth. What then does verse 16 mean? We believe it mentions baptism as the expected outward expression of belief. An outward sign of inward faith. Baptism is not a condition of salvation, but an outward proclamation that the person has been saved. It is a public testimony of personal repentance and faith in Christ. vv. 17-18 These are signs that would accompany the preaching of the gospel. These miraculous signs were intended for the apostolic age, before the completion of the NT canon. Their purpose is given in verse 20. Another passage that teaches the purpose for these miraculous signs is Hebrews 2:3-4. Most of these signs are found in the book of Acts: Cast out demons (Acts 8:7; 16:18; 19:11-16). New tongues - literally languages (Acts 2:4-11; 10:46; 19:6). Handle serpents (Acts 28:5). Drink poison without harmful effects. This is not recorded in Acts but attributed to John and Barnabas by the church historian Eusebius. Lay hands on the sick for healing (Acts 3:7; 19:11; 28:8-9). v. 19 Christ's Ascension forty days (Acts 1:3) after His resurrection. He who had taken upon Himself the form of a servant is now highly exalted (Phil 2:7-9). The exaltation of Jesus to God's right hand signifies the completion of His work, His authority as God, and His coronation as king (Ps 110:1). v. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere - The end of the Gospel of Mark; the beginning of Church's task. One half of all the people who have ever lived are living right now. As the population explodes, the task increases. But the method is always the same--devoted disciples of Christ personally sharing His message with those who do not know Him (see 1 Cor 15:58). Application for believers. Mark's Gospel emphasizes Christ's power as well as His servant-hood. Jesus' life and teaching turned the world upside down. The world's view of power is to control others in order to get your way. But Jesus, with all authority and power in heaven and earth, chose to serve others. He held children in His arms, healed the sick, washed the disciple's feet, and died for the sins of the world. Following Jesus means receiving this same power to serve. We are called, as believers, to be servants of Christ. As Christ served, we are to serve (Mark 10:45). Application for unbelievers. If you have not trusted Jesus as Savior, you must ask yourself what you will do with Him. Will you receive Him today as the God who became man to die for your sins? Or, will you reject the pierced hands of love and face Him one day as Judge? There's no more important choice you can make. May the Spirit of God empower you and to choose Christ.

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