Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
Jesus has died, and been resurrected, and he is meeting with the eleven apostles. After he says what he needs to say he goes to heaven.
The gospel according to Mark was the earliest written gospel. He had worked along side Paul and Peter, and during his times with Peter, Mark listened to what Peter had to say about Jesus. He possibly interviewed Peter to get a fuller picture of Jesus. It was probably the earliest written gospel of Jesus. Sometime during the 60s AD….There is some argument that it was not written by Mark despite the fact that a historian of that time Papias wrote about the fact that John Mark wrote it and that he got most of his information from Peter.
One thing I have learned about students of theology is that many are trying to make a name for themselves by presenting a different theory. It can be useful, but always take it with a grain of salt. Weigh everything carefully when studying the Bible…
Now what is known is that the end of the Gospel of Mark ended with Jesus resurrection and some of the disciples scattering in fear… later was the discourse between Him and disciples was added to give His final instructions before He returned to heaven. Why did it end like it previously ended? Some think that was to make us think would we stand with Jesus, or would we run? This was written possibly during the times of Emperor Nero who hated Christians. This was a real question that they needed to ask. Later this last meeting with the disciples as added.
Jesus is telling the disciples in this verse that they need to go out into the world and preach the message of who Jesus is. It is also what He is telling us to do.
There has been a complaint by non-Christians who do not know that we are commissioned by Christ to spread the gospel. Most of us do not do that because it can cause us trouble with those who do not have our faith. I understand their concerns. How do we present Christ without pushing Christ down the throats of those who do not believe?
We are to live our lives as disciples of Christ. We are called to love God and to love our neighbors which means presenting ourselves as a representative of Christ to all that we meet…We need to stop thinking that after church is over, we can go about doing as we had been doing… no we need to greet people with kindness and patience… We need to take time to listen to the people in our lives and especially those that depend on us such as children or the elderly. We should do no harm, but be strong in our faith in Christ. We should be open enough that anyone wanting to ask questions can feel safe enough to hear what we know of Christ without condemnation. We must remember that all final judgement is God’s and however we judge people will be how we are judged… thankfully Christian faith allows us to seek forgiveness for our judgmental ways, and we will be forgiven… we just have to change our ways.
Today’s Question:
How do you present yourself to others- with kindness or indifference or harshness?
Ever in Christ’s love,
Mary Elizabeth Todd
March 11, 2024 & August 12, 2024
Ruhamah United Methodist Church Bible Verses 