3 They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”
4 Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large.
5 Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed.
8 They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
9 Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons.
10 She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping.
11 When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it.
12 After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country.
13 They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either.” Mark 16:1-13.
“Let us see the forest from the trees.”
1. “they saw that the stone had been rolled away”, and they still did not believe.
2. “Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe”, and they still did not believe.
3. This angel told them “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen”, and they still did not believe.
4. “They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”
5. Jesus “first appeared to Mary Magdalene”, and they still did not believe.
6. “When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it.”
7. “They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either.”
We need help to believe. We need a lot of help to believe. We need miraculous help to believe.
As we read this Scripture, I think we sometimes gloss over this initial lack of faith. We know that they all later had great faith. But, I think it is helpful to really consider what the Scripture in front of you is emphasizing. And, it seems to me that this Scripture is emphasizing this initial lack of faith.
Why is this Scripture emphasizing this initial lack of faith? I see two reasons. You may see more reasons.
First, this Scripture has the ring of truth. No one had ever seen a resurrection with possibly a few exceptions like Lazarus and a few other miracles of resurrection that Jesus had performed. Moreover, their minds were still filled and dominated by the public and horrific suffering and death of Jesus. It is entirely true and understandable that there would be this initial lack of faith.
Second, this Scripture helps us today to come to grips with our lack of faith. If Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome, the disciples, and others (who all were followers of Jesus and who were eye-witnesses of the miracles of Jesus and who were listeners to Jesus who strongly repeated his prophesy of his death and resurrection) had such trouble believing, then it helps us (about 2,000 years later) to understand that we are not alone in struggling to believe.
Think about it. We have just read about the suffering of Jesus. It is not hard to believe the suffering. We have just read about the death of Jesus. It is not hard to believe the death of Jesus. We have just read about the burial of Jesus. It is not hard to believe the burial of Jesus. And now, we are reading about the resurrection of Jesus. But, it is real hard to believe the resurrection of Jesus.
So, what should we do? Should we just “suck it up” and try harder to believe???
Rather than just try harder to believe, I think that we need to focus on “total depravity” and admit that we need a miracle to believe.
Isaiah 53:1 asks (with the inference that no one believed): “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?” It later states: “He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” Isaiah 53:3. “All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.” Isaiah 53:6. (Emphasis added.)
We need miraculous resurrection power to believe.
Ephesians 1:19-20 refers to “… the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,”
We need to pull out The Canons of Dordt and read again Article 8 of the “SECOND HEAD OF DOCTRINE Of the Death of Christ, and the Redemption of Men Thereby”:
Article 8. For this was the sovereign counsel, and most gracious will and purpose of God the Father, that the quickening and saving efficacy of the most precious death of his Son should extend to all the elect, for bestowing upon them alone the gift of justifying faith, thereby to bring them infallibly to salvation: that is, it was the will of God, that Christ by the blood of the cross, whereby he confirmed the new covenant, should effectually redeem out of every people, tribe, nation, and language, all those, and those only, who were from eternity chosen to salvation, and given to him by the Father; that he should confer upon them faith, which together with all the other saving gifts of the Holy Spirit, he purchased for them by his death; should purge them from all sin, both original and actual, whether committed before or after believing; and having faithfully preserved them even to the end, should at last bring them free from every spot and blemish to the enjoyment of glory in his own presence forever. (Emphasis added.)
This Article 8 teaches us that “justifying faith” is a gift of God.
Hopefully, the Scripture for today about the initial lack of faith will help us to better understand that “justifying faith” is a gift of God.
Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions 