"When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.
"Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them (disciples) while they were walking in the country. These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either" (Mk. 16:9-13).
Mark's point in these first two appearances by Jesus is the struggle with doubt and unbelief His disciples had. At first, we might not want to blame them. After all they had been through; after seeing Jesus killed the way He was, we sympathize with their struggle to believe He was really alive. But Mark's point is that we must not excuse them, and we must learn from their failure.
When Jesus finally appeared to the eleven that afternoon as they were eating, "He rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen Him after He had risen" (Mk. 16:14).
Why did they doubt and stubbornly refuse to believe? Because they failed to stay focused on Jesus' teachings and on God's word; because they failed to pray and gave into sleep in the Garden; because they let the trauma of the weekend overwhelm their faith; because they had forgotten all Jesus had taught them during His ministry--every evidence for faith He had given.
Faith is a gift, but at some point it is also a choice. We have to take the evidence and assurances of faith God gives us and anchor them in our hearts. This will keep us through life's storms.
On Resurrection morning, Jesus sent two three messengers to His disciples with the good news He was alive. The first was Mary Magdalene. Broken, sinful, cleansed Mary. The Mary delivered from the demons of immorality that had controlled her life.
How did the disciples view her? Perhaps as an emotional, broken woman. Remember her anointing Jesus' feet and weeping at Simon's house?
How did Jesus see her? As a precious, redeemed daughter; a child of God; a woman reclaimed from the land of the enemy and restored to sanity, purity, and nobility.
In her great gratitude and love, she stayed by the tomb on Resurrection morning. She couldn't bear being separated from her Savior. And so she had the privilege of being the first to herald the Resurrection.
Jesus appeared first to Mary because Mary needed Him most. This was so like Jesus. Isaiah said His mission would be to restore the broken and needy. Why wouldn't Jesus appear to Mary first? Were the eleven men offended because a woman, a woman like Mary, brought the message?
Jesus appeared next to two lesser disciples. We know the name of only one, Cleopas. We'll tell their story another day, but were the disciples offended again because lesser disciples then they (or so they may have thought) brought the news?
If they had remembered Jesus' teachings, if they had remembered God's word, they would have received the good news no matter who brought it.
God doesn't always work in the way we expect or through the instruments we think He should. I read recently of two Adventist women pastors in China, Godly, humble women who pastor churches in the tens of thousands. We should celebrate that God chooses His own instruments to do amazing things through.
Jesus' Gospel Commission in Mark (16:15-18) is given against the backdrop of the disciples' unbelief. I believe this is for two reasons. Mark wants us to see that the Resurrection story is not made up. Jesus own followers didn't believe it at first. Secondly, we all struggle with faith at one time or another. The remedy is to remember the teachings of God's word and anchor our faith there.
Pastor Michael Brownfield
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