Jesus gives the disciples what is called the Great Commission in Matthew but then ends with the promise of His presence. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Matthew 28:20 NLT

Mark 16:20 says "The Lord worked with them and confirmed His word by the signs that accompanied it."  

Because our Lord is with us we have a confidence to live for Him and the assurance that we are not on our own.  As we share the Gospel, we are living witnesses of what the Lord has done and will do in our world through our lives.  God is with us there is nothing to fear.

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Mark's account of what took place after the resurrection and what believer should expect in their own lives because of it is recorded in the later half of chapter 16.  Mark's entire Gospel is a fast paced look at the life and teachings of Jesus and very much focuses on the supernatural power and ministry of Jesus.  In many ways Mark is saying that the Lord's actions are as powerful as His words.  Since Mark's Gospel is thought to have been written to people who did not live near where Jesus had walked Mark makes a clear statement of the power of God, and so there is a graphic and dramatic approach to this record. The Apostle Peter was a main source of Mark's information and because of that we see this emphasis different from Matthew and Luke.  But these few verses give us an understanding of what we as followers of the risen one should expect. These verses are the words of our Resurrected Lord.

^ He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. ^ Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. ^ And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ^ they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." 

 Mark 16:15-18

Wow! Pretty great stuff right?  Jesus addresses the importance of proclaiming the good news everywhere, at home, office and wherever we are, not as a mandate for missionaries but as a mandate for believers to proclaim who Jesus is. We have far too often used the phrase that evangelism is not my thing, someone else will do it. But as we can see already from this text, Jesus does not make any kind of "out" for us.  All of us are to proclaim the truth of Jesus everywhere. (As a side note for those who want to understand how to better share their faith, we are having some special instruction with Randy Hurst for anyone who wants to join us on April 5^th at 5:30, I will be there hope you can too) Since the Resurrection confirms who Jesus is, we have a clear mandate to share with everyone about our Lord and Master.  This is not an optional accessory with believers, but an essential one; it is why we are here.  Jesus, goes on to make a clear statement that believing in Jesus is the only way and that baptism as a sign of that commitment to believe is expected.  Recently the most prominent talk show host in our country made the statement that Jesus is not the only way to Heaven, this verse says otherwise.  That is why we must not neglect our next step as disciples to be proclaimers. 

In the verses that follow, Jesus tells us that signs, wonders, miracles, will accompany those who believe.  There are five signs here mentioned that attest to the authority of Jesus and the message that believers share.

•1.   Drive out demons- here again the authority of Jesus through His disciples over demonic powers.

•2.   They will speak with new tongues or languages- This is a clear reference to the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and Spiritual Language

•3.   Pick up deadly snakes-  This is not to say that we are to do this, but is a statement of God's protection in facing persecution, much like Daniel God watches over and protects His people

•4.   Protection against poison- here again a clear reminder of the power of the Lord to keep us in the midst of persecution and suffering and again clear statement about the authority of Jesus over all things.

•5.   Finally the promise of laying hands on the sick and the healing that comes as believers proclaim the Gospel.

This power that accompanies the proclamation of the Gospel is something that at times we do not expect, but shouldn't we?   Now it Begins.....

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That phrase really says a lot.  This Jewish leader was saying that now that the tomb was empty there would be no stopping the truth and the teaching of Jesus.  He fully realized what this empty tomb meant.  But that phrase should also have a deeper meaning now for true followers of the Risen One.

Often times we celebrate the Resurrection as we did yesterday, joining hundreds of millions of Christians who remember and rejoice, and then go into the next day and forget that the Resurrection is only to be the beginning not the end. Now it begins, is also a great reminder to all of us that the plan of the ages, Christ, suffering and death and victorious resurrection is the basis and the power to accomplish God's ultimate love story of bringing the entire world back home to Him.  If you look at the scripture that immediately follows the resurrection accounts in the four Gospels and in the book of Acts, you can see what some of the next steps were for the disciples and what they should be for us.  Let's look at the first out of Matthew.  

The Great Commission

^16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ^17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ^18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ^19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in  ^ the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ^20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."  Matthew 28:16-20

There is so much that we can see from these verses.  Notice that even after others had told them about Jesus being risen many still doubted.  We also must expect opposition to the truth. We should not either be surprised or unprepared to have to give an account of our own resurrection encounter with the Lord.  At times we come off a great celebration of resurrection and than have to go back into our world that often times will try to throw diversions at us as to why and what we believe.  You and I are witnesses of the resurrection just as if we had been there on that first day. We must not shrink back from telling people about the faith that we have or the love that God shows.  The second point that we see is the Authority of Jesus.  He says that all authority is given Him.  He is not limited by anything, never has been nor ever will be. Because of that Authority we are to go and operate as ambassadors of His Kingdom. Christ's authority is in itself an incredible thing that is misunderstood.  But it is my opinion that most of us (and I include myself in this statement) do not live in the authority of Jesus nor open ourselves to that authority that we are sent out in. This is not merely a "power" issue although we will see in Mark's gospel that power is part of authority, but I also believe it is a "position" issue.  Are we walking in the way that and in the authority as ambassadors of the Kingdom of God.  People who hold out the words of life and truth.  More on this in later entries.  Finally Matthew's passage says that we are to take the authority that Jesus offers and make disciples.  It is a clear plan laid out before us but we have not accomplished it.  If we are honest with ourselves as individuals, local churches and the church at large, we have not been focused on making disciples, and that is something that we must confess we have failed in. We are good about making converts but what do we do with those who respond to the love of God or to days like yesterday?  The disciple making process is slow and tedious and at it is too easy for us to go for the initial converts rather than allowing the authority of Jesus to use us to bring "fruit that will last" 

So this is what I am asking of myself and of you who are following along with us.  What needs to change in us in order for us to fulfill this great commission? What do I need to be doing to produce the desired affect of making disciples?  Who's authority am I to walk in and to operate with?  I am asking God the same thing for all of us, Lord we know your power and have experienced it for ourselves, but we need to leading and empowerment to pass that on to others who will also pass it on. Lord let us leave a lasting legacy of true disciples of Jesus. It will not be easy, but our Master's command is clear.

Now it Begins!

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It happened on a springtime morn

Bounded by skies all blue and still

And olive trees all hushed and gray,

They led One up a skull-shaped hill,

Followed by a crowd, whose piercing cry was, "Crucify!"

It happened on a springtime morn,

They nailed a Man upon a tree,

Whose head was circled with sharp thorns;

Lifted Him high that all might see

His heaving breath, His agony, His awful death.

It happened on a spring day,

The air was cut, by one sharp cry;

Then lightning! Thunder! Crack on crack, the sky was black!

It happened on a spring day,

They tombed a Man, the crowd had fled, sealed it and set a watch that way

  to flout His words and prove Him dead,

That He Himself, He could not save from the grave.

It happened on a springtime morn,

A tremor shook the paling gloom,

A bright light tore the door away,

Life came a victor from the tomb.

Love cannot die, nor faith betray,

Christ arose on a springtime day.

[...]

 After the Sabbath, as the first light of the new week dawned, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to keep vigil at the tomb.
2 Suddenly the earth reeled and rocked under their feet as God's angel came down from heaven, came right up to where they were standing. He rolled back the stone and then sat on it.
3 Shafts of lightning blazed from him. His garments shimmered snow-white.
4 The guards at the tomb were scared to death. They were so frightened, they couldn't move.
5 The angel spoke to the women: "There is nothing to fear here. I know you're looking for Jesus, the One they nailed to the cross.
6 He is not here. He was raised, just as he said. Come and look at the place where he was placed.
7 "Now, get on your way quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He is risen from the dead. He is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.' That's the message."
8 The women, deep in wonder and full of joy, lost no time in leaving the tomb. They ran to tell the disciples.
9 Then Jesus met them, stopping them in their tracks. "Good morning!" he said. They fell to their knees, embraced his feet, and worshiped him.
10 Jesus said, "You're holding on to me for dear life! Don't be frightened like that. Go tell my brothers that they are to go to Galilee, and that I'll meet them there."

The Message

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Dark Night of the Soul

Following the events of the Crucifixion on Good Friday, the disciples were completely and totally emotionally spent.  All their hope was completely gone, shattered and now all they could do is review the events of the last two days and wonder what went wrong. I don't think we can fully appreciate just how empty allof the disciple's hearts were.  For the first time in their lives they had known what it meant to have someone they could completely believe in.  They had seen Him for more than three years accomplish in that time more than they ever could imagine. Not just the things that are recorded in the Gospels but also the things that occurred in the hearts of these men and women who followed the Master.  These simple people had been transformed by following Jesus into people who others wanted to know, and although there was not one of them that could fully understand all the events of those years, they did know that things had changed for each one of them dramatically.   Now all of them were broken and in disbelief by the events of the past two days.  After the Crucifixion Joseph of Arimethea asks for and received the body of Jesus, this secret believer wanted at least to give His Lord a proper burial. The Romans, the Jews and of course Jesus' followers had not planned for a burial, but now that is all that is left to do.  Scripture does not record any of the moments of that Saturday, in fact all that is mentioned is that it was the Sabbath and in accord to the Sabbath laws they did not go back to the tomb where Jesus lay until early Sunday morning.  But I ponder what went on in the heads and hearts on that Saturday.  Were they wondering out loud, were they pointing fingers at one another, were they praying and asking God why?  You have got to believe that the answer to all of these questions is yes.  They were alone with God, confused but remaining together, no longer hopeful but not knowing what to do.  Ever been there?  Ever been at a place where no one understood, only God?  I have and so have you, we are called by God to trust when we don't understand, to believe when it makes no sense to believe.  To look at what God will do in the midst of our darkest night. Some have called it the Dark night of the Soul, a time when confusion takes over and fear rises, when worry is the language of the emotion of the heart.  That is what it must have been for the followers of Jesus during those two nights of Friday and Saturday.  But Saturday is important in fact vitally important to what takes place on Resurrection Sunday.  The disciples were not looking for Jesus to come back from the dead; they were just trying to get through the day.  All of us have had Saturdays like that one; all of us have wondered how we could make it.  The answer many of us have found, that the trust we have in our Lord when things are going great is the same kind of trust we must have when things are go haywire.  The great news about the dark night of the soul is that God is faithful and He will be faithful to allow Resurrection joy to be seen.  That is a truth you can Count on!

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The Cross of Jesus is the revelation of God's judgment on sin. Never tolerate the idea of martyrdom about the Cross of Jesus Christ. The Cross was a superb triumph in which the foundations of hell were shaken. There is nothing more certain in Time or Eternity than what Jesus Christ did on the Cross: He switched the whole of the human race back into a right relationship with God. He made Redemption the basis of human life, that is, He made a way for every son of man to the centre of Time and of Eternity, the answer to the enigmas of both.

The Cross was not something that happened to Jesus-He came to die; the Cross was His purpose in coming. He is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.  (Revelation 13:8) The incarnation of Christ would have no meaning with the Cross.  The purpose of the incarnation was redemption.  God came in the flesh to take sin away, not to accomplish something for Himself. The Cross is the central event in time and eternity, and the answer to all the problems of both

The Cross is not the cross of a man but the Cross of God, and the Cross of God can never be realized in human experience. The Cross is the exhibition of the nature of God, the gateway whereby any individual of the human race can enter into union with God. When we get to the Cross, we do not go through it; we abide in the life to which the Cross is the gateway.

The Heart of Salvation is the Cross of Christ.  The reason salvation is so easy to obtain is that it cost God so much. The Cross was the place where God and sinful man merged with a tremendous collision and where the way to life was opened.  But all the cost and the pain of the collision was absorbed by the heart of God. 

Oswald Chambers

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Our Lord Jesus walked through this week of passion with purpose and power.  Now on what is known as Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday Jesus institutes a lasting image of the servant king by washing the feet of His disciples. The scene is familiar to most of us.  The Lord is spending his last hours before He will be arrested with His disciples.  How amazing thelove of Jesus to spend time here with people that in a matters of hours will all deny even knowing Him.  Judas has already agreed to betray Jesus and yet these are the people that the Lord chooses to spend these precious moments with. 

In my own life it is very easy to forget that to be a disciple of Jesus means to die to self and to my own desire to be understood.  No one has ever demonstrated a love like Jesus He is our model of humility and never wavering love even when people that we show love to do not reciprocate in the way we thing they should. Jesus, on Thursday night of Passion Week shows the full extent of His love by taking the place of a servant and washing the feet of His disciples.  There are some beautiful depictions of these moments in sculpture known as "The Divine Servant" What an incredible thought that the creator of the universe now humbles Himself to take the place of the lowest servant the one who was only good enough to wash feet.  John chapter 13 says that Jesus knowing that time had come for Him to offer Himself now showed them, "the full extent of His love."

Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. Washing the feet of those who are faithful and stand by you would be one thing, but washing the feet of those who will soon walk and in some cases run away from you is another.  Our Lord's love has no limit; He loves even when we do not deserve it.  He loves when we are anything but loveable, and He loves us in order for us to love others in the same way.

13 "You call me ‘Teacher' and ‘Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am.
14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.
15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.  

Jesus said on that Thursday evening. "I have set an example that you should do as I have done.  In some cases it will mean becoming a servant when most of us want to be charge.  In some cases it will mean not defending ourselves.  In many cases it will mean for us to love people in way that Jesus modeled for us.  What an incredible Lord who just hours away from the most cruel rejection in the history of the world, would want to teach His followers then and now that to be great in the Kingdom of God we must be like our master who just keep loving. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.   When we look at Jesus we see unconditional love.  But now Jesus says since I have shown you how, then love.

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^6 While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, ^7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

^8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. ^9 "This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor."

^10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ^11 The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. ^12 When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. ^13 I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."

The Woman who anoints Jesus on the Wednesday of Holy Week is Mary the Sister of Lazarus and Martha. She I believe she was being prompted by God to anoint Jesus for his Burial just two days later.  It is interesting isn't it that although the disciples had heard Jesus predict His death many times they still did not understand, but this woman being prompted by God did?  It reminds us that the Lord can speak to anyone who will open up their hearts and listen. Mary willingly offers this perfume as an act of obedience to the Lrod and complete devotion of all she had.  This perfume John tells us was worth about a years wages, it was precious perfume something that Mary could not replace, and did not want to. Mark's Gospel records that she had the perfume in an alabaster box that she broke open and poured out.  Once she had broken the box there was no going back. This act of love and devotion Jesus said would be shared as an reminder to all of what this act meant. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."

What a beautiful act of surrender what a precious gift to Jesus.  You would think that the others around the table that day would celebrate her devotion and praise her for her obedience.  But Costly love is not always understood is it?  She becomes the target of attack by the disciples and especially by Judas.  She who merely wants to show her devotion and express her love for Jesus is instead condemned for it.   John says that Judas is the first one to say this is wrong you are wasting money that could be used for other things, like feeding the poor. Judas did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and used to help himself to any money that Jesus received.  After this event Judas agrees to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave, Judas was a slave to his own greed and selfishness, and it cost him. But the other disciples also jumped in as well evidently either they were influenced by Judas or had issues in their own lives.  Either way they missed the entire point of Mary's selfless act, instead they saw only what they were potentially losing instead of the Love that Mary was expressing.   Mary's love was costly, Love for God always is. Even today true devotion to God will cost you not just some things, but all things. How wonderful of the Lord to share this precious account with us on the Wednesday before He gave Himself completely expressing the most costly love ever known. May we look at our lives far differently, may we see the Lord and offer Him our lives and ourselves no matter the cost to our treasure or our reputation.  What thing is Jesus calling us to pour out in devotion to Him? What will the Cost be for you and I?  The Answer is everything.

[...]

NLT

I believe that this is an amazing lesson for you and I as believers as we are seeking to tell others about our Lord  and sharing the Gospel with them.  There are often times that questions will be asked with ulterior motives.  The person we are talking with wants to deflect the conversation and have us answer questions that only God can.  You and I need to listen to the voice and the prompting of the Holy Spirit and remember the example of Jesus, who although He is God chose not to derail the mission of that day in a debate.  He told His followers to be ‘wise as serpents and harmless as doves"  We can see in Jesus our Lord and Teacher that we need to be full of the Holy Spirit to know at a moments notice how to respond to our world.  You can see it in our media that people are looking to trap us but the Lord says that He will give  us the words to say at the right time.  Would you do two things with me, first would you take a few moments and read Matthew chapters 22 through chapter 25 and see the incredible teaching that our Lord gave during the last three or four days that He had before the arrest and His Crucifixion?  And then would you along with me ask God to give you moments this week that you would be able to share with those we come in contact with, what this week is all about.  Don't make it religious or pious, but just tell what experience you have had and how the Lord has changed you.  People will respond to a person like you and me who are not afraid to proclaim the truth and who listen to the Holy Spirit telling us what we are to say and what we are not to say.   Let's be people this week and beyond who are led by the Holy Spirit and Speak words of Life.   We are not promoting ourselves or our church but we like Jesus have a mission to fulfill, to be a witness of our Lord's transforming power. Like Paul may we say, I am not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believe!

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