Mark 16:9-20

Mark 16:9-20

In verses 14 and 15 there is a link that is overlooked many times. "Unbelief and hardness of heart" must be overcome before the church can fulfill the Great Commission.

If we ask the question, “Why is the church not growing in our community or in the Western World?" We are apt to get a variety of wildly divergent answers. Most, to be honest, are clearly and simply excuses, and some are secondary challenges easily overcome. Here are a few examples: “Our world is secular.” “Sinful people don't want to hear it.” “Our church is in the wrong location, has the wrong kind of music, the wrong kind of building, or the wrong preacher.” The list is not all the excuses, but in this we are most capable of removing the responsibility for the church's non-growth from our shoulders. But our Lord knew there was a heart issue in the disciples that had to be resolved before the Great Commission could be executed. The text says that Jesus “reproached them”. This is perhaps the harshest comment Jesus could have made. The word used to describe Jesus’ comment toward his disciples is most often used to describe the persecution of believers. Jesus is being as verbally harsh, as hard on His disciples as the unbelieving world would be on real believers in the days of persecution. The word can mean to “unbraid” or “to taunt”, “to throw in one’s teeth”.

The Great Commission of the church can never be fulfilled until the church overcomes its resistance to the reality of the Resurrection and all that it means. Until we no long have ‘unbelief and a hardness of heart’.

"Lord, forgive me of the hardness of my heart, so that I can embrace the resurrection of Jesus. AMEN"