Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen. And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. - Mark 16:14-16 NASU
Let’s start this devotion with encouragement. Jesus criticized his disciples for not believing the testimonies of his resurrection and then gave them the great commission of going into the world. Okay, so we fell short. Get up, repent, believe again, and go!
This unbelief is like Jesus’ hometown. They knew Jesus but were too familiar with his past, resulting in the offense that Jesus did great miracles for others but not his hometown first.
Why didn’t the male disciples, now apostles, believe the female disciples that Jesus was alive? Mary Magdeline, Mary the mother of the apostle James, and other women testified that they had an encounter with two Angels saying that Jesus was dead but is now alive in a resurrected body. And Mary Magdeline had a conversation with the risen Christ.
Why are those who know God the best and spend the most time with Him to know Him the last ones to believe? Why do the prostitutes and alcoholics enter the kingdom of God before the so-called people of the cloth? Even if those started as a prostitute or an alcoholic, given enough time, they too become haughty, forgetting child-like faith.
How does one with great faith get caught in unbelief? Unbelief is the unraveling of faith. It is not a lack of faith. It is the undoing of an earlier faith.
Why would God first tell the Shepherds that a Savoir is born this day? Why not kings and princes? Why not the Sanhedrin first? Why not the scribes so they could publish the good news quickly?
God always gives the message of salvation first to the poor in spirit. It is way too easy to forget how poor we are in ourselves and then become as if we are rich and that without Jesus. A little knowledge gained puffs us up to think we are more than we are. Without Jesus, we are nothing and can do nothing of eternal value.
I like how my current pastor sees himself. He exclaims that he is a sheep temporarily exalted to lead other sheep. There is only one Good Shepard!
When God exalts you, like he did with the eleven disciples to apostles, watch that you don’t get offended when God reveals himself to someone you may not think is worthy enough to get such a high revelation.
Who are these women that Jesus would first reveal Himself raised from the dead? Which of these women were asked to be a disciple? Which of these women were given the power to cast out demons? Which women healed the sick and all those oppressed by the devil? Which of these women saw Jesus transfigured before their eyes? Or ever laid their head on the chest of Jesus and was trusted with the knowledge of the betrayer?
Hearing someone’s encounters with the Lord can cause us unbelief if we are not happy for them. If we always have to be first and God’s chosen one, then unbelief will be a battle for us. We all only know in part. We are all part of the body of Christ with something to offer that no other part can. There is no longer an inequality between Jew and Gentile, male or female, rich or poor. All have been given the same access to the Father through Jesus Christ. Whomsoever believes, has that same access apart from assignment.
Whether you have killed your thousands and the new kid his ten-thousands, or you have worked the kingdom field since dawn and others an hour before the end of the day with the same pay. Or if God has given his greatest revelation to a woman, not you, an ordained minister.
Don’t think of yourself so highly. Be glad when someone hears from the Spirit of God, even when you have told them about the same thing for years to no avail. Who should get credit? You or God?
Don’t harden your heart when someone has a revelation that you don’t. Don’t harden your heart at the testimonies of people you don’t agree with or think lightly of. If you harden your heart, your faith will unravel until all you have is unbelief.
Read Time: 3 Minutes 09 Seconds
Read Level: 6th