The time between resurrection and resurrection faith (Mark 16:9-14)

Mark 16:9-14

The time between resurrection and resurrection faith

Christians believe in the fact that Jesus has risen. Indeed, whether believed or not, the resurrection of Jesus was the first proclamation and confession of faith in Christianity. Christianity is rooted in the resurrection of Jesus. We are well aware through the Scriptures that Jesus' disciples, the Apostle Paul, and many unnamed Christians shed their blood because of their confession of faith that "Jesus is the Christ, and he has risen." They staked their lives on their confession of faith as if they were warriors and fighters of faith. What could have made them throw their lives away for their confession of faith like a piece of trash? Were our ancestors in faith able to become martyrs because they were extraordinary and special?

The text introduces the risen Jesus in two ways. One is that Jesus, who died on the cross, "appeared" to the disciples and many others. The other is that when people who had seen the resurrection of Jesus ran to their companions and said they had seen Jesus, they "did not believe" them.

Firstly, Mary Magdalene saw the risen Jesus and went to the disciples to tell them the news of his resurrection, but the disciples did not believe her. They were simply weeping and mourning. Secondly, two disciples on their way to the village of Emmaus met Jesus and returned to Jerusalem to tell their companions that they had met the risen Jesus, but the disciples did not believe them either. Thirdly, when the eleven disciples were sitting at the table eating, Jesus appeared among them. The Jesus who appeared to the disciples rebuked their lack of faith and their stubborn hearts. Thus, many who followed Jesus, especially the disciples who had been close to him, could not believe in the resurrection of Jesus.

Are you frustrated with the disciples who could not believe the news of Jesus' resurrection? Can you fully understand the unbelieving disciples? Do you think that the disciples' reactions and our own are quite similar? Why couldn't the disciples believe in the resurrection of Jesus?

First of all, the idea that a dead person could come back to life is utterly common sense. Before his conversion, the Apostle Paul thought it was his mission to arrest those 'going around blabbering that a dead person had come back to life, namely the Christians.' Saul believed that 'a dead person cannot come back to life' was an obvious truth in the world. However, at least the disciples had seen Jesus call his friend Lazarus out of the tomb in Bethany before he was arrested. Not only this, but the disciples had already seen Jesus raise the son of the widow of Nain. It seems reasonable to us to at least guess and put these events together, but the disciples could not believe the news that Jesus had risen. Why couldn't they believe?

Verse 10: "She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping." The disciples were mourning and weeping. They were filled with a grief and anguish as if they had lost a child. Sometimes we too experience such times when we don't even have the strength to pray. A state where nothing seems to be heard anymore. The disciples had many dreams. They thought that once Jesus came into power, they would be able to wield some influence. They imagined living in Jerusalem, the heart of power, coming from the periphery of Galilee. They pinned their dreams and hopes on their Lord Jesus. But overnight, their Lord died. And he died a brutal death on a cross. So, the disciples were in darkness. They were going through a time when all their dreams, expectations, and hopes were collapsing.

When the disciples were with Jesus, they could not hear his words because of their own dreams, greed, expectations, and hopes. Jesus had already said three times, 'I am about to be taken and suffer and die,' but they did not hear it. No, they did not listen to Jesus' words. Mark 8:31 says, "He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again." When Jesus actually died on the cross, the disciples' dreams and desires collapsed in vain. Therefore, the words of Jesus, that he would rise again after three days, did not reach the disciples' ears. They fell into a state where they could hear nothing.

We must seriously consider "this time" when the disciples' ears of their hearts were not hearing. We too may fall into such times. It is a time that feels like crawling at the bottom. A time when it seems as if 'God does not exist.' Even if we try to shake off such thoughts, the 'non-existence of God' stands right in front of us. It's a time when I hear the words of Job's wife, 'Curse God and die.' When we fall into this time, the words 'Jesus has risen' have no power.

In the Old Testament, we meet someone who lived through a time when it seemed 'God did not exist.' That person is Moses. Moses' birth was special. It was precarious. Fortunately, unlike other Israelites, he received education in the Egyptian royal household for 40 years and became an elite. Moses thought for 40 years about what he could do for 'our people,' 'my compatriots.' Without even getting a chance to properly wield the sword he had honed for 40 years, Moses fled to the Midian wilderness to escape Pharaoh's sword. There, Moses spent another 40 years in 'a time when God was not seen and His word was not heard.' The time from when Moses was 40 to 80 years old is the time the disciples in the text are experiencing. A time when even the dreams of youth fade, hope melts away like spring snow, the future is bleak, and you hold on to a straw to keep your lifeline going while becoming a completely different person. That time of 40 years in the wilderness for Moses, and the 40-50 days the disciples experienced after Jesus' death.

Then, is there a way for the disciples to escape this deep mire of time? The text suggests this method. Verse 14: "Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating." The risen Jesus came to the disciples. It is the method of Jesus Himself revealing His presence. I think this is the hand of salvation and our hope. When we are in despair and frustration, and even when we think 'God does not exist,' only Jesus who comes to us can rescue us from the mire of disappointment and frustration.

Every Christian experiences a time of 'absolute loneliness.' The disciples experienced a time of absolute loneliness until the promised Holy Spirit descended. Moses spent 40 years in 'a time of absolute loneliness' until he met God speaking from the burning bush at Horeb. Recently, Professor Yi Eo-ryung was baptized and began to believe in Jesus Christ. He said that he had searched for the 'Absolute' 50 years ago. But at that time, he received no response. A few years ago, he went to Kyoto, Japan, and spent a time of absolute loneliness while cooking for himself. Even when he came home with warm bread from the bakery, at night, the room he lived in felt like a temple wrapped in silence. It was during such solitary nakedness that he felt 'a power coming from outside' for the first time in his life. Professor Yi's life in Kyoto was 'a time of absolute loneliness.' The time of absolute loneliness is not morning but night. To give an example for the women, it is the time to remove makeup, the time to face my bare face that no one knows.

Moses met God when he had given up all dreams and hopes and was just surviving in the Midian wilderness. The time of absolute loneliness was over for Jesus' disciples in just 40 days, Moses spent 40 years in the time of absolute loneliness, and Professor Yi spent 50 years sinking into loneliness before spending a year in Kyoto in the time of absolute loneliness. Although the time of absolute loneliness is 'a time when God is not seen, His voice is not heard, and not only my dreams and hopes but also myself are crumbling,' it is the time just before experiencing 'a power coming from outside,' as Professor Yi experienced. The disciples saw the risen Lord who came among them from outside.

Without a time of absolute loneliness, a time of being naked before God, there is no faith in 'the risen Jesus.' Only by removing makeup can you confess that Jesus Christ, Jesus, is your Savior. Without all that I have built up collapsing in vain, the confession 'Jesus Christ, Jesus is my Savior' does not well up from the heart.

Time is needed. Just as soybean paste, hot pepper paste, and kimchi need time to mature, we need time to confess Jesus as the Christ. Time is needed to believe in the resurrection of Jesus. It is a period of sinking into solitude and passing through absolute loneliness. A time when I am completely falling apart.

Jesus Himself resolves the time of absolute loneliness, the time when it seems God does not exist. The risen Lord reveals Himself. Then everything is newly established and established. The disciples proclaimed the Lord who appeared to them, even at the cost of their lives. Moses also walked with God for 40 years afterward because of that encounter with God.

What time are you living in now? If the Bible is not a book of lies, the risen Lord will show you His form. The appearance of the risen Lord is not our problem. It is a problem that God resolves. It is still the Lord's part to make people confess their faith with their lips, that 'Jesus is the Christ, and he has risen.' It is, of course, a matter that only the Lord must handle. Christianity passes on the confession of faith of those who have met the risen Lord like a flowing river. We are dipping our feet in that current.

Lord, Moses and the disciples went through the time of your death, but is there a way for us to avoid that time? We know from everyday experience how vain it is to lay down all greed, dreams, desires, and pride. Lord, come to our empty lives. The appearance of the risen Lord was not only necessary for the disciples of old and Moses, but it is also necessary for us today. Isn't that the great river of Christian faith? We will root our faith in meeting the risen Lord. Amen.