Christ and His Co-workers
(No. 2467)
A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, MAY 31, 1896,
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON THURSDAY EVENING, JUNE
10, 1886.
"And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them,
and confirming the Word through accompanying signs. Amen." Mark 16:20.
THE previous verse tells us that "after the Lord had spoken to them, He
was received up into Heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God." It
was expedient for His disciples that He should go away and He had gone
to the best place for helping them in their work. He could survey the
field better from an eminence, so the Captain ascends on high. He could
best send to them succor from the Throne, so the Lord ascends to His
Glory. He could better lead them by the Holy Spirit than by His own
personal bodily Presence, so He was in the best place when, "He was
received up into Heaven." The disciples were in their best place on
earth. We do not always think so–we are sometimes eager to go Home. We
have often thought, concerning a convert, that if the first day it is
said of him, "Behold he prays," we could also say, "Behold he sings in
Heaven," it would save us a world of care and trouble and
disappointment. Yet, all things considered, for the Glory of God and
for the working out of the Divine purpose, the saints would not be best
if they were immediately received up into Heaven. No, it is better to
read concerning them, "They went out and preached everywhere." Christ
is best up there, but it is expedient for us and for God's Glory that
we should remain a while here.
I like the thought of Christ being taken up to Heaven because His work
was done and His people being left on earth because there was still
work for them to do. If we could steal away to Heaven, what a pity it
would be that we should do so while there is a single soul to be saved!
I think that if I had not brought to Christ the full number of jewels
that He intended me to bring to adorn His crown, I would ask to come
back even from Heaven. He knows best where we can best serve Him, so He
ordains that while He sits at the right hand of God, we are to abide
here and to go forth to preach everywhere, the Lord working with us and
confirming the Word with accompanying signs, even as He did with His
first disciples.
I am going to say just a few practical words upon the fact, first, that
they worked–"They went out and preached everywhere." Secondly, the
Lord worked with them–"the Lord working with them." Thirdly, the two
workings were in delightful harmony, for when the Lord worked, He
confirmed the Word with accompanying signs and, as the writer of this
verse has put, "Amen," at the end of it, we will say, "Amen," and feel,
"Amen." Lord, make Your people work! "Amen." Lord, work yourself!
"Amen." Lord, make the two workings to be but one sweet monotone after
all! "Amen."
I. First, then, THEY WORKED–"They went out and preached."
The disciples did not say, "Well, the Master has gone to Heaven, so the
eternal purposes of God will be quite sure to be carried out. It is not
possible that the designs of Infinite Love should fail, the more
especially as He is at the Father's side, therefore let us enjoy
ourselves spiritually. Let us sit down in the happy possession of
Covenant blessings and let us sing to our hearts' content because of
all that God has done for us and given to us. He will effect His own
purposes and we have only to stand still and see the salvation of God."
No, Brothers, it was not for them to judge what they ought to do. When
they were told to tarry at Jerusalem, they tarried at Jerusalem. There
are times of tarrying, but, inasmuch as the Master had commanded them
to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, they
also, when the hour had struck, went into all the world and began to
preach everywhere the Gospel they had learned at Jesus' feet! It is not
for us to judge what would seem most reasonable, much less what would
be most comfortable–it is for us to do as we are told, when we are
told and because we are told, for are we not servants and not masters?
It is not wise to map out the proceedings even of a single day, but to
take our cue from Him who is our Guide and Leader, and to follow Him in
all things.
I would like you to notice concerning the working of these disciples
that all of them worked. "They went out and preached everywhere." They
might not all formally preach–some of them might not feel that they
could stand before a large assembly–but they all actually preached in
the sense of proclaiming, announcing, delivering the Truth of God
before witnesses. The women were as good witnesses as the men, for some
of them had seen more than the men had! They beheld the risen Lord even
before the very first of the Apostles beheld Him and, inasmuch as they
could all bear witness to the fact that He was risen from the dead,
their duty was to go and tell the news that He who had been crucified
in weakness had been raised in power and was now to be proclaimed as
the Savior of men, that, "whoever believes in Him might not perish, but
have everlasting life." "They went forth," not merely some of them, but
all of them.
Next, notice that this work of the disciples was aggressive–"they went
forth." Some of them were bound to stay for a while at Jerusalem though
that old nest was eventually pulled down–not a stick of it was left
and the very tree on which it was built was cut down. Persecution drove
forth the bulk of them further and further. We do not know where they
all went. There are traditions, which are not very valuable, to show
where each of the Apostles went, but it is quite certain that they all
went somewhere or other. Starting from the one common center, they went
in various directions preaching Christ. I think a strong Church is a
very valuable institution, but I have always deprecated the idea that
all of you should sit here, Sunday after Sunday, and listen to me. And
I have spoken to some of you to such purpose that I do not often see
you now. Nor do I want to see you, because I know you are serving the
Master elsewhere. There are some of our Brothers and Sisters who only
come here to the Communion Table–why? Because they are always at work
for Christ in some way or other. They are the best members we have and
we shall not cross their names off the roll because they are not in
attendance! They are at work in some mission station, or trying to open
a new room for preaching, or doing something or other for the Master.
The Lord bless them!
I do not want you all to go out at one time, but I do want you all to
feel that it is not the end, though it may be the beginning, of
Christian life to come and hear sermons! Scatter as widely as you can
the blessing which you get for yourself–the moment you find the Light
of God and realize that the world is in the dark, run away with your
match and lend somebody else a light! Be glad of the Light, yourself,
but, depend upon it, if God gives you a candle and all you do is lock
yourself up in a room and sit down and say, "Sweet light! Sweet light!
I have got the light while all the world is in the dark! Sweet, sweet
light!" your candle will soon burn out and you, also, will be in the
dark! But if you go to others and say, "I shall have none the less
light because I give some to you," by this means God the Holy Spirit
will pour upon you fresh beams of light and you shall shine brighter
and brighter even to the perfect day.
"They went forth." Oh, that some people I know of could have their
chapels burnt down! They have been stuck in a hole down a back street
for the last hundred years! They are good souls and so they ought to
be–they ought to be matured by now after so much storage–but if they
would only go out in the street, they might do much more good than at
present. "Oh, but there is an old deacon who does not like
street-preaching!" I know him very well! He will be gone to Heaven
soon. Then, as soon as you have had his funeral sermon, turn out into
the street and begin, somehow or other, to make Christ known! Oh, to
break down every barrier and get rid of every restraint that hides the
blessed Gospel! Perhaps we must respect these dear old Believers'
feelings just a little, but not so much as to let souls die! We must
seek to bring sinners to Jesus whether we offend men or whether we
please them!
Then notice, dear Friends, that these disciples went forth promptly,
for though there is not a word, here, about the time, yet it is implied
that as soon as the hour had struck and the Holy Spirit had descended
from Christ, and rested upon them, "they went out and preached the Word
everywhere." Alas, too often we are "going" to do something! If about a
tenth part of what we are going to do were only done, how much more
might be accomplished! "They went forth." They did not talk about going
forth, but, "they went forth." They did not wait until they received
directions from the Apostles where they were to go, but Providence
guided each man and each man went his own way, preaching the Gospel of
Jesus Christ.
You believe the Gospel. You believe that men are perishing for lack of
it. Therefore, I pray you, do not stop to consider, do not wait to
deliberate any longer! The best way to spread the Gospel is to spread
the Gospel. I believe the best way of defending the Gospel is to spread
the Gospel! I was addressing a number of students, the other day, upon
the apologies for the Gospel which are so numerous just now. A great
many learned men are defending the Gospel–no doubt it is a very proper
and right thing to do–yet I always notice that when there are most
books of that kind, it is because the Gospel, itself, is not being
preached. Suppose a number of persons were to take it into their heads
that they had to defend a lion, a full-grown king of beasts! There he
is in a cage and here come all the soldiers of the army to fight for
him. Well, I would suggest to them, if they would not object and feel
that it was humbling to them, that they should kindly stand back, open
the door, and let the lion out! I believe that would be the best way of
defending him, for he would take care of himself–and the best
"apology" for the Gospel is to let the Gospel out! Never mind about
defending Deuteronomy or the whole of the Pentateuch–preach Jesus
Christ and Him crucified! Let the Lion out and see who will dare to
approach Him! The Lion of the tribe of Judah will soon drive away all
His adversaries! This was how Christ's first disciples worked–they
preached Jesus Christ wherever they went! They did not stop to
apologize, but boldly bore their witness concerning Him.
Note, once more, that they served their Master obediently–"They went
out and preached." Suppose they had gone out and had "a service of
song"? Suppose they had gone out and held a meeting that was partly
comic, with just a little bit of a moral tacked on to the end of it? We
would have been in the darkness of heathendom to the present day! There
is nothing that is really of any service for the spreading of the
Gospel but preaching! I mean, by preaching, as I have already said–not
merely the standing up in a pulpit and delivering a set discourse, but
talking about Christ–talking about Him as risen from the dead, as the
Judge of the quick and dead, as the great atoning Sacrifice, the one
Mediator between God and men. It is by preaching Jesus Christ that
sinners are saved! "It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to
save them that believe." Whatever may be said outside the Bible about
preaching, you have only to turn to the Word of God, itself, to find
what a Divine ordinance it is and to see how the Lord makes that to be
the main means of the salvation of men. Keep on with it, my Brothers.
This is the gun that will win the battle, though many have tried to
silence it. They have had all sorts of new inventions and contrivances,
but when all their inventions shall have had their day and proved
futile, depend upon it, the proclaiming of Jesus Christ's name, Gospel
and work among mankind will be found to be effectual when all things
else have failed!
"They went forth and preached." It is not said that they went forth and
argued, or that they went out and wrote apologies for the Christian
faith. No, they went out and proclaimed–told out the Truth of God as a
Revelation from God! In the name of Christ they demanded that men
should believe in Him–and left them, if they would not believe– with
this distinct understanding, that they would perish in their unbelief!
They wept over them and pleaded with them to believe in Jesus. And they
felt sure that whoever did believe in Him would find eternal life
through His name. This is what the whole Church of Christ should do,
and do at once–and keep on doing with all its might–even until the
end of the age!
There is only one more word left, and that is this very wide word,
"everywhere." One of our great writers, in a very amusing letter which
he has written to a person who had asked for a contribution towards the
removal of a chapel debt, wants to know whether we cannot preach Christ
behind hedges and in ditches. Of course we can, and we must do so,
provided it does not rain too hard. Can we not preach Jesus Christ at a
street corner? Of course we can! And many of our friends will be
preaching at the corners of the streets after this service is over. Yet
in such a climate as ours, we often need buildings in which we can
worship God, but we must never get into the idea of confining our
preaching to the building. "They went out and preached everywhere."
Mr. John Wesley, as you know, was complained of for not keeping to his
parish, but he insisted that he did, for all the world was his
parish–and all the world is every man's parish! Do good everywhere,
wherever you may be. Some of you are going to the seaside for a
holiday–do not go without a good stock of tracts, and do not go
without seeking an opportunity, when you are sitting on the sands, to
talk to people about the Lord Jesus Christ! There used to sit, in this
left-hand gallery, a man who brought many persons, in the course of the
year, whose conversion, under God, was due to him and to me. He had
nothing particular to do except to go and sit down on a seat in Hyde
Park and there talk with ladies and gentlemen who came and sat there.
He would tell them that he had a pew at the Tabernacle and he would
lend them his ticket, so that they might have a comfortable place. And
then he took care, after the sermon, to talk to them about Christ. And
this Church has in it, now, some excellent members whom that good
Brother brought to the Savior in that way. He said, "I cannot, myself,
preach, but I can bring people to hear my minister, and I can pray God
to bless them when they come."
Only this week I saw another Brother, who leaves his home at 8 o'clock
on Sunday morning. There are, or there were, members of this Church who
walked 12 miles every Sunday morning to hear the Gospel here, and
walked back to their homes at night. This Brother lives a long way from
here and he starts at 8 o'clock in the morning and puts one of my
sermons into each of the letter-boxes in a certain district as he comes
along. So he utilizes a long walk and, in the course of the year,
circulates many thousands of sermons! What a capital way he has found
of spending Sunday morning! When he gets here, after having done that
service for his Lord, he enjoys the Gospel all the better because of
what he has, himself, done in making it known to others!
Oh, Beloved, it is sweet to think that Christ is preached in the
workhouse, or in the infirmary and to remember that the poor and the
sick are not left without the Gospel! Let Christ be preached in the
darkest slum, in the worst house that there may be in this
neighborhood, and God knows that there are no worse houses than we have
all round about us in this region! Oh, that Christ were talked of
everywhere, to ones, and twos, and half-dozens, till the whole district
should be saturated with blessed testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ!
No place is so bad that we may not preach Christ–and no place is so
good that it does not need to hear of Jesus!
II. I have taken too much time on that first division–they worked. So
now we must turn to the second point, which is that THE LORD WORKED
WITH THEM. That was the very root of the matter–"the Lord working with
them."
Is not this wonderful condescension? You remember the passage in which
we are said to be laborers together with God? Is it not gracious and
kind on the Lord's part to let us come and work with Him? Yet it seems
to my mind more condescending for God to come and work with us, because
ours is such poor, feeble, imperfect service! Yet so He does– "the
Lord working with them." The Lord is working with that dear Sister who,
when she takes her class, feels that she is quite unfit for it, and
with that Brother who, when he preaches, thinks that it is not
preaching at all and is half inclined never to try again. Oh, yes, "the
Lord working with them," such as they were–fishermen, humble women and
the like! This was wonderful condescension!
In those days the Lord worked with them by miracles. These miracles
called attention to the Gospel and they also proved that God was with
the preachers. Men need, sometimes, proofs of the existence of God and
of His Presence with His servants. So these first disciples were
entrusted with miraculous powers.
Besides all this, God was working at that time very wonderfully by
Providence. The whole world was evidently just ready for the advent of
Christianity. From Caesar's throne down to the slave who worked at the
mill, everybody seemed to be in a condition of preparation for the
Gospel! The general state of society was such that all were expecting
great changes and thus, God was working with the disciples when they
went out and preached everywhere.
And, above all, the Holy Spirit was with them and that is the point I
am now going to dwell upon, because that is what we need most of all.
The Holy Spirit made what they said to be Divinely powerful! However
feebly they uttered it, according to the judgment of men, there was an
inward secret power that went with their utterances and compelled the
hearts of men to accept the blessed summons of God and, dear Friends, I
believe that when we are seeking to serve Christ, we little know how
often God is working with us very wonderfully! I had an instance of
that only this week. I will not mention the place, but there was a
certain district of which I heard that there was great need of the
Gospel and that there were many people in that district who were as
ignorant of the way of salvation as Hottentots. And the various places
of worship seemed to affect a very small proportion of the people.
A Brother visited the neighborhood for me and I prayed very earnestly
that his visits might be blessed. It is a very curious thing that while
I was thinking about that district, there were certain Christian people
close to it who were thinking about me–and longing for the Gospel to
be carried to their neighbors! And after I had moved ever so little in
the matter, I received a letter from them saying how much they needed
somebody to come and labor for the Lord among them. I said to myself,
"This is strange. I have known this district for years, yet I have
never noticed that anybody wanted me or my message. But the moment I
begin to move towards the people, they begin to move towards me." You
do not know, my Brother, that you may not have a similar story to tell!
There is that street you feel moved to go and work in– God has been
there before you! Do you not remember how, when His children had to go
and destroy the Canaanites, the
Lord sent the hornet before them? Now, when you have to go and preach
to sinners, God sends some preparatory work before you, He is sure to
do so!
When people come into the place of worship to hear the Gospel, if a man
is preaching it in earnest, God works upon them to make them ready
before they come. And something they thought of on the road, or some
sickness they have had, or a death bed scene they have witnessed, or
some movement of conscience awakened, perhaps, before they get into the
building, renders them ready to receive the Gospel of the Grace of God!
The Lord works with us, my Brothers! We always have a picked
congregation–whoever comes! Some come who never thought of coming, but
the right people come–and often they come in the right state of mind
because they have been prepared by God's Spirit for the message they
are to hear!
Some do not come in that way, but God works with the minister while he
is preaching. If he does not take his sermon and read it, he is guided
by God in what to say. He says the right thing, though perhaps it never
occurred to him till the moment he utters it. And it tallies so exactly
with what is going on in the mind that he is addressing, it fits so
wonderfully that often, after a sermon, a person has said, "Somebody
told the preacher all about me." It has frequently been my lot in the
vestry after service to have persons demand of me who had told me about
them–persons whom I had never seen or heard of till that moment! The
preacher's word is blessed to them because God is working while the
sermon is being delivered and they are made to receive the Truth of
God!
In other cases God works afterwards. Sometimes, immediately
afterwards–at other times, years afterwards. There are different sorts
of seeds in the world. The seeds of some plants and trees, unless they
undergo a peculiar process, will not grow for years. There is something
about them which preserves them intact for a long time, but in due
season the life-germ shoots forth. And there are certain kinds of men
who do not catch the Truth at the time it is uttered–it lies hidden
away in their souls till, one day, under peculiar circumstances, they
remember what they heard–and it begins to affect their hearts.
Dear Friends, if we work and God works with us, what is there that we
may not expect? Therefore I put it to you that the great need of any
working Church is for God to work with them and, therefore, this ought
to be our daily confession, that we need God to work with us. We must
always realize that we are nothing apart from His working. We must not
pretend to compliment the Holy Spirit by now and then talking about
Him, as though it were the proper thing to say that of course the Holy
Spirit must work! It must be a downright matter of fact with us that
the Holy Spirit must work, as much as it would be with a sailor that
his sails could not go round without the wind. And then we must act as
the sailor does–he sets his sails and tries to catch the wind from
whatever quarter it blows. And we must try to work in such a way that
the Holy Spirit is likely to bless us. I do not think the Holy Spirit
will bless some service that is done even by well-meaning people,
because if He did, it would seem as if He had set His seal to a great
deal that was not according to the mind of the Lord. Let us so act,
dear Brothers and Sisters, in our work, that there is never the smudge
of a dirty thumb across the page–nothing of pride, or self-seeking, or
hot-headedness–but that all is done humbly, dependently, hopefully and
always in a holy and gracious spirit, so that we may respect the Holy
Spirit to acknowledge and bless it That will, of course, involve that
everything must be done prayerfully, for our Heavenly Father gives the
Holy Spirit to them that ask Him. And we must ask for this greatest of
blessings–that God the Holy Spirit may work with our work.
Then we must believe in the Holy Spirit and believe to the highest
degree, so as never to be discouraged or think anything difficult. "Is
anything too hard for the Lord?" Can anything be difficult to the Holy
Spirit? It is a grand thing to often get into deep water so as to be
obliged to swim! But we like to keep our feet touching the sand. What a
mercy it is to feel that you cannot do anything, for then you must
trust in God and God alone–and feel that He is quite equal to any
emergency! Thus trusting and thus doing His bidding, we shall not fail.
Come, Holy Spirit, and work, now, with all Your people! Come and awaken
us to work and when we are bestirred to a holy energy, then work with
us! Eternal arm that never wearies, to which nothing can be difficult,
be stretched out to work with Your Church at this time to Your own
praise!
III. Finally, Brothers, and very briefly, THE TWO WORKINGS ARE IN
HARMONY. They are really one, they blend, they unite–"God working with
them, and confirming the Word through accompanying signs."
I get a little afraid of some people who say very glibly, "The Lord
told me this, the Lord told me that." You had better mind where that
notion may lead you because what God has to say He has already said in
the Bible! You will find that anything which comes to you with power
and is really His Truth, is here in the Book. We do not get new
Revelations nowadays–we shall get all kinds of fanaticisms and follies
if we expect such Revelations! For instance, a man meets me at the
bottom of the stairs and he says that God has revealed to him that he
is to preach here one Sunday. I say, "I do not believe the Lord has
revealed anything of the kind! At any rate, He has not revealed to me
that I am to let you preach, and I shall not let you till He does." I
do not believe in lopsided Revelations, but there are numbers of people
led into all sorts of extravagances by the notion that the Lord has
spoken this and that to them. What God does is not to give us a new
Word, but to confirm the Word that He has already given. That which He
has revealed is for us to speak out and God, in His working, will
confirm the Word that He has given.
The harmony of the two workings is manifested thus–the first working
springs out of the second. No man really goes and preaches Christ
without being moved by the Spirit of God to do it. It is the Spirit of
God who taught us about Christ and all that we can preach that is worth
preaching, comes of the Holy Spirit in that very act!
Then, secondly, the first implies the second. No man who truly preaches
Christ can do it except by the Holy Spirit and, in his ministry he must
teach the necessity of the working of the Holy Spirit. "You must be
born again, and born again of the Holy Spirit," must be his constant
cry.
So the first of the two workings implies the second and then, next, the
second confirms the first, that which we have taught out of God's Word,
God, the Holy Spirit, bears witness in the understanding and conscience
of men that this is the very Truth of God.
And, finally, the second is promised to the first. Where we work, God
will work with us. It is not as some put it, "Paul may plant and
Apollos may water, but only God can give the increase." There is no
such text as that in the Bible, nor anything like it! Paul's testimony
is, "I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase." And
when we plant and we water, the increase will come! It is not God who
is tardy, it is we who are tardy! If we had but faith as a grain of
mustard seed, we would not find that God would fail that faith. And
when we get the faith which can move mountains, we shall not find that
God's Omnipotence has evaporated and that our faith has outrun His
power! Believe that, my Brother, and labor on the strength of that
belief. Believe that, my Sister, and speak of Christ, for, in doing so
you cannot, you shall not fail!
Perhaps for the moment you may seem to do so, but in the long run–and
God can afford to wait, remember, though you think you cannot–in the
long run there was never a lost testimony, never a Word of God that
returned to Him void. The snowflakes fall into the sea–are they not
gone? Not one of them, for they help to feed the mighty deep! The
showers fall on the wilderness–are they not lost? If they drop on the
sand of the Sahara? Not a drop of them, for they shall be evaporated
and used somewhere else! See, they come up in clouds and, at length,
they fall where God has ordained. If the Lord is working with you, you
cannot fail, you shall not fail! Only keep on working, relying on God
to help you and looking up to the Lord to work with you.
O poor Sinners, all this sermon is about you! Our wish is to see you
saved! Our prayer is that you may be brought to Christ! Oh, that you
were as willing to come as we would be to lead you to the Savior–as
willing to come as God is to receive you! Come and try Him, now, and
you shall praise Him forever! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: MARK16.
Verse 1. And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary, the
mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might
come and anoint Him. We know that, "Him," whose name is not given here.
There is scarcely need to mention that it was Jesus whom the women came
to anoint. Oh, how gladly would we also anoint "Him" whose name is The
Anointed One! But not as a dead Christ, for, "He is risen!" Our sweet
spices must henceforth be for that Living One whom we anoint with our
living joy and consecration! Or, rather, we must receive our anointing
from Him, for He is the Christ and we the Christians who get our very
name and life from Him! As He was supposed to be dead and still lying
in the tomb, these holy women came to anoint Him.
2. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, at the
rising of the sun they came to the sepulcher. We often lose a great
blessing by not rising early for devotion. While yet the flowers are
wet with dew, it were well if our souls had the dew of Heaven resting
upon them.
3, 4. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll away the stone
from the door of the sepulcher for us? And when they looked, they saw
that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. Which was, I
suppose, the reason for their thinking about the stone. But still, I
cannot help reading it as a reason why it was rolled away. At all
events, this was the argument that David used when he prayed, "For Your
name's sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great." As if the
greatness of the sin had in it some reason for pardon. So the greatness
of the care may be some reason why we might expect a great God to come
to our relief. It was a very great stone, therefore God, who knew that
poor feeble women could not move it, had it rolled away Himself.
5, 6. And entering into the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on
the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were
frightened. And he said to them, Be not frightened. They were afraid of
an angel. "Conscience does make cowards of us all" and even good men
and good women are apt to be afraid of anything celestial and bright.
The angel said to the women, "Be not frightened"–
6, 7. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified: He is risen; He is
not here: behold the place where they laid Him. But go your way, tell
His disciples and Peter that He goes before you into Galilee: there
shallyou see Him, as He said to you. Does not that last clause drop out
very sweetly? Yet there is somewhat of a rebuke in it–"as He said to
you." "Did He not tell you that He would rise from the dead? Did He not
say that He would meet you in Galilee?" And the day shall come,
Beloved, when you, also, shall rejoice in your Deliverer and your
deliverance! And you shall not wonder so much, then, as you do, now,
for you shall see that the deliverance was what you ought to have
expected–"as He said to you." Poor seeking Sinner, if you have found
the Savior, you are full of amazement, but the day will come when you
will see it in another light–you will be equally grateful, but you
will say–"I ought to have had faith to expect this, as He said to me."
It will always be so. Just as God says, so it is–in creation, in
Providence, in Grace–and as He has said to you, so shall it be in your
spiritual experience.
8. And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulcher; for they
trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for
they were afraid. There was no reason in Christ's Resurrection for
anything but delight, yet these dear women were overwhelmed, silenced,
struck dumb by that which made the angels sing!
9. Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, He
appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven devils.
It has been a general tradition in the Church of Christ that Mary
Magdalene was a great sinner. I do not feel sure that she was, but
still, she is the type of a great sinner. The seven devils that were in
her do not represent actual guilt on her part, but they depict or
symbolize the subjection of her nature to the power of Satan. It is
very beautiful to notice that those people for whom Christ does most,
He seems to love best. Yet this is also according to human nature, for
if there is a child in the family that the mother loves most, it is the
one that was the hardest to bring up and who has cost her most of care
and most of labor! The casting out of seven devils endears the
Magdalene to Christ and, first of all, He appears to her. Besides, she
loved much, doubtless, and she was quick of sight, so she saw Him
first. O my Soul, if you have been a great sinner, do not take any
place but that of first in love and first in fellowship with Christ! Be
content to be nothing, but be anxious to make Him your All in All.
10. And she went and told them that had been with Him, as they mourned
and wept. It is a curious "interior" that Mark here sketches, or rather
stipples, with just a few touches. There are most of Christ's disciples
who had been with Him– sitting, mourning and weeping over His death!
And in comes Mary and says that she has seen Him alive.
11. And they, when they had heard that He was alive, and had been seen
of her, believed not. This was both cruel to the Magdalene and
forgetful of their Master's Words, but unbelief is a very cruel thing.
It is not only grievous to ourselves, but it acts in a shameful manner
to Christian Brothers and Sisters and, worst of all, is its treatment
of our Divine Master, Himself. It says that He is dead when truly He is
alive. Unbelief has no good in it–it is altogether evil, only evil,
and that continually. The Lord deliver us from it!
12-13. After that He appeared in another form to two of them, as they
walked, and went into the country. And they went and told it to the
residue: neither believed they them. It is very hard to kill unbelief.
It has more lives than a cat is supposed to possess. There is no end to
it and if men sit down and indulge in it, and look upon it as an
infirmity, or as a painful trial–instead of regarding it as an
abominable sin against the Lord–they are likely to sink deeper and
deeper into this horrible mire!
14. Afterward He appeared to the eleven as they sat at meat, and
upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart–Christ is
full of love to them, yet He must upbraid them. He loves them, but He
loves not their unbelief! No, He is more vexed with unbelief in them
than in other people.
14, 15. Because they believed not them which had seen Him after He was
risen. And He said to them, Go you into all the world, and preach the
Gospel to every creature. That commission of our Lord makes me smile,
for it seems such a curious cure for unbelief, yet I have proved the
usefulness of it many a time! There have I been, sitting down, fretting
and worrying, and my Master, instead of giving me some gracious
promise, that I might sit there by myself and enjoy its sweetness, has
said, "Up with you! Go into the world and preach the Gospel to every
creature." Those who preach most, if they preach with all their hearts,
will believe most, and they will grow strong enough to tread their
doubts beneath their feet. So ought it to be. In the lives of those who
have brought many to Christ, I do not, as a rule, read long chapters
about their doubts and fears. No, but God encourages them by the signs
and seals which He gives them. They see His hand with them, they mark
how the Lord works with them and by them, and they forget their
unbelief. Does not this passage seem to run so? "He upbraided them with
their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them
which had seen Him after He was risen. And He said to them, Go you into
all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature."
16. He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that
believes not shall be damned. This is a weighty message for us to
carry–and we have need to carry it with due solemnity, with our hearts
on fire with love.
17, 18. And these signs shall follow them that believe, In My name
shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues, they
shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall
not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall
recover. The Apostles and the early Christians had these miraculous
signs. There is no need that they should be given again. The seal was
set upon the Gospel at the first. A man buys a house and on the first
day when he takes possession, he gets the signature of the seller and
the legal seal upon the conveyance. That matter is done. If he ever
doubts his right to the property, he can always look back to that seal.
He does not need a fresh lot of sealing wax every five minutes! Neither
do we need continual miracles. The Church of Christ, at first, was like
a ship going to sea–the tug takes her out of the harbor, but when she
is fairly out at sea, she does not need the tug any longer–she is
dependent, then, upon the wind from Heaven and so she speeds on her
way! Or, the Church is like a young tree newly planted in the
orchard–it has a stake stuck in the ground by the side of it, to which
it is tied. But when it grows into a strong tree, where is the stake?
The tree does not require it, for it stands fast by other means! It is
just so with us and the miracles which were needed at the first.
19. So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into
Heaven, and sat at the right hand of God. The disciples were not at
once received up into Heaven, though they might have been if God had so
willed it. There was work for them to do here below, so Christ, alone,
"was received up into Heaven, and sat at the right hand of God." And as
for His followers–
20. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with
them, and confirming the Word through accompanying signs. Amen. These
last verses of Mark's Gospel have, as some of you know, been questioned
as to their Inspiration and authenticity, but they are so like Mark
that you cannot read them without feeling that they are part and parcel
of what the Evangelist wrote. Set any critic you please to work and if
he knows the idiom and style of Mark's writing, he will be bound to say
that this is part of the Gospel according to Mark. And God the Holy
Spirit, blessing these words to our hearts, as I trust He will, will
set His seal to what we believe and know to be His Inspired Word.