Unlimited: Jesus Tries Again | Good News Unlimited
Unlimited: Jesus Tries Again
Sep 16, 2024 1335
Jesus tries again…
Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either (Mark 16:12-13, NIV).
The disciples didn’t believe the report of Mary Magdalene that Jesus is alive. So, Jesus tries again.
Jesus tries again…it was not just once.
Mark is giving us a chronological list of the initial appearances of Jesus after his resurrection. He mentions that Jesus appeared to two unnamed people who were walking in the country.
These two people were the two disciples who were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus that Sunday morning. Luke gives more of their story in the twenty-fourth chapter of his gospel.
Mark is careful to list the resurrection appearances of Jesus in order because he is intent on recording the facts: true eyewitness testimony.
There are two other very interesting elements in these verses. The first one is that it says that Jesus appeared “in a different form” to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus. They didn’t recognize him at first. This shows us that Christ’s resurrected body was not exactly identical to his earthly body.
Make note of how Mark continually highlights the unbelief of the disciples, even in the face of multiple eyewitness reports.
That resurrection morning, Jesus challenged his disciples again and again, in different ways, to believe that he had risen from the dead. So you see, Jesus tries again.
This highlights the spiritual principle that God will lead us again and again into the specific area of our lives that most challenges our faith. It is because he wants us to grow in our relationship and trust in him.
– Eliezer Gonzalez
Eli’s Reflection: Think carefully about your own life. To what aspect of your faith has the Lord brought you, to challenge you again and again? That is the key battle, painful though it may be, in which you have to win in order to move forward. Lay your doubt and fears at the cross of Jesus.
