Can we begin to imagine this? There have been outbreaks of disease like the
Bubonic plague, Spanish Influenza, polio, small pox and others that have been
devastating but deaths in every household all in one night. In a time and place where houses weren’t as “tight”
as they are today there would indeed be a great cry in Egypt that would have
filled the air with the sounds of mourning and the question, “Why?” Clearly, Pharaoh and all the people believed
the answer to that question was the God of the Israelites and their desire was
for these people to leave and take this pestilence of a God away with
them. This God had brought nothing but
trouble to them since Moses came back and they wanted it to be done. As they leave the Egyptians acquiesce to
their requests and give them lovely parting gifts of gold and silver. The flight is so hurried that whatever dough
they had rising for tomorrow must be taken without finishing and in the
wilderness they have this to eat as unleavened cakes. Dough will be hard to come by now that they
are a people on the move and have no fields in which to grow grain.
As indicated, these verses are quite disputed as the
earliest manuscripts do not include them.
In the first two sections we are told Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene
and two other disciples who were walking in the country (those on the road to
Emmaus from Luke’s Gospel perhaps) but when these three told the disciples they
didn’t believe them. Finally Jesus
appears to the eleven and chastises them for hardness of heart in not believing
the testimony of these others. This
ending to Mark’s Gospel gives us information we don’t find anywhere else, that
those who would believe would have signs accompanying their faith. Those signs include taking up serpents and
drinking poisons and living and therefore an entire subset of Christians has
chosen to base their worship on these, what a strange bunch of people are
Christians. Nowhere does it indicate
that this ought to be done in worship.
Paul is protected from a snakebite in Acts on the island of Malta but it
wasn’t because he sought a snake to play with.
It seems more likely that this fragment was written after the fact as an
addendum to the Gospel to explain what was actually happening in the
church. The proclamation of the kingdom
to outsiders seems always, beginning in Genesis and certainly in Exodus, has
always been accompanied by signs.
The greatest sign ever given is the resurrection from the
dead. It seems Paul is still dealing
with Sadducees who deny the resurrection here in Corinth. Without the resurrection of the dead there is
no hope and no Gospel. If Jesus isn’t
raised from the dead there is absolutely no hope of our own resurrection, it is
only because Jesus’ sacrifice was perfect and acceptable to God the Father that
we have hope of our own resurrection as we place our faith and trust in
Him. He has conquered death for
believers but we do not yet see death in subjection to Him. Until then we continue to proclaim His
resurrection and His coming again in glory.
We, unlike Moses, have the answer to death, time is short, hell is hot,
and the stakes are high.
For all the saints,
who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith
before the world confessed,
Thy Name, O Jesus, be
forever blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Thou wast their Rock,
their Fortress and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their
Captain in the well fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness
drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
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