Reflective Bible Study

We have come a long way in our year focusing on John’s gospel, and during this year, we took time to focus in on many miracles. However, as John begins to wrap up His gospel, the last chapter details a special miracle and event where Jesus shows up in a special way to a smaller group of disciples. While we don’t know where the other disciples were during this event, I wonder if this event and miracle helped reunify the disciples after they all may have felt like failures for abandoning Jesus on the night He was betrayed and arrested.

Let’s read about what happened, and about how Jesus showed up to this smaller group of disciples. Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 21, and we will read it using the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, John tells us that:

¹ Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: ² Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ³ “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

⁴ Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

⁵ He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

⁶ He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

⁷ Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. ⁸ The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. ⁹ When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” ¹¹ So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. ¹² Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. ¹³ Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. ¹⁴ This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Let’s stop reading here for this episode. We can finish the event and chapter in our next episode. In this first portion of John’s last chapter, several things stand out in my mind.

The first thing to stand out in my mind was that this entire fishing adventure was prompted entirely by Peter. Part of me wonders if Peter had been struggling with his failures on the night Jesus was arrested, and if Peter was having doubts if Jesus really would take Him back. I suspect that this doubt prompted Peter to try going back to the only other life he knew, which was fishing.

While I don’t think Peter would have done anything crazy that night if left on his own, I also suspect that the other disciples who were with Peter wanted to be with him if they sensed he was struggling with his failure.

However, while Peter tries to go back to his former life of fishing, the end of verse 3 summarizes the result of their trip nicely: “So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.”

If Peter felt like a failure for abandoning and denying Jesus, failing at fishing likely didn’t prompt him to feel any better.

It is at this point in this event where we see the powerful truth that without Jesus, we cannot be successful.

While some people might claim success without having belief or faith in God, the only success that comes into a person’s life is success that God allows to come. The only success that lasts for eternity is success that comes from placing your life and your faith in Jesus’ hands!

However, while Peter and the rest of the disciples are floating on the water feeling like failures, Jesus shows up on the shore with a rather dumb sounding suggestion: Jesus tells the disciples when He learns they haven’t caught anything to try the other side of their boat.

It is at this point in the event where a skeptic would simply discount the suggestion of the stranger on shore as entirely unhelpful without even trying it. However, these disciples were not skeptics, at least on the surface. When we hit rock bottom, we may be willing to try anything, and these disciples were not above trying dumb sounding ideas. These disciples, through trying Jesus’ illogical suggestion, demonstrate that they still have a little faith, and their little faith results in a large catch.

While we don’t know how this catch of fish compared with the miraculous catch of fish at the start of Peter’s invitation to be a disciple, there is no denying the similarities that exist between these two events. While both miracles are very distinct, both are very similar as well.

I don’t believe this is an accident or a coincidence. Instead, I suspect that Jesus is setting the stage to re-invite Peter and to forgive him. When John, the disciple who simply described himself as the one Jesus loved, comments that the Man on the shore must be Jesus, Peter abandons the fish, his fellow fishermen, and the boat entirely to swim to shore. I suspect that Peter knew that being near Jesus was exactly what he needed to chase his doubts away.

Before closing out this episode, a phrase John includes in this event is worth drawing our attention to. While John emphasizes that this was the third time Jesus appeared to His disciples after being raised from the dead, John tells us in verse 12: “None of the disciples dared ask him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord.”

This is a very strange detail to include, because they all had seen Jesus at least one time prior to this, and many of them had seen Jesus twice. I wonder if this detail is included as a way to suggest that sometimes Jesus will show up in ways that we might not recognize at first.

Perhaps Jesus didn’t look the same that morning in some way, but everything about how Jesus acted reassured these disciples that this was Jesus. The detail John includes about none of the disciples asking who Jesus was tells us that all these disciples had faith, even if the Person eating with them didn’t look like the Jesus they remembered.

These disciples had faith in Jesus and the faith these disciples had in Jesus ultimately leads them into the next big part of God’s plan for their lives. Through faith in Jesus, these disciples received the Holy Spirit, and with the Holy Spirit’s help, these disciples launch the Christian movement, spreading the news about Jesus to the world. The only reason we know anything about Jesus today is because these disciples accepted God’s call on their life and spread the great news of Jesus to the world.

It is the same with us. Even if we feel as though we have failed God, He is willing to invite us back and to empower us to live the life He created us to live. Our lives with God will be built on prayer and faith in Jesus, and on leaning on the Holy Spirit for strength and guidance to live the life God created us to live as He leads history towards eternity!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus. Choose to lean on the Holy Spirit for strength and guidance in your life and choose to have faith in God even when you might not recognize how He is working in your life. Trust that God loves you and that Jesus has a plan for your life that includes eternity in heaven!

Also, pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and move closer to God in your life. A personal relationship with God works best when it is personal, and God wants a relationship with you that isn’t based on having a middleman like a pastor or priest between you and Him. God loves you personally, and He wants to have a personal relationship with you!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we come to the end of Mark’s gospel, we will spend this episode, and the next one looking at the longer conclusion of Mark’s gospel. As I shared in our last episode, many people a lot smarter than me have significant doubts to Mark writing this conclusion. This is primarily because a different style of writing is used in this conclusion, the way this conclusion summarizes what happened using different theological content than the rest of Mark’s gospel, and because several significant early manuscripts do not include this ending. The footnotes in my New American Standard Bible conclude that “Mark’s gospel probably ends at chapter 16, verse 8, or the original ending has been lost”.

I had debated leaving this ending out of our podcasts, but decided against it because while there is debate over whether Mark included this conclusion in his original gospel, nothing included in it is contrary to Christianity or Christian belief. Also, I decided to include it because leaving off at the end of our last episode’s passage seems to leave Mark unfinished.

With that said, let’s read the first portion of Mark’s extended conclusion and discover what we can learn from this event. Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 16, and we will read it from the New American Standard Bible. Starting in verse 9, the author of this conclusion tells us:

⁹ Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. ¹⁰ She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping. ¹¹ When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it.

¹² After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country. ¹³ They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either.

¹⁴ 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.

Let’s stop reading here and save the rest for our next episode. In these few verses, it is interesting that Mark does not include any “new” information. All three encounters included in this portion of the conclusion are found in other gospels. The first encounter Mark’s conclusion described was Jesus speaking to Mary first. This is interesting because only John’s gospel includes this detail. While Mark and John could include the same thing while Matthew and Luke focus on different details, it would be very abnormal since Mark shares the most content with Matthew and Luke while John is left with many unique details and many unique events.

Following describing that Jesus spoke with Mary first, this conclusion shifts focus and summarizes that Jesus then appeared to two disciples as they were walking to the country. This event is found in detail in Luke’s gospel, and while we don’t know which two disciples these were, they were traveling to the town of Emmaus.

Thirdly, this conclusion describes Jesus appearing to the eleven disciples. Since Judas Iscariot had committed suicide and the disciples had not replaced his position yet, this referenced meeting would have included Thomas. John’s gospel describes two appearances with the first appearance missing Thomas, while the second appearance Thomas is present for.

When reading the first part of this conclusion, I can understand why some scholars have doubts about what is included here. The big thing I notice is that unlike the rest of Mark’s gospel, which includes details, this conclusion seems to prompt us to read other gospels to discover the details of what happened. One theory about Mark’s gospel is that it was written first, and if this was the case, it logically wouldn’t gloss over events that should have details included. Every other event in Mark’s gospel is either included in detail or not included. Mark doesn’t summarize without giving details.

However, there is a big theme that we can discover in this first half of Mark’s extended conclusion, and this theme is worth paying attention to. In each of the sections, we see a theme repeating. After Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene, she reports this to the disciples. Verse 11 describes the disciples’ response: “When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it.”

Next, Jesus appeared to two unnamed disciples traveling to the country. Verse 13 describes the rest of the disciples’ response: “They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either.”

Verse 14 then includes Jesus appearing to the group of eleven as they were together and we see the following challenge, “He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.”

In this first section of Mark’s extended conclusion, the big theme that we can see is the difficulty these disciples had believing that Jesus actually rose from the dead. While other gospel writers, Matthew specifically, describe the religious leaders believing but bribing the soldiers to lie about what happened, the people who should have been the ones who believed the most were the disciples, who Jesus repeatedly told He would be killed and then resurrected.

This first section of Mark’s conclusion also suggests that the disciples had a difficult time accepting that Jesus would appear to people outside of their close circle before He appeared to them as a group. While this is what happened, I can understand the difficulty they faced with this reality. If Jesus had returned to life, the first logical place for Him to appear would be to His group of followers.

However, I wonder if the disciples doubted because they realized they had failed Jesus several nights earlier. When the mob came to arrest Jesus, they all scattered and fled. I wonder if doubts were in their minds that said Jesus had given up on them because they had abandoned Jesus.

But these doubts are lies from Satan. While we fail God more frequently than many of us would want to admit, God does not give up on us. One big failure on the part of these disciples is that they were hiding away, having locked themselves in a secret room. The first followers to see Jesus were the ones who were outside of that room. I have a suspicion that Jesus had really wanted to get the disciples to come to the tomb early on the morning of His resurrection, and to witness what the guards experienced. However, instead of scattering like the guards did, the disciples would be present for one of the greatest events in history, and they would get to see Jesus resurrected and death defeated.

Instead, like we all seem to default to, the disciples doubted other people because they did not see or experience what happened first hand. We all can fall into this trap, but this trap is a lie from Satan. Jesus did step out of the grave victorious, and this means that Satan’s lies against God have been shown to be false. Jesus loved us so much that He willingly faced some of the worst torture sinful humanity has come up with in order to show us how much God loves us.

Jesus was willing to face the cross for you. Instead of doubting God’s love and Jesus’ gift, let’s place our faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus that His sacrifice is enough to cover our sins and give us salvation!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to accept Him rather than doubt. When people share what Jesus has done for them, accept and celebrate their stories. Look forward with them to the day Jesus returns to take us home to be with Him forever.

Also, be sure to continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. Through prayer and study, we can open our hearts to God and we can learn to trust Him as we learn just how much He loves us. While skeptics like to point to challenging events in the Bible, God has revealed Himself to us through the Bible and the biggest theme we can find in the Bible is God’s love for us and His desire to redeem us from sin!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or doubt where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

After John describes in His gospel that Jesus met Mary in the garden and that she came and told the disciples what had happened, John jumps to that evening. I wonder if during that entire Sunday between these two events, the disciples were full of questions, doubt, and curiosity over a clearly empty tomb, and the possibility of a resurrected Jesus.

However, while we don’t know what Jesus was doing during the entire day leading up to what John focuses on that evening, the next event John describes happens that evening.

Our passage for this episode is found in John’s gospel, chapter 20, and we will read it using the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 19, John describes the scene to us:

¹⁹ It was late that Sunday evening, and the disciples were gathered together behind locked doors, because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities. Then Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. ²⁰ After saying this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you.” ²² Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Pausing briefly, I find it amazing in this event that Jesus breathes on His disciples, which I suspect has more symbolic meaning than physical. I wonder if this breathing is symbolically connected to God breathing into the nostrils of Adam in the garden after He had formed him. God breathed the breath of life into Adam, and now we see Jesus breathing on His disciples and connecting this breath with receiving the Holy Spirit and a brand new spiritual life.

It is also significant to point out that Jesus gives His followers the authority to forgive sins, which is something that is normally reserved for God. However, the immediate context for this is having the Holy Spirit in one’s life, so while God can forgive sins, and while Jesus can forgive sins, the Holy Spirit, when living in a believer’s heart and life can also forgive sins. While this might bring up pictures in your mind of a catholic confessional booth, I suspect that Jesus meant for this promise and responsibility to be applied in a much different way.

When Jesus gave His followers this responsibility when the Holy Spirit had entered their lives, I believe He expected His followers to apply it in the same way He applied it. If someone rejected Jesus, Jesus’ message, or Jesus’ presence, then they potentially would not receive forgiveness. However, while being nailed to a cross, Jesus asks God the Father to forgive those who were acting hostile towards Him, which tells us that Jesus preferred to forgive others rather than withhold forgiveness.

I suspect that this responsibility Jesus gives His followers is a responsibility that seeks to draw people to God, and to encourage them that God can forgive and that He has forgiven them through what Jesus accomplished on the cross. Forgiveness for sins is something that happens after one has sinned, and for forgiveness to stay present, there is the expectation that one will repent from their sin, which is a fancy way of saying that they will stop doing whatever sin they were doing. God has forgiven us, but we accept His forgiveness when we repent and believe in Jesus.

However, John isn’t finished sharing, because while we might think that all the disciples were present in that room, John tells us that one was missing. Continuing in verse 24, John tells us that:

²⁴ One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (called the Twin), was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the scars of the nails in his hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ A week later the disciples were together again indoors, and Thomas was with them. The doors were locked, but Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands; then reach out your hand and put it in my side. Stop your doubting, and believe!”

²⁸ Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Do you believe because you see me? How happy are those who believe without seeing me!”

³⁰ In his disciples’ presence Jesus performed many other miracles which are not written down in this book. ³¹ But these have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through your faith in him you may have life.

In this second half of our passage, we discovered that during the first time Jesus appeared to all the disciples, that it really wasn’t all the disciples. While Judas Iscariot was obviously not present since he had committed suicide, for one reason or another, Thomas was also not with the disciples.

When hearing about Jesus appearing before the other disciples, Thomas makes the famous statement that he won’t believe unless he sees Jesus personally, and that he is able to touch Jesus’ scars.

From that point forward, Thomas picks up the nickname of doubter. Doubting Thomas is who he is known as from that point forward. However, is this a fair nickname for this disciple?

I don’t believe it is. While Thomas strongly proclaims his doubt and hesitation over not seeing Jesus, Thomas demands to be able to see and touch Him. However, when Jesus appears to the disciples the following week, and challenges Thomas to touch His scars, nothing in this passage indicates that Thomas actually touches Jesus. Thomas proclaims in verse 28: “My Lord and my God!”

Following this, Jesus replies in verse 29: “Do you believe because you see me? How happy are those who believe without seeing me!”

The end of Thomas’ story that’s recorded in the Bible has Thomas believing in Jesus, and from Jesus’ words, we can conclude that Thomas decided His belief and faith did not need to touch Jesus as well. Thomas believed Jesus was alive because he saw Him with his own eyes.

However, Jesus uses this as an opportunity to give all those who would come after a blessing. Jesus uses the same phrasing that He used in the opening of His famous Sermon on the Mount to give those who would believe in Jesus without seeing a blessing. This translation uses the word happy, while other translations used the word blessed. The word that is used here carries the ideas of blessing, happiness, spiritually security, and favored by God. When we believe in Jesus without requiring Him to show up physically in our lives, God promises to bless us, to favor us, and to give us His happiness.

The whole story of scripture, especially the gospel record, contains examples of how humanity fails to achieve God’s ideal plan. In this passage, God gave Thomas an opportunity to believe without needing to see personally, but Thomas failed this opportunity.

However, Jesus takes Thomas’ failure and uses it to emphasize that those who believe in Jesus based on the testimony of others will be blessed. When we believe in Jesus based on the testimony we read in the Bible, and on the testimony we see in people’s changed lives, we step into God’s blessing, and into His favor. While there are plenty of reasons for a skeptic to doubt, there are even more reasons for us to test God’s way out in our own lives and see if God’s way is better.

If you never try God’s way, you won’t know whether it is truly better. The Bible is full of examples of humanity’s failures, so simply looking at other Christians might not give you an accurate picture. Many un-Christ-like people call themselves Christians. God has not called us to be like them. We are called to model Jesus, and the best way to do this is to study firsthand what He was like!

God has called us to believe in Jesus even if we can’t see Him. God’s promises never fail, and He has promised to return and bring all of His people home. In the context of this passage, God’s people are those who have chosen to place their hope, faith, trust, and belief in Jesus to cover their sins!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to place your faith, your hope, your trust, and your belief in Jesus even if you cannot see, touch, or hear Him. Choose to place your faith on the testimony of others, in the promises contained in the Bible, and on stepping into God’s plan for your life. Only by living God’s way will one truly discover if it is better.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to discover who Jesus truly was. The Bible calls us to be disciples of Jesus, and disciples of Jesus are people who reflect Him and His character. In order to know what Jesus was like, we must study Him, and the best place to prayerfully study Jesus is in the pages of the Bible.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we enter the final chapter in Mark’s gospel, we come to the biggest event in the entire Bible. However, the last chapter in Mark is significant for more reasons than simply because it describes the morning of Jesus’ resurrection and the women finding an empty tomb. Above all these things, the last chapter in Mark has controversy surrounding it because the oldest manuscripts we have don’t really conclude this gospel. Mark’s gospel is a gospel without an end.

However, this detail didn’t stop later writers from crafting an ending to Mark’s gospel, and most Bible’s today will include a long or a short ending. However, neither one of these endings are included in the oldest surviving manuscripts.

With this framing in mind, as we read and conclude our passage for this episode, the way our passage ends could be considered the end of Mark’s gospel. While our next two podcast episodes will explore details included in the longer conclusion to Mark’s gospel, there is significant evidence that this ending was added later and not by Mark himself.

But what isn’t contested is what Mark describes in our passage for this episode. So without any further delay, let’s read what Mark tells us happened on the morning Jesus was resurrected. Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 16, and we will read from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 1, Mark tells us that:

¹ The day after the Sabbath day, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought some sweet-smelling spices to put on Jesus’ body. ² Very early on that day, the first day of the week, soon after sunrise, the women were on their way to the tomb. ³ They said to each other, “Who will roll away for us the stone that covers the entrance of the tomb?”

⁴ Then the women looked and saw that the stone had already been rolled away, even though it was very large. ⁵ The women entered the tomb and saw a young man wearing a white robe and sitting on the right side, and they were afraid.

⁶ But the man said, “Don’t be afraid. You are looking for Jesus from Nazareth, who has been crucified. He has risen from the dead; he is not here. Look, here is the place they laid him. ⁷ Now go and tell his followers and Peter, ‘Jesus is going into Galilee ahead of you, and you will see him there as he told you before.’”

⁸ The women were confused and shaking with fear, so they left the tomb and ran away. They did not tell anyone about what happened, because they were afraid.

And that’s it. Everything after this last verse in our passage has more evidence against it being written by Mark than it has for it.

However, while Mark’s gospel may have ended here, or its original ending may have been lost, in this passage, we discover at least one woman, Mary Magdalene, show up at the tomb after she watched Jesus’ body be laid there. She wasn’t alone on her trip to the tomb, and from Mark’s description of this event, these women did not expect Jesus’ body to be gone, nor did they expect soldiers to be guarding the tomb.

From the details Mark shares, it would appear that these women knew that the men on Friday were rushed when getting Jesus’ body ready for the tomb, and they may have not thought Jesus’ body was prepared for burial as well as it could have been. Another idea is that they simply wanted to pay their last respects to Jesus because they didn’t have the opportunity on Friday before sunset.

Regardless of the reasoning, the last thing anyone expected was that the tomb would be empty. If the women had suspected an empty tomb, they wouldn’t have brought spices and they wouldn’t have wondered about how they were going to open the tomb to get to Jesus.

However, they arrive at the tomb, the soldiers they were not aware had been posted were gone, and the stone had been rolled away from the opening.

When reading events where angels appeared to people in the Bible, I’m always humored that the people involved are described as being afraid and the angels always seem to begin by saying “Don’t be afraid”.

However, the angel’s message to these women has a couple of interesting details.

First, in verse 6, the angel tells them, “You are looking for Jesus from Nazareth, who has been crucified. He has risen from the dead; he is not here. Look, here is the place they laid him.” This messenger knows exactly why they were there, but he basically says, you’ve come to the right place, but you’re too late. It is as though this messenger knew people would be coming, and he has been commissioned to tell them what happened and to remind them that this is what Jesus had predicted.

Also, in the angel’s message to these women, he gives them a commission. In verse 7, the angel continues by telling them, “Now go and tell his followers and Peter, ‘Jesus is going into Galilee ahead of you, and you will see him there as he told you before.’”

In my mind, it is powerful that the angel singles out Peter by name. Of all the disciples who abandoned Jesus, Peter may have felt the worst because not only did he abandon Jesus, but he also had denied Jesus the three times Jesus had predicted. Singling Peter out by name gives us hope that even when we mess up and fail God, He is willing to accept us back to Him when we are willing to return. This angel-messenger doesn’t speak poorly of Peter, or Peter’s decisions. Instead, this angel’s message is given to encourage not only all the disciples, but especially Peter as well.

Mark’s last words in this passage speak to how we are prone to failing as a race. While much of the gospel record gives us numerous examples of Jesus’ disciples failing Him, here we have one example of the women who were commissioned failing the task they were challenged to do. However, the failure doesn’t last forever, since other gospels describe how the women ultimately do tell the disciples the message, and how word gets out about Jesus’ miraculous resurrection.

As we have seen in our year of podcasting through Mark’s gospel, one of Mark’s big themes is God’s love for us. Even when we fail God, He never gives up on us! If you have felt as though you have failed God, don’t give up on God because He hasn’t given up on you. Instead, return to Him, ask for forgiveness, and restart your walk with God from a place where you are a little older and a little wiser than you were before. With God, we never restart our spiritual journeys at the same place, but every restart is further ahead than the last one as we continue walking through life towards eternity.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to bring your lives, your challenges, and your heart to God and let Him use you for His glory. When life gets scary or confusing, don’t give up on God or on the mission He has placed before you. Instead, lean into God and trust that He will equip you with everything you need to fulfill the challenges He brings your way.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and become more of the person God has created you to be. Grow your personal relationship with God and don’t let anyone or anything get between you and God. Pastors, authors, speakers, podcasters, or even close friends can have great things to say, but always take what you hear and see and test it against the truth of God’s Word!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!