Description

We’ve been on a long journey through the gospel of Mark.  We started this in January of 2023.  Throughout Mark’s gospel, he has been building a case that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.  He opened his gospel with this declaration and has spent the last 16 chapters stacking up the evidence. Today we're looking at this question: What would it take to convince you that Jesus is the Son of God?

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We’ve seen testimonies:

• Mark 1:11 And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”
• Mark 1:24 (NLT) “Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
• Mark 8:29 (NLT) Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.”

We’ve seen teachings: 

• Mark 2:17 (NLT) “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
• Mark 7:15 (NLT) “It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”
• Mark 10:15 (NLT) “I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

We’ve seen his miracles: 

• Physical miracles
• cleansing the leper
• giving sight to the blind
• Healing the lame
• Resuscitating Lazarus
• Nature miracles:
• Feeding the multitudes… twice! 
• Walking on water  
• Calming the storm
• Even a spiritual miracle:
• casting out evil spirits 

TRANS: But there’s one miracle that stands out above them all. It’s the final and most important piece of evidence to point us to the true identity of Jesus. Today we’re looking at the incredible resurrection of Jesus.

The resurrection is the climax of Mark’s gospel. Without the resurrection, there is no good news. Jesus’s death would simply be the most tragic case of injustice in history, with not an ounce of goodness to it. It was the resurrection that changed the minds of his disciples. It was an encounter with the risen Christ that changed them from cowardly, sniveling men who deserted him and were always arguing about who would be the greatest… to brave, faith-filled men who unashamedly proclaimed Mark 1:1 – that Jesus is the Son of God. 

NOTE: As we dig into Mark 16, we’re going to go through verse 8.  If you’re reading in your Bible, you’ll likely have a footnote that says the “earliest manuscripts stop at verse 8.”  I want to talk about that for just a moment. I want to share with you why this strengthens my confidence in the accuracy, historicity, and authority of God’s Word.  I’m going to give you some reasons why we’re choosing to stop at verse 8 today and why many Bibles still include verse 9-20. 

• Earliest manuscripts we have...