[uplifting music]
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[uplifting music]
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>>Eric Flickinger:
Welcome to "Sabbath School,"
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brought to you by It Is Written.
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Well, this is it.
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This is the 13th
lesson of a 13-week journey.
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We are coming to the
end of the book of Mark.
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We hope that this will not be
the last time you visit the book
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of Mark, but for this series
of "Sabbath School" studies,
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this is where it
all comes together,
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and we're glad that
you have chosen to join us.
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If by any chance you have
missed any of the episodes,
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you can still find them.
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They are archived
at itiswritten.tv,
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or you can also find them
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on the It Is
Written YouTube channel,
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just in case you missed one.
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But this is what we've been
leading up to, week number 13,
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lesson number 13, and we're
going to begin with prayer.
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Father, we are
grateful to be able to be here,
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to study once again Your Word,
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to learn more about the
gospel through the book of Mark.
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And we ask that You
will bless our time together.
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We thank You,
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in Jesus' name, [both] amen.
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Well, for one final
time, this quarter anyway,
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we're delighted to have
Dr. Tom Shepherd with us.
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He is the senior research
professor of New Testament
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at the Theological
Seminary, Andrews University.
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Tom, thanks for
joining us again.
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>>Dr. Thomas
Shepherd: Joy to be here.
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>>Eric: So week
number 13, "The Risen Lord,"
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this is what
we've been building to.
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This is where the
journey has been leading,
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the pinnacle, if you
will. Let's dig into this.
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Jesus was crucified.
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That's where we
left off last time.
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But He rises again. We
are in Mark, chapter 16.
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What's the significance of Jesus
rising from the dead on Sunday?
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>>Tom: Okay, well, so,
He does die on a Friday.
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He says, "I will be"--
not in the Gospel of Mark,
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but elsewhere He
says He would be--
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well, He does say in Mark
He would rise on the third day.
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Now, that kind of
surprises some people,
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because He died on
a Friday afternoon,
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He was in the
tomb on the Sabbath,
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and He rose early
on a Sunday morning.
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That doesn't sound
like the third day to us.
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But for them, it was
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because they counted
the days inclusively.
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So they would say, all right, so
Friday would be the first day,
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and Sabbath would be the second,
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and then Sunday
would be the third.
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And of course, they reckoned
time from sunset to sunset,
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all the days. So if He
dies on Friday afternoon,
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even just that part of
the day, that's the first day.
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So even though it's little more
than maybe 48 hours or less,
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it still counted
as the third day.
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Now, He rises on the
first day of the week.
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The Bible, of course,
never calls it Sunday.
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And we have the
story of these women.
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We want to read verses
1 through 8 of Mark 16.
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>>Eric: "Now when the Sabbath
was past, Mary Magdalene,
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"Mary the mother of James,
and Salome brought spices,
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"that they might
come and anoint Him.
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"Very early in the morning,
on the first day of the week,
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"they came to the tomb
when the sun had risen.
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"And they said among themselves,
'Who will roll away the stone
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"from the door
of the tomb for us?'
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"But when they looked up,
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"they saw that the
stone had been rolled away--
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"for it was very large.
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"And entering the
tomb, they saw a young man
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"clothed in a long white
robe sitting on the right side;
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"and they were alarmed.
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"But he said to
them, 'Do not be alarmed.
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"'You seek Jesus of
Nazareth, who was crucified.
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"'He is risen! He is not here.
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"'See the place
where they laid Him.
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"'But go, tell His
disciples-- and Peter--
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"'that He is going
before you into Galilee;
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"there you will see
Him, as He said to you.'
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"So they went out
quickly and fled from the tomb,
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"for they
trembled and were amazed.
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And they said nothing to
anyone, for they were afraid."
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>>Tom: All right, so here's
the report of what happens.
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Now, the one day of this
experience that is not narrated,
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that is not, just nothing
described, is the Sabbath.
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So He dies on a Friday.
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He's buried in the
tomb. It's evening.
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It's, you know,
probably close to sunset.
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The sun would be setting at that
time in that area of the world,
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probably
somewhere around 6 o'clock,
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so it didn't take real
long for the sun to go down.
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And so it says, "When
the Sabbath was past."
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Now, that means
Saturday night at sunset.
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So the hours of the
Sabbath are un-narrated.
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Why? Because
everybody rested on the Sabbath.
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You know, it was what they did.
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And Luke 24 tells--23, I
think it's verse 56, tells us
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that they rested "according
to the commandment," right?
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Now, so when the Sabbath passed,
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then they buy the spices so that
they might go and anoint Him.
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They didn't have
time to finish the job.
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And now, very early on
the first day of the week,
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when the sun had risen--
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now, I've made a joke
about this a little bit.
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I'm an early riser.
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I usually get up at
4:30 in the morning.
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And for me, when the sun
has risen, it's not very early.
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So maybe Mark was
not a morning person,
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like, you know,
maybe some of our listeners
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are not morning people, and
they can associate with Mark.
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They went to the
tomb, and they're saying,
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"Who's going to roll away
the stone for us from the tomb?"
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Now, Jesus is not there.
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The stone is rolled away,
and they come into the tomb,
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and there's a young man
sitting there on the right.
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He's not named, we
don't have the description,
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but he's in a white robe,
and he knows why they're there,
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and he knows what happened,
and he tells them what to do.
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Okay, so this is a typical
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what we would call
"theophany" or "epiphany,"
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where a divine being or
a heavenly messenger comes.
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There are five steps in
a theophany or epiphany;
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all right, so the first
step is the appearance of glory,
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all right? The
second step is human fear.
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The third step is the heavenly
visitor says, "Don't be afraid."
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The fourth step
is the revelation,
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what's--why the
heavenly messenger has come.
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The fifth step is
the human reaction, okay?
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So we have all
of those here, okay?
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So the signs of the glory is
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the big stone is
rolled away, okay?
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And there's a
young man in a white robe
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who is in there telling
them all that they know.
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So, but especially
the stone is rolled away,
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and Jesus isn't there.
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All right, so this is
like, boy, what's happened?
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What's happened, right?
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The second thing is
fear, yes, and it's there.
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It says they were alarmed.
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Then the heavenly visitor
says, "Do not be alarmed.
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Don't be afraid," okay?
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Then comes the
revelation, all right?
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And the revelation
is found in verse 6:
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"He said to them,
'Do not be alarmed.
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You seek Jesus of Nazareth.'"
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So he knows why they came.
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"You seek Jesus of
Nazareth, who was crucified.
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He has risen"--
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this is the best
news in human history.
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"He has risen; He is not here.
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See the place
where they laid Him."
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So, the tomb is empty, right?
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Now, here's the message:
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"But go, tell His
disciples and Peter
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"that He is going
before you to Galilee.
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"There you will see Him,
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just as He told you," all right?
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And then this leads to
our, the human reaction.
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They run away, and they
don't say anything to anybody
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because they're afraid.
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Well, we'll come back
to that and think about,
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you know, what's going on here.
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But first we want to think
a little bit about this idea
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of the resurrection and Sunday.
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Now, our
Sunday-keeping friends maintain
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that they keep Sunday
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because Jesus rose on Sunday.
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And there's no doubt
about it, Jesus rose on Sunday,
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but the question is, what
is the New Testament's memorial
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of the resurrection of Jesus?
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And to answer that question,
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I'd like to
turn to Colossians 2.
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Colossians, chapter 2, I'm
going to put my marker here
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in Gospel of Mark
so we get back here,
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but Colossians,
chapter 2, verses 12 to 13--
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12 to 15, I'm sorry.
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Colossians, Galatians,
Ephesians, Philippians,
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Colossians. Colossians 2:12-15,
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maybe you could read it.
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Now, the apostle
Paul here is describing
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five different
pictures of salvation,
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ideas that salvation brings
to us and what its meaning is.
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And so we're kind of
in the midst of that.
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So chapter 2,
verses 12 through 15.
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>>Eric: "Buried
with Him in baptism,
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"in which you also
were raised with Him
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"through faith in
the working of God,
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"who raised Him from the dead.
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"And you, being
dead in your trespass
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"and the
uncircumcision of your flesh,
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"He has made
alive together with Him,
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"having forgiven
you all trespasses,
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"having wiped out the
handwriting of requirements
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"that was against us,
which was contrary to us.
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"And He has taken
it out of the way,
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"having nailed it to the cross.
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"Having disarmed
principalities and powers,
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"He made a public
spectacle of them,
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triumphing over them in it."
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>>Tom: Okay, well, this is
an interesting passage, and it
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also troubles some people,
but we notice in verse 12,
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"Having been buried
with Him in baptism,
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in which you were
also raised," all right?
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So, actually, the
New Testament memorial
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of the resurrection of Jesus
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is not Sunday
sacredness; it's baptism.
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It's how we link in
to the death, burial,
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and resurrection of Jesus
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and link in to His power
working in our life. All right,
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so he says in verse
13, "You who were dead
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"in your
trespasses, the uncircumcision
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"of your flesh, God
made alive together with Him,
00:10:06.47\00:10:08.90
having forgiven us
all our trespasses."
00:10:08.94\00:10:12.71
Now, verse 14 is a verse
that kind of troubles people
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because it talks
about-- mine says,
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"By canceling the record of debt
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"that stood against us
with its legal demands.
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This He set aside,
nailing it to the cross."
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I think your version
says it a little different.
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>>Eric: "Having wiped out
the handwriting of requirements
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that was against us." I
know the King James says,
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"Ordinances
that was against us."
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>>Tom: Yeah, so actually,
this word, the Greek word
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is "hierographon," and it
means, actually, a bill of debt.
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When you go to a restaurant
and you eat, and you pull out
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your credit card, and you send
it in, and then you come back,
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and you give them a good
tip, and you sign your name,
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when you sign your name,
that's a bill of debt, see?
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That's a handwriting of
ordinances, or handwriting--
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it's a bill of debt.
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So really, the--what was nailed
to the cross was not the law
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of God; it was the record
of our debt, our debt in sin.
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The only thing actually that was
nailed to the cross was Jesus.
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And as we said in one of our
previous lessons, when Christ
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was nailed to the cross,
He took--He became sin for us.
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He took on our debt.
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He became the One
to forgive us our sins.
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And so here it says
that that debt is canceled.
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And I really like verse 15,
and we'll probably have to close
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with this in this segment,
but it says that "He disarmed
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"the rulers and authorities
and put them to open shame
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by triumphing over them in it."
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All right, so He disarmed them.
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That word "disarmed" can also
mean "to strip away clothing."
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When they crucified people, they
usually crucified them naked.
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So they stripped away
their clothes to shame them.
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So what Paul is
saying is actually that in
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the crucifixion, when Jesus was
being stripped of His clothes,
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actually Satan was
being stripped of his clothes.
00:12:01.98\00:12:05.52
They saw his shame that he
had tried to kill the Son of God
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and tried to, you
know, usurp the throne.
00:12:09.52\00:12:12.16
And so he was stripped,
he was put to open shame,
00:12:12.19\00:12:16.56
and Christ triumphs
over him in the cross.
00:12:16.60\00:12:20.27
The cross becomes His victory
chariot over the evil forces.
00:12:20.30\00:12:25.44
>>Eric: So, a
powerful picture here from
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the book of Colossians, again,
00:12:26.98\00:12:28.71
paralleling what we're reading
over in the book of Mark.
00:12:28.74\00:12:30.78
Tom, we're in the last episode,
00:12:30.81\00:12:34.45
the last lesson of
our study together.
00:12:34.48\00:12:36.95
We still have a
half a program to go.
00:12:36.99\00:12:39.52
But tell us one more time
about that companion book,
00:12:39.55\00:12:42.79
just in case
somebody for one reason
00:12:42.82\00:12:44.79
or another hasn't picked
it up yet, is it too late?
00:12:44.83\00:12:47.30
>>Tom: Well, it's not too late.
00:12:47.30\00:12:48.60
Of course, there's one
more chapter, chapter 13.
00:12:48.63\00:12:50.93
And actually, in the
last chapter of this book,
00:12:50.97\00:12:54.30
I delve into, much
more than in the quarterly,
00:12:54.34\00:12:57.91
I delve into the ending of Mark.
00:12:57.94\00:13:00.91
The ending of the
Gospel of Mark is disputed,
00:13:00.94\00:13:03.75
and there I talk more
about the textual evidence
00:13:03.78\00:13:06.68
and, you know, where
does Mark really end, yeah.
00:13:06.72\00:13:09.45
>>Eric: Fantastic. So,
00:13:09.48\00:13:10.79
if you want to pick that
up, and I would encourage you
00:13:10.82\00:13:13.46
to do so, do it
before we run out of copies.
00:13:13.49\00:13:17.63
And you can pick it
up at itiswritten.shop.
00:13:17.66\00:13:20.66
Again, that's itiswritten.shop.
00:13:20.70\00:13:22.66
It will help you to
delve much more deeply
00:13:22.70\00:13:25.23
into the Gospel of Mark.
00:13:25.27\00:13:26.63
You'll pull so
much more out of it,
00:13:26.67\00:13:28.74
and it will be
a blessing to you.
00:13:28.77\00:13:30.97
So itiswritten.shop, the book
is called "The Gospel of Mark"
00:13:31.01\00:13:34.11
or "The Book of
Mark" by Thomas Shepherd.
00:13:34.14\00:13:36.64
We're going to be
back in just a moment
00:13:36.68\00:13:38.08
for the last half
of the last lesson.
00:13:38.11\00:13:40.22
You don't want to miss it.
00:13:40.25\00:13:41.55
We'll see you
back in just a moment.
00:13:41.58\00:13:43.15
[uplifting music]
00:13:43.18\00:13:45.19
>>John Bradshaw: Disease,
terrorism, pandemics, suicide.
00:13:47.46\00:13:52.19
Around the world, 65
million people die each year.
00:13:52.23\00:13:56.03
That's 120 human
lives ending every minute.
00:13:56.06\00:13:59.53
Death is a problem, a
problem humanity can't solve.
00:13:59.57\00:14:03.64
Many have tried.
00:14:03.67\00:14:05.21
And while people are
living longer these days,
00:14:05.24\00:14:07.81
everyone still dies.
00:14:07.84\00:14:10.45
But even though we cannot
solve the problem of death,
00:14:10.48\00:14:13.01
there is a solution.
00:14:13.05\00:14:15.05
There is hope.
00:14:15.08\00:14:16.95
The Bible shows
us a vivid picture
00:14:16.99\00:14:18.95
of how this
world is going to end.
00:14:18.99\00:14:21.22
But it also gives us a
view of what will come next:
00:14:21.26\00:14:24.69
a world where
death is destroyed,
00:14:24.73\00:14:27.60
where pain, suffering, and
injustice will be behind us.
00:14:27.66\00:14:31.33
And through the death
and resurrection of Jesus,
00:14:31.37\00:14:34.40
God has provided a way
for anyone who chooses Him
00:14:34.44\00:14:37.81
to receive eternal life.
00:14:37.84\00:14:40.28
Join me for "The Blessed Hope,"
00:14:40.31\00:14:42.88
brought to you
by It Is Written TV.
00:14:42.91\00:14:45.98
[uplifting music]
00:14:47.78\00:14:51.62
>>Eric: Welcome
back to "Sabbath School,"
00:14:51.65\00:14:53.29
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:14:53.32\00:14:55.12
We are looking at the very last
tail end of the book of Mark.
00:14:55.16\00:15:00.23
Tom, I want to
ask you this question
00:15:00.26\00:15:01.83
to launch us into
this last section.
00:15:01.86\00:15:04.07
Jesus has risen.
00:15:04.10\00:15:06.07
What are some of the key
facts about Jesus' resurrection
00:15:06.10\00:15:08.97
that we want to
make sure we don't miss?
00:15:09.00\00:15:10.41
>>Tom: Sure.
00:15:10.44\00:15:11.84
The key facts are, first of
all, that the tomb was empty.
00:15:11.87\00:15:15.04
Everybody agrees.
00:15:15.08\00:15:16.54
Even the enemies of Jesus
agree that the tomb was empty.
00:15:16.58\00:15:19.45
Now, the
explanation for the tomb
00:15:19.48\00:15:20.95
is what people disagree about.
[chuckles] Why was it empty?
00:15:20.98\00:15:24.82
The report that circulated
among the Jewish people
00:15:24.85\00:15:28.99
was that the
disciples had stolen the body.
00:15:29.02\00:15:31.39
Now, the problem
with that explanation
00:15:31.43\00:15:34.20
is that there were
soldiers guarding the tomb.
00:15:34.23\00:15:36.90
And of course, the story is
that the soldiers all slept.
00:15:36.93\00:15:41.17
Well, that's a little
hard to kind of accept
00:15:41.20\00:15:43.94
that they all slept.
00:15:43.97\00:15:45.44
The disciples
would have had to come,
00:15:45.47\00:15:47.44
they would have had to
roll away the big stone
00:15:47.48\00:15:49.51
while all the
soldiers slept, go in,
00:15:49.54\00:15:53.15
take the body,
and, you know, run away,
00:15:53.18\00:15:56.28
and nobody woke up?
00:15:56.32\00:15:57.89
That seems very
unreasonable, okay?
00:15:57.92\00:16:00.62
So that doesn't seem
to be a good explanation.
00:16:00.66\00:16:03.46
The disciples also
were never arrested
00:16:03.49\00:16:06.33
for having stolen the body.
00:16:06.36\00:16:08.33
All that had to be done to
show that Jesus had not risen
00:16:08.36\00:16:11.60
from the dead
was to show His body,
00:16:11.63\00:16:14.64
and they never
showed His body, all right?
00:16:14.67\00:16:17.17
The other thing
that's interesting is over
00:16:17.21\00:16:19.21
in the Gospel of
John, there's this reference
00:16:19.24\00:16:22.48
that there was one of the
cloths folded, that had been
00:16:22.51\00:16:26.48
on His face, was
folded and set by itself.
00:16:26.51\00:16:29.45
Now, if grave robbers
had come and stolen the body,
00:16:29.48\00:16:33.25
then you would expect
that they would run away
00:16:33.29\00:16:36.96
with the expensive stuff, like,
you know, spices and things
00:16:36.99\00:16:39.83
that were there, but
they would not take the body.
00:16:39.86\00:16:41.86
That's very unlikely.
00:16:41.90\00:16:44.20
Furthermore, grave robbers
are in a hurry because they
00:16:44.23\00:16:47.50
don't want to be caught, and
they wouldn't have taken time
00:16:47.54\00:16:49.90
to fold up a cloth
and set it aside, right?
00:16:49.94\00:16:53.01
So all these point in some
kind of different direction.
00:16:53.04\00:16:55.78
Now, the other thing is we have
most of the people who saw Jesus
00:16:55.81\00:17:00.38
after He rose from the dead,
at first didn't believe it.
00:17:00.42\00:17:03.99
The disciples didn't.
00:17:04.02\00:17:05.52
It took them some
time to be convinced.
00:17:05.55\00:17:07.86
Thomas, of course, a
famous example, and even one
00:17:07.89\00:17:11.39
of His biggest enemies came
to believe in Jesus as risen;
00:17:11.43\00:17:14.46
that's the guy who
became the apostle Paul.
00:17:14.46\00:17:16.90
We also have the report
00:17:16.93\00:17:18.40
that more than 500
people saw Him at one time.
00:17:18.43\00:17:22.94
One person might have
a hallucination or vision
00:17:22.97\00:17:26.44
or something,
but not 500 people.
00:17:26.47\00:17:28.58
Furthermore, the
apostle Peter became a leader
00:17:28.61\00:17:32.25
of the early Christian church.
00:17:32.28\00:17:33.58
Now, how does that prove
that Jesus rose from the dead?
00:17:33.62\00:17:36.82
Well, of course, he
had fallen flat on his face
00:17:36.85\00:17:39.02
by denying the Lord three times.
00:17:39.05\00:17:40.99
And if he had seen, you know,
a "vision" of Jesus and said,
00:17:41.02\00:17:46.83
"Oh, Jesus forgave me.
00:17:46.86\00:17:48.43
I can be a leader
again," the others would say,
00:17:48.46\00:17:50.93
"Sure, sure, sure.
00:17:50.97\00:17:52.27
Brother, why don't you go
fish someplace?" you know.
00:17:52.30\00:17:55.77
But no, he was
one of the leaders
00:17:55.80\00:17:57.77
of the early Christian church.
00:17:57.81\00:17:59.01
Why? Because Jesus
restored him to ministry.
00:17:59.04\00:18:02.01
We have that story in John
21, and that's the most likely
00:18:02.04\00:18:05.11
explanation of why he would
be one of the early leaders.
00:18:05.15\00:18:08.02
So we have lots of good evidence
that points towards Jesus
00:18:08.05\00:18:11.65
having risen from the dead.
00:18:11.69\00:18:12.99
>>Eric: So it looks, I think,
00:18:13.02\00:18:15.52
convincingly like
that did indeed happen,
00:18:15.56\00:18:17.69
unless one doesn't want
to believe the evidence.
00:18:17.73\00:18:19.96
But I think
we've got plenty of it.
00:18:20.00\00:18:21.60
So, let me pitch
something your direction
00:18:21.63\00:18:24.37
and see how you
swing at it and hit it.
00:18:24.40\00:18:28.47
You've got many modern
versions of the book of Mark
00:18:28.50\00:18:33.58
that end at verse number 8.
00:18:33.61\00:18:35.51
Why is that? What's going on?
00:18:35.54\00:18:38.95
>>Tom: Okay, so I'm looking
at the English Standard Version
00:18:38.98\00:18:42.38
here and after verse 8 it
says, "Some of the earliest
00:18:42.42\00:18:44.95
manuscripts do not
include 16:9- 20," okay?
00:18:44.99\00:18:49.02
So a lot of people
wonder like, "What?
00:18:49.06\00:18:51.79
How can that be?"
00:18:51.83\00:18:54.56
So, most of the manuscripts,
we have thousands of manuscripts
00:18:54.56\00:18:58.77
of the New Testament, thousands,
and it is the best by far,
00:18:58.80\00:19:03.54
by far, the best attested
document from the ancient world.
00:19:03.57\00:19:07.28
Nothing else compares.
00:19:07.31\00:19:09.08
And so, we have
lots of manuscripts,
00:19:09.11\00:19:11.21
and lots of them
have verses 9 to 20.
00:19:11.25\00:19:13.82
However, our
earliest manuscripts that have
00:19:13.85\00:19:17.72
the ending of Mark do
not have verses 9 to 20.
00:19:17.75\00:19:21.26
And some of the early church
fathers indicate that many
00:19:21.29\00:19:26.06
of the manuscripts that they had
available to them in their day
00:19:26.09\00:19:32.40
did not--it ended at verse 8
and did not have verses 9 to 20.
00:19:32.43\00:19:37.17
So how do you explain this?
00:19:37.21\00:19:39.44
All right, so if
we look at verse 8,
00:19:39.47\00:19:42.71
this is the
response of the women.
00:19:42.74\00:19:45.08
It says, "They went
out and fled from the tomb,
00:19:45.11\00:19:47.95
"for trembling and
astonishment had seized them,
00:19:47.98\00:19:50.19
and they said nothing to
anyone, for they were afraid."
00:19:50.22\00:19:54.29
This seems like no way
to end the gospel, right?
00:19:54.32\00:19:59.86
No way at all. It's like, what?
00:19:59.89\00:20:02.93
They went away, and
they said nothing to anybody?
00:20:02.96\00:20:06.27
Much more pleasing to most folk
is that, you know, it goes on:
00:20:06.30\00:20:09.54
"Now when He rose early on
the first day of the week,"
00:20:09.57\00:20:11.77
verse 9, "He appeared
first to Mary Magdalene,
00:20:11.81\00:20:14.31
"from whom He had
cast out seven demons.
00:20:14.34\00:20:16.04
"She went and told
those who had been with Him,
00:20:16.08\00:20:18.28
as they mourned and wept."
00:20:18.31\00:20:20.08
And then you
have more references
00:20:20.12\00:20:23.62
to the appearances of Jesus.
00:20:23.65\00:20:25.25
And He comes and He
talks to His disciples,
00:20:25.29\00:20:27.82
and He sends them
out as missionaries.
00:20:27.86\00:20:29.72
Now, of course, the
problem is, if you read verse 8
00:20:29.76\00:20:33.16
and then you read verse 9, they
don't fit together real well.
00:20:33.19\00:20:36.46
You know, they went out and they
didn't say anything to anybody
00:20:36.50\00:20:38.70
because they were afraid.
00:20:38.73\00:20:40.60
Then it seems, verse 9
seems to go back all the way
00:20:40.64\00:20:44.21
to almost, like, verse 1.
00:20:44.24\00:20:46.07
"Now when He arose early
on the first day of the week,
00:20:46.11\00:20:48.91
"He appeared
first to Mary Magdalene,
00:20:48.94\00:20:50.55
"from whom He had
cast out seven demons.
00:20:50.58\00:20:51.95
She went and told
those who had been with Him."
00:20:51.98\00:20:55.18
And so, well,
did she tell or not?
00:20:55.22\00:20:59.22
You know, verse 8 said they
didn't say anything to anybody,
00:20:59.25\00:21:01.12
and verse 9 says, oh,
well, she told the disciples.
00:21:01.16\00:21:04.23
So, verses 9 to 20 have a
vocabulary that doesn't seem
00:21:04.26\00:21:09.46
to fit as much with the
rest of the vocabulary of Mark.
00:21:09.50\00:21:14.57
It doesn't seem to fit
well with the ending in verse 8.
00:21:14.60\00:21:18.37
And actually, it seems to
be a conglomeration of reports
00:21:18.41\00:21:22.54
from all the other
gospels and some other places
00:21:22.58\00:21:27.85
in the writings of
Paul or the book of Acts
00:21:27.88\00:21:30.85
and even the book of Hebrews.
00:21:30.89\00:21:32.55
There's all these
different verses that seem to,
00:21:32.59\00:21:35.46
you know, fit
together with that statement.
00:21:35.49\00:21:38.33
So here's the take
of most scholars today.
00:21:38.36\00:21:42.30
The take of most scholars today
00:21:42.33\00:21:43.93
is that the book
ended at verse 8.
00:21:43.97\00:21:47.74
And then in the second century,
somebody wrote this longer
00:21:47.77\00:21:51.14
ending and attached it on there.
00:21:51.17\00:21:53.64
There's actually another
ending, one that's a shorter one
00:21:53.68\00:21:57.58
than this long
ending, a little shorter one,
00:21:57.61\00:22:00.88
which was probably written after
the longer ending was, okay?
00:22:00.92\00:22:04.72
It troubles some people
that this is what, you know,
00:22:04.75\00:22:08.99
that somebody would add
this on to the Word of God.
00:22:09.02\00:22:12.03
I try to encourage people,
"Well, don't be discouraged.
00:22:12.06\00:22:15.40
"You know, almost everything
that's said in verses 9 to 20
00:22:15.43\00:22:18.73
"appears somewhere
else in the New Testament,
00:22:18.77\00:22:21.67
you know,  almost
everything that's said."
00:22:21.70\00:22:23.94
But it still leaves
people with the question,
00:22:23.97\00:22:28.58
so if it ends at verse 8,
00:22:28.61\00:22:32.35
how can you end the
gospel that way, you know?
00:22:32.38\00:22:36.35
It would be like going
to a symphony orchestra,
00:22:36.38\00:22:39.59
and, you know, you hear
them playing this music.
00:22:39.62\00:22:42.19
And usually they're
playing some symphony by Haydn
00:22:42.22\00:22:44.99
or Beethoven or something.
00:22:45.03\00:22:46.39
You can tell when they're coming
to the end, a minute or two
00:22:46.43\00:22:49.30
beforehand, they start making
these things we call arpeggios.
00:22:49.33\00:22:51.83
Dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum,
dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum--
00:22:51.87\00:22:56.44
now, what if they stop there?
00:22:56.47\00:23:00.78
Somebody in the back
of the room would go,
00:23:00.81\00:23:03.14
"Daah," you know, sing it out.
00:23:03.18\00:23:05.68
You have to have
the proper ending.
00:23:05.71\00:23:08.02
Or I like to
tell it this way, too.
00:23:08.05\00:23:11.59
If you're reading a book to
your grandchild or your child,
00:23:11.62\00:23:16.52
you know, before
it's bedtime, and you say,
00:23:16.56\00:23:18.96
"Well, go choose the
book you want me to read."
00:23:18.99\00:23:21.26
And lo and behold, the
child picks the same book,
00:23:21.30\00:23:25.13
always the same book.
00:23:25.17\00:23:27.24
And you say,
"Wouldn't you like to read--"
00:23:27.27\00:23:29.27
"No, I want to hear this story."
00:23:29.30\00:23:31.07
So you start reading it, and,
you know, maybe you miss a page.
00:23:31.11\00:23:34.48
The child will
turn the page back.
00:23:34.51\00:23:36.78
I've had this happen.
00:23:36.81\00:23:38.28
They'll turn the page back so
that you read the whole thing.
00:23:38.31\00:23:41.95
And if you're getting a
little, I don't know, tired
00:23:41.98\00:23:44.89
of the ending and then,
you know, get a little twinkle
00:23:44.92\00:23:46.99
in your eye and you
change the ending of the book,
00:23:47.02\00:23:50.96
the child will say to you,
00:23:50.99\00:23:52.83
"Daddy, that's not
how the story ends.
00:23:52.86\00:23:55.26
Tell it the right way."
00:23:55.30\00:23:57.17
Now, I think that's
what's happening here
00:23:57.20\00:23:59.77
in the Gospel of Mark.
We call this an open ending.
00:23:59.80\00:24:03.34
We've talked about the
revelation secrecy motif
00:24:03.37\00:24:06.27
that runs
through the whole book.
00:24:06.31\00:24:07.94
The revelation aspect of
the revelation secrecy motif
00:24:07.98\00:24:11.31
found its
culmination at the cross.
00:24:11.35\00:24:13.45
There's all these Christological
titles that show up.
00:24:13.48\00:24:16.45
The religious
leaders are saying this.
00:24:16.48\00:24:18.09
He's called the King of
the Jews above the cross.
00:24:18.12\00:24:19.99
All of that, like, shows up.
00:24:20.02\00:24:21.76
And you're like, "Whoa,
this is the King of the Jews
00:24:21.79\00:24:23.93
dying on the cross," you know.
00:24:23.96\00:24:26.70
The secrecy motif
aspect finds its culmination
00:24:26.73\00:24:31.40
in verse 8,
right? And that is this.
00:24:31.43\00:24:36.60
Throughout the book,
Jesus has been saying,
00:24:36.64\00:24:39.37
"Shh, don't tell,
don't tell," right?
00:24:39.41\00:24:43.58
And what do they do?
00:24:43.61\00:24:44.95
They go tell. [laughs]
00:24:44.98\00:24:47.32
They don't do what they're told.
00:24:47.35\00:24:49.28
When it comes to the end
of the book, it's reversed.
00:24:49.32\00:24:53.09
The angel says, "Go tell."
00:24:53.12\00:24:55.66
What do they do?
00:24:55.69\00:24:57.03
They don't go tell.
00:24:57.06\00:24:59.03
The only thing that
is consistent is people
00:24:59.06\00:25:01.10
don't do what they're
told, which hasn't changed.
00:25:01.13\00:25:05.23
Okay, so what does that mean?
00:25:05.27\00:25:07.80
Well, what it means
is Mark has put you,
00:25:07.84\00:25:12.24
as the reader, at the top.
00:25:12.27\00:25:13.98
He has you above all
the people in the book.
00:25:14.01\00:25:16.64
At the beginning of the
book, you know that Jesus
00:25:16.68\00:25:19.25
is the Messiah, the Son of God.
00:25:19.28\00:25:20.82
And you're watching the
disciples, who are kind of
00:25:20.85\00:25:22.82
like bumbling Keystone cops who
sort of stumble over themselves.
00:25:22.85\00:25:26.45
You're like,
these guys don't get it.
00:25:26.49\00:25:27.79
What's wrong with you guys?
Don't you see He's the Messiah?
00:25:27.82\00:25:31.59
So the reader feels a
bit superior, you know,
00:25:31.63\00:25:34.73
but at the end of the book
Mark throws you a curveball,
00:25:34.76\00:25:38.23
and he says, "The
women didn't go and tell."
00:25:38.27\00:25:41.14
That's not right. You
can't end the gospel like that.
00:25:41.17\00:25:44.27
And so what happens?
00:25:44.31\00:25:45.94
He says, "Well,
somebody's got to go tell."
00:25:45.97\00:25:47.94
Who is it?
00:25:47.98\00:25:49.38
It's you.
00:25:49.41\00:25:51.35
You must go tell, the reader.
00:25:51.38\00:25:53.45
See, it's an
appeal to the reader.
00:25:53.48\00:25:55.28
Now, he did such a good
job of an open ending that has
00:25:55.32\00:25:58.85
an appeal to the reader that
somebody in the second century
00:25:58.89\00:26:01.59
is like, "No, that's
no way to end the gospel."
00:26:01.62\00:26:03.96
And they pen--they put
together verses 9 to 20
00:26:03.99\00:26:07.03
and attached it on there.
00:26:07.10\00:26:09.40
So Mark was a
really good storyteller.
00:26:09.43\00:26:13.30
And the secrecy now brings
the appeal to you and to me
00:26:13.34\00:26:16.64
that we must tell
this gospel story.
00:26:16.67\00:26:19.47
It's a wonderful ending.
00:26:19.51\00:26:21.14
>>Eric: So we're down at
the end of the book of Mark.
00:26:21.18\00:26:22.98
Give us some big takeaways,
big takeaways from Mark.
00:26:23.01\00:26:26.48
>>Tom: Jesus is the Messiah.
00:26:26.51\00:26:27.82
Number one,
Jesus is the Messiah.
00:26:27.85\00:26:30.25
The cost of discipleship:
00:26:30.29\00:26:31.95
Take up your
cross and follow Jesus.
00:26:31.99\00:26:34.69
Christ is risen,
and He's coming again.
00:26:34.72\00:26:37.89
And we must tell the story.
00:26:37.93\00:26:41.10
You must tell the
story. I must tell the story.
00:26:41.13\00:26:44.47
That's the call of the
Gospel of Mark to you and to me.
00:26:44.50\00:26:48.10
>>Eric: Tom, thank you for
leading us along this journey
00:26:48.14\00:26:50.84
through the book of Mark.
00:26:50.87\00:26:51.97
It has been a privilege
and a wonderful opportunity
00:26:52.01\00:26:55.31
for us to get to know the
gospel and to get to know Jesus
00:26:55.34\00:26:57.91
just a little bit better.
00:26:57.95\00:26:59.81
And we want to thank you
00:26:59.85\00:27:00.78
for joining us on
this journey as well.
00:27:00.82\00:27:03.25
The journey would not
have been the same without you.
00:27:03.28\00:27:06.09
And we hope that just as
Tom mentioned, you're not going
00:27:06.12\00:27:09.59
to let this settle into
your heart but not share it.
00:27:09.62\00:27:13.16
Take this
message to someone else.
00:27:13.19\00:27:15.46
Give them some encouragement.
Give them some hope.
00:27:15.50\00:27:18.87
Help them to get to know
Jesus just a little bit better
00:27:18.90\00:27:22.34
because you have had the
opportunity to get to know Jesus
00:27:22.37\00:27:25.34
just a little bit better.
00:27:25.37\00:27:26.88
God's going to give
you those opportunities
00:27:26.91\00:27:28.74
if you ask for them.
00:27:28.78\00:27:30.18
And if you ask for them,
00:27:30.21\00:27:31.71
be prepared when He
delivers them to you.
00:27:31.75\00:27:34.68
Thank you once
again for joining us
00:27:34.72\00:27:36.55
on this journey
in the book of Mark.
00:27:36.58\00:27:38.02
Next week, we're going to be
back starting a brand new series
00:27:38.05\00:27:41.19
of studies on the book of John.
00:27:41.22\00:27:44.19
And we are looking forward
to having you join us as well.
00:27:44.23\00:27:47.13
God bless you, and we'll see you
00:27:47.20\00:27:48.60
next time here
on "Sabbath School,"
00:27:48.63\00:27:50.13
brought to you by It Is Written.
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