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Book: Mark
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Mark 16:9-11 The Tragedy of Unbelief
I. The cause of unbelief.
A. Some just have a hard time believing anything that is
supernatural.
1. Unless it can be reduced to a mathematical equation or
some formula they just do not believe.
2. You have heard the phrase, "Seeing is believing." and
there are many who adhere to that.
B. There may be good cause for not believing many things that we
are told.
1. I am always leery of an offer for a free lunch.
a. You know that they are going to try to sell you
something.
b. They are going to try to solicit your funds for
their program.
2. Sometimes the offers that are being made on T.V. seem
to be too good to be true, and they are.
C. Having been burned a few times makes one skeptical.
D. You must admit that the gospel seems to be too good to be true.
1. To think that Jesus Christ took my sin upon Himself,
and gave me His righteousness is almost too good to be
true.
2. To think that though He was rich, yet for my sake He
became poor, that I through His poverty might know the
riches of God, is mind boggling.
3. The concepts of eternal life; the glory of the kingdom
of God; the beauty of heaven; all seem to challenge our
intellects.
E. To these disciples who were mourning and weeping, the word of
Mary, that she had seen and talked to the risen Jesus seemed
just too preposterous for them to believe.
1. They knew that it was impossible for man to rise from
the dead.
a. Yet did they not remember the son of the widow
of Nain?
b. Did they not remember the daughter of Jairus?
c. Had they forgotten Lazarus?
d. If Jesus could raise them from the dead, why
should they think that His rising from the dead
was impossible?
2. Jesus had claimed to be more than man, He claimed to be
the only begotten Son of God.
a. Paul asked Herod Agrippa, "Why do you think it
a thing incredible that God should raise the
dead?"
b. Difficulty must always be measured by the
capacity of the agent doing the work, and when
God is that agent, any talk of difficulty is
manifestly absurd.
3. Because they did not believe that He was risen from the
dead what did they do?
a. They went on mourning and weeping.
b. In the afternoon, as two of them were walking
to Emmaus they were still sorrowing and
hopeless.
c. As Jesus joined them He asked them why they
looked so sad.
d. They spoke to him of their dashed hopes that
the Messiah had come.
e. They even mentioned that some of the women had
reported that they had seen Him alive.
II. Note what their unbelief cost them.
A. When they should be rejoicing, they were crying.
1. This should have been the happiest day of their lives.
2. This should be a day of great rejoicing and praise,
instead it is a day spent in deep sorrow.
B. There was absolutely no cause for them to be weeping.
1. The stone is rolled away, the tomb is empty, Jesus is
risen.
2. These are the facts, Jesus has triumphed over death and
hell. He has risen from the dead, and He lives
forevermore.
3. Think of the joy and elation that they could have at
this very moment if they only believed.
C. It is their doubt and unbelief that keeps them in tears.
D. Through history we see the terrible cost of unbelief.
1. Adam did not believe God concerning the consequences of
eating of the fruit of the tree in the midst of the
garden.
2. The men of Noah's day did not believe that God would
destroy the earth with a flood.
3. The children of Israel did not believe that God would
drive their enemies out of the land, and it cost them
40 years of wandering in the wilderness.
4. The children of Israel did not believe that God would
give them over into the hands of their enemies if they
did not turn their hearts back to Him.
E. We see the terrible price that they paid.
1. Adam brought death into the world
2. The men of Noah's day were destroyed by the flood.
3. The children of Israel went into captivity.
III. Look what unbelief is costing some of you.
A. In the extreme case, it is costing some of you your eternal
salvation.
1. Jesus Christ is God's only answer for man's sin.
a. The gospel is that Christ died for our sins
according to the scripture.
b. That He was buried but rose on the third day
according to the scriptures.
c. And if you will confess with your mouth that
Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that
God has raised Him from the dead, you will be
saved.
d. For God so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in
Him shall not perish, but have everlasting
life.
2. Note the place of believing.
a. Believe in your heart that God has raised Him
from the dead.
b. Whosoever believeth in Him, shall not perish.
3. Note the place of the unbelieving
REV 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and
murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and
idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the
lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the
second death.
B. Unbelief is costing many of you peace of mind today.
1. Many of you are worried about the circumstances of your
life, even though the scripture commands you not to.
a. Don't worry about tomorrow, what you are going
to eat, what you will drink, or what you will
wear. Consider
a. The lilies of the field. How they grow,
toil not neither do they spin, yet
Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed as one of these.
b. The birds of the air. They do not sow
the seed or gather the harvest into
barns, yet your Father feeds them.
c. Your worry comes from a lack of trust
in your Father.
b. In Philippians 4:3 Paul said to not worry about
anything, but just take everything to God in
prayer.
2. Many of you are fretting because you feel that your
life is out of control. You somehow forget or maybe
just do not believe that all things are working
together for good to those who love God and are called
according to His purpose.
a. The short term may be looking bad, but the long
term results will be glorious.
b. Many of the success stories begin with the
trials and hardships, the sacrifices that were
made in the beginning.
c. God is still on the throne, you are still His
child, He is just working out some of the kinks
in your life, to get you in harmony with Him
and His purposes, so that He might begin to
pour out on you blessings more than you can
imagine.
C. When we declare our faith in God, many times He allows that
faith to be tested.
1. God put Abraham's faith to the test.
2. Surely David's faith was tested in the early years as
he fled for his life from Saul.
3. The faith of the three Hebrew children was tested when
they faced the burning fiery furnace.
4. Daniel's faith was tested in the lions den.
5. Our faith will be tested, but we learn to rejoice in
the fiery trials, for we realize that God has purposed
them to strengthen our faith.
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