The Common Theme Is Go

# 761- Today's Du-votional comes from: Mr 16:9-11 “Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. This portion of Mark all the way through verse 20, has generated much controversy over the years because some manuscripts do not contain it. Some Bibles end at Mark 16:8. Why would some, copyist remove these final verses? We really don't know. Perhaps there were some things in the original manuscript that didn't sit too well with them. Copyists aren't perfect. But I think it's safe to say that the most trusted manuscripts include verses 9 through 20. There is a common thread theme to these verses and one that the Holy Spirit really wants us to know. This theme is present in the writings of all the other gospel writers as well. The theme is simple. Go! In the Gospel of John Jesus appears to the disciples when they go fishing. His mere appearance and prophecies concerning Peter and John serve as a reminder that they are to be fishers of men....not fish. “Go!” Luke continues his story of the ascension in the Book of Acts where Jesus reminds His disciples that they were to “be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Go!) And of course Matthew ends with the great commission, Mt 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, These last verse in Mark emphasize the same thing! Go! With the reminder that even as we go, we will be met with unbelief, but don't worry, there will be enough signs following believers that many will hear and be converted. Go!