Freed from Fear (Mark 16:8)

And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. (Mark 16:8) 

Now, if you were reading your Bible at this point, like a physical copy of the Bible, or looking at it online or digitally on your phone, wherever you would read at this point, some of the earliest manuscripts do not include Mark chapter 16 verses 9 through 20. So there’s debate over whether or not Mark’s gospel ends at verse 8 or verse 20, and many believe it’s just at verse 8, which leads to quite a conclusion.

And you just think about the contrast between how Matthew ends his Gospel. Jesus saying, go with my authority, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them, teaching them to obey everything I’ve commanded you. I’m with you always, to the end of the age.

Freedom from Fear to Speak the Gospel

But Mark, on the other hand——and we need to realize Mark is writing to a predominantly gentile audience of Christians who are facing intense persecution in the first century, and as a result are facing intense temptation to stay silent with the Gospel. And that is how he at least potentially ends his Gospel——with this picture of people having seen that Jesus has risen from the dead, and they were afraid, saying nothing to anyone. This would basically be like Mark saying, “You can’t live like this. You can’t live afraid to share the greatest news in the world, followers of Jesus. We must make this news known.”

This can’t be the description of our lives. And in this way, I want to encourage you and me, and lead us to pray in a fresh way today for freedom from fear when it comes to sharing the gospel.

Boldness to Make Christ Known Today

God, we pray for boldness to share the gospel. And we know that these early followers of Jesus faced fear when it came to following you and making you known; that they were praying for boldness. And so we confess, we’re with them. God, we are prone to stay silent with the gospel. We are prone to keep the gospel to ourselves, to not talk to people around us who need Jesus, about Jesus. Please forgive us and please free us from fear. Fill us with your Holy Spirit, your holy boldness, to make your love known in the world around us, right where we live today.
God, we pray for opportunities to share the gospel with people today. We pray that as you bring people to our mind even right now, and to our mind or to our paths throughout today who don’t know you, God, we pray that you would help us to boldly talk about you and your love for them.

And, God, we pray that you would use our lives to lead people to you today. And, God, we pray for this all around the world. We pray for the Vannan People of India; for 150,000 of them who don’t know the good news of your love. God, please spread your grace, your glory to them through bold witnesses in India, and from wherever else you might lead people to reach the Vannan.

God, we pray for freedom from fear and boldness from your Spirit and compassion from your heart. And us to lead us to love others enough to share the good news of your love with them. And we pray this in Jesus’s name, in light of Mark chapter 16, verse 8. Amen.