God Is the Final Judge

 Psalm 110    Mark 16    Deuteronomy 21-22

Sometimes we need to be reminded that bringing about change is ultimately not our responsibility but the Lord’s. As with David, we are invited to set at God’s right hand, the place of power and responsibility, but only to execute his commands. We that are in Christ have been promised that we will be in relationship with the Lord forever. The Lord will judge the people and the nations and crush those leaders that fail to follow in his path. We are to praise God and allow him to lift his name on high.

In the final chapter of the good news from Mark it is a brief reminder the women came to fulfill their obligations to the one they loved and had died. To anoint and prepare his body for burial. They had practical concerns, like the stone that closed the tomb. The were deep in their grief.

The not only find an empty tomb but a messenger from Jesus that he has risen as he told them he would. An invitation to look to know that what they expected was no longer there. They were to go and proclaim to his followers he was alive and going to Galilee before them and he would meet them there. That was overwhelming and way too much to process and so like most of us they responded with fear and trembling.

I also note that they did what the were told and the story of the resurrection began to be told, first to his closest followers. Each time the story is told there is unbelief. As he appears slowly to those that had been his closest followers, he would challenge them to go and share the good news that he was alive and ready to lead them in a way they never thought possible. He began to prepare them to have their story found unbelievable and that they themselves would be rejected. Then he was lifted up to heaven and left them and now us to do the work of spreading that incredibly good news.

In Deuteronomy there is a sense when sin occurs the community is responsible for the result of that sin. There is a responsibility to care for the people and God’s creation. The abuse of people or property should be delt with swiftly and fairly. It is clear that each have a responsibility to act, and both are to be held accountable when relationships are broken. There is an expectation for integrity.