Pray the Word with David Platt is a resource from radical.net.

Mark chapter 16, verse 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.

Now, if you were reading your Bible at this point,

like 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 versus 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.

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. 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.

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