Mark 16:14

(ubi sup.) We should observe that Luke says in the Acts, As he was eating with them he commanded that they should not depart from Jerusalem, and shortly afterwards, while they beheld he was taken up. For He ate, and then ascended, that by the act of eating, the truth of the flesh might be declared; wherefore it is also here said, that he appeared to them for the last time as they sat at meat. (ubi sup.) Another reason also why our Lord rebuked His disciples, when He left them as to His bodily presence, was, that the words which He spoke on leaving them might remain more deeply impressed upon the hearts of His hearers.

Last of all, as they were reclining at the table, he appeared to the eleven and reproached their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen him risen. How "last of all," as if they would no longer see …

(non occ.) Mark, when about to finish his Gospel, relates the last appearance of our Lord to His disciples after His resurrection, saying,1 For the last time he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat. (Acts 1:4, 9)

But He appeared when all the eleven were together, that all might be witnesses, and relate to all men what they had seen and heard in common. It goes on: And upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them who had seen him after his resurrection. But He rebukes their want of faith, that faith might take its place; He rebukes the hardness of their stony heart, that the fleshy heart, full of love, might take its place.

Observe, It will not suffice for an excuse of our infidelity in the great day, to say, " We did not see him after he was risen," for we ought to have believed the testimony of those who did see him. The commission which he gave them to set up his kingdom among men by the preaching of his gospel, the glad tidings of reconciliation to God through a Mediator.

Afterward he appeared unto the eleven,....

And upbraided them with their unbelief - Never were there a people so difficult to be persuaded of the truth of spiritual things as the disciples. It may be justly asserted, that people of so skeptical a turn of mind would never credit any thing till they had the fullest evidence of its truth. The unbelief of the disciples is a strong proof of the truth of the Gospel of God. See the addition at the end.

Let us mark, in these verses, what abundant proof we have that our Lord Jesus Christ really rose again from the dead . In this one passage Mark records no less than three distinct occasions on which He was seen after His resurrection. First, he tells us, our Lord appeared to one witness, Mary Magdalene — then to two witnesses, two disciples walking into the country — and lastly to eleven witnesses, the eleven apostles all assembled together.

I SHALL not dwell so much upon this particular instance of the disciples' unbelief as upon the fact that the Lord Jesus upbraided them because of it. This action of His shows us the way in which unbelief is to be treated by us. As our loving Savior felt it right to upbraid rather than to console, He taught us that on some occasions unbelief should be treated with severity rather than with condolence.

Let us mark, in these verses, what abundant proof we have that our Lord Jesus Christ really rose again from the dead . In this one passage Mark records no less than three distinct occasions on which He was seen after His resurrection. First, he tells us, our Lord appeared to one witness, Mary Magdalene — then to two witnesses, two disciples walking into the country — and lastly to eleven witnesses, the eleven apostles all assembled together. Let us remember, in addition to this, that other appearances of our Lord are described by other writers in the New Testament, beside those mentioned by Mark. And then let us not hesitate to believe, that of all the facts of our Lord's history, there is none more thoroughly established than the fact, that He rose from the dead. There is great mercy in this. The resurrection of Christ is one of the foundation-stones of Christianity. It was the seal of the great work that He came on earth to do. It was the crowning proof that the ransom He paid for sinners was accepted, the atonement for sin accomplished, the head of him who had the power of death bruised, and the victory won. It is well to remark how often the resurrection of Christ is referred to by the apostles. "He was delivered for our offences," says Paul, "and was raised again for our justification." (Rom. 4:25.) "He has begotten us again to a living hope," says Peter, "by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." (1 Peter 1:3.) We ought to thank God that the fact of the resurrection is so clearly established. The Jew, the Gentile, the priests, the Roman guard, the women who went to the tomb, the disciples who were so hesitant to believe, are all witnesses whose testimony cannot be gainsaid. Christ has not only died for us, but has also risen again. To deny it shows far greater credulity than to believe it.

I SHALL not dwell so much upon this particular instance of the disciples' unbelief as upon the fact that the Lord Jesus upbraided them because of it. This action of His shows us the way in which unbelief is to be treated by us. As our loving Savior felt it right to upbraid rather than to console, He taught us that on some occasions unbelief should be treated with severity rather than with condolence. Beloved Friends, let us never look upon our own unbelief as an excusable infirmity, but let us always regard it as a sin—and as a great sin, too. Whatever excuse you may at any time make for others—and I pray you to make excuses for them whenever you can rightly do so—never make any for yourself. In that case, be swift to condemn. I am not at all afraid that as a general rule we shall err on the side of harshness to ourselves. No, we are far too ready to palliate our own wrong-doing, to cover up our own faults and to belittle our own offenses. I very specially urge every Believer in Jesus to deal most sternly with himself in this matter of unbelief. If he turns the back of the judicial knife towards others, let him always turn the keen edge of it towards himself. In that direction use your sharpest eye and your most severely critical judgment. If you see any fault in yourself, you may depend upon it that the fault is far greater than it appears to be— therefore deal more sternly with it. It is a very easy thing for us to get into a desponding state of heart and to mistrust the promises and faithfulness of God and yet, all the while, to look upon ourselves as the subjects of a disease which we cannot help—and even to claim pity at the hands of our fellow men—thinking that they should console us and try to cheer us. Perhaps they should, but, at any rate, we must not think that they should.

Afterward he appeared unto the eleven - Judas was dead, and the apostles were then called “the eleven.” This was done even when one of them was absent, as Thomas was on this occasion. See the “Harmony of the Accounts of the Resurrection, Appearances, and Ascension of Christ,” at the close of the notes on Matthew. As they sat at meat - The word meat here means food, or meals. As they were reclining at their meals. And upbraided them ... - Rebuked them, or reproached them. This was done because, after all the evidence they had had of his resurrection, still they did not believe. This is a most important circumstance in the history of our Lord’s resurrection. Never were people more difficult to be convinced of anything than they were of that fact. And this shows conclusively that they had not conspired to impose on the world; that they had given up all for lost when he died; that they did not expect his resurrection; and all this is the strongest proof that he truly rose. They were not convinced until it was impossible for them longer to deny it. Had they expected it, they would have caught easily at the slightest evidence, and would have turned every circumstance in favor of such an event. It may be added that it was impossible that eleven men of good natural understanding should have been deceived in so plain a case. They had been with Jesus three years; they perfectly knew his features, voice, manner; and it is not credible that they should have been deceived by anyone who might have pretended to have been the Lord Jesus.