THERE IS A DIFFERENCE
Mark 16:9-15 NKJV
9 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.
12 After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.
14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
I wanted us to look at an interaction that took place after Jesus was raised from the dead. Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, and she went to the disciples and told them that Jesus was alive. The disciples were mourning and weeping over Jesus being dead. But instead of rejoicing, they did not believe Mary.
Jesus also revealed Himself to two other followers of His. These two went and told the rest of the disciples, but they did not believe the report of Jesus being alive. Later, Jesus appeared to the eleven as they were around the table. But instead of a warm greeting Jesus rebuked the eleven for their unbelief and hardness of heart. There was a reason Jesus rebuked His disciples. They did not believe the ones who reported that He was alive. The disciples refused to believe, and Jesus rebuked their unbelief and their hardness of heart. This is the first time I noticed that they had hardened their hearts to the report of His resurrection. Choosing not to believe and hardening their hearts caused the men who walked closest to Jesus to completely miss the fact that He was alive from the dead. Keep in mind that at least four times that we know of in Scripture, Jesus told them He would die but that He would rise from the dead. The disciples had His word and eyewitnesses to His resurrection but did not believe, and Jesus rebuked them.
To rebuke means to scold or reprimand. Jesus did not demean the disciples or punish them, but He verbally upbraided them and told them where they were wrong. To rebuke also means to scold. Jesus was not pleased with the disciples' behavior, and He let them know it.
But what Jesus does next gives us insight into His rebukes. The very next thing He did was commission the eleven to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Jesus rebuked and corrected His disciples. They should have known better and been the first to believe that Jesus was alive. But Jesus did not punish the eleven. Instead, He gave them their assignment to take the gospel to the world. There is a difference between rebuke and punishment. If Jesus had punished the disciples for their unbelief and hardness of heart, He could have written them off and not given them their divine commission. But He corrected them and then sent them out.
APPLICATION
Many people equate a rebuke with punishment. I have corrected staff for errors; technically, what I did was rebuke them. But I did not fire them, demean them, or punish them by taking something from them. I loved them and wanted them to make the adjustment. I did not call them names and write them off. I did what Jesus did. I reprimanded them and encouraged them to not repeat the same error. A rebuke did not mean Jesus didn't believe in the disciples. There is a difference between a rebuke and punishment.
The eleven made adjustment, and their faith and tender hearts toward God and people changed the entire world. The Lord still corrects His followers today. But He is not punishing you or writing you off. He loves you and wants you to make the adjustment so you can carry out all He has called you to do.