Accompany

 

    To Accompany is to go somewhere with another person.  You are the companion or escort to the person.  It is to be present or occur the same place as another things or event.  It is not just people, but symptoms too.

    Jesus rose from the dead early on a Sunday morning.  The first person to see him was Mary Magdalene.  She followed and loved him because he had cast seven demons out of her.  She is the one that reported that Jesus was alive to the 11 disciples.  

    The disciples were weeping and grieving and they could not believe the news.  They had seen Jesus die.  They buried his body.  He could not be alive.  It went against everything that natural law about life and death states as fact.  Jesus had changed the natural law, at least for himself, at that time.  He changed it for the rest of us in a different way. 

    Jesus appeared all around Jerusalem for the next few days.  Appearing and disappearing in an unnatural way.  He was being reportedly seen by several people.  When the disciples were finally all together and Jesus appeared he rebuked them for refusing to believe.  He had been with them the longest in his ministry.  He had told them (vaguely) what would happen, so why would they not believe?

    Now that Jesus had the disciples (in the process of becoming apostles) attention he gave them new instruction for the rest of their lives.  He ordered them to go into the world and preach the "Good News".  Anyone who believes is to be baptized and anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.  He gave them the ability to do miraculous signs: cast out demons in his name, tongues, handle snakes sagely, drink poison without affect, heal the sick, and heal themselves.  Anyone who has faith will be accompany their salvation with these signs.  

    When Jesus was done with his last instructions for his disciples and all that were to come after, the ascended to Heaven to sit in his place of honor by God.  His disciples listened, accepted, and obeyed.  The only question now is will we do the same?

Mark 16:9-20