Section 16:14–18

Jesus told his disciples to preach the good news to all people

After Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and two of his followers, he appeared to his eleven disciples. First, he rebuked them for their lack of faith and for refusing to believe that he had been raised from the dead. Then Jesus told them to go out into the world and preach the good news to everyone.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Jesus Appears to the Eleven (Good News Bible)
-or-
What Jesus’ Followers Must Do (Contemporary English Version)

There is a parallel passage for this section in Matthew 28:16–20.

Paragraph 16:14–18

16:14a

Later: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Later here introduces events that probably occurred after the events in 16:12–13 but on the same day. See Luke 24:36.

as they were eating, Jesus appeared to the Eleven: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as appeared was also used in 16:12. Jesus showed himself to the eleven disciples; that is, he came to them.

as they were eating: It is implied that the disciples were eating together. Jesus appeared to them while they were together in the same place. In some languages it may be necessary to provide an object and say what they were eating. They were eating the evening meal:

as they were eating supper/dinner

the Eleven: The phrase the Eleven refers to the eleven remaining disciples. Judas was dead and another disciple had not yet been chosen to replace him. See Acts 1:18–22. In many languages it maybe helpful to add your word for “disciples” to the phrase the Eleven. For example:

the eleven disciples (Good News Bible)

16:14b

and rebuked them: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as rebuked means to reprimand or reproach someone for doing something wrong. Jesus rebuked the disciples because they had refused to believe that he was alive, even though he had told them that he would rise from the dead. See 10:34.

for their unbelief and hardness of heart: The Greek phrases that the Berean Standard Bible translates as unbelief and hardness of heart mean “lack of faith” and “stubborn refusal to believe.” The expressions “unbelief” and “hardness of heart” have almost the same meaning in this context. They are probably used together here for emphasis. (However, in a sense the disciples were guilty of two different things: failing to believe what Jesus had said would happen and refusing to believe those who knew that it had happened.)

In some languages it may not be natural to use two different phrases to express this emphasis. If that is true in your language, express the emphasis in a different way. For example:

they were too stubborn to believe (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
they completely refused to believe

See the General Comment on 16:14b–c for a discussion of how this part of the verse is related to the context.

16:14c

believe: In this context, the word believe refers to the situation where the eleven disciples did not believe that some people had seen Jesus risen from the dead. They did not accept this report as true. Here, the word believe does not mean “believe in” or “trust in” Jesus.

See believe, meaning 1, in the Glossary for more information about this word.

those who had seen Him after He had risen: The clause those who had seen Him after He had risen refers to Mary Magdalene in 16:9–11 and the two disciples in 16:12–13. These people had seen Jesus after he rose from the dead. The text implies here that these people told the disciples what they had seen. You may need to make this explicit. For example:

the testimony of the people who had seen him after he rose from the dead

General Comment on 16:14b–c

16:14c expresses the reason that Jesus reproached the disciples in 16:14b. In some languages it may be necessary to express this relationship explicitly, as the Greek text does. The New Jerusalem Bible follows the Greek text:

14bHe reproached them for their incredulity and obstinacy, 14cbecause they had refused to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.

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