April 4 Sermon: Just As He Told You
Consider these questions as you reflect on this Easter sermon from Mark 16:1-8:
1. How does Pastor Mark emphasize the significance of the resurrection in the Christian faith? What does he think Christianity would look like if the resurrection had not occurred?
2. Describe the emotional journey of the women who visit Jesus' tomb. How does their initial purpose for visiting the tomb contrast with what they actually find, and how does this moment transform their understanding of Jesus' resurrection?
3. What is the Pastor Mark’s interpretation of the ending of Mark's gospel, particularly in regards to the absence of post-verse 8 content in early manuscripts? How does this uncertain conclusion tie into the message of Easter and its impact on individual lives? How can believers respond to this uncertainty in a way that aligns with the gravity of Christ's resurrection?
Transcript:
What a blessing it is to be able to gather and celebrate the truth of the resurrection of our Lord. This is the crux of the Christian faith. Without the resurrection there would be no Christianity. Jesus would be a forgotten rabbi from the first century. Just another one of the thousands executed by the Romans during the reign of their empire.
But here we are today, and we are gathering as we do every week to celebrate our resurrected Lord and praise him for his saving work for us. The eyewitness accounts that have come to us through history tell us of the truth of this event and we have read one version of the story in the gospel of Mark this morning.
The Gospel of Mark is interesting because it tells us the story of Jesus in a very fast paced and deliberate way. So much of the way Mark writes his gospel gets you to feel the urgency of the teaching and work of Jesus. The tension in Mark gives you a feeling that you have to decide what to do with Jesus and we are going to see the same thing in the way the story of the resurrection is told. In just eight verses we are told that the crucified Lord has risen from the dead just as he told his disciples he would.
And as we start out in Mark 16 we see that Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome are off to anoint the body of Jesus with spices.
This was a common custom at this time. To anoint a body meant that you care for them and had great respect for them. These ladies desire to do this for Jesus and they get up early to go grieve their friend but they realize that they have a problem. There is a stone that will need to be removed in order for them to enter the tomb but still they journey to the tomb hoping that they will be able to do this for Jesus and when they arrive they are greeted with a pleasant surprise.
The stone has been rolled back. Now, as we look at this story we have to remember that these women were not expecting resurrection. It wasn’t even on their radar. No way do they think they will get to the tomb and Jesus will not be there. Their friend is dead. This is part of their grieving, not a hope of a reunion. When they step into the tomb they are not expecting the body to be absent. They are expecting to use the spices for the purpose they were purchased.
And so, they step in and see an angel and they have an appropriate response. They are alarmed. You and I would be too. If you showed up for a visitation of a friend who had recently died and you find an empty casket you are going to be alarmed and you would be even more alarmed if you were greeted by an angel. Because we know the story of the resurrection I think we lose some of the raw emotion that would have been a part of this story. Put yourself in these ladies shoes. You would be terrified.
And so, the angel speaks words of comfort to the women. Do not be alarmed. Jesus was crucified but has been resurrected. This is not only words of comfort to them about Jesus it is also good news that death has been defeated. This story isn’t just about Jesus. It’s about them. Because Jesus has risen they now have hope of their own resurrection and eternal life. Because Jesus has risen they have peace with God. Because Jesus is risen they can be in right relationship with God. They are alarmed and in fear because the tomb is empty but the truth is that when they understand what this means they will truly be at peace.
That is the hope that the resurrection gives us and it is why we are here today. Our alarm and fear at the reality of our human frailty and the fact that we will die one day is turned to peace when we understand the truth of the empty tomb. We hear the word and the Holy Spirit comes to us and gives us the gift of faith and we trust that in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus our fear can be turned into hope.
And the angel wants others to know the truth that brings this hope.
The message is going to the disciples and the angel says that they will see Jesus just as he told them. Throughout the gospel of Mark, Jesus tells his disciples a lot of information about who he is and what is going to happen to him. They just don’t seem to ever get it but we see here that Jesus has been telling them the truth. He has told them what was going to happen and it has all come to pass. This is the sovereign plan of God. His death at the hands of the Romans was not a surprise that he did not anticipate. It was the plan all along and it was for the purpose of bringing his people to himself.
But even though it is clear that this was the plan and Jesus has told the disciples about it the ladies leaving the tomb are still afraid. We read that trembling and astonishment had seized them.
Now, the ending of Mark is interesting. You’ve probably seen some notes about this in your Bible and notices some verses that are in parenthesis after verse 8. The reason for this is because the earliest and most reliable manuscripts of Mark don’t contain anything after verse 8. And so most who study these manuscripts in the ancient language believe that Mark originally ended with this statement that they were afraid.
I haven’t studied extensively to completely explain all of it but I really love the idea that this the ending of Mark’s gospel. It leaves us with things a little up in the air. The resurrection of Jesus is certain and it’s a sure thing that was ordained to take place but we don’t know what the women did but we do know they are afraid. Now, the idea expressed in the original language here isn’t fear like we normally think of fear. The idea expressed here is reverent fear. They understand the gravity of what they have heard.
And so, these 8 verses on the resurrection leave us with a question. What are you going to do with the resurrection? How is it going to impact your life? Will you just take the message and be astonished or will step out into God’s world understanding the gravity of what God has done for you in Christ?
The message of Easter gives us hope but that hope is something that impacts us and changes our lives. It causes us to depart from here each week living in gratitude for the price that was paid for our sin and the victory over death that Jesus won on our behalf.
And so, what will we do with the message of the resurrection this week. Will we grasp the gravity of the truth of Christ’s resurrection? May we, as God’s chosen people, walk this week in newness of life knowing that all that God has done for us was just as he promised and it took place that we might have hope and peace to share with a lost and dying world.
