Introduction
We have had three months of somber, tense passages covering the passion of our Lord, and though hopefully I have been able to convey the message that throughout his passion, Jesus was in control of his destiny and was carrying out the mission of redemption that he had come to accomplish, nevertheless there is atmosphere of sadness hanging over the story. We are ready for the happy ending.
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When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
As you recall from last week, Joseph of Arimathea (with Nicodemus) quickly buried Jesus just before the Sabbath began. These women had followed them and watched the burial proceedings. They were determined in some way to pay one last act of devotion to their Lord. What can they do? They could anoint his body.
The burial custom of the Jews was to cover the body in spices and perfumed ointments, not to preserve the body but to counteract the odor of the decaying flesh. Joseph and Nicodemus did do that, but because of the short time to get the bodied buried, may not have done as complete a job as usually given. Even if they did, it would not be odd for the women to want to do their part as well.
The women had to wait an extra day until the Sabbath was over before they could buy the necessary spices and carry out their work. They make an early start and along the way consider an obstacle – the stone that had been rolled over the tomb’s entrance. How are they going to move it? It is probable that they know nothing of the guard and the seal over the entrance that Matthew tells us about.
They are a pitiful sight – a handful of grieving women making their way to Jesus’ grave to try and do something to show their love, and not even knowing how they are going to accomplish their task. 4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.
What could this mean? We know from John what they thought. Jesus’ enemies could not be satisfied with killing him; they had to disgrace his body as well. Joseph may have outwitted them in getting Jesus’ body, but they would get to it later. That is the logical supposition. We can be sure that his coming to life was not considered at this point.
They draw up the courage to go inside the tomb. Inside the entrance is an antechamber they could stand in. There would then be a small entrance cut into the rock that leads into the tomb room itself. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
I am sure they are alarmed. They are no doubt experiencing the same tension we would feel if we came home and found our house broken into, and we enter not sure if the trespasser is still in there or not. But beyond being frightened by finding a stranger present, they experience the common fear of everyone who comes into the presence of an angel. Mark doesn’t use the term for an angel, but the “white robe” is the giveaway. That is angel clothing. Matthew tells us explicitly that he is an angel.
What the man in the white robe says also confirms that he is an angel. First, an assuring word not to be alarmed. That is standard angel protocol. But most of all is the divine revelation that he gives.
6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”
This is divine revelation, the message of an angel of the Lord, most likely given to him by Jesus himself. An empty tomb only proves that the body is missing. It is this message that makes clear the wondrous miracle that has taken place.
Consider the message. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. They had seen with their own eyes Jesus crucified. They had seen him die and had witnessed his burial. It was Jesus the Nazarene, i.e. of Nazareth. They were not mistaken about his death and burial. They knew where to find him, or so they thought!
He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. He has risen! The angel did not say, “You are mistaken. Jesus did not really die.” No, Jesus died and he rose from the dead. Look inside in the room that holds his body. It is empty. You saw the men lay the body in there. He is alive!
So then, where is he? That’s where the women fit in. The angel was in charge to deliver the message to the women; they in turn are to pass it on to the disciples. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”
Note that the angel mentions Peter by name. Why do you suppose that? Is it a signal to everyone and to Peter that he is forgiven his great sin of denying his Lord? Of all the disciples, other than Judas, he must feel the most guilt-ridden. What is the message? Go to Galilee. That is where Jesus will meet with them, just like old-times. Then note the last phrase: just as he told you. You can picture Jesus with a gleam in his eye telling his disciples, “I told you so. I told you all along I would rise. But would you listen?”
The reaction of the women seems the most puzzling part of the story. 8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
Why are they leaping with joy? Matthew tells us that they are filled with joy, but also with fear. Yes, it is joyful news to hear that Jesus has risen from the dead, but “risen from the dead?” Risen from the dead? How do you process that kind of message? How would you handle such news? The person dearest to you has died. You go to his or her grave, only to find it dug up and a man standing by who tells you that he or she has risen from the dead. Do you shake his hands and thank him for the good news, or do you go into a state of shock? Do you happily go your way and starting calling the family with the good news or do they upon seeing you call a doctor to give you a sedative?
Furthermore, what does Jesus’ rising mean? Has the final day of resurrection come, which is also the day of judgment? Are they about to see the resurrection of all the dead and the “Son of Man” come from out of the clouds in glory? What does his resurrection mean? How would you feel if you were thinking that the end may be near?
Now, what I am about to say next might shake you. It is not that the end is near! The gospel of Mark, however, probably ends here. Your Bible translation may or may not indicate that. If you are using the NIV, it will have a note at this point to that effect. The KJ will not. Other translations may refer to it in footnotes. Why would the remaining verses be questioned?
First of all, let me make clear that this it not a debate between conservatives and liberals over the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible. It has nothing to do with that, and indeed, the reason why doubt is raised is precisely because conservative scholars revere the Bible as God’s Holy Word. If we are to acknowledge Scripture as being God’s inspired Word, then it is essential to know what originally was written by the authors inspired by the Holy Spirit. If I, as I do, preach that the gospel written by Mark is God’s Holy Word, then I must be careful only to preach what Mark wrote. If I esteem, as I do, every word written by the original biblical writers as inspired, inerrant, and authoritative, then I must be careful to include only those words and exclude others added at a later time.
That is most likely what happened with these remaining verses. Why would scholars think that? Primarily because of the witness of early manuscripts and respected church fathers. Understand that we do not possess a single original manuscript of any biblical writing. All we have are copies, some of the whole New Testament, but most of single books and many are mere fragments of a few verses. Most manuscripts do have this full ending of Mark, but a few significant ones do not. A few have a different shorter ending and some have that ending stuck between verse 8 and the longer ending. Finally, two respected early church scholars of the 4th century state that the majority of manuscripts of their day did not have the longer ending, while respected earlier Bible teachers show no awareness of the ending.
This, of course, is a very brief overview of the subject, and we are not going to use Easter Sunday for an extended academic discussion. The point I want to leave you with about this, is that far from undermining your confidence in Scripture, such an issue should make you ever more confident. Unlike other religions which fear to have their holy books be placed under critical study, we encourage it. We know that the true Word will bear any scrutiny and like gold which loses its dross under fire, so the Word will only lose what has been added to it. If I state the single instance in which a small part of Mark’s gospel is questionable as to whether Mark wrote it – the issue is not whether Mark made an error – then you can be confident of the trustworthiness of the remainder. You can be sure that when I say, “Thus says the Lord,” I don’t mean “maybe this is what the Lord said; don’t scrutinize it too closely.”
Having said all that, let’s do look at the remaining verses. What we find is that almost everything in them are found in other scripture.
9 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it. You will find the same story in John 20:1ff.
12 Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. 13 These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.
14 Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. See Luke 24:13ff.
15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Check out Matthew 28:19.
17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” Jesus had earlier commissioned his disciples to drive out demons (Mark 3:15) and gave them power to heal the sick (Mark 6:13). There is no record of him telling them they will speak in tongues, but of course that is what happened at Pentecost (Acts 2:1ff). We know of one occasion in which the apostle Paul was bitten by a viper and unharmed (Acts 28:3ff). The only thing in which there is no other biblical record is drinking deadly poison.
19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. This is attested to in Luke 24:50ff and Acts 1:9ff, as well as Hebrews 1:3.
20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it. See the book of Acts.
Even if you do conclude that verses 9-20 were not written by Mark, almost every word is taken from Scripture that we are sure about.
Conclusion
So, what are we sure about this Easter morning? That Jesus was right all along. Let’s review the series of messages from the last two chapters. I asked why, during the last supper, Jesus tells his disciples such discouraging news about one of the betraying him and the others abandoning him. He was letting them know that as the evening unfolded, and it seemed that his enemies were getting controlled over him, in truth he was faithfully playing the drama that his Father had prepared for him on our behalf. The very fact that they were having a Passover meal signified the redeeming work for him to do.
We considered Jesus’ words to Peter that he would deny him and then listened to Jesus’ prayer to his Father that the cup be removed from him. We noted that it is precisely because we are weak like Peter and the disciples that the Jesus had to drink the cup prepared for him. He had to be strong because we are weak, and because he was strong, not weak, he continued along the path of suffering prepared for him. Where did his strength come from? From the joy set before him (Hebrews 12:2), the joy that was at the end of the trail of sorrow.
We read of Jesus’ arrest and his calm response that the Scriptures must be fulfilled (14:49). He did not say those words out of resignation, but how of affirmation that what he was about to endure had purpose, was fulfilling a great work, indeed, the greatest of all, redemption for sin.
Then there was the first trial before the Sanhedrin, and we considered that though Jesus appeared weak, yet in his weakness true power was enacted. We heard his promise that he would return in glory and power. We learned that what oftentimes seems weakness to the world is true power.
We read of Peter’s great failure and noted that what the scene was displaying was the wondrous gospel. While Peter was falling in sin, his Savior was resolutely procuring his redemption. It is for such failures as Peter that Jesus was enduring his trial; it is for us sinners, because we are sinners, that our Lord remained resolute to drink the dregs of the cup.
Then Jesus is handed over to Pilate who hands him over to the guards to crucify him. But what enables him to submit to this degrading treatment is the knowledge that in the end he will commit himself into his Father’s hands. He has not lost control, but is doing precisely what is necessary to see that we are committed into the hands of God.
The crucifixion begins along with the mockery and abuse. He appears to be a fraudulent king, a powerless Messiah who cannot even save himself. In truth, it is precisely because he is our powerful king that he remains on the cross and endures untold suffering to deliver us from our sins. He even endures the worse horror – making himself a curse before his Father and receiving God’s just wrath for our sins. Even so, even in the midst of that most terrible moment, he knows that he is accomplishing the work of redemption he had come to do. Everything is going according to plan, even the burial which fulfills the prophecy foretold of him.
Jesus accomplished everything, everything foretold of him to be our victorious Messiah who delivers us from the power of sin. He accomplished everything to that moment when with great power he burst the bonds of death and rose victoriously from the grave. “See, I told you so,” he calls out to everyone. To his disciples who couldn’t get it into their heads what he had been telling them; to his enemies who thought they had defeated him; to Satan and to death itself who thought that finally they had won the victory; to us, who in our foolishness keep worrying about whatever we insist on worrying about; he tells us, “I told you I have everything under control. There is no enemy too powerful to stand against me. There are no circumstances beyond my control, no chance forces to catch me off guard. There is no person too obstinate for me to change, no one with too great a sin that I have not atoned for, no individual too weak, too foolish, too helpless that my strength is insufficient to make amends for. You can depend on me.
Whether I may seem weak or foolish; whether the world seems too much for me; know that everything is under control and unfolding according to plan; just as I told my disciples that the result would be my resurrection, know now that the result will be my return and the resurrection of all my people to glory. I have told you so. Believe it; now go tell others about me.
