How can
one succinctly describe the mood of those who loved and followed Jesus, three
days after his death? As my dad would say, "It's all over but the
crying." To which there had been plenty, along with a hefty dose of
concern.
Although
fear ran rampant, like the disciples with their necks on the line, some still
chose to pay their respect to the fallen Jesus. Devoted to their beloved
teacher, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James (son of Alphaeus) and Salome
journeyed to the tomb where he had been laid. Once there, they would anoint his
body with spices and ointment -- the final act of burial -- since this task wasn't
accomplished before Sabbath began on Friday evening.
On this
Sunday morning at dawn, no one expected anything out of the ordinary. However,
as these faithful three walked, they realized a major obstacle stood in their
way. Their entry into the tomb would be closed off. "Who will roll the stone for us?"
No amount
of wishes could budge a 2,000+ pound stone. The heavy rock cartwheel would've
been set inside a groove at a decline. To gain entry meant rolling the stone in
reverse on an incline. How many strong, able bodies would it take to do so?
Barrier
aside, a stunning surprise awaited the women upon their arrival. The rock had
already been rolled back! Imagine the plethora of emotions and thoughts rushing
through these loving followers. Plus, their excited hearts had to be pounding out
of control.
With
great trepidation, they approached the tomb and entered. Once inside, they saw
a body -- just not the body they anticipated. It was a live, breathing body of
someone other than Jesus. "Could someone please explain what's going on?!?"
Who was
the young man before them dressed in a white robe? Where did he come from? What
was he doing there?
The
telling of this particular part of the story varied in the gospels. Matthew
stated the young man was an angel of the Lord; Luke told of two men in dazzling
white; John wrote about two angels in white. Focusing on the first gospel account
written, Mark -- who carefully penned his words -- was making a point. What was
it though?
From a
divine perspective, a correlation could be made with a verse from Daniel 11:35:
"Some of the wise shall fall, so
that they may be refined, purified, and cleansed…" This young man
wearing a white robe was "dressed as a vindicated martyr."[i] As with some of the wise
who had fallen, in being purified they were made white. There's also a tie-in
to the Transfiguration which happened earlier in Mark 9:3 when the clothes of
Jesus "became dazzlingly
white."
Clearly the
young man was an angel. Right? Well,… it's not so clear-cut. While most theological
interpretations indicate an angel was involved, the author had previously
written about an unnamed "young
man." At the Garden of Gethsemane.
"A certain young man was
following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, but
he left the linen cloth and ran off naked."[ii]
The probability
exists this "certain young man"
was Mark himself as a teenager. He observed the Last Supper at the home of his
parents, then witnessed Jesus' prayerful struggle at Gethsemane. When opposing
forces took hold of Jesus, Mark scurried off out of fear, as did the disciples.
In his mad dash for safety, he was disrobed.
So, what
if the "young man," instead
of being a heavenly angel, had experienced a divine transformation from that dark
moment in the garden to the dawn of a new day at the tomb? What if Mark who had
been disrobed in the Garden of Gethsemane -- removing the traditional linen burial
cloth of death -- and who ran away naked as Adam and Eve had done in their
shame, was now robed in "vindicated" ("on the right side"
with double-meaning) white at the tomb?
For this author
to have written about an unnamed "young
man" in two separate instances wasn't sheer coincidence.
Yet,
could one young man have moved the sizeable stone out of the way in front of
the tomb? Interestingly enough, the rolling of the rock wasn't specifically
attributed to anyone. The author nor the "young man" made mention of it.
And the
twists and turn of events to come cause these three women to be even more dazed
and confused.
NEXT
The shoe
drops; the nay-sayers; the choice
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