"Don't be alarmed. You're
looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He's been raised; he's not
here. Look, there's the place they laid him."
When
someone starts off with "Don't be
alarmed" at the same time your whole being trembles at high alert, any
spoken words that follow tend to be incomprehensible. It's like teetering on
the edge of a cliff and supportively told, "Don't be afraid," while
all of the blood in your body has rushed to its lower regions.
One can
only imagine the anxiety-ridden thoughts racing through the heads of Mary
Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. "Don't be
alarmed?!?" "Who are you kidding?" "We know he was
crucified. We were there!" "What do you mean he's been raised? Raised
where?!?" "Are you trying to terrify us, because mission
accomplished!"
"He has been raised" was a crazy yet amazing proclamation
for the world to hear. Today, as Easter people, when that magnificent statement
is made -- "He is risen" -- the immediate, joyful reply comes forth
-- "He is risen, indeed."
In this
instance though, inside a tomb, no such reply was declared. Stunned silence was
more apt. To these three women, "raised"
could've meant a variety of things, especially with fright and confusion
clouding their minds. Even if one wanted to attach the meaning of
"resurrection" to "raised," the connection itself would've
been a challenge.
Why?
Because the Jews believed in a war-monger, conquering Messiah who would
extinguish the Roman occupation of Palestine to renew an entire world through a
general resurrection. Not the resurrection of one individual, rising from the
dead. And certainly not a Messiah who would die.
If
nothing else had been said by the young man, his words somewhat held authority
however with a smidgen of ambiguity. What was further disclosed was the proof
to come, wiping out any uncertainty.
"But go, tell his disciples and
Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as
he told you."
The young
man made it clear that Jesus -- who had been scourged, crucified and buried --
was not only out of the tomb, he was alive. A face-to-face meeting between
Jesus and his disciples would take place soon. What a jaw-dropping statement! In
the swirl of such incredible news, those closest to Jesus would frantically try
to piece together what Christ previously said.
On three
occasions, Jesus avowed to his disciples that he would rise three days after
his death: Mark 8:31, 9:31, 10:34. Friday death, Saturday passes,
Sunday risen. He also told them, "after
I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee."[i]
With this
mind-boggling statement, a shift happened. As Gene* shared with the study
group, "The tomb that represented death was now empty and represented
hope." Bev* mentioned, "It showed all of us death has no power,"
to which Leah* replied, "And it doesn't have the final say." Death
had been conquered.
The
magnitude of the young man's words and this mind-warping moment had to have
shaken the three women to their core. "Don't be afraid." "Jesus
isn't here." "He has risen from the dead." "He'll be
meeting everyone in Galilee very soon." Is it any wonder they "fled from the tomb, for terror and
amazement had seized them"?
"They said nothing to anyone,
for they were afraid." Darn
tooting they were scared! What just happened was absolute insanity! Sharing the
experience, who would believe them? Beyond that, if the heads of the disciples
were wanted on a platter, picture what would happen to these women if anyone
caught wind of their presence at the tomb -- with Jesus no longer there. They
would be stoned to death. No questions asked.
Of
course, there will always be nay-sayers who firmly believe none of this ever came
to pass. "Jesus had been unconscious. When he woke up, he escaped."
"Those women went to the wrong tomb." "The body of Jesus had
been stolen so this whole story of resurrection could be concocted."
Why would
the centurion have lied about Jesus' death? What would he personally gain?
Joseph of
Arimathea, with others, took Jesus' dead body down from the cross, which they
placed in the family tomb and sealed. Let's say for the sake of argument Jesus
wasn't quite dead yet. How would a brutally scourged, weakened man have had the
wherewithal and strength to grip a no-less-than 2,000+ pound stone and roll it
back -- on an incline?
Matthew,
Mark and Luke state the women knew Jesus' body was placed in the tomb on the
property of Joseph of Arimathea. Was that incorrect? Did they receive bad
directions? Did they suddenly forget where the tomb was? It was distinctive --
new and hewn in the rock.
Why would
anyone want to steal the body of Jesus? What about the Sanhedrin? If the Jewish
religious authorities had absconded with Christ's body, they wouldn't have
hidden it. Why conceal his corpse if they wanted to squash rumors of Jesus
rising on the third day?
What
about the disciples? Why would someone put their life on the line just to say
Jesus rose from the dead? With the disciples more so concerned about their own personal
safety and welfare, why the astonishing change of mind? "Let's steal
Jesus' body, tell everyone he was raised from the dead, and die for a ludicrous
lie. Everybody in?" One disciple might be willing to sacrifice himself for
a righteous and just cause, but all remaining eleven? Plus more followers?
While the
gospel stated the women "said
nothing to anyone," word of what happened eventually made its way to
the disciples. After meeting the resurrected Jesus, courage overtook angst. They
grew fearless, willing to die for their faith. No lie or legend would've done
that. "If God raised Jesus from the dead, what else can God do?" A
miraculous transformation occurred; fervent witness was to be provided about
the risen Christ and the new covenant.
"Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord, and proclaim his deliverance to
a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it."[ii]
Within
verse 7 was special mention of Peter. His inclusion was significant, as the broken-hearted
disciple who had denied Jesus. To be named specifically, this devastated
follower -- with his heart broke open -- would now be lifted out of the dark
into the dawn -- to have his open heart filled. No matter how badly he missed
the mark, he had been forgiven. What comfort that must've been for his weary,
troubled soul! Jesus believed in Peter even when Peter didn't, knowing the
divine plan for his disciple's role in a church to come.
In all of
the proclamation, action and witness of Christ's life, death and resurrection --
which would happen days, months, years later, Mark ended the gospel story with
a cliff-hanger of an ending. And a challenge was presented to his readers and
listeners for they wouldn't be the ones to see an appearance of the resurrected
Jesus.
But to
conclude the narrative at this point differs with what is known as "the
longer ending of Mark." "The fourth-century church fathers, Eusebius
and Jerome noted almost all Greek manuscripts available to them lacked verses
9-20. The transition between verses 8 and 9 is abrupt and awkward. …Finally,
the presence in these verses of a significant number of Greek words used
nowhere else in Mark argues that Mark did not write them down."[iii]
Hence the
conclusion of this study of The Gospel of Mark with verse 8. The gospel author wanted
those receiving the message of Good News to take a faith journey -- just like
the one that the disciples and other followers did with Jesus. In one of the
most important pieces of all literature, Mark wanted us to make a decision in
what we believe. For the proof is to come.
"Jesus
is going ahead of you; you will see him, just as he said."
As Jesus
said to Thomas, "Blessed are those
who have not seen and yet have come to believe."[iv]
Mark left
us with important, life-changing questions -- without asking the questions. How
do we respond to the grace of God? Do we choose to live in the resurrected
Christ? Are we willing to be transformed into new life?
Now what?
With all
of this, through this journey,… now what?
That
choice is left up to us.
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