Mark 16:8 ( NIV )
8 "Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid."
The Resurrection has never been easy to understand , so if we have trouble saying definitively “This is what the Resurrection is and this is what it means…” then we are in good company.
I struggle with it which is why I (sometimes) like the Gospel of Mark : it has three endings just in this one gospel. Some of the ancient manuscripts and some translations have only one ending or sometimes two.
Mark 16:9-20
9 After Jesus rose from death early on Sunday, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had driven out seven demons. 10 She went and told his companions. They were mourning and crying; 11 and when they heard her say that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe her.
12 After this, Jesus appeared in a different manner to two of them while they were on their way to the country. 13 They returned and told the others, but these would not believe it.
14 Last of all, Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating. He scolded them, because they did not have faith and because they were too stubborn to believe those who had seen him alive. 15 He said to them, “Go throughout the whole world and preach the gospel to all people. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 Believers will be given the power to perform miracles: they will drive out demons in my name; they will speak in strange tongues; 18 if they pick up snakes or drink any poison, they will not be harmed; they will place their hands on sick people, and these will get well.”
19 After the Lord Jesus had talked with them, he was taken up to heaven and sat at the right side of God. 20 The disciples went and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and proved that their preaching was true by the miracles that were performed.]
In the first ending: Mark 16:9-20; the women are afraid and don’t tell anyone.
In the second ending:
16:9-11 Mary Magdalene does tell the disciples but they don’t believe her.
16:12-13 Jesus appears to two disciples on the road and when they return to tell the other disciples they don’t believe them. ( Road to Emmaus story Luke 24:13-35)
16:14-18 Jesus appears to the eleven disciples to whom he gives powers to heal, to perform miracles, to drive out demons, and he instructs them to preach the good news of salvation.
16:19-20 Jesus ascends into heaven
Mark 16:9-10 (another old ending)
9-10 [The women went to Peter and his friends and gave them a brief account of all they had been told. After this, Jesus himself sent out through his disciples from the east to the west the sacred and everliving message of eternal salvation.]
What are we to make of all of this? It’s like one of those police shows where the witnesses to an event give their statements but no two statements correspond exactly.There is always something different.
We might try to reconcile all the stories or even discredit them because all we have are different accounts of the morning at the tomb, of the disciples walking with Jesus on the road, of disciples meeting with Jesus in Jerusalem. We have accounts of Jesus giving the disciples instructions and ascending into heaven.
What really happened? What would we see if it were captured on video? But then what would we see if it were the event of angels visiting Abraham and Sara, or Abraham with Issac on the mountain, or Moses and the burning bush, or Saul on the road to Damascus. What would we see? Or is that even the right question to ask? - after all, is it the event itself or what took place after the event? What happened to those people! What changed for those people because one thing is certain: their lives were changed and took a new direction and a new meaning.
So when it comes to Easter I am not so interested in proving the Resurrection in any way. I am not interested in finding or giving a plausible reason or theory about how this could have happened. I’m interested in what it means for me, for us, for Christians.
I know the Resurrection of Jesus turned a frightened bunch of disciples and followers into courageous men and women. Every day they would gather to pray first in a house and then in the Temple in Jerusalem. More and more people came to their gatherings to hear the Good News the disciples preached especially after Pentecost. Some people may have come because they were curious about what was going on and some people stayed because they were changed by what they heard and saw and experienced. They changed and changed their lives.
The Resurrection is about more than one man being raised from the dead after all Jesus himself had given life back to Lazarus and to Jairus’ daughter. The Resurrection is about response: the women who believed but were afraid, the women who told but weren’t believed, the disciples who walked and couldn’t recognize Jesus, the disciples who ran back to tell the others when they did.
The Resurrection is about response. What do we hope for on Easter morning? What did the disciples and followers hope for when they gathered to pray in a house in Jerusalem? What changed for the frightened distraught disciples so that they not only found comfort in each other’s company but courage and boldness to preach the Good News to others?
I believe that Jesus did appear to them.
I believe that Jesus did instruct them and confer upon them the power, insight and the will to continue his mission.
I believe that it is our response to the Easter story that makes a difference in our lives otherwise it is just a story.
8 "Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid."
The Resurrection has never been easy to understand , so if we have trouble saying definitively “This is what the Resurrection is and this is what it means…” then we are in good company.
I struggle with it which is why I (sometimes) like the Gospel of Mark : it has three endings just in this one gospel. Some of the ancient manuscripts and some translations have only one ending or sometimes two.
Mark 16:9-20
9 After Jesus rose from death early on Sunday, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had driven out seven demons. 10 She went and told his companions. They were mourning and crying; 11 and when they heard her say that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe her.
12 After this, Jesus appeared in a different manner to two of them while they were on their way to the country. 13 They returned and told the others, but these would not believe it.
14 Last of all, Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating. He scolded them, because they did not have faith and because they were too stubborn to believe those who had seen him alive. 15 He said to them, “Go throughout the whole world and preach the gospel to all people. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 Believers will be given the power to perform miracles: they will drive out demons in my name; they will speak in strange tongues; 18 if they pick up snakes or drink any poison, they will not be harmed; they will place their hands on sick people, and these will get well.”
19 After the Lord Jesus had talked with them, he was taken up to heaven and sat at the right side of God. 20 The disciples went and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and proved that their preaching was true by the miracles that were performed.]
In the first ending: Mark 16:9-20; the women are afraid and don’t tell anyone.
In the second ending:
16:9-11 Mary Magdalene does tell the disciples but they don’t believe her.
16:12-13 Jesus appears to two disciples on the road and when they return to tell the other disciples they don’t believe them. ( Road to Emmaus story Luke 24:13-35)
16:14-18 Jesus appears to the eleven disciples to whom he gives powers to heal, to perform miracles, to drive out demons, and he instructs them to preach the good news of salvation.
16:19-20 Jesus ascends into heaven
Mark 16:9-10 (another old ending)
9-10 [The women went to Peter and his friends and gave them a brief account of all they had been told. After this, Jesus himself sent out through his disciples from the east to the west the sacred and everliving message of eternal salvation.]
What are we to make of all of this? It’s like one of those police shows where the witnesses to an event give their statements but no two statements correspond exactly.There is always something different.
We might try to reconcile all the stories or even discredit them because all we have are different accounts of the morning at the tomb, of the disciples walking with Jesus on the road, of disciples meeting with Jesus in Jerusalem. We have accounts of Jesus giving the disciples instructions and ascending into heaven.
What really happened? What would we see if it were captured on video? But then what would we see if it were the event of angels visiting Abraham and Sara, or Abraham with Issac on the mountain, or Moses and the burning bush, or Saul on the road to Damascus. What would we see? Or is that even the right question to ask? - after all, is it the event itself or what took place after the event? What happened to those people! What changed for those people because one thing is certain: their lives were changed and took a new direction and a new meaning.
So when it comes to Easter I am not so interested in proving the Resurrection in any way. I am not interested in finding or giving a plausible reason or theory about how this could have happened. I’m interested in what it means for me, for us, for Christians.
I know the Resurrection of Jesus turned a frightened bunch of disciples and followers into courageous men and women. Every day they would gather to pray first in a house and then in the Temple in Jerusalem. More and more people came to their gatherings to hear the Good News the disciples preached especially after Pentecost. Some people may have come because they were curious about what was going on and some people stayed because they were changed by what they heard and saw and experienced. They changed and changed their lives.
The Resurrection is about more than one man being raised from the dead after all Jesus himself had given life back to Lazarus and to Jairus’ daughter. The Resurrection is about response: the women who believed but were afraid, the women who told but weren’t believed, the disciples who walked and couldn’t recognize Jesus, the disciples who ran back to tell the others when they did.
The Resurrection is about response. What do we hope for on Easter morning? What did the disciples and followers hope for when they gathered to pray in a house in Jerusalem? What changed for the frightened distraught disciples so that they not only found comfort in each other’s company but courage and boldness to preach the Good News to others?
I believe that Jesus did appear to them.
I believe that Jesus did instruct them and confer upon them the power, insight and the will to continue his mission.
I believe that it is our response to the Easter story that makes a difference in our lives otherwise it is just a story.
Prayer (VU #174)
God of Resurrection,
You have rolled away the stone
And the tomb of our world has been opened wide.
With the dawn has come a new creation.
Let our prayers today
Empty our tombs
Renew our lives
And release your power
Through the risen Christ.
Amen
Ain't No Grave (Crowder)
(Can be found on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2riayoq6hcs
Oh my Lord it's a winding road
It's all bent from a heavy load
Feel the weight beneath the ground
Ain't no grave gonna hold me down
Oh my Lord I can barely sing
Waiting for You and Your reckoning
Angels hummin', can you hear the sound?
Ain't no grave gonna hold me down
Ain't no grave gonna hold me down
I will rise, I will rise
I will rise, I will rise
Troubles come for everyone
Death has no respect for love
Roll that stone I won't be found
Ain't no grave gonna hold me down
Lord I'm crooked from head to toe
Got dirty hands and a dirty soul
I was lost but now I'm found
Ain't no grave gonna hold me down
Ain't no grave gonna hold me down
I will rise, I will rise
I will rise, I will rise
Troubles come for everyone
Death has no respect for love
Roll that stone I won't be found
Ain’t no grave gonna hold me down
God of Resurrection,
You have rolled away the stone
And the tomb of our world has been opened wide.
With the dawn has come a new creation.
Let our prayers today
Empty our tombs
Renew our lives
And release your power
Through the risen Christ.
Amen
Ain't No Grave (Crowder)
(Can be found on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2riayoq6hcs
Oh my Lord it's a winding road
It's all bent from a heavy load
Feel the weight beneath the ground
Ain't no grave gonna hold me down
Oh my Lord I can barely sing
Waiting for You and Your reckoning
Angels hummin', can you hear the sound?
Ain't no grave gonna hold me down
Ain't no grave gonna hold me down
I will rise, I will rise
I will rise, I will rise
Troubles come for everyone
Death has no respect for love
Roll that stone I won't be found
Ain't no grave gonna hold me down
Lord I'm crooked from head to toe
Got dirty hands and a dirty soul
I was lost but now I'm found
Ain't no grave gonna hold me down
Ain't no grave gonna hold me down
I will rise, I will rise
I will rise, I will rise
Troubles come for everyone
Death has no respect for love
Roll that stone I won't be found
Ain’t no grave gonna hold me down
