Mark 16:1-8
When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Welcome to Getting ready for Sunday, a podcast of first Lutheran Church. Each week, I introduced the readings for the upcoming Sunday with some notes and explanation so you can be ready for worship when you arrive. I look at the Old Testament, song, epistle and Gospel reading for the upcoming Sunday and offer a few notes and explanation. The Gospel reading for Sunday, March 31. Easter Sunday is from Mark chapter 16, verses one through eight. When the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James and Salome, bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early, on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb. And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back, it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, Do not be alarmed, you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified, He has risen, he is not here, see the place where they laid him. But go tell his disciples and Peter, that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him just as he told you. And they went out and fled from the tomb for trembling and astonishment had seized them. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. He rents the reading. This is the great gospel reading for our Easter Sunday celebration, the resurrection news about Jesus who was dead, and is now alive. So let's dig in. When the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices. So we see to Mary's other gospel readings have other people, but we know here today, it's Mary Magdalene. This is the woman that Jesus cast out demons out of and marry the mother of James and Salome. They have spices to go and anoint Jesus. Now, this means that they are going to the tomb to expect to find a dead body. They found the spices that are traditionally part of the burial preparations. They obviously don't know that Joseph of Aaron mithya did all of that the night before oil two nights before, before the preparation for the Passover. And so you can imagine lots of confusion, everything happens suddenly. And then you have to rest for a day for the Passover. And now they got to make sure it's okay. So they're going expecting to find a dead Jesus. Otherwise, they wouldn't have brought spices. Otherwise, they would have been skipping and laughing and jumping and being going to the tomb being like Wednesday coming out. But no, they did not. So very early, on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. So this is on the first day of the week. We know it's Sunday morning, as the sun had risen, they're now at the tomb. And they were saying to one another, who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb. So they have a logistical question. They want to get there. They want to anoint Jesus's body. And so someone's going to have to take the stone away. And it's not going to be them. Part of the challenge, of course, with the chaos and the planning, and all the terrible stuff that had been happened is that they didn't really have a way of putting together a definite logistical plan for anointing Jesus's body. And they're like, Oh, we might get to the tomb and not be able to do anything. But when they get there, something strange happens. And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back, and it was very large. So there's here's begins a mystery. And entering the tomb. They saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. So they go, the stone has rolled away mystery number one, and they enter into a tomb and they see a young man sitting there. mystery number two, because that's kind of weird. I don't know about you, but I don't hang out in tombs, sitting on a place where bodies usually lay. So they go in. They see the young man He's dressed in a white robe. And this is code talk Bible speak for probably an angel. And they were alarmed. That's what people do when they see angels and heavenly messengers, they are afraid, they are alarmed. And they go, Oh, I mean, it's also kind of weird that they go into this tomb, expecting to find a dead Jesus. Instead, they find no Jesus, and a young man sitting where his body is supposed to be. What's going on? The young man tries to calm them, he says, Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified, He has risen, he is not here, see the place where they laid him. So he says, Don't be alarmed. Calm down, it's okay. I know why you're here, you seek Jesus who was crucified. So Jesus who was truly dead, who was laid here, he was crucified, He has risen, he is not here. I mean, obviously, he's not there, you can't see his body. But it's not because somebody dragged him away. It's because he is now alive, of a man who had been crucified and tortured to death is now alive. And he points to the place where they laid him see, look where they placed him. And so the great news that Jesus has destroyed, the power of death is delivered by this angel to the women. Look, this is an amazing thing. Next, the angel says, but go tell his disciples and Peter, that he is going before you to Galilee, there you will see him just as he told you. Now, here's a little sad piece of this, it's Go and tell his disciples, and Peter, this could be a reference to Peter's denial of Jesus. And that when Peter went to the trial, and they accused him of knowing Jesus, and he said, I don't three times Peter stepped out of the disciples group, and needed to be reinstated. And we see that story, the reinstatement of Peter in the Gospel of John, but it's this is a little bit of a painful moment in the gospels, like, Hey, Peter, remember, but they say, is Peter and his disciples to go to Galilee, and they'll see them they're there, you will see him just as he told you. Next, the says, And they went out and fled from the tomb for trembling and astonishment had seized them. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. Now, that's a weird way to end the gospel of Mark, isn't it? And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. Like, Hallelujah, Christ is risen, right? Oh, yeah. This is the great story. Not so much. Where is the appearance to Mary Magdalene? What about the guys on the road to a mass or the locked room or any of that stuff? Where's Jesus? We don't even get to see Jesus in this story. I think that's the actually the point. Where is Jesus, the angel says, There you will see him just as he told you. And I think the point here is that it's not about actually seeing Jesus in this gospel, but believing His Word. God sends an angel to proclaim the good news that Jesus is alive, the tomb is empty. And the people just need to believe, believe and go to Galilee. And you'll see him there. And the women respond with fear. They go, we don't know what's going on. This is kind of crazy, and they run off and hide. And it's kind of a challenge to the Christian church, because they're a little bit more like the women in this particular story is that Jesus does not appear to all of us, he doesn't come and show up and say, Hey, I'm alive, believe in me. And so we have to depend on the word of others, the witnesses who were there, the people who saw the angel, the apostles who wrote down their stories, the people who lived and walked with Jesus. Are we going to be like the women who hear the news of the resurrection and then say nothing to no one and be afraid? Or are we going to take heart? The proclamation that Christ is risen, that death is destroyed, and believe and speak.
I think I know which one I want to be And I bet you want to be that way to not like people who are cowering in fear, but bold, knowing that Christ is alive. He has risen. Hope to see you on Sunday when we celebrate that amazing resurrection. Our worship services are 830 and 11. It we a joy to have you there. Talk to you then. Bye
Transcribed by https://otter.ai