Risen Lord and gracious Savior keep us steadfast in your love. Deliver us from fickled whims and fears of our hearts and breathe the courage of your Spirit into us that we may be steadfast witnesses to your Living Word. Amen
He is risen! He is risen indeed!
Each Easter morning we begin our worship with this ancient greeting. In doing so we proclaim our expectation and core truth that Jesus lives and that the tomb is empty.
All of the Gospels try to wrap their heads around what this means. Each tells the story uniquely in its own way. Mark’s Gospel which is the oldest ends abruptly with the empty tomb with verse 8. Mark doesn’t provide any meaning for this empty tomb, no resurrection appearances, no expectations. Quickly Matthew and Luke begin to fill in resurrection details and the meaning of the empty tomb. Additional endings are, also, added on to Mark’s Gospel in time, several variations existing.
Some people are bothered with such differences and fragments in the story but as I have shared with you concerning the variations concerning the Christmas infancy narratives we can, also, find our faith enriched when we understand what those variations teach us about the first generation and earliest believers in Christ.
One of the places for us to begin our Easter season is for us to stand in the same place as those first believers for whom Mark wrote. Consider Mark’s original ending, 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.’8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.”
So what does this all mean? Consider the fine points buried in these brief verses. 1) Jesus is not in the tomb which is empty; 2) He is going to Galilee; 3) the women are to tell Peter and the disciples that Jesus is going to Galilee; 4) the women are terrified and tell no one, it is unclear if this silence is meant to include no report to Peter and the disciples.
Clearly, something unwritten has happened after verse 8. Otherwise, how does Mark know what to write about an empty tomb. How, also, did the world become aware of the empty tomb. Matthew and Luke add stories about post resurrection events and appearances of Jesus. Eventually, those are added on to Mark’s Gospel in summary form without details in an additional listing in verses that don’t fit smoothly with Mark 16:8.
Consider the impact the story of the empty tomb had to have on those first believers. What could they say? How were they to express what these events meant to them? This original ending of Mark intentionally places you and me at the place of the early church wanting to answer what does this mean? And what will we do?
What happened then is still happening today. The ending of Mark’s Gospel is still being written today. During the season of Easter as you hear the stories of the resurrection appearances, also, remember Mark’s Gospel and ask yourself, “What difference does it make to me and my life that the tomb is empty?”
What will you and I do with the news of the empty tomb? Moving forward from Mark's Gospel it is clear that the news was proclaimed that "Christ is risen." Neither the tomb nor the silence of the women could contain that news, instead the word went out , "He is risen."
Will we hide it or will we share it because there are others that still need to hear the news, “He is risen!.”
… what say you?
He is risen! He is risen indeed!
Each Easter morning we begin our worship with this ancient greeting. In doing so we proclaim our expectation and core truth that Jesus lives and that the tomb is empty.
All of the Gospels try to wrap their heads around what this means. Each tells the story uniquely in its own way. Mark’s Gospel which is the oldest ends abruptly with the empty tomb with verse 8. Mark doesn’t provide any meaning for this empty tomb, no resurrection appearances, no expectations. Quickly Matthew and Luke begin to fill in resurrection details and the meaning of the empty tomb. Additional endings are, also, added on to Mark’s Gospel in time, several variations existing.
Some people are bothered with such differences and fragments in the story but as I have shared with you concerning the variations concerning the Christmas infancy narratives we can, also, find our faith enriched when we understand what those variations teach us about the first generation and earliest believers in Christ.
One of the places for us to begin our Easter season is for us to stand in the same place as those first believers for whom Mark wrote. Consider Mark’s original ending, 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.’8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.”
So what does this all mean? Consider the fine points buried in these brief verses. 1) Jesus is not in the tomb which is empty; 2) He is going to Galilee; 3) the women are to tell Peter and the disciples that Jesus is going to Galilee; 4) the women are terrified and tell no one, it is unclear if this silence is meant to include no report to Peter and the disciples.
Clearly, something unwritten has happened after verse 8. Otherwise, how does Mark know what to write about an empty tomb. How, also, did the world become aware of the empty tomb. Matthew and Luke add stories about post resurrection events and appearances of Jesus. Eventually, those are added on to Mark’s Gospel in summary form without details in an additional listing in verses that don’t fit smoothly with Mark 16:8.
Consider the impact the story of the empty tomb had to have on those first believers. What could they say? How were they to express what these events meant to them? This original ending of Mark intentionally places you and me at the place of the early church wanting to answer what does this mean? And what will we do?
What happened then is still happening today. The ending of Mark’s Gospel is still being written today. During the season of Easter as you hear the stories of the resurrection appearances, also, remember Mark’s Gospel and ask yourself, “What difference does it make to me and my life that the tomb is empty?”
What will you and I do with the news of the empty tomb? Moving forward from Mark's Gospel it is clear that the news was proclaimed that "Christ is risen." Neither the tomb nor the silence of the women could contain that news, instead the word went out , "He is risen."
Will we hide it or will we share it because there are others that still need to hear the news, “He is risen!.”
… what say you?
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