Mark 16:5-8

Passage

Entering into the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side.  He was dressed in a white robe.  The ladies were astounded.  The young man said to them, “Do not be astounded.  The person you seek, Jesus of Nazareth that was crucified, is risen and He is not here.  Go tell His disciples – especially Peter – that Jesus is going before you to go to Galilee.  There you will see Him as He told you would happen.”  After this the women fled away from the tomb, for they had been seized by trembling and amazement.  They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

It wasn’t enough that the stone had been rolled away; there was a young man in the tomb and no trace of the dead body.  I can only imagine where Mary, Mary, and Salome’s thoughts immediately went.  No doubt they assumed that someone stole the body.  Perhaps this man was part of the plan.  No wonder the women were afraid.  Their savior had been crucified and surely they now believed that people had stolen the body to do all sorts of things to it.  Yes, they did not yet understand what God was up to.

Why is fear such a natural response when we don’t understand?  Why is fear innate to us?  When can fear help us?  When can fear get in the way of what God is trying to do?  What do you think is the case here?

Second Thought:

The young man – an angel – explains everything to the women.  He tells them that Jesus has been raised from the dead.  He reminds them that Jesus taught about these events before He died.  He reassures them that what Jesus had said was going to happen was actually happening.  This is not the case of some stolen body or a really poorly timed joke.  This is a case of God doing something incredibly amazing in their midst.  However, this is not only the case of reassuring.  The angel commissions the women.  The women are sent on a mission.  They are to go and tell the disciples what has happened.  They are the first apostles of the resurrection era.  Even though they don’t fully understand what is happening, God still uses them to begin to get the message out.

What can we learn here from the fact that the women don’t fully comprehend what is happening but God still sends them out?  How much easier would it have been to send an angel to tell the disciples what had happened?  What does this tell us about God, His plan, and His desire to use anyone who is willing regardless of their natural capabilities?

Third Thought:

One of my favorite parts of the Gospel of Mark is that this is technically where the story ends.  Our oldest ancient manuscripts don’t have Mark 16:9-20.  This means that Mark wrote his gospel with this as the natural ending: “they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid”.  Their fear paralyzes them.

What is the point about humanity and fear that Mark might be making by having the story originally end this way?  How have you been paralyzed by fear before in your life?

Aside:  Of course, we know the women do eventually talk.  Their fear is not permanent.  The ladies do speak to the disciples.  Also, you may be wondering how it is that the end of Mark came to be in our Bibles.  Others – perhaps Mark himself later in life – felt it necessary to provide a more uplifting ending to the story.  Because the vast majority of later manuscripts include this ending, we can tell that it was an ending that was quickly adopted by the early Christians.  Therefore, in most of our Bibles we include the verses but put in a note indicating that these verses were not a part of the original gospel that Mark wrote.

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 16:9-13