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Trembling at the Empty Tomb |
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Easter Sunday March 31, 2024 |
As We Grow in Christ This Week
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Jesus’ love and grace are so incredibly amazingly. The first person to see the risen Jesus is Mary Magdalene. Jesus had freed her from 7 demons (Luke 8:2). We do not what she got into that allowed her to be so open to the influence of evil. No matter how bad your life has been you are not outside the reach of Jesus’ amazing love!
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Jesus sends the women to go find his disciples and specifically mentions Peter (16:7). Peter was the presumptuous one (Mark 14:26), seemly proud. “Even if the others abandon you, I never will.” He had denied Jesus and was filled with shame, guilt, and fear.
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Jesus cares about each person, especially those who have fallen, those who are broken, addicted, aware of their sin and alienation from God and from others. God cares about people in broken families. Jesus cares about you.
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Experiencing the resurrection is not a private event. We learn in the company of others. The women have come as a group. Jesus appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Jesus reveals himself to at least 11 disciples in Galilee, and to over 500 people.
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The risen Jesus repeatedly walked right into the stories of those who were looking for him. In each resurrection appearance Jesus took the initiative and stepped in people’s lives and revealed himself to them.
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The resurrection made sense to those who had made walking with Jesus an integrated part of their life and daily experience.
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”But the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!” |
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Mark 16:6 |
Church In the Pines
West Wareham, MA
“Formation into the image of Jesus isn’t something we do as much as it’s something that is done to us, by God himself, as we yield to his work of transforming grace. Our job is to mostly make ourselves available . . . we are the clay, he is the potter.” John Mark Comer
Mark 16:1-8
they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.
5 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, 6 but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. 7 Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.”
8 The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too
frightened.
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The Disciples were neither prepared for, nor expecting
Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 But as they arrived,
Jesus to rise from the dead
The women responded to the empty tomb with confusion, fear and trembling.
How do you respond?
Consulted and Quoted:
NIV Study Bible, Eugene Peterson, R.C. Sproul, James R. Edwards, John Ortberg, John Mark Comer, Tim Keller.
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For the third time in a few verses Mark lists the names of the women involved (Mark 15:40; 15:47: 16:1). He really wants you to know who was there.
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God had intervened with power. Jesus really died. He did not raise himself. God raised him. God intervened so that the stone was rolled away. The empty tomb is a demonstration of the supernatural power of God.
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No one was expecting the resurrection. The men are in hiding. You can tell from the adjectives used of the women there, that they were not expecting or at all ready for the resurrection.
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This might surprise us because Jesus had repeatedly told them he would die and rise again, but just because something is taught does not mean it is understood, believed, or appropriated.
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No one was prepared for what happened. It is not just that the religious leaders were not prepared, neither were Jesus’ closest friends. There are no religious experts. We are all beginners at living in light of the resurrection.
2. Seeing the empty tomb alone was not enough.
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Just seeing the empty tomb was not convincing. Look at the women’s emotional state as they leave. They fled. They were “alarmed”, “trembling”, “bewildered”, and “frightened”.
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All four gospels tell of the empty tomb. It raised questions but did not answer them. Encountering the risen Christ, Jesus alive before their very eyes, is what caused their fear to dissipate and for them to respond with joy!
