An Empty Tomb and the Message of the Risen Savior

Sunday Service - Mar 7th (English)

Mark 16:1-8

We are coming to an end in our study of Mark, today and next week will be our last sermons from Mark.

The passage that we read, is a conclusion to the whole book of Mark.
It is thought that the Gospel of Mark ends with verse 8, the following verses, 9-20 have been added on a bit later.
The later verses serve more like a summary of Mark, rather than part of the story line.
It seems because of the abrupt ending in verse 8, there was a need to finish on a positive note. That is why there were two different endings added very early in the church. The one that is in our bible is the longer of the two.
Next week we will hear a sermon on the next passage, so stay tuned, we still think it's God's word. But important to realize that Mark himself probably ended in verse 8.
For our purposes today we will treat Mark 16:1-8 as the ending to the story that Mark intended to have. The ending is unique. And we will talk about why Mark might have wanted to end it like this

SO as Mark is ending this Gospel with the resurrection, we need to keep in mind the main purpose of the whole gospel:
That is:"Jesus the mighty Messiah and Son of God obediently suffering to pay for our sins , and he became a model of suffering and sacrifice for his disciples to follow"."

In Mark the central point is to show that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, the Son who comes with authority. And this Messiah came to die.
The central point of the whole book was Jesus saying: "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark. 10:45).
Jesus was rejected by his people, and betrayed by one of his disciples. He was left by his closest people and denied by Peter the strongest of his disciples. He was beaten and shamed. He was nailed to the cross, mocked and despised. He experienced the darkness of sin on our behalf. He felt the deep separation between him and the Father. And He died!
All of this is to pay the ransom for our sins, and to show what it truly means to be a disciple of Jesus.

That is the point of the whole book.

Our text today points us to the empty grave and the message of the raise Jesus Christ,
Yet the way it ends is surprising. Rather then joy and excitement, the women experience fear and silence
Mark intends us to ask ourselves "What will be your response to the empty tomb and the message of the raised Jesus"? What will be your response to the gospel he wrote?
Will you merely be a spectator, on the sidelines sitting comfortably in your chairs. And when the show is done, you go back home, as if nothing happened?
Will you play a hypocrite, who comes to church, sings and worships God, yet in reality you are here for the sense of community, the crucified and risen Jesus has no impact on you and your personal life?
Will you harden your heart to this good news? Will you coward in your own comfortable life, silencing the call to be truly a disciple of Jesus who came and died for you?
Will you receive the message of Jesus Christ, and become truly his disciple? Will you live a life of sacrifice for Him?
When we are impacted by the Savior of this book we realize that our life is not to find security or self-fulfillment, but to respond to the radical call of commitment to the risen Savior, taking the cross and following him.
Our human tendency is to run scared and do nothing!
The women in this story have seen the dying savior, they have seen where they have laid his body, and they were the first to see the empty tomb and receive the message of resurrection, YET...... their response to the command to tell his disciples is fear and silence.
As we are going through the story ask yourself, how do you respond to the message of the risen Christ?


Let's observe the story.
We will make 3 points.

PP The Women and the Dilemma
Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome are the same women whom we read about watching the crucifixion from the distance
In Mark 15:40 we read"There were women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the young and of Joses, and Salome"
Two of these women witness the burial of Jesus, we read in 15:47 "Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were watching where he was laid"
These women were on the sidelines of the story, but now they become the main character of our story today.
When the Sabbath was over these women out of their caring hearts, bought spices to anoint Jesus.
Mark specifies that this was after Sabbath was over.PP
On Sabbath (which is Saturday) people could not work and the shops were closed.
For us normally the day ends as we go to sleep and wake up with a new day. But not for Jews, for Jews the day ended at sundown around 6pm. That means Sabbath was over after 6 pm and the shops opened up, and so the women were able to buy spices, for Sunday morning.
Let's put things in Perspective: Jesus dies on Friday before sundown, and Passover started Friday at Sundown (around 6pm).
That is why they wanted Jesus to be taken down so quickly because at Sundown Sabbath is approaching and on it they celebrated the Passover. ANd they could not have bodies on the crosses on Sabbath.
At the end of Saturday at sundown, the Passover and Sabbath were over, so the women were able to buy spices and prepare them for burial. The next morning before sunrise.
Why did they buy spices?
The Jews anointed bodies to cover the stench of decay this was done for people out of respect for them.
Because of Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea who took the body of Jesus, did not have the time to anoint Jesus with oil he simply wrapped him with linens.
So the women wanted to perform this honorable task.
Even though Jesus was technically already anointed for burial in verse 14:8
The women went early in the morning on"the first day of the week", PP
Notice Mark emphasizes "the first day of the week"
This emphasis is also made by all other gospel writers.
This was a Sunday, and since then the early church considered Sunday as the first day of the week and on it the church gathers together
in Acts 20:7"On the first day of the week, we assembled to break bread".
Christians have always from its beginning gathered on Sunday not Saturday. We don't agree with the Sabbatarians who emphasize that we need to gather on Saturday because of the Jewish Sabbath.
No, Jesus was raised on a Sunday and we as the church gather on this day.
The women were walking to the bomb, but it seems that they realized the dilemma during their journey .
They were discussing "Who will role away the stone from the entrance of the tomb?" PP
They realized the dilemma but still kept walking.
In reality they didn't realize the magnitude of the dilemma. The gospel of Matthew points out that the great big rock was not the only problem but it was sealed and guarded (Mt. 27:62-66).
Roman seal was a waxy imprint to ensure that no one could tamper with the tomb without being detected. Any unauthorized persons who broke the seal defied the authority of Rome and could be punished by death.
EX: It's like you deciding to enter the Pentagon.
They had no way to get into the tomb without a miracle.
But as they approach the tomb they saw that the "very large stone was rolled away"
At that moment there comes a supernatural sense to the story. This is not what they envisioned.
They saw the roadblock, even though they didn't realize the magnitude of the problem
There were guards and an imperial seal.
Yet, when they got there, Jesus did something way more than they had expected. The stone is rolled away and he is resurrected.

Important point here:
We might have various roadblocks in our lives. They may seem impossible to overcome. And oftentimes they are way worse and more difficult then we even understand.
We might have hope, but in reality we have no strength.
In ourselves we have everything working against us: lust, laziness, anger, selfishness...
To fix our problems is not just to "try harder"
Even if you really tried to change, to become different. To serve Jesus fully now. You don't realize that you're trying to start the fire in pouring rain, it will not happen. You have flicker of light, but then darkness.
"Your will, your discipline" are not enough!!!!
Imagine the women with their muscles trying to roll the stone and fight the guards.
The tip of an Iceberg is only a small percentage of what is underneath the water.
Your problem is deeper then you see; it is closer than you think; it is more deadly than you understand!
Your main problem is yourself, how can you fight against something you desire and love? You can't
We need supernatural work in our lives.
We need God given grace to lead us through, to take down the rocks from our lives.
PP We read in Titus 2:11-12 "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous and godly way in the present age."
The Grace of God:
Is what saves us from this dark world,
it gives us the strength to say no to godlessness and worldly lusts.
It helps us live in a godly way in this broken world.
You are saved by grace and you are led and empowered by grace.
EX: You might be free from the paralyzing poison in your blood, but you also need the heart to pump the blood to live.
Grace saves and leads us forward.
Jesus was dead but now he is alive and reigning. He was raised from the dead to live among us.
No matter how difficult the stone is in your life, he is alive and active.
Come to him, truly come to him, because he can help.


PP The Angel and the Message

The women enter the tomb. This means they go through the entrance of the tunnel into the inner chamber.
PP Here is a picture of how they think the tomb might have looked. The original tomb was destroyed by Roman Emperor Hadrian
As you can see in order to see if the tomb was empty, the women had to actually enter the tomb, and they did.
They saw a "young man dressed in a white robe" - in other word they saw an angel.
Notice that the tomb was darkish, but they were able to see white robes, signifying that his clothing was unnaturally white. They might have been glowing, shining clothes with light coming from it.
The interesting thing is, "he is sitting" - which was a traditional posture for teaching or speaking with authority.
The women became "alarmed" PP
This word t is synonymous with being "afraid".
Probably their heart starts beating out of their chest. They got paralyzed and could not move.
Important note:::: Every time there is an interaction of humans with heavenly beings, there is fear. (Dan 10:12, 19; Mt 28:5; Lk 1:13, 30; 2:20 Acts 27:24)
We live in our physical world and we don't realize that there is another world that we don't see, the spiritual one which is quite powerful. Once we get in contact with that world we are deathly afraid and paralyzed.
Actually the soldiers that were guarding the tomb were literally paralyzed, and could not move because of fear.
This should humble us, realizing that often we think people are powerful, but in reality they don't stand a chance against the God of the universe.

The Angel speaks with authority PP
First he calms them down so that they hear what he is about to say.
Then he points to why they are there. "You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified"
The angle calls Jesus "Jesus of Nazareth", Mark refers to Jesus like that three other times throughout his gospel (1:23; 10:47; 14:67).
This is important because: he connects the historical Jesus, who was living among the people, teaching, performing miracles and the one who was crucified.
He was not a ghost, or an angel, or some kind of image of mankind. NO he was a human being.
This Jesus is raised from the dead and is not in the tomb anymore.
The angel probably points to the central chamber saying "See the place where they put him"
The angel is not saying that someone took the body away. But rather Jesus became alive and walked out himself.
Jesus didn't merely disappear and became a spirit, but rather his body was raised from the dead. He probably sat up and then walked out.
With that same body he continued to be on earth until he ascended into heaven.
These are vital words, because he is clear that Jesus was dead and now he is physically alive, he was raised from the dead.
We believe in a physical resurrection of Jesus.

Then the Angel gives these women a command, to deliver an urgent message to his disciples and Peter to meet Jesus in Galilee.
What is going on with the disciples at this point?
They were disheartened and didn't know what to do. They were in despair and were scattered all over the place.
Jesus predicted that this would happen in Mark 14:27 "Then Jesus said to them, 'All of you will fall away, because it is written 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.' But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee."
Notice that Peter is included separately here, why? Probably because traditionally the gospel of Mark was Peter's account of the story of Jesus written by Mark.
He screwed up the most, he denied Jesus three times.
How can someone live with themselves after that, especially after they were so ready to die for Jesus, but when trials came that foundation was just straw, that didn't stand a chance, but went into flames.
The message from the angel is a message of forgiveness and restoration.PP
Jesus is calling them to himself as the loving Shepherd he is.
He is not punishing them, but rather he is instructing them what to do in this situation, and that is to go where He is at, to Galilee.
This is a sobering truth to us: no matter how much we screwed up, Jesus is ready to forgive and restore.
His arms are outstretched ready to embrace you after you truly repented of your sins.
He takes us out of this deep pit of sin, with his bloody hands that were poured out for you.
He is our Shepherd, who seeks out that lost sheep.
Our sins are serious, and have great consequences, but he is with us, and ready to rescue us.


PP The Response and Your Response

How do the women respond to the empty tomb and hearing the glorious message of the risen Savior?
v. 8 "They went out and ran from the tomb, because trembling and astonishment overwhelmed them. And they said nothing to anyone, since they were afraid". PP
That is how the text originally ends...
What??? It's like the movie where everyone dies at the end, what's the point?
Well here Jesus dies and is raised but this ending begs so many questions: Did the women ever recover from fear and tell the disciples? Did the disciples go to Galilee and see Jesus? Why are there no resurrection appearances reported?"
This is why there was an ending added probably by someone in the early church.
We know from other gospels the the women got over their fear and ultimately ran to tell the disciples
In Matthew 28:8, "So, departing quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to tell his disciples the news".
It seems that this fear and silence was only for a little bit, until they got the courage to tell the disciples.
Yet Mark for some reason ends with fear and silence.
"Why did Mark decide to end his gospel with a negative note?"
It seems that the death of Jesus is already bitter and horrible, the resurrection should be full of joy and excitement
The women heard the good news that should have lifted them up but it seems that the first response was to quickly escape the supernatural unexpected situation.
Notice not only is Mark pointing out how the women are the first witnesses of the glorious message, (and in the Jewish context women were not considered as reliable witnesses in the legal court) but these same women are afraid and don't spread the good news.
If I was trying to convince people of a story to be true, I would not end it like. But the fact this was the response points out that it is true.
They were entrusted with the greatest news in all the world that the Savior Jesus Christ is raised from death, yet they remained silent.
In this passage we don't see the risen Savior, we merely hear the news about him being raised.
The reason Mark ends this gospel like this, and I stand on the shoulders of commentators here is that he intentionally ends this gospel with a question to the reader, the question is targeted to us.
The women were in that state for a little bit, later on they were excited telling the disciples. Mark wants us to pause and consider our very own response to this news.

PP What is YOUR response to an empty grave and the message of the risen Lord? How will you ultimately respond to this Gospel??????
When we read the gospel, we don't read to be informed of some truth, but we read to be changed, this truth should lead us to a decision, we either believe or reject.
You cannot be neutral.
In the Gospel of Mark, we see three main emphases.
1. Mark showed that Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah and Son of God.
He is the Son of God who has absolute authority over sickness, nature and the spiritual world.
He is the conqueror, and the Royal heavenly King over all of life.
He performed miracles like healing people, he would multiply food, he would calm the raging sea, he casted out legions of demons with a single word.
His teaching was permeating the hearts of people, and destroying the arguments of the wisest of them all.
2. Mark also pointed out what this Jesus came to do, through servanthood and suffering he came to give his life for us.
He is the suffering servant of the Lord,
He took our disease, our sickness, our sin
He experienced the darkness, the shame for us
He literally died
3. Mark constantly called the believers to follow in the suffering path of Jesus.
To take up your cross daily and follow him.

This resurrection is an ending point saying, What will be your response to this?
PP Are you going to reject him? -
Notice that our human tendency is to not do anything. TO let the fear and doubt control our life.
Because to receive it is to do something about it, it's easier to hide away and forget about all this discussion.
Run away afraid into the unknown. Live your own life for your own self, because you don't believe Him.
To be an "agnostic", a state of questioning everything, will never get you anywhere
It's rejecting Jesus. He actually was raised from the grave, and if that's true, and there are numerous witness accounts then everything he said is true, then he is the only way, the truth and the life.
Then he is coming back to take his church and to judge the world.
Ex: it's like rejecting the smoking volcano that is about to erupt, you can only reject it so long, until it erupts and it will be too late.
You might know all the facts and "truths" about Jesus and what he had done, but when it's time to make a decision you are "afraid and silent".
That happens to those who sit under the teaching of the word without realizing it's always calling you to action!
Ex: Like a giant rock, that goes nowhere just sits where it was found.
The world rejects Jesus, are you????
PP Or are you going to receive him by faith?
To place your trust in the risen Lord and Savior. To receive the free gift of grace.
This is not just saying: I believe as if that does anything, but it is to fully place your life in full trust on the achieved work of Jesus on the cross, it is to come in faith to Jesus as your salvation from this broken life.
He is alive and worth living for. Your life counts because of Him.
To acknowledge him as King over this earth, and serve him with gratitude.
Who cares if you know some complicated theological ideas, when your heart is not under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
PP If you trusted Jesus by faith, do you live for him?
This is a simple question but has so many implications for us, really look into your life, do you live for HIM????
The whole book of Mark is calling us to follow the path of radical faith and self-denial. PP
Jesus says he is going to die for us, and thus we as his disciples take up our crosses and follow him.
Ex: Jesus pointed to a seed that needs to die to bring fruit.
We have sinful desires that we need to fight with grace, and pick up the cross of Jesus and follow him:
In our jobs, in our families, in our private lives Jesus is supreme.
And if he's not, then you are very concerned, and repent and stand back on your feet.
Follow him no matter the cost!
The goal of Christian life is not self-fulfillment but rather a commitment to Him. PP
You are fighting sin, you are serious about growing in love for Him through his word.
Ex. You are not playing a spiritual game, but rather you are in a spiritual war!
You realize that your whole life is a sacrifice for the one who sacrificed himself for you.
As one commentator put it: "The gospel holds no promise for those who are seeking power and wealth and fame and prestige. To be first, Jesus says you must be last. TO be a leader, you must be a slave. To live , you must die"
PP How does your life look like in comparison to what a disciple of Jesus Christ should be?
Behind the superficial life
Is there rot or Is there faithfulness?
Is there unbelief and hypocrisy? - I'm here only for the community, and I feel welcomed, I'm good
Or is there genuineness, openness, growing in God's grace to be the tool in his kingdom.
I don't have the strength and so I come to Jesus because he has done it all
PP You have been entrusted with this glorious news of the risen savior, what will you do with it?
We have not seen the risen savior, but we have heard about the empty grave and the risen savior. And we believe it!
It changed our life.
Do we spread the news that he is alive and is with us? Or are we afraid?

May God help us, to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, the one who is Lord and Savior, he died for us and left us a path to follow. Do we follow the path?

Amen.