Mark 16:1-8
Jesus Has Risen

16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.² Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb³ and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

⁴ But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.⁵ As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

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.

Let us pray,

May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all of our hearts, be pleasing and acceptable to you, our rock and our redeemer.

It’s always difficult for me when Easter falls during the first week of April. Because in addition to it being Holy Week. We also celebrate April Fool’s Day on the first day of April. So as I was reading through our Scripture passage for this morning, the resurrection account reads like a giant April Fool’s Joke. Except, in rising from the dead, Jesus has the last laugh.

Our Scripture passage for Easter Sunday takes place three days after Jesus’ death on the cross. Mary Magdalene, Jesus’ mother Mary, and Salome brought spices with them to prepare Jesus’ body for burial. They waited three days as this was a standard burial practice at the time. It was also something that women typically took care of.

What’s funny about the empty tomb is that Jesus already told his disciples that he would return to the Father. These women should expect that the tomb would be empty on Easter morning. Instead, they bring spices with them thinking they will need to prepare Jesus’ body for a Jewish burial. This suggests that they didn’t really believe that Jesus would rise from the dead and return to the Father. This explains why, when they enter the empty tomb, they think that someone is playing a prank on them.

But the delightful part about the resurrection story is that Jesus has the last laugh. Yes, Jesus really died on the cross. He really descended to the dead. But on the third day he rose again from the dead. Proving once and for all that our God is more powerful than death.

But even more amazing than rising from the dead, we Christians are bold to claim that Jesus’ death actually matters in how we live our lives more than two thousand years later. We believe that the cross is where we can clearly see the heart of God. Jesus loves us so much that he dies an awful death on our behalf. The sin we were once enslaved to no longer has the final say in who we are. On the cross, Jesus paid our ransom, and we are free.

You’ll notice as you read Mark is different than either Matthew or Luke. Because all through the gospel of Mark, anytime that Jesus shows the disciples he is God, he instructs them not to tell the crowds who he is. Biblical scholars call this Mark’s Messianic Secret. By the time we get to the resurrection, we understand why. The disciples ain’t ready to share the good news yet.

Even though the disciples witness Jesus’ healings, miracles, and teachings, they don’t always behave in a way that suggests they believe that Jesus is God. They deny him, doubt him, and even betray him. But when they see the empty tomb, they have no choice but to believe. And that realization is terrifying. No wonder the disciples leave the tomb in a stunned silence. How do they even begin to put into words all that they have seen and heard?

Thankfully, Jesus hasn’t ascended to the Father yet. In fact, he has a few things he needs to do before his ministry on Earth is complete. Namely, he has to equip the disciples for their mission.

See, the resurrection opens Jesus’ ministry from the towns he could physically visit, and the people he could physically touch, to the whole world. From the 12 appointed Jewish apostles, to anyone who believes in Jesus. He doesn’t have time to sit and wait in an empty tomb for the disciples to get with the program. If the disciples want to see Jesus, then they need to head back to Galilee.

It’s no accident Jesus wants the women to meet him in Galilee. Galilee is where Jesus began his ministry.

o It’s where John baptized him in the Jordan River.
o It’s where he drove out demons in the synagogues.
o It’s where he healed Simon Peter’s mother in law’s fever.
o Fed 5,000 people with a loaf of bread and two fish.
o Preached words of hope to widows, orphans, and lepers.
o And broke down the barriers separating Jews and Gentiles.

Going back to Galilee means Jesus wants the disciples to get back out into the world. To go back to where Jesus began his ministry and branch out from there. Because the world needs the good news of Jesus Christ. And the world isn’t going to hear the good news in an empty tomb. But they just might on the street of Galilee. Or in the synagogues. Or over a meal in their homes. Or on the edges of town where the lepers beg for bread and water.

I find it delightful that in Mark’s gospel, the Easter story refuses to end with an empty tomb. It ends with Jesus beckoning us back to where he started.

Back to the nooks and crannies of this world. To the places that are just as much in need of resurrection as we are. To a world that is hungry for a new world order.

A world that knows things are not as they should be but wants to believe that they one day could be again. A world that hopes one day good will triumph over evil, and that death will not have the final say in who we are.

I’m sure that the women who gathered at the tomb on Easter morning thought the hard work of discipleship was behind them. They had done their part. They had stuck with Jesus from the stable to the cross. And now their lives could return to some version of normal. Only to discover- to their terror, amazement, and delight- the challenge still before them. Once you have encountered Jesus, there is no normal to return to.

Once Jesus ascends to the Father, it will be up to us (with Jesus’ help) to share the good news with those we meet. It will be up to us (with Jesus’ help) to model the love of God to our friends, families, and communities.

We will no longer have the physical presence of Jesus that we can point to for proof of God’s existence or transcendence. We will have to rely on faith. We see glimpses of the Kingdom of God at work in our lives. But we will have to live in the world as it is. Until Jesus returns, we will always be living in the tension between despair for a world as it is, and hope for a world as it could be.

Jesus has the last laugh on Easter Sunday. We expected an empty tomb, but surprise, Jesus isn’t there. We thought the tomb is the end of the story, but surprise, the tomb is just a ploy to get us to do what Jesus always wanted us to do- to go out into the world and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And to do all of this while working for justice, fighting for truth, and administering love.

Happy Easter! Christ is Risen! Thanks be to God,

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.