Morning Light – Mark 16: He is Not Here – He is Risen

[Mark 16] He is Not Here – He is Risen: In the concluding chapter of the gospel of Mark, the two Marys make their way to the tomb to complete the preparation of Jesus’ body with spices and fragrant oils. They are alarmed to see the stone rolled away and a young man in strange garb seated, waiting for them. They take the news of Jesus’ resurrection to the apostles, but they are unbelieving. Then, wonderfully and unexpectedly, Jesus is in their midst, commissioning them and commissioning us to go into all the world with the good news of the resurrection and all it means in our lives.

[Mar 16:1-20 KJV] 1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the [mother] of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2 And very early in the morning the first [day] of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. 3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? 4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. 6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. 7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. 8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any [man]; for they were afraid. 9 Now when [Jesus] was risen early the first [day] of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. 10 [And] she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. 12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. 13 And they went and told [it] unto the residue: neither believed they them. 14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with [them], and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

This chapter opens after Joseph of Arimathea, and the two Marys lay Jesus in a borrowed tomb and make their way into the city of Jerusalem with heavy hearts. Can you imagine how they spent that night? After Jesus is laid in the tomb, comes the fulfillment of the prophecy that a sword will pierce Mary’s heart for the terrible cost of the fulfillment of her son’s destiny. Can you imagine the depth of her sorrow and her grief, so much so that on the following morning she does not accompany the two Mary’s to the tomb that they might continue the ancient customs of preparing the body further with spices and oils of anointing? It is very early, and the sun is just beginning to break dawn when they arrive at the sepulcher. They see a stone rolled over the opening, and they are concerned that they have no men with them strong enough to assist them further. Coming in sight of the tomb, they are surprised to see the stone is already moved, but they aren’t quite sure what this means. There is a young man, or what they identify as a young man sitting by the tomb, and his appearance causes him to look very much out of place, and they begin to fear, not knowing what this means. The young man, actually an angel, speaks up and bids them not to be afraid. He knows without them asking that they are seeking Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified – but He has now risen. They look at the man, not absorbing what his words are conveying to them. The man, seeing their puzzled expression, says, “come, see the place where he lay…”

It is interesting that the angel calls Jesus “Jesus of Nazareth…” The angel knew exactly who Jesus was, but perhaps because Jesus (though risen) but not yet ascended, had not taken on Him once again the vestments signifying Him as the Lord of Glory just yet. Or perhaps the angel was so deeply impressed by the humanity of His Lord that he was compelled to identify Him by that earthly identity. Regardless, the angel sends the frightened, confused women away from the tomb, telling them to go find the disciples, and Peter specifically and to tell them what they had witnessed here. The women do indeed flee away from the tomb, but despite the angel’s instruction v. 8 says they didn’t say a word to anyone because they were afraid.

Finally, in v. 9 – Mary Magdalene, never popular among the disciples, found them cowering in their hidden place and told them all that she had seen. They didn’t believe it. They had witnessed the death of their Master. No one could survive this. They were not ready to make that intuitive leap and believe He had risen even though He had told them time and again that He would be arrested, tortured, crucified, and rise the third day. They just didn’t get it. They didn’t listen to Him then, and they weren’t listening now. Verse 12 mentions two other disciples who encountered Jesus, and these might have been, surely, must have been the two on the road to Emmaus that are mentioned elsewhere. That tells us that although Jesus met these two men leaving Jerusalem, they must have doubled back after Jesus came to them, spreading the good news that He was alive! The disciples, however, those closer to Jesus than anyone else, just didn’t believe. They didn’t want to hear it.

Finally, in v. 14, Jesus appears to the 12 as they were sharing a meal together. What a mournful repast that must have been! I wonder who cooked? Or did they go to an inn or have one of the Marys cook for them? Jesus suddenly appears, and the first thing He does is upbraid them for their unbelief and hardness of heart. What an amazing thing that the first interaction that Jesus had with His own hand-picked followers was to correct them and rebuke them for their obstinate, stubborn unwillingness to believe all that He had said to them. What was the response of the disciples? Did they hang their heads in shame? No doubt they just crowded around Him, touching Him, scarcely accepting what their eyes told them, that Jesus the crucified is now Jesus, risen from the dead! Before they can absorb all that has happened, Jesus charges them, perhaps taking each of them by the arm, pushing them out the door – saying to them and to us:

“Go! Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature!”

Notice that they are commanded to preach not just to men, or only to Jews, but to every creature!!! All creation has groaned under the weight of sin and the curse. As the fig tree listened to Jesus, so now the wording of this commission implies that all creation is waiting and ready to respond to the words of the gospel on the lips of those commissioned and empowered by the resurrected Christ to spread the news of His glory and His Lordship to all the world. Now – here is the promise to us, these signs shall follow them that believe. This doesn’t only apply to the apostles, but also to all of those who believe as a result of their preaching. We don’t have to worry about this – it will happen. We have a commission! Do you receive it in your heart? Are you willing to expect it to be your portion! This is the day that these matters must be settled. Jesus is at our back as He no doubt was with these men, pulling them away from the table where they sat down to eat their mournful meal, and compelling them outside, down the road, toward the city beyond to fulfill His command and see the result of great power and authority manifest in their lives. Whatever happened here in this exchange, these men’s lives were changed.

In v. 19, Jesus is received up into heaven, and they saw the heavens opened, and Jesus taking His place at the right hand of the Father. Jesus was sitting, and they were going. Are we sitting, or are we going? Interesting that Jesus wanted them to do something for Him because of His resurrection, but we tend to want Him to do something for us because of His resurrection. What more can He do than was done? What more can we do? We can – not just go but GO FORTH and preach everywhere to every creature. To men, to women, to trees, to animals, to every creature the good news of the gospel, absolutely expecting that when we preach THIS MESSAGE, it will be confirmed with signs following.