When We Just Don't Get It

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 tomb ³ 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.

Reflection

Something most people do not know is that the earliest manuscripts of Mark do not contain a Mark 16:9-20. For that reason, there are some New Testament scholars who question the authenticity of that part of the book of Mark. Most of these scholars believe that the ending of Mark contained in Mark 16:9-20 was added later because of the way Mark ends in verse 16:8. Scholars believe that for the early church, it did not offer enough of a conclusion to the gospel.

Personally, I love the way that Mark ends with verse 16:8 and I believe this is more historically accurate to what how the book was suppose to end. That is why I want to focus the first eight verses of Mark 16 and not focus on the following verses.

In Mark 16 we see a few of Jesus’s followers approaching his tomb to prepare his body correctly for burial, something they could not do when he died because it was during the Jewish Passover celebration. As the followers of Jesus approach the tomb, they see that the stone in front of the tomb has been rolled away. Perplexed, they enter into the tomb to find what can only be an angel standing on the right side of the tomb. The angel quickly declares the good news of Jesus’s resurrection to the group of people, followed with a command to, “go, tell his disciples and Peter.”

Attached to the declaration of Jesus’s resurrection and the command to go and tell his disciples and Peter is the promise that Jesus “is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”

What amazes me about this text is that the followers of Jesus just do not get it. They don’t understand what has just happened. They don’t remember what Jesus told them. Instead they are scared and flee.

That is how the gospel of Mark ends, and I think it is brilliant!

Throughout the gospel of Mark, the author paints a picture of the disciples that shows how much they just did not get what Jesus came to do. We see Peter constantly put his foot in his mouth, the disciples cry out to Jesus in the midst of a storm, the disciples unable to heal a boy, James and John argue over who “will be the greatest”, and now the followers of Jesus don’t remember what Jesus told them 3 times before, that he would be resurrected.

It was not like Jesus was unclear about why he came. When Jesus appears on the scene in Mark he proclaims it from the beginning, “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15) Jesus even tells the disciples clearly 3 times that he will die and then be resurrected three days later.

Personally, I love the image of the disciples and followers of Jesus in Mark, because I relate to them. There are many times that I just do not get it. I mess up and fail and need Jesus to come a long side me and give me his grace.

At the same time, I can learn from the mistakes of the disciples and followers of Jesus in the gospel of Mark. For instance, I can read a story how Jesus’s followers respond to the declaration of Jesus’s resurrection and see how I am not to act.

As a good Lutheran, I believe that the images of Jesus’s followers in Mark are both a prefect picture of God’s grace and God’s law, held in balance with each other. When we need grace, God provides grace. Out of that grace and learning, we follow Jesus. Only when we encounter a God who knows we do not get it can we understand God’s teaching. Only when we go through times when we are afraid can we truly proclaim that because of what God did, we do not need to fear. Only when we do not first understand the resurrection can we move to understanding the good news that Jesus’s death and resurrection overcame sin, fear, and death. Only when we are first afraid to proclaim the good news can we move to a place where we cannot help but proclaiming God’s grace. It is the gospel of God’s grace that moves us to a place where we obey God’s commands.

What better way to end the gospel of Mark than with another story of grace. 

Questions.

1.     Why do you think that the followers of Jesus are afraid to proclaim the good news of Jesus’s resurrection?

2.     Why do you think Mark paints a picture of the disciples as people who do not get why Jesus came and do not always do, as He would like them to?

3.     What does God show us about his grace in stories like the one found in Mark 16?

4.     What do you think God wants us to learn from the story found in Mark 16?

5.     What command do you think he wants us to get and live out found in Mark 16?

6.     How can we as a family live out God’s command to his followers to “go tell” about Jesus’s resurrection?

7.     Pray for each other.