THE WINNER - by Revd Gilbert Wong

SCRIPTURE:    Mark 16:1-8
Easter

16 April 2006

Opening Prayer:

God of Glory, by the raising of your Son you have broken the chains of death and hell: fill your Church with faith and hope; for a new day has dawned and the way to life stands open in our Saviour Jesus Christ.

VERSES 1-2:  VERY EARLY ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK

"When the Sabbath was over" (v. 1).  The Sabbath ends at sundown on our Saturday evening.  As we will see in v. 2, the women do not go to the tomb right away after the Sabbath ends, but instead purchase spices to prepare for visit to the tomb at the following dawn (our Sunday morning).  The delay is so that they can make their journey and do their work in the light of the early morning instead of the darkness of the early evening.

"Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices" (v. 1).  Mark told us that Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and Joses, and Salome witnessed Jesus' crucifixion (15:40).  Then he told us that Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of Joses witnessed Jesus' burial (15:47).  Now he tells us that Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices. 

These women, then, serve as witnesses to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus -- in contrast to the male disciples, who fled when Jesus was arrested (14:50-51) -- and in contrast to Peter, who denied Jesus three times (14:66-72).  Having women serve as witnesses is unusual, because Jewish law does not accept women as witnesses in legal proceedings.  Later critics of the church pointed to women witnesses as a reason not to believe the accuracy of this account.  However, if the church had been fabricating this story, we can be sure that it wouldn't have used women as witnesses.  Women witnesses, therefore, constitute evidence that this story is true.

"so that they might go and anoint him" (v. 1).  Unlike Egyptians, who embalm to preserve the body, Jews anoint with perfume to honour the deceased and to mask the odour of decomposition.  Embalming usually takes place soon after death, because decomposition begins soon after death.  In Jesus' case, however, the Sabbath prevented the woman from visiting the tomb until a day and a half passed (from the beginning of the Sabbath at sundown on our Friday night to sunrise on our Sunday morning).  After that length of time, the smell of decomposition would be very unpleasant, so the willingness of these women to proceed with the anointing is a sign of great devotion.  We should not forget, however, that the anointing of Jesus' body for burial took place earlier when a woman anointed him with expensive ointment at Simon's house in Bethany (Matthew 26:12; Mark 14:8; John 12:7).  Also, the Gospel of John records Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus anointing Jesus' body at the time of burial (John 19:38-40).

"And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb" (v. 2).  Some scholars say that "very early" means the hours prior to dawn, and conclude that "very early" is inconsistent with Mark's next phrase, "when the sun had risen." (Brooks, 269; Hooker, 384).  However, other scholars say that "very early" can mean 3:00 to 6:00 a.m. (Lane 585).  It would appear, then, that there is no inconsistency.

VERSES 3-4:  THE STONE HAD ALREADY BEEN ROLLED BACK

"Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" (v. 3).  In the next verse, Mark notes that the stone is "very large."  Such a stone would weigh hundreds of pounds and, once set in place, would be difficult to move.  It would seem that women who were organized enough to buy spices immediately after the Sabbath ended would also enlist men to move the stone -- but these women are in the throes of grief.  The amazing thing isn't that they forgot the stone until now, but that they are functioning at such a high level.  Besides that, the male disciples have all fled.  Who could the women have gotten to help them?

"When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back" (v. 4).  There is no mention of a guard here, as in Matthew 27:62-66.  We are not told who rolled the stone away, but "had already been rolled back" is the passive mood.  Constructions of this sort are often called "divine passive," meaning that they denote God's activity.  That is certainly the case here.  Matthew tells us that an angel "rolled back the stone" (Matthew 28:2) -- acting as God's agent.

It is possible that square stones for blocking the entrance to tombs were more common than circular stones due to the expense of circular stones (Evans, 535).  In this case, however, a circular stone is implied by the words "rolled back" -- and a circular stone is in keeping with the fact that this is the personal tomb of Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:60), a rich man (Matthew 27:57).

VERSES 5-7:  HE HAS BEEN RAISED

"As they entered the tomb" (v. 5).  As noted above, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus anointed and buried Jesus in Joseph's tomb (John 19:38-40; cf. Matthew 27:57-60).  Joseph is rich (Matthew 27:57) and can afford a good burial tomb.  Because burials are usually accomplished on the day of death, well-to-do families often own a tomb that can be used as needed (but Matthew tells us that this tomb has never been used).  The more elaborate tombs would have a small entry chamber with a passageway into a burial chamber that would have one or more niches or platforms to support bodies.  After decomposition has done its work, the remains would be moved to an ossuary (a container for bones) to permit the burial chamber to be reused (Gower, 72-74).

"they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side" (v. 5).  In Matthew's version, the young man is an angel dressed in clothing as white as snow (Matthew 28:2-3).  Mark tells us only that the man is dressed in a white robe.  "In the colour symbolism of the NT, white is primarily the heavenly colour and is mentioned almost exclusively in eschatological or apocalyptic contexts" (Lane, 587) -- so this young man's clothing identifies him as a heavenly being. 

"and they were alarmed" (v. 5).  Consider their emotional state.  They are caught up in terrible grief.  It is very early in the morning.  They have gone to the tomb expecting to encounter nobody but find themselves in the presence of a heavenly being.  It is no wonder that they are afraid.  Fear is a common response to the divine presence (4:41; 5:15, 33; 6:50; 9:6; 10:32). 

They are also afraid because they came to the tomb with a worldview "in which death has the final word.  Then bit by bit, this old world is dismantled and everything is thrown off balance" (Campbell, 283).  The tomb that should be closed is open.  The body that should be present is missing.  A young man dressed in heavenly white robes is sitting where the body should be lying.  Next they will learn that Jesus' death was not final.  The absolute truths that they have trusted all their lives have turned out not to be absolute, shaking the foundations of their worldview.  No wonder they are afraid.

"But he said to them, 'Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him' " (v. 6).  "The verbs in v. 6 ("was crucified" and "has been raised") refer to both sides of the Easter event.  The announcement of the divine emissary establishes an inseparable continuity between the historical Jesus and the resurrected Jesus" (Edwards, 494).  The phrase "has been raised" is a divine passive verb -- meaning that it is God who raised Jesus from the dead.

"What is exceptional and distinctive about the early Christian proclamation that Jesus has been raised is that this happens to an individual (and not to all the dead) within the course of human history (and not at the end time).  Or to put these points in a way that is consistent with Paul's reflection on Jesus' resurrection and our resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, the resurrection of Jesus constitutes the decisive event in a sequence of eschatological events that will issue in the fullness of God's kingdom.  Jesus, the risen one, anticipates the glorious state that awaits all who remain faithful to his teaching and example" (Donahue and Harrington, 460).

"But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you" (v. 7).  The disciples fled when Jesus was arrested (14:50-51) and Peter denied Jesus three times (14:66-72).  This charge to the women, then, is a grace note. Jesus has forgiven these men and will maintain his special relationship with them in spite of their failure in the hour of crisis. 

Earlier, Jesus promised, "But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee" (14:28).  The young man's words to the women are the beginning of the fulfilment of that promise.

"there you will see him" (v. 7).  "The apostolic faith in the resurrection will rest on eyewitness, firsthand experience, not hearsay (i.e., the report of the women)" (Evans, 538).

"there you will see him" (v. 7).  This is wonderful news, of course, but disquieting too.  The old maxim says that there are only two certainties -- death and taxes.  If Jesus has managed to cheat death, what other certainties become uncertain.  Perhaps they will find that it is the poor are blessed of God instead of the rich (Matthew 5:3; Luke 6:20).  Perhaps they will learn that those who mourn will be comforted rather than regarded as pitiful (Matthew 5:4).  Perhaps they will learn that the meek rather than the aggressive will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). 

VERSE 8a:  SO THEY WENT OUT AND FLED FROM THE TOMB

The young man's counsel not to be alarmed (v. 6) has little effect.  These women are afraid, so they say "nothing to no one" -- a double negative for emphasis.  This differs from Matthew's account, where they "ran to tell the disciples" (Matthew 28:8) -- and Luke's account, where "they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest" (Luke 24:9) -- and John's account, where Mary Magdalene found the open tomb and "ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved" (John 20:2). 

All the Gospels portray the male disciples as unfaithful once Jesus is arrested.  Mark's Gospel now portrays the women as unfaithful as well.  That fits well with our understanding that nobody comes to Christ with clean hands.  We all need forgiveness -- even these women who have heretofore been so faithful. 

It can be helpful to recognize that these women, whom we tend to put on a pedestal, have clay feet.  "We can appreciate their witness and their moments of strong faith, but we are not called upon to imitate all their mistakes and sin.  Sometimes their lives cry out 'Go and do likewise,' like the story of blind bar-Timaeus, but sometimes their lives cry out 'Go and do otherwise,' like the story of Peter's denials of Christ" (Witheringon, 419).

Closing Prayer: