The Commission of Reverence

Mark 16:1-8 ESV

1 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, 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 that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

This year, Easter is in the month of April and so I decided that it would be good to exposit an account of the resurrection of Jesus throughout this month.

But in reviewing sermons that I have preached in the past, I realized that I had never preached a sermon from the account of the resurrection and the fallout from the resurrection found in the Gospel of Mark. So, I thought that it would be well for us to work through a series of sermons from the sixteenth chapter of Mark which speaks of the resurrection of Jesus and the fallout that came about as a result of His resurrection.

The Gospel of Mark is likely the first gospel to have been written, it being estimated to have been written by John Mark in approximately 55-59 AD. Furthermore, it is believed that Mark wrote the majority of his gospel under the direction of the Apostle Peter.

Mark is the most concise gospel, consisting of only sixteen chapters. Because of this, Mark describes some of the same events that are recorded in other gospels in ways that are much more brief. And knowing Peter to be the more impulsive and to the point disciple, it makes sense that the accounts that he dictates would be more to the point than others.

And this is no different when it comes to the account of the resurrection and the immediate fallout from the resurrection in Mark’s gospel.

Today, in particular, we will be looking at the discovery of the resurrection of Jesus, focusing primarily on the first witnesses of the resurrected Lord and their experience at the Lord’s empty tomb.

And as we begin our exposition this morning, these witnesses are identified. And we also see what it is that they were in the process of doing leading up to the dramatic events that follow, as we look to verses one and two of our reading, where we read:

Mark 16:1-2 ESV

1 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.

So, the first thing that we notice about this narrative is a time, that time being identified as “When the Sabbath was past.” In order for us to understand exactly when this took place, we need to have some understanding on how those in ancient Israel measured their days.

If anyone were to ask any one of us at, let’s say, 11am, “What time does tomorrow start?” we would all respond by saying, “At midnight.” That’s how we measure days. But in ancient Israel, days were measured differently. Whereas our day runs from midnight to midnight, in ancient Israel, the day runs from what we recognize as 6pm to 6pm. And the Sabbath in particular, runs from what we consider to be 6pm on Friday to 6pm on Saturday.

And we know from other gospels that Jesus died and was buried before the Sabbath, before 6pm on Friday. And as our reading says that these women had bought spices, essential oils extracted from herbs so that they might anoint the body of the Lord Jesus after the Sabbath, we know that this indicates that these women had bought these spices on Saturday evening, after the Sabbath was over and when they were able to buy these spices.

So, these buying these spices in the evening on Saturday, they didn’t set out to anoint the Lord’s body that night, but instead, they done that “very early on the first day of the week” corresponding to very early on Sunday morning.

The other gospels say that these women set out while it was still dark, but here, Mark says that “when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.” Which is no contradiction as it means that while these set out while it was dark, they arrived at the tomb after the sun had risen.

Then, as we move on to verses three and four, we read:

Mark 16:3-4 ESV

3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large.

So, as these women went along on their journey to the tomb where the Lord Jesus had been laid, they recognized that there was going to be an obstacle lying ahead. They remembered that there had been a stone, described at the end of verse four as a “very large” stone that they could not move themselves, which was covering the entrance of the tomb.

So, as these went along, they found themselves asking one another if they had any idea on how they may remove the “very large” sealed stone so that they may accomplish the anointment of the Lord’s body.

But when they arrived at the tomb, they looked up and realized that the stone had already been rolled away, possibly thinking that others had already beat them to anointing the body of Jesus.

We then read in verse five:

Mark 16:5 ESV

5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed.

Seeing that the stone had already been rolled away, the women proceeded to enter the tomb, not only because they were surprised that the stone had already been rolled away, but also to ensure that the Lord’s body had already been anointed before they left and returned home.

But as they entered the tomb, our reading tells us that they had found themselves to be “alarmed.” Synonyms for this description that are appropriate to the situation might be that they were “startled”, “distressed”, maybe “disturbed.”

And there are at least two recognizable reasons why these women would experience this alarm. The first reason why these women were alarmed is because when they entered the tomb, the first thing that they saw is described as, “a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe.”

Now, it would be surprising enough if this would have been a regular young man that these women had come across, but this was no regular, typical young man. This was a heavenly messenger, an angel from God Himself. And having an angel appear before you would certainly cause alarm, I don’t care who you are.

But the appearance of this angel isn’t the only reason why the women were alarmed; they were also alarmed at the absence of something. They were alarmed when they saw that the body of Jesus wasn’t there!

There was an angel inside the tomb and the body of Jesus was gone! These certainly found themselves in a state of shock! But though that was the case, we find the response of the angel in verse six, where we read:

Mark 16:6 ESV

6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.

So, though these women find themselves in such a state of alarm, the angel who appears to them tells them to not be alarmed. And the reason why they should not be alarmed and moved in such a state of un-comfortability, the angel tells them is because the absence of the body of the Lord and the message of the angel spells good news!

The angel tells the women that he knows that they seek Jesus, and that he knows that Jesus has been crucified, fully executed, absolutelyslain.

He says that he recognizes that they seek the body of the Lord that they may anoint it, but he tells them that what they seek to carry out is not possible, because His body is not there. And it isn’t as though someone had stolen His body, but rather, as the angel says, “He is risen”! He has been raised from the dead to physical immortality.

And in order to give the women proof of this, the angel invites them to look upon where they themselves knew Jesus had been laid, for when they look there, they will see that He is no longer there.

These women, having received this most shocking information from the mouth of an angel, now receive their commission from this same angel in verse seven, where we read the angel say:

Mark 6:7 ESV

7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”

The women’s mission at the break of day had been to anoint the body of the Lord, but as we have just read, circumstances have changed their mission. There is no body there to anoint, thus, they have no choice but to abandon that mission. Instead, the angel gives the women a new mission.

The details of that mission, the angel says, is that the women go from the tomb, for there is nothing there for them to see and to report to the disciples, chief among whom was Peter, what they had seen and been told by the angel.

The women were to report to the disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead, that He lives! Furthermore, they are to tell the Lord’s disciples that the Lord is going before them to Galilee.

And to dissuade any doubt that the disciples may have, the angel tells the women to remind the disciples that the Lord had spoken these very words to them, back in chapter fourteen, verse twenty-eight of this book, where Jesus plainly says:

Mark 14:28 ESV

28 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.

And at receiving the command of the angel, we read of the women’s reaction in the final verse of our reading, verse eight, where it says:

Mark 16:8 ESV

8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

These women, upon receiving the command from the angel we read, “went out and fled from the tomb”. These verbs, “went out” and “fled” signify that what they did here, they did with great haste and with the utmost urgency.

And the reason why they reacted this way, Mark tells us, is because “trembling and astonishment had seized them.” The trembling and astonishment that is spoken of here is indicative of the reaction that the women experienced at seeing what they had seen and receiving the commission that they received. They knew that this angel, being a messenger from God meant that the commission that they received was a commission from God Himself.

And thus, this trembling and astonishment, the recognition that this was a commission from God Himself was so overwhelming to these women that Mark says that this trembling and astonishment, “seized” the women. To be seized by something means to be taken captive to it, perhaps, it could even be described as being arrested by it. It overcomes you and you have no control over it.

And as these fled from the tomb, it is written that “they said nothing to anyone”, which doesn’t mean that they disobeyed the commission of God, but rather, it indicates that they said nothing to anyone along the way, as they fled to the disciples.

And the reason why they said nothing to anyone along the way is because the angel specifically told them to relay this message to the disciples. And thus, they obeyed the command of the angel, because, as the end of our reading for today tells us, “they were afraid.”

So reverent and devout were these initial witnesses to the resurrection of the Lord. God had come and seized them with this glorious experience, with this glorious message. Jesus lives! He has overcome death! And eternal life is imparted to all who believe!

This is what these women were faithful to proclaim. And as we now proceed to the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, we who are truly believers proclaim this good news as well, as God graciously calls us to the table to commune with Him.