The Short Story

He is Risen!  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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The repeating of the message wasn't more important than what those who heard did with the message.

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Almost every day I hear my two younger kids come running up to me shouting, “Mom! Mom! Mom!” at the same time. Both of them refusing to let the other talk. Both of them wanting to tell me their story first. So I have to stop them both from shouting over the other and take a breath. Then I will calmly tell them, “Okay, one at a time, (you) go first and (you) do not interrupt.” Many times to actually get the whole story I have to stop them from talking as ask just to give me the “who, what, where, how and why?” “Just give me the basic details, short and to the point.” My youngest especially loves to tell how much it hurt, or even destroyed something. She is is just bursting with drama! I learned that if I want the truth and the whole story, it is best to have just the important details and to hear from each “party” or person; as though we are in a court of law.
The Gospel of Mark is very good for giving just the important details of the life, death and Resurrection of Christ. Mark’s Gospel is the shortest of the gospels and also the first one ever written. The history of this gospel writing is so very interesting. The shortness and basic details could be the reason why the other Apostles and disciples of the Apostles wrote other Gospels. Like, Matthew took his account from the writings of Mark and other sources close to Jesus, Luke was an Apostle of Jesus who also wrote Acts as a sequel to his gospel, and so was John an Apostle. Mark was the first to say, “this story needs to be written down some how.” You can kind of see that Mark’s gospel was more of a blueprint for the other gospels when you look at the last chapter that we are going to read today. Initially, this chapter only had eight verses, the other eleven verses were added later to make the story more complete. However, I think Mark had very good intentions on ending the story when he did. He closed his gospel with the most important point of the whole story of Jesus.
Pray and read Mark 16:1-8
Mark 16:1–8 NRSV
When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 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. 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.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. And all that had been commanded them they told briefly to those around Peter. And afterward Jesus himself sent out through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.
So here are the details:
Jesus died the day before Passover was to begin that evening, and evening starts a new day. So for the whole next 24 hours, the women who were like family could not prepare his body for burial. Nowadays we have funeral homes who take care of this, but then it was the job of women in the family to make the body ready and able to be buried properly. Now, most of us know that there where rumors of the likelihood of a resurrection, or that Jesus’ body would be stolen to make it appear that He had been resurrected. So, a large stone was placed over the entrance to the tomb by a few strong Roman guards and Roman guards stood watch at all times.
So the women wondered if the guards who were standing watch would be able and willing to role that stone away so that they could properly cover the body with spices and oils. But that wasn’t necessary. The guards had run off at some point in the night when the stone began to roll away on its own and probably accompanied by heavenly beings. So, they cautiously look inside the tomb. They don’t see the body, but instead an angel. They had never seen angels before. So this particular angel told them to stop, take a breath and listen. “I know you are looking for Jesus and He is not here. I need you all to go and tell Peter and the other disciples about this.”
This is why I love this version, the end of the Gospel as it is originally written simply states: They told Peter and those around him exactly what they were told to say. Jesus came around later to tell them to tell everyone else of this Good News.” That is it. That is the end of the story. He is Risen!
Most important words ever spoken. “He is Risen”. And that is what is commanded of us to tell everyone! When God tells me something important that I am supposed to do or understand, God tells me it short and to the point. Then I am to do whatever i have been told to do or use whatever wisdom I have been given.
This is what make the Resurrection story so important. Mark wrote this gospel in the second half of the first century. It may have been 40 years since Jesus was Resurrected and ascended. The ones reading this account knew what happened after that because they were living it! Over the course of the next twenty years, the other gospels would have been written. This gospel gives us the most important details to be memorized for the sole purpose of us, yes even us today, taking this message and telling others about Jesus.
Jesus’ Resurrection was the single most important event for humankind for it gave all of us eternal life and victory over eternal death from sin and evil. The second most important event is the death of Jesus, and third being His birth. The important part of this story isn’t that the Women were told Jesus had risen from the dead, it is what was done with this message. Did they believe it? Did it transform them? Did they tell others of this life transforming message. It is important to understand this:
We cannot have Resurrection without their first being death. The same can be said that we cannot have redemption without our death to sin and this world. Those three words tell the story of our redemption: “He is Risen.” So what are you going to do with is message? What are you going to do with those three words? Do you believe it? Has the Gospel, this Good News, story of Jesus transform your life? Who will you tell?
In the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost. Amen
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