Easter Mark 16:1-8
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Good morning Wesley church. My name is Pastor Terry Cavanaugh, and I am a retired elder in the United Methodist system. We are so excited that you are here with us this Easter morning. I would like to thank Mike for leading the worship service up to this point. And if you will indulge me, I would like to look more closely at the text he read for you, Mark chapter 16 verses one through eight. So if you have your Bibles turn with me to Mark chapter 16. We will begin reading at verse one.
When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.
When the Sabbath was past. Their Sabbath was on Saturday, so this would have been on a Sunday. We find Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, Salome walking toward the grave site of Jesus.
Picture it, they are walking towards the gravesite, shuffling more than walking.
All their hopes and dreams had been captured in Jesus. Now he has been crucified. They watched as the horrific events took place. They witnessed the flogging. A flogging that most men never survived. They were there when they had the cross was placed upon his back. They followed it down the via Delarosa, the way of suffering, to Golgotha. They watched as the nails were driven through his flesh. They could still hear the resounding of the hammer, the screams of those crucified still hung in the air. They stayed at the foot of the cross until they could stay no longer. And now, they were returning to the grave to do for Jesus the last act of love and compassion. They were returning with spices to anoint his dead body and prepare it for its final burial.
And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.
They walked together through the early morning haze, perhaps as early as 4 am. Can you see them? Their shoulders are slumping, weaving slightly, frowning. Their eyes red and swollen, they had no more tears to cry. A look of confusion on their faces.
And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”
Then one of them asked, "What about the stone."
They remembered the large circular stone that had been rolled across the entrance to the cave. Far too heavy for them to move. They no doubt felt more depressed, but they continued on.
“Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” Mary said. She had been there when the stone had been put in place. Can you hear the despair in her voice. This whole trip maybe for nothing. Maybe we will not even be able to put the ointment made of olive oil and fragrant spices they had prepared on the body. They may return home, disappointed again.
But as they came closer, what did they see?
And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large.
They saw the stone had been removed. They would be able to pay this last tribute to their Lord after all.
Can you see their steps quicken. The color returns to their checks. Maybe their shouted, “It is gone!”
Maybe they hugged each other, I don’t know. But their mood had changed.
And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed.
But their went from joy to fear. They faces turned white, the lips trembled, they froze, unable to move.
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.
In Luke’s gospel he also said, “Why do you seek the living among the dead. He is not here, but he has risen.”
Can you imagine how confused they are now. They came to anoint a dead body. They prepared the spices. It had been a long a dreadful walk, but they had made the trek. Now the body is gone. An angle is where the body should be.
How would you react, if it were you? Would you be afraid? I would be.
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.
We don’t need to guess how they felt, Mark tells us. They were trembling and astonishment had seized them.
What were they think? Is it true? Had Jesus come back from the dead? Was that even possible?
We gather here this morning with insight they did not have. We know, as Paul Harvey said, the rest of the story.
Jesus did come back from the death. He defeated our last and greatest enemy. He crashed hell, death, and grave under his feet.
But we are still a society driven by the fear of death. Why have we worn masks for the last year? Our fear of death. What was the number thrown at us with every news broadcast, the number of hospitalized and the number of deaths.
But, my friends, because of Jesus, we do not need to fear death any longer.
Listen to the Apostle Paul out of Romans.
We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
And he also said, in 1 Corinthians
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Dear Friends, we can join with Paul and say.
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
Why? Because of Easter. As William Willimon said, “We are the Easter People.”
We live, move, and have our begin, in the life, death, and especially the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
That is why we sing with gusto,
Logos Digital Hymnal Christ Arose
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes;
He arose a victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever With His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!
Amen.