4.24.11--Easter Sunday Sermon

And they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

The earliest copies we have of the Gospel of Mark end here, at chapter 16 verse 8. These three women, Mary, Mary, and Salome, who were all said to have been ardent followers of Jesus, had spent the last two days mourning the loss of their friend, their rabbi, their Messiah. As the life was extinguished from his body that afternoon as he hung on the cross, so were their hopes extinguished. They had bet everything on Jesus, and had come up empty-handed.

And yet, they were not ready to let go just yet. Even in death, he was still beloved by them. He had done right by them in life, and so they would do right by him in his death. And so, they got up early that morning and headed to the tomb where he had been placed.

Now, in this day and age, women prepared dead bodies for burial. It was usually done quickly, as close to one’s death as possible, so that the body had as little time as possible to decompose before they completed their task. Jesus, though, died after sundown on the day before the Sabbath. They were not allowed to prepare him for burial, and so he was placed in the tomb still ritually unclean.

So these women were heading to what could easily be a very gruesome, very smelly body. But they loved Jesus, and they would do right by him. Their hope for a better tomorrow was lost; all that they had were their rituals, all that they had were the tasks at hand.

And yet, upon arriving at the tomb, they are greeted with an amazing sight: the boulder was moved away, the body of Jesus was gone, and a young boy was perched on top of the preparation table.

What is going on? What has happened? Where is Jesus? Who is this boy?

And before they can say anything, the boy speaks: “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 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.’”

What wonderful news from this strange, mysterious boy! Jesus is not dead! He has been raised! He is risen! The tomb is empty—well, except for the boy—the stone is rolled away, and Jesus is risen! The hope that they had lost, the hope that died on that cross with their teacher, had been given new life!

And yet they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

I would think that, having received such amazing news, they would have run as fast as they could to go and tell Jesus’ other disciples! To share with them the good news so that their hope might be returned as well!

And yet they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

Is this the Easter story that you remember? Is this the way you see it played out in your head every year? Can this be the end of the story?

Of course not. When most people, myself included, think of the Easter story, we think of the disciples running to the tomb and seeing the empty table. We think of everyone celebrating the resurrected Christ! We think of Jesus speaking to the women at the tomb and them mistaking him for a gardener. We think of Jesus appearing to His disciples in the upper room, on the way to Emmaus, at the shore of the Sea of Galilee. We don’t think of the first people to hear the good news running away, scared.

And yet they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

Why would they have done this? Why would they have kept silent about this news? Why would they have been frightened by the prospect of Jesus rising as He told them He would?

I don’t think that we can hold this against Mary, Mary, and Salome. They encountered the supernatural, and responded the way most people do when they encounter the supernatural. That is why every time an angel appears to an individual or a group of people, they always have to begin speaking with the phrase “Fear not” or “Do not be afraid.” Even our boy in the tomb uses the words “Do not be alarmed.” Encountering the supernatural can be a scary thing. So of course, after hearing that Jesus had come back from the dead, and after seeing a strange sight at the tomb, these women were afraid! They had every right to be.

To make matters worse, three days prior, they were cut to the core with the loss of their Lord. All of their hope had been wrenched away. Everything they had believed to be true seemed to have turned out wrong. Could they dare to hope again? Could they even for a second allow themselves the opportunity to think that things might not be as they seemed? Could they give their hearts away again, so soon after losing them?

And so they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

But this is obviously not the end of the story. I mean, the earliest accounts of Mark’s Gospel might end here, but we know today that this is not the end of the story. How could it be? We know the story. It got out. We might not know how it did, but we know that the good news of Jesus’ resurrection was shared with the world and His church grew and grew. The other Gospels give us accounts of this. They say that the women ran back to tell Peter and the other disciples. Others dashed over to the tomb and saw the empty table. Jesus appeared to many of them in different places and for different reasons. And then He ascended into Heaven with the promise not only to come again, but to be with us always, even to the ends of the age.

Word got out. The story spread. The good news was told.

I’d like to think that after the initial shock of their experience at the tomb, Salome and the Mary’s were able to breathe and think about what had happened. Maybe they had sprinted away, ran as far as they could, and while they were gulping in air and panting after such a hard run, they looked at each other, saw the glimmers of hope twinkling in each other’s eyes, and dared to believe that it was so. Maybe then they went to share with the men and women who had followed alongside them. Maybe then they had the courage to place their faith back in this man who was once dead but is now alive again.

Whatever happened, however the word got out, we have these three women to thank that we now have the story of the empty tomb. We know from their witness that Jesus the Christ is not dead, but was raised back to life by His heavenly Father.

And we have them to look toward as an example of how to live our lives.

Not only were they willing to see Jesus through to the very end, not only were they willing to risk their very lives to prepare His body for burial, not only did they see the empty tomb for themselves, but they shared the story even though they were frightened and amazed.

And so, we are called to do the same. We are called to hold onto our faith even in those times of life when it seems like the world is as dark and dismal as it could get. We are called to keep going even when it seems all hope is lost. We are called to be witness to the glorious work of the resurrected Christ in the world today. And we are called to share that story, no matter the cost to us.

Let us pray.