Sixteen Sermons on Mark's Gospel
Mark 16:
September 12, 2003
by Rev. Stephen C. Magee
Introduction: The Promise and
the Testimony
This morning we come to the end of our consideration of
this briefest of the gospels. As we look
at the final chapter of Mark, I want to begin by reminding you of several key
verses in this book.
The first one is in the very beginning. Chapter one, verse one reads as follows: “The
beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” As we consider everything that we have heard
in this book, keep in mind that what Mark has written, and what Peter preached,
is the gospel. Remember that the word gospel
means “good news.”
Some of that good news has been surprising, which takes
me to some other verses that I want you to recall. In Mark 8, 9, and 10, Jesus predicted events
that would take place before this account of good news was finished.
Mark 8:31 31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
Mark 9:31 31 … He taught His disciples and said to them, "The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day."
Mark 10:33-34 33 "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; 34 and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again."
This three-fold promise of suffering, death, and
resurrection was hard for the disciples to understand. Some of the sorrow and disappointment would
have been overwhelming for them as it occurred and they all fled. This is understandable.
The passage
before us this morning is not the story of that suffering. It is the story of a stone unexpectedly
rolled away and an empty tomb. It is
also the story of a small group of women who saw these events and were
afraid. The news that they heard was the
news of the greatest victory ever recorded, but it was news so beyond human
expectation that, even though Jesus clearly promised it would happen, when the
time of victory came, it was more than they could comprehend.
THE PASSAGE:
Mark
16:1-8 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary
the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint
Him. 2 Very early in the
morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had
risen. 3 And they said among
themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?" 4 But when they looked up, they
saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw
a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they
were alarmed. 6 But he said
to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was
crucified. He is 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 into
Establishing the text
Throughout this series, we have made a point of reading
an entire chapter every Sunday. I have
tried to give you a big-picture look at this gospel in this way. It may seem strange then to do only the first
eight verses of the last chapter, and then to identify this as the end of the
series, as if there were no more of the chapter after those eight verses.
The reason why I am doing this,
is that the best scholarship on this passage has come to the conclusion that
the original letter actually ended with the eighth verse. Some early scribe who considered the original
ending too abrupt apparently added the remaining verses. The best evidence for this theory is that
there is more than one ending in the oldest manuscript copies in existence
today. The two most common alternative
endings bear very little resemblance to each other, and some of the earliest
manuscripts simply end with verse eight.
Because of this, we do not have a high degree of
confidence that the verses beyond the first eight are actually part of the
inspired Word of God. For that reason,
my preaching must end with verse eight.
Much could have been said. What
was included?
There is much that could have been said about the
resurrection in these final verses.
There was an earthquake. There is
a story to tell about the guards. There
is more to say about Mary Magdalene.
There is an extended account of a conversation between Jesus and two
disciples along the road to the town of
Acts 1:3 … He also presented Himself
alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during
forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the
Again, all of these things could have been mentioned
here. Certainly they were all common
knowledge among the followers of Jesus Christ at the time that Mark’s gospel was
written. Instead we are given just a few
brief facts, with the focus being the announcement of the great fact of the
resurrection. It is that word of truth
that ends this gospel, together with a very brief account of the reaction of
the women who were eyewitnesses of the first evidences of the resurrection of
Jesus Christ.
I want to consider with you three things that Peter does innclude, and then end our series with a word of
application for your lives today.
“The stone had been rolled away.”
First, note that when the women arrived at the grave very
early in the morning, the stone had been rolled away. This was a remarkable thing, apparently. These women had seen the stone rolled into
place. One of the commentators (Lane)
indicates that likely burial practices in the tombs of the rich at this time in
What they find instead is that the stone has been rolled
away, and inside the tomb is a young “man” in a white shining robe. This human-looking figure is an angelic
being. The women are, of course,
distressed by what they find. They came
expecting to perform the burial procedures that were customary to counteract
the unpleasant odor of bodily decomposition.
This is what they were expecting.
They were not expecting to find the stone rolled away and to be
addressed by an angel.
“He is not here.”
The next thing recorded by
Mark is the testimony of these women regarding the words of the angel. The angel says, “He is not here.” Why is He not here? Because He is risen from the
dead. The body is absent from the
tomb, and there has to be a reason.
Over the years
people have suggested different theories regarding the missing body. One has been the “stolen body theory.” There is a problem with this theory. If the body was stolen it had to be stolen by
someone. If the disciples of Jesus stole
the body, they spent the rest of their lives facing persecution and even death
as they defended a hoax. Furthermore,
this is a highly unlikely suggestion given the fact that they had all run away
and were afraid at this time. If His
enemies stole His body, we have the problem of motive. Why would his enemies do something that His supporters
could have used to claim that Jesus rose from the
dead? Finally, if professional
grave-robbers did this, why did they leave behind grave clothes in such a
remarkable way, as recorded in Luke and John?
A second
suggested theory to explain the empty tomb is the “swoon theory.” The idea here is that Jesus entered a
coma-like state on the cross, was mistakenly thought to be dead by the
centurion and by those working with Him and with Joseph of Arimathea
who would have carried Him away and wrapped Him in fine linen. Later He would presumably have come out of
the coma, and then rolled away the stone Himself, and presumably died a natural
death shortly after. To believe this,
all of the people connected with the death and burial of Jesus have to be
dismissed as incompetent judges of whether a body was dead or alive. Furthermore, Jesus has to be so strong that
He can come out of a coma and roll away the stone, but so weak that He then
dies.
These and all
other theories have two major problems:
1. What happened to the body of Jesus? Powerful forces have made sure that Jesus was
put to death on a cross. These
individuals were committed to the end of any Jesus movement. We suddenly have the problem of an empty tomb
that suggests the possibility of resurrection.
If Jesus is risen from the dead, the Jesus
movement is not over. Don’t you think
they would have produced the dead body and ended any speculation if they could
have?
2. (This is the biggest one, and the most
relevant for our consideration of the conclusion to Mark’s Gospel.) God teaches us something else in His Word. He teaches us that Jesus rose from the dead.
“They were afraid.”
Mark notes the stone.
He notes the absence of the body from the tomb. The final thing he points to is the fear of
the women involved. This is not an
isolated or abnormal reaction on the part of the disciples. Jesus had told them at least three times
about the coming resurrection, but they did not seem to understand what it
could mean. They came to the tomb expecting
to find a dead body of someone they loved.
Not only was the body absent and the grave clothes present and
apparently intact, but an angel announced to them that Jesus had risen from the
dead.
They are never shown to be the confident zealots who
could have planned a resurrection hoax.
They are always displayed as they honestly were – overwhelmed by God and
His power. They were afraid.
As I said, this was not an isolated reaction. Fear seems to accompany almost every
resurrection appearance of Jesus. Luke
24:5 “Then as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth…” Matthew 27:54 “They feared greatly.” Matthew 28:4 “They shook with fear.” Over and over again, Jesus and the angels
have to address them with these words.
“Do not be afraid.” Why? Because they were afraid.
Why did Mark (and apparently Peter) include these things?
As we consider
the account that we have in Mark, it becomes clear that the point is not to
prove the resurrection, but simply to announce it as truth and to note the
reaction of the first witnesses of this message. He was crucified, but He is not crucified any
more. He is risen.
The angel recounts these facts and simply announces them. In doing this, the word of resurrection comes
to the ears of the women who had come to the tomb with one expectation, and
left in fear.
How do you display a cross that wins something?
Are we really
surprised that they were afraid? We do
not expect a cross to be the pathway to winning anything. It is shocking when the cross becomes the
pathway to a glorious resurrection.
Jesus came to atone for our sins.
To do this He had to die. How do
you show that an atoning death worked?
You show it by resurrection. How
do you prove eternal life through substitutionary
death? You prove it by
resurrection. It is a victory that is
too much for any observer to take in.
You receive it with fear, and yet believe it with great joy, as you come
to grips with this central truth of the victory of Christ over the grave:
He came to win,
and He is risen indeed!
APPLICATION:
The good news is …
In applying this
important truth to our lives, we must again reflect on the fact that the empty
grave, though naturally and truly met with fear, is very good news. It is a very big win. Not all winning is good news. It depends on who wins, how they win, the
meaning of their winning, and the importance of the battle.
If a horrible
and evil oppressor sets up places of extermination, where he unjustly destroys
the innocent in cruelty, it is not good news when that oppressor seems to
win. But when God wins it is very good news,
because God is God, and God is good. No
man can stand in judgment of God and question His justice. He is perfectly righteous and holy.
Through the
empty tomb and the announcement of the resurrection, God won. He fought with perfect righteousness. His victory was for a great purpose. It is intensely significant for you.
The good news of your resurrection based on the fact of …
The resurrection
of Jesus Christ means something. Jesus
promised this resurrection. Men and
angels testified to this resurrection.
For centuries to come, this resurrection would change the lives of those
who believed. It is this resurrection
that brings us to worship on this day.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ brought an end to one administration of
the covenant of grace for the nation of
The resurrection
is such good news, in part because it means so much for you. Jesus had an empty tomb. So shall you.
One of my friends, a pastor in this town, just buried a man
yesterday. The gravediggers lowered a
casket into a grave. One day that casket
will be empty.
One day your
casket will be empty. Hear that truth
and fear. Acts 24:15 “… there will be a
resurrection of the dead, both of the just, and the unjust.” Matthew 25:46 Some
“… will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal
life.” Your tomb will be empty, and your
only hope that that will be a happy thing is your association with Christ in
His death and resurrection. If He died
for you, then in His death your sins have been forgiven. If He rose for you, then you have been
justified. That word “justified” means
that you have been declared just – declared righteous through the perfect
righteousness of Jesus Christ. So today,
hear the word of resurrection, embrace the promise of resurrection, and live
the life of resurrection by the power of God at work within you.
Conclusion: Who is this man? Why
has He come?
Don’t miss this.
We have come to
the end of Mark’s gospel. This gospel is
good news. Don’t miss it. Don’t miss it if this is the first time you
have ever really heard it. Don’t miss it
if you have heard it over and over again.
The message is Christ crucified, and it is a message of victory because
of the word of the empty tomb, and the word of the Risen Lord.
Who is this
man? He is the Son of God. He is Lord of
the Sabbath. He is the King of the Church.
He is God Over All. He is the Potentate of Life. He is the Sovereign Judge. He is the Searcher of Hearts. He is the Christ.
Why has He
come? He came to teach us to see the
Kingdom rightly. He came to give His
life as a ransom for many. He came to
announce judgment as the Anointed of God. He came to be the Cornerstone of the
Church. He came to inaugurate the New Covenant Era. He came to be betrayed and to suffer. He came to be crucified. He came to win. He is risen! Hallelujah!