His Resurrection
TRANSLATION
(1) When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. (2) And very early on the first day of the week when the sun had risen, they came to the tomb, (3) and they asked one another, “Who will roll the stone away from the door of the tomb for us?” (4) And looking up, they saw that the stone which was very large had been rolled away. (5) And as they entered 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, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for 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.”
OBSERVATIONS
Mark, in the first paragraph of his Gospel’s last chapter, focused at first on what the women who followed Jesus did and said during the early hours of the day of his resurrection (vss. 1-5). We should note the progression of verbs: “bought…came…asked…saw…were alarmed.” The last two verses emphasized what the “young man…dressed in a white robe” told them: “Do not be alarmed” (vs. 6) and “go…tell” (vs. 7). Repeated words included “tomb” (vss. 2, 3, & 5), “roll…stone” (vss. 3 & 4), “they saw” (vss. 4 & 5) and “saw/see” (vss. 5 & 6), “alarmed” (vss. 5 & 6), “risen” (once in vs. 2 referring to the sun and again in vs. 6 referring to the Son).
OUTLINE
I. Mark described what the women who went early to the tomb first did and then witnessed. (1-5)
II. Mark described what the angel told the women to do. (6 & 7)
IDEA STATEMENT
The women who went to anoint Jesus’ body were the first to see the empty tomb, to hear about his resurrection, and then to convey the good news to his other disciples.
APPLICATION
What the three women who were close to Jesus did on that early Sunday morning stands as an eternal testimony to their love for him. They had come to anoint his body for a proper Jewish burial, something that had been left undone in the urgency to remove his body from the cross and have it interred in time for the observation of Passover. Only when they were on their way to the tomb did they think about the size and weight of the stone they would have to move to gain access to his body.
Imagine their surprise when they found the stone rolled back and a young man in a white robe sitting inside the empty tomb where Jesus’ body should have been lying. What he told them was even more astounding, that Jesus had been raised from the dead and that he would meet them soon in Galilee. Their immediate task was to go and share this news with the rest of the disciples. In an instant, the tragedy of Jesus’ death, the worst thing that could have happened, had been transformed into the triumph of the resurrection, something that far exceeded their wildest hopes and dreams. It would take time for all the disciples to absorb the profound implications of this unexpected turn of events. No other event in world history has had such a momentous impact.
To begin to grasp the significance of the resurrection we need to consider Genesis 3. There we find the account of humanity’s fall from grace in which Eve and then Adam succumbed to Satan’s temptation, disobeyed God’s command, and placed the entire human race under the curse of sin. There we also find the prophecy God gave Satan concerning the seed of the woman: “He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15). This pronouncement of doom functioned also as a message of hope. On the cross Satan bruised the heel of the promised seed of the woman in his death on the cross. But at the empty tomb the promised seed bruised (crushed) the head of Satan and gained the victory by his resurrection. For three dark days it appeared that Satan had won. However, on that resurrection morning, Jesus’ rising from the dead turned that tragedy into a triumph of unprecedented joy.