“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. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “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.’ ” Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.”
- Mark 16:1-8
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Over the past few months, we’ve been going through Mark, and today’s passage is almost the end of the book of Mark, which I think has a very interesting ending which I will circle back.
In the past few months we’ve been reading about Jesus teachings and trying to understand who he is as a messiah. Even the disciples had trouble understanding what it means for Jesus to be the messiah. We read in the previous chapters how He is the son of man who will save us from our sins. We learn that Jesus is not the glamorous type of savior who had a golden crown on a throne, but instead a savior who had a crown of thorns and nailed on a cross where he died to save us from our sins.
But the story doesn’t end there. I know a lot of us knows how the story ends and how Jesus appeared to his disciples in other gospels. But let’s focus on what the gospel of Mark is trying to make us think. When the two women, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James came to his tomb to anoint Jesus with oil, they were surprised that the stone (which was really huge and heavy) was rolled away. After that, they see a young man in a white robe who told them that Jesus had risen and to go and tell the disciples and Peter. BUT the women were “trembling and bewildered” that they ran away and didn’t tell anyone because they were so afraid. And then the story ends there.
You might see in your bibles a note that says the original manuscripts do not include verses 9-20. And so, I think it’s very interesting that the author of Mark ended the story with the women just running away. If the story ends there, so what’s next? What is this about? What does this mean to us?
After going through the gospel of Mark and learning about Jesus' teachings and Jesus himself, I think this ending is very important to us and makes us think. Jesus is inviting us to start a relationship with him. How do we respond to this? How do we receive Jesus as the messiah who died and rose again for us? Are we going to run away? Or do we accept him as our king and his invitation?
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