Easter Sunday, April 8, 2007

Andrew G. Pittman
Sunday Morning
April 8, 2007 (Easter)

The New Beginning.
Mark 16: 1 – 8.

I. Introduction.
There are many things about Easter that I love. As a pastor, I love to have the church filled. I love the excitement in the air as children have eaten too much candy before church and are thrilled to search for colored eggs in the yard after church. I love the beauty of a light snow on the ground. But most of all, I love that Easter is not a federal holiday. I’m being serious. I enjoy having my mail delivered on Good Friday and Holy Saturday. It is a reminder that this is our holiday. Easter belongs to Christians only. This is not a worldly or commercialized event. Of course there are some worldly elements to Easter, like the chickens and rabbits and eggs. But Easter is more than a celebration of Springtime. Easter is the celebration of the single most important event in all of human history—the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I do not intend to reiterate the gruesome details of a Roman crucifixion. Let me simply say that the condemned person was beaten, mocked, stripped naked and nailed to a wooden cross. The pain experienced during crucifixion was worse than anything that human words could ever describe. In fact, the Romans invented a new word to describe the pain of the cross. It was not Agony. It was not Brutal. It was not Severe. It was Excruciating. This word Excruciating comes from two Latin words: ex (Out of) and crux (Cross) which mean “Out of the Cross.”
More than likely, the person being crucified would have been nailed to the cross by the wrists and the feet. Traditional art depicts Jesus as having nail prints in the palms of his hands. However, archaeology has revealed that the Romans put the nails in the person’s wrist in order to hold up to the person’s weight.
Have you ever bumped your “Funny Bone” and rolled around on the floor because it hurt so badly? The nerve that we call the funny bone runs through the wrist and would have been either smashed or severed by the seven inch spikes that were hammered into Jesus’ flesh.
This is only part of the pain that Jesus experienced on the cross. Yes, Jesus experienced excruciating physical pain. However, Jesus also experienced other pain that we might classify as emotional pain. Jesus was an innocent man. I don’t mean that he was innocent of the crimes he was accused of committing. Jesus was actually innocent in every sense of the word innocent. Jesus had never committed any sin. Although Jesus had been tempted in every way you and I are tempted today, Jesus had resisted temptation and remained pure. But Jesus was not crucified for his sins. He was crucified for your sins and my sins. Can you imagine the emotional weight and strain of having the guilt of the entire world placed on your shoulders? Many of us feel weighted down with our own guilt and sin. But Jesus felt the emotional weight of all guilt and sin.
On top of this emotional weight of guilt and sin, Jesus felt abandoned by all his friends in his moment of need. According to three of our Gospels—Matthew, Mark and Luke—all of Jesus’ disciples ran away when Jesus was arrested.
Just a week before the crucifixion, Jesus had been surrounded by twelve disciples, a larger group of followers, a group of women and a crowd. Then just a day before the crucifixion, Jesus had made a bold prophesy—They will strike the shepherd and the sheep will flee. Jesus knew that all his disciples would run away when faced with danger. Of course, Peter did not believe this was possible. Peter jumped to his feet and announced in front of God and everybody, “Though everyone else might fall away, I will never fall away.” But that wasn’t exactly what happened. Peter ran away—just like Jesus told him he would. Then Peter even denied Jesus in front of others.
In the Gospel of Mark, the last words spoken by any disciple were Peter’s words: “I don’t even know this man.” And Jesus died on the cross, while his disciples said, “I don’t even know him.”
However, the cross was not the end of the story for Jesus. And denial, betrayal and running away was not the end of the story for Peter and the rest of the disciples. Just as Jesus had promised his disciples, he was crucified; but on the third day he rose again.

Read Mark 16: 1 – 8.

Mark began this story by telling us about three women who had been followers of Jesus: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome. These three women had remained closer to Jesus than the disciples had. The disciples ran away. The women stayed at a distance and watched the crucifixion. There were two reasons why these women might have traveled to the tomb on the third day after Jesus was buried. First, they might have gone to the tomb to see if Jesus would keep his promise. On three separate occasions in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus had predicted that he would be killed by the religious leaders and on the third day rise again. But these women were not wondering if Jesus would keep his promise.
They had watched Jesus die. They had watched as Jesus’ body was lowered from the cross. And they had watched as Joseph of Arimathea placed Jesus’ body in the tomb. There was one thing these three women knew beyond a shadow of a doubt. They knew that Jesus was dead. And they came to the tomb on the third day with burial spices in their hands. There was no doubt in their minds that Jesus was dead. They were simply there to finish the process for burial. That is why they came. They had not come to see Jesus!
Jewish tradition was to place spices and perfumes on the dead body and then to wrap the body inside cloths. However, the circumstances of Jesus’ death prevented the women from preparing Jesus’ body for burial. Jesus died on the day before the Sabbath Day right before sunset. Jewish people mark time differently from the way we mark time. We think of a day as morning and night. Jews think of a day as evening and morning. The Sabbath Day begins at sunset on Friday and ends at sunset on Saturday.
Since Jesus died right before sunset at the beginning of the Sabbath, the women could not prepare Jesus’ body, because it would have been a sin for them to work on the Sabbath. Since the Sabbath ended at sunset on Saturday, the women chose to wait until early the next morning, because no one likes to walk through a cemetery after dark.
It was unusual for the women to come to the tomb several days after a person died, but in this case, it was the earliest possible time for them to anoint Jesus’ body for burial.
When the women arrived at the tomb, Mark tells us they saw a young man dressed in white. We should probably interpret this as an angel. Angel is the Greek word for “messenger.” Sometimes it can refer to a human messenger who was sent to communicate to other people. Other times it refers to a heavenly messenger who was sent to deliver a message from God. In this case, it is best to think of this young man as a heavenly messenger. He was there to report two things to the women. First, Jesus is alive! “He has risen! He is not here.” Second, he had a specific word of instruction: “Go tell his disciples and Peter, “He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”
The message from the angel on the first Easter Sunday morning is an announcement. He has announced a new beginning.


II. New Beginning for Jesus.
The resurrection was a New Beginning for Jesus. Just three days earlier, Jesus had borne the weight of all the guilt and sin of the world on the cross. He had died at the hands of his enemies.
The Roman government was threatened by Jesus, because they thought he might be able to rally support from the Jewish people and lead them in a rebellion against the empire. The Jewish religious leaders were threatened by Jesus, because he taught a new interpretation of the Jewish Law. The leaders wanted to use the Law as a way of oppression and control over the people, and Jesus set people free from the Law. Satan was threatened by Jesus, because Jesus is God’s only Son. Jesus began his ministry by preaching about the Kingdom of God on earth. Satan didn’t like that, because Satan is the king of the earth.
When Jesus hung lifeless on the cross, it appeared that he had been defeated by his enemies. It was a good run. He preached a wonderful message of freedom from the Law and life under the Lordship of God himself. But if Jesus were dead, it was over. His enemies had won.
But the Enemies did not win…If death is a symbol for defeat, then resurrection is a symbol of victory…


III. New Beginning for the Disciples.
The resurrection was a New Beginning for Jesus’ disciples. The Gospel of Mark does not show the disciples in very favorable light. Mark shows them as real human beings who had great moments, like when Jesus sent them out on a missionary journey to preach repentance and to cast out demons. But Mark also shows the disciples as men who were struggling to follow Jesus. James and John argued about which one would sit on Jesus’ right hand in the Kingdom. Peter failed Jesus by promising that he would never run away and then breaking his promise when Jesus was arrested.
But in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus kept all his promises. Peter couldn’t keep his promises, but Jesus could. Peter denied that he was a disciple and professed that he never even knew who Jesus was. But at the empty tomb, the angel gave the women specific instructions. Go find the disciples, and go find Peter. Go tell the disciples that they have a second chance. Go tell Peter that he can have a New Beginning.
There is nothing Peter could do to escape from the love and forgiveness of the cross. There is nothing that you can do either. No matter what you have done in your life. No matter what sins you struggle with. However you might have failed, you are never out of the reach of grace. You too can have a New Beginning. This is only possible because of the cross, and because of the empty tomb.

IV. New Beginning for the Gospel.
The resurrection is also a New Beginning for the Gospel. If you are reading from the New International Version, you will notice a parenthetical statement right after verse 8. It says: “The earliest and most reliable manuscripts do not have Mark 16: 9 – 20.”
In New Testament translation, scholars like to use the oldest Greek manuscripts available. They have discovered that the older copies are more reliable. Just like you and I write in our Bibles, sometimes people would write in the margins of their copies of Scripture and over time, those notes got added to some of the copies. More than likely, that’s what happened to the end of Mark. The oldest and most reliable Greek manuscripts of this book end at verse 8.
It seems rather abrupt and a little bit awkward for Mark to end like this. But look with me at Mark 1: 1. Read Mark 1: 1.
Mark was not trying to write a complete Gospel about Jesus. He specifically told us in his very first verse, “This is just the beginning of the Gospel.” The Gospel has not ended. It is still being written, even today. You and I are supposed to complete the Gospel.
I think Mark has written an abrupt and awkward ending so that we will not be satisfied with what is written. We are supposed to ask questions. What did the women do? Did they ever deliver the angel’s message? If the women will not tell others about the resurrection of Jesus, who will tell?
We are supposed to tell. We are supposed to complete the Gospel by telling everyone we know that Jesus is alive!






V. Conclusion.

How much preparation did you put into Easter today? Did you buy new clothes for yourself and your family members? Did you cook lunch, or make a reservation at the country club? Did you polish your shoes? Did you decorate eggs? Did you tell anyone that Jesus is alive?
It comes as sort of a shock to read that the women said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid. But that might just be our story today as well. The only difference…The women did not tell, because they were afraid. What about us? We have no reason to be afraid. Who needs to hear? And who among us is willing to tell the world about the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus?