The cross is empty. Jesus was crucified, rejected by humanity and God in our place.
After that horrific moment when Jesus breathed his last breath, everything
changed. Joseph of Arimathea goes to Pilate to ask him for Jesus’ body. Pilate’s
surprised that Jesus died so quickly, so he asks the centurion if it’s true
that Jesus is dead. The centurion confirms that Jesus is dead, so Pilate gives
Joseph Jesus’ dead body. Mark mentions a number of times that Mary Magdalene
and Mary the mother of James see Jesus die and where he’s buried. Tim Keller,
quoting Richard Bauckman, writes that “this is another way that Mark is
letting us know that he’s recording a historical account, not writing a legend.”
Mentioning the women by name so often is Mark’s way of telling his readers to
go talk to them and check out the truth of what he’s writing.
But now what? The cross may be empty, but
Jesus is dead and his body, along with their hope, lay in a dark tomb. When you
don't know what to do, it's easiest to simply do the practical thing right in
front of you; so, the women get together to go and anoint Jesus' body with
aromatic spices.
But there’s a large stone in front of the tomb. How are they going to roll it away? They don't let their worries
stop them. They'll figure out what to do when they get there; simple practical
decisions, figuring things out one step at a time. Imagine their surprise when
they arrive at the tomb and it's open already. I wonder what goes through their
minds as they see the stone rolled away. They go into the tomb with perhaps a
sense of fear, of hope, of worry about what they might see, or maybe what they
might not see? I'm certain they didn't expect to see a young man dressed in
white, sitting on the right side of the tomb.
Mark calls us to respond in amazement at who Jesus is. The women are alarmed, but in their
alarm, they're also amazed and overwhelmed with wonder at this young man and
his message. These emotions are wrapped together, much like it is for us still
today as we follow Jesus and encounter him. This is a normal human reaction to
encountering the sacred, the unknown, the unexpected. We often find it so hard
to change or adapt because we first need to deal with all the emotions swirling
around inside us as we encounter the sacred, the unknown or the unexpected. Listening
and opening ourselves up to the unexpected, the possibilities that the unknown
and sacred hold makes it easier.
The young man speaks, "Don't be alarmed, you're looking for
Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He is risen. He is not here. See the
place where they laid him!" Jesus isn’t there! Jesus is risen, he's
alive! The disciples are told to go to Galilee and meet him there. They're told
to remember what he had told them. Here’s a call to trust and believe what
Jesus has taught them and to respond in faith and go. Jesus' followers have
mourned, they've grieved. It's hard to remember what Jesus taught in times of darkness
and suffering. Loss goes deep, especially the loss of relationships, of those
we love or have loved. The present may feel dark, Scripture encourages us to
then look back to remember and believe as you look for where God was so that
you can find hope for right now and the future. The women have walked through
the darkness of hopelessness and loss, but now light is beginning to shine
through, and just as the sunrise marked the beginning of a new day, this young
man in shining white robes offers the light of hope to the women.
"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.'" The ones being called to come see Jesus are the very ones who
abandoned and denied Jesus; they’re being called to come see the one who is
more powerful than death. "Tell his disciples and
Peter," Peter’s singled out by the messenger. You know why, brash
bold Peter couldn't live up to his boasts, brave Peter turned out not to be so
brave after all and now he cowers in shame and embarrassment, but that's not
Jesus' desire for Peter or for you, he offers us renewal and forgiveness.
Jesus' death and resurrection brings freedom
from sin, but it's also about new life, free from our
old identity shaped by shame and guilt and given a new identity shaped by the
image of God we're created in; disciples and followers of Jesus striving to
look more and more like Jesus as we embrace his teachings, his life and his
Spirit. Jesus' death and resurrection is confirmation of God's deepest love and
commitment to us. God never gives up on us and is willing to go to
extraordinary lengths to show us that "neither
death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,
not any powers, neither height nor depth, not anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our
Lord," as Paul writes in Romans 8.
"Trembling and
bewildered, the women went out and fled from
the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid." The tomb is empty and the call is to go see Jesus. They’re trembling and bewildered; the words used also mean they’re astonished and amazed; wonder at what they've
learned merges into fear because of the unexpected and unknown. They're told to
look for him somewhere else because he’s no longer dead, but alive and well and
waiting for them, can this be true? Are they afraid of getting their hopes up
only to be dashed again as they were a few short days ago?
The women's voices are silenced by their fear. Is it fear because of the awe and reverence that comes
from meeting a messenger from God, or maybe it’s the fear that comes from
fearing that with Jesus gone, it’s all over? Perhaps it’s the fear that comes
because they don’t think they will be believed, but mocked because of who they
are. Fear’s powerful, fear takes away confidence and strength, fear creates
doubt and more fear, and here, even with glorious news, fear takes away their
voices.
Does fear silence you? Does it
prevent you from going out and inviting others to come and see, to go with you
to find Jesus and follow the one raised from the grave? At some point you need to choose to work through it or allow yourself to
be stopped dead in your tracks because of it. Running often seems
like a good response to fear, but fear is like your shadow; it follows you
wherever you go. You can run but you can’t hide from your fear, you cannot let
it silence you forever. The women do find their voice again as we
discover in the other Gospels, and the disciples learn of the empty grave and hear
the command to go see Jesus.
How can we deal with
fear? Begin by admitting your fear honestly, calling it what it is. You can
voice your fear straight to God in prayer, or gather a small group of trusted
people together where you can be honest about your fear and how it stops you
from really following Jesus and trusting Jesus completely with your life. This
is why God has given us the gift of the church; a place where followers of
Jesus can share their fear and find hope, encouragement, direction and strength
and be reminded of the good news that we follow a living God in Jesus.
When we begin to face our fear, we discover that the Holy Spirit is
with us, helping us find our voices again. As the young man in the tomb reminds
the women of Jesus' words, so the Holy Spirit reminds us of who Jesus is; the
risen Son of God, our Saviour and Redeemer. The Holy Spirit guides us
to Jesus as we look for him, so that you can see him and how he’s with you
through the Spirit and the church. The Spirit reassures us of the truth of
Jesus' death and resurrection, of the restoration and forgiveness that’s found in
the empty cross and tomb. This builds our trust and hope in Jesus.
Catherine Marshall sums up the benefits of trusting in God
when she writes, “There is only one way to get rid of fear; like any
sin, we must recognize it, confess it in true repentance, claim God’s sure
promise of forgiveness, cleansing and renewal, accept these gifts, rise and get
on with life. Not only new confidence, but real growth in character, follows
this facing up to what we fear, provided we are acting under God’s direction.”
The empty cross and tomb call us to step forward in
faith and trust to declare to the world the good news that Jesus is risen and
is Lord and Saviour of all; inviting the world to join us in following the
risen Lord where they too can find hope, grace, healing, peace, forgiveness and
acceptance into God's family.
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