Does It Matter?

“When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so they could go and anoint Him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they went to the tomb at sunrise. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us? ” Looking up, they observed that the stone — which was very large — had been rolled away. When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; they were amazed and alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he told them. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has been resurrected! He is not here! See the place where they put Him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see Him there just as He told you.’ ” So they went out and started running from the tomb, because trembling and astonishment overwhelmed them. And they said nothing to anyone, since they were afraid.” (Mark 16:1-8 HCSB)

Sometimes people surprise us. God often surprises me. Not every time, but most of the time. There are times when I know His promises, I relax in them and He does what He promised and what I hoped and expected. But honestly, my faith is not always that direct and sure. It is often like a toddler taking his first steps, halting, stumbling and often flailing and failing. I fall flat on my face. Not because God is unfaithful but because I’m forgetful and fearful. Is your faith ever like that?

Mark began his story of Jesus by telling us: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God… In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. As soon as He came up out of the water, He saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending to Him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: You are My beloved Son; I take delight in You!” (Mark 1:1, 9-11 HCSB) Mark ends his story with the ultimate proof that Jesus was indeed the Son of God, “He has been resurrected! He is not here! See the place where they put Him… now, go tell.”

Up to this point, Mark has been telling us all about the stories and miracles of Jesus, the Son of Man. Mark has told us about how Jesus has driven out unclean spirits and various diseases, including leprosy: “I am willing, be clean! Immediately the disease left him, and he was healed.” (Mk. 1:41-42) He not only healed people of their physical diseases, He healed them of their spiritual diseases (see Mk. 2:13-17). Then He confronted the spiritual leaders on their misunderstanding of the Sabbath laws, “the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath (see Mk. 2:27-28).” Go back and read these accounts and the others we’ve already covered in previous lessons.

Now, Mark is bringing us to a place of confrontation and decision. He wants to challenge our sense of complacency and comfort with these stories of Jesus’ teaching and miracles, but most especially with this final exclamation of His sovereign Lordship. He had told us about Jesus’ extraordinary life, now he has related to us the death and burial of the Son of Man. That’s the end of the story, right? Don’t bet on it. What comes next is shocking, unexpected and a complete surprise for Jesus’ followers and, if we are completely honest, a bit difficult for us to believe.

I mentioned above that my faith is often more like a toddler learning to walk than anything else. Come on. Be honest. I’m not alone in this, am I? I’ve heard and learned the stories of Jesus from the time I was a small child. You’d think by now that my faith walk would be more like a seasoned mountain climber than a toddler. But even those disciples who personally experienced Jesus’ healing touch and walked side-by-side with Him for three years are struggling with these events. So, we’re not alone in our doubts, questions and faith struggles and stumbles.

Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome have purchased burial spices and are now heading to the tomb to finish the job that Joseph of Arimathea had begun late Friday afternoon. As they approached the tomb in the early hours that Sunday morning, they suddenly realized they would be unable to roll the large stone away from the tomb entrance. Initially, it sounds like the same group of women that we encountered in the previous verses.

However, did you notice anything odd? In the first reference, Mary is noted as the “mother of James the younger and of Joses (Joseph)” (see Mk. 15:40). In the next reference, Mark notes a “Mary, the mother of Joses (Joseph)” and Mary Magdalene were watching where Jesus was buried (see Mk. 15:47). Now, Mark notes that a “Mary the mother of James” along with Mary Magdalene and Salome have come to finish preparing Jesus for burial. Are these three slightly different references all about the same Mary? There’s one more odd thing in this story, there seems to be a missing Mary – Jesus’ mother.

It is possible, some might say likely, that the Mary noted here as “the mother of James” could be His mother. Mark makes a point to specify the previous Mary as the mother of “little James and Joses” and this Mary as the mother “James,” without any qualifier. While we can’t be certain, it would resolve the question regarding Jesus’ mother if this last reference is about her and of His brother, James. It would also clear up any question as to why Mark would refer to the same Mary in three different ways – the mother of little James and Joses, the mother of Joses, and, finally, as the mother of James. Either way, we have three women who have come to express their love for Jesus and to serve Him in His death by completing His burial.

Just as they realized the problem they would have with that stone, they looked up and noticed it had already been moved. The tomb was open! Although Mark doesn’t tell us what they were thinking about this interesting development, he does tell us that they entered the tomb. It would seem that they expected to find Jesus’ body still there. Seriously, what else would they expect? What would you have expected. They weren’t mountain climbers, yet. They were taking their first, faltering steps of faith.

As the women enter the tomb, they see a young man in a long white robe, sitting on the right side and who causes them to be amazed and alarmed. While the word angel is not used in this reference, I think Mark leaves little doubt as to the identity of this young man. The women are amazed and alarmed by him and he tries to calm them, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.” There’s no mistake, they haven’t accidentally gone to the wrong tomb. Mark wants his readers to know that the same Jesus he introduced us to in those first few sentences of his story, the one who performed all of those miracle stories and the Jesus who died on that Roman cross is the same one who was buried in this tomb – Jesus of Nazareth. But it gets even better…

This same Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified, has been RESURRECTED! He is NOT here! The tomb is now empty. Wait, what?! How is that possible? That just doesn’t happen. Dead men don’t walk out of tombs, do they?

Well, they do when they are the beloved Son of Almighty God. He’s not here, He HAS BEEN resurrected. “For You will not abandon me to Sheol; You will not allow Your Faithful One to see decay.” (Psalms 16:10 HCSB) God testifies as to the truth of the incarnation when He resurrects His Son from death. In Isaiah 53, the suffering servant is “pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds… Yet the LORD was pleased to crush Him severely. When you make Him a restitution offering, He will see His seed, He will prolong His days, and by His hand, the LORD’s pleasure will be accomplished… Therefore I will give Him the many as a portion, and He will receive the mighty as spoil, because He submitted Himself to death, and was counted among the rebels; yet He bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels. (Is. 53:5, 10, 12)”

Notice, after the suffering servant was pierced and crushed and the Lord’s pleasure was accomplished through His death, the Lord’s servant then received “the many” as His portion and “the mighty” as His spoil. You can’t receive these things after you die unless you are resurrected and they are presented to You. As I mentioned last week, Jesus predicted this very thing – Mark 8:31, 9:31, 10:33-34. So, the prophet predicted the resurrection and Jesus echoed those predictions.

The vast majority of scholars, including those who are skeptics, agree that the tomb of Jesus was empty on Sunday morning but they disagree as to how or why. I want to spend a few minutes addressing the theories put forth to explain it away. The explanations for the empty tomb and resurrection stories fall into three basic categories: 1) false; 2) fiction; 3) fact. False stories include those that claim the apostles stole the body and have perpetrated an elaborate hoax. Fictional stories include the claims that the church developed the myth of Jesus’ resurrection over several hundred years and the gospels are the direct result of and support these fictional, fantastic, mythical stories. Lastly, the empty tomb and the resurrection are factual and Jesus is the Son of God.

While I could spend time listing the major theories used to explain away the gospel accounts and then debunking them, I think most of them are simply a waste of time. Some of the alternative theories are more ludicrous and harder to believe than the supernatural explanation that Jesus really is the Son of God. So, here’s a brief list of those I think are held by most skeptics, but still false:

1. Swoon theory: Jesus didn’t die but simply appeared to be dead on the cross and revived in the tomb and somehow escaped the sealed tomb. Let me just say, Roman soldiers were very skilled at killing people and making certain they were dead.

2. Spirit theory: Jesus wasn’t bodily resurrected but returned in spirit form. This view is held by the Jehovah’s Witnesses cult which holds that Jesus was the archangel Michael and while on earth was just a man, died in the flesh but resurrected an invisible spirit creature.

3. Hallucination theory: Jesus preconditioned His disciples to hallucinate by hypnotizing them beforehand to respond to specific cues or triggers.

4. Vision theory: The disciples had visionary experiences and understood the visions to be literal, physical appearances of the risen Jesus.

5. Legend or myth theory: Jesus was nothing more than a man who was highly spiritual and very loving and kind but the Jesus stories were exaggerated and embellished by His followers to the point that they became the modern, supernatural gospel stories.

6. Stolen body theory: This theory is actually in the gospel of Matthew (28:11-15) and was put forth by the Jewish leaders as an explanation for the empty tomb.

7. Wrong tomb theory: The disciples went to the wrong tomb and the entire resurrection story is simply the result of an error. The disciples believed it happened but only because they mistakenly went to an empty, unused tomb.

8. Lie-for-profit theory: The disciples developed a massive hoax and false narrative built around the tomb and resurrection in order to develop a false religion and become powerful and wealthy.

9. Mistaken identity theory: The women mistook a gardener or caretaker for the risen Jesus because it was early in the morning, still relatively dark and could not see clearly.

10. Muslim theory: The Qur’an claims Jesus crucifixion is false and that those who killed Jesus thought they had killed Him, but Allah provided a substitute (perhaps one who looked like Him) and that “Allah took him (Jesus – a prophet) up unto Himself.” (Surah 4:157-158)

Now, let me briefly list what I believe is the strongest evidence to support the belief that the gospel accounts of Jesus’ empty tomb and resurrection are facts.

1. The gospel accounts bear the marks of eyewitness accounts and do not bear the marks of exaggeration or legend. There are several accounts that are fantastical and legendary, but these accounts have been rejected by the church as false (see gospel of Peter).

2. The radical change that occurred in the disciples actions and beliefs. The gospels record that the disciples struggled to believe and act in accordance with Jesus’ teachings and demands. Following the resurrection and Pentecost, their beliefs and actions changed dramatically. The disciples did not expect the resurrection to occur – just read the gospels, but when it did everything changed.

3. The empty tomb and discarded grave clothes are recorded by Paul in an early letter (1 Corinthians 15) along with a lengthy list of resurrection eyewitnesses, most of whom were still alive at the time of the letter’s writing.

4. The inclusion of the women as the first witnesses of the empty tomb. Since the witness of a woman was not accepted by Jewish law or culture, the only reason to include this story is because it really happened that way.

5. The radical shift in the early church from Sabbath worship to Sunday worship. For a large group of Jews to switch from the Sabbath to Sunday for worship of Jesus, something dramatic must have happened.

6. The character and claims of Jesus are that He is the Son of God and that He would “rise on the third day” following His rejection by the religious leaders and subsequent death. This is a man who is honored for His teachings, His actions of love and kindness and for His moral character. To believe the gospels regarding those qualities and moral characteristics and then to reject His claims is to declare Him a liar or a lunatic. Which is He, liar, lunatic or Lord?

7. The radical conversion of two skeptics, James and Paul. James, the half-brother of Jesus, and Saul of Tarsus/Paul did not initially believe or follow Jesus. In fact, Saul severely persecuted the early church and sought to destroy it and James thought his brother was a lunatic. Neither of them believed until they were confronted by resurrected Jesus (James – 1 Cor 15:7; Saul – Acts 9:1-31). The change in them was radical and immediate.

8. The New Testament is the most well-authenticated document of antiquity. More than 5,600 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament exist. These are of an earlier date and of a more reliable nature than any other work of antiquity. Are there differences in some of those early manuscripts? Yes, but they are easily identified and none of those differences affect the central and essential beliefs of the Church.

So, that leads me to this last question: Why does any of this even matter?

If the resurrection is true then it validates the deity of Jesus Christ and changes everything. Let me state this clearly and emphatically: the entirety of the Christian faith rests on the validity and truthfulness of the empty tomb and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. As the Apostle Paul says, ”And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins… If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.“ (1 Corinthians 15:17, 19 HCSB)

Mark’s gospel seems to end rather abruptly. For those who are unaware, I am not including verses 9-20 in our study because they are not found in the oldest copies of Mark. So, it ends with the women finding the empty tomb and being told that Jesus of Nazareth is not here. They were to go tell His disciples and Peter, “He is going ahead of you to Galilee, you will see Him there just as He told you.” They ran out of the tomb, trembling and overwhelmed with what they had just seen. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

Why would Mark end on such a note? Perhaps because he wants his readers to assess what he has told them about Jesus and to make a decision regarding these things for themselves.

So, I’ll end in a similar fashion. Will you believe? Will you place your trust in Jesus, this incredible and almost unbelievable Jesus that Mark has told us about, and faithfully follow Him? Real faith radically changes you. In fact, it changes everything!