He Has Risen!
Have you ever lost someone dear to you and it feels like there is a hole inside your heart? The disciples probably had an overwhelming feeling of grief after Jesus died and they buried his body. The Gospel of Mark describes a gruesome and hopeless scene of the disciples seeing the place where they laid the body of their innocent Messiah (15:47).
Rattled in Disbelief
The repetitive mention of the women at the murder and burial scenes indicates their importance (Mark 15:40, 47). The women bought spices to anoint a dead and decaying body (16:1). Decomposition would drastically accelerate during the heat of the day, and the Jews did not embalm bodies to decelerate the decay.
The Jews did not anoint dead bodies for preservation, but to reduce odor. The women loved Jesus enough to take care of His beaten and dead body: at the first sign of daylight on Sunday, the women went to treat Jesus’ body. It seems they did not expect a resurrection; instead, their minds rattled in disbelief of his execution (16:2).
The women’s doubt of resurrection is also prevalent in their questioning who would roll the stone away for them (16:3). These stones covering tombs typically set in a carved-out track on which to roll the stone. The stone would still be too heavy for them to move without help.
Rattled in Alarm
As the women approached the tomb, they saw the stone was already dislodged (16:4). Their hearts must have felt like they skipped a beat. The Gospel of John described them rushing to the disciples to explain the body was missing (20:2).
Have you ever left a child somewhere but were missing when you returned? My brothers and I used to hide from my mother in various stores. We hid in all sorts of places like clothes racks, dressing rooms, and in the frozen food freezers. We rattled my mother in alarm on countless occasions because we were not where she left us.
When the women looked in the tomb and saw a “young man,” they were startled (Mark 16:5, ESV). According to Matthew, the angel saw their fear (28:5). The women’s distress that Jesus’ body was missing is further proof that they were not expecting a resurrection.
Rattled in Fear
When they arrived at the tomb, the women did not expect to see that Jesus arose from the dead. The angel’s reassuring words made their hearts leap for joy, but they fled the scene with “trembling and astonishment” (Mark 16:6, 8).
Mark intentionally highlights how the women told nobody because of their fear (16:8). Jesus instructed people to keep His identity secret several times, but some went and shared the news anyway. Now, when the message needs proclamation, the witnesses are speechless.
Mark’s challenge for his readers is to talk about the resurrection. Do not be rattled in disbelief, rattled in alarm, and rattled in fear. Do not keep it a secret. Go and tell the story. He has risen!
—Casey McDonald