MARK 16:1-8
SURMISED, SURPRISED, STUPEFIED
I.SURMISED: Mark 16:1-3
A. Seclusion.
B Satisfaction.
C. Shortcoming.
II.SURPRISED: Mark 15:4-7
A. Situation.
B. Sight.
C. Salutation.
III.STUPEFIED: Mark 16:8
A. Session.
B. Selection.
C. Signification.
The Crucifixion was completed and Jesus was laid to rest in a borrowed tomb. All was lost, so His followers thought. Regardless of how many times they were told, they could not grasp the fact that He was to die and He also was to resurrect. We can gang up on His followers all we want, but if we were in their shoes at that time, we would have been just as hard headed to grasp His teachings then as they were.
The sorrow these followers felt in their loss is beyond description. The horror they witnessed on that day of His death was beyond description. Their Friend, their Hope, their Life was now gone and they were at a loss as to what to do. It was bad enough to see Him endure the sham of a trial and then to see His suffering that followed, but the ultimate disgrace was that He was laid to rest in a tomb without being properly embalmed. The waiting for the completion of His rest was long and agonizing. Minutes seemed like hours and hours seemed like days. But at last, the time came and some dear ladies were on their way to properly wrap and spice His body for His eternal rest. We do not know how, or where or when they acquired the spices and the linen, but they had all they needed and they sat out on a mission to embalm their Friend, early on the first day of the week.
According to the Bible, the Gospel writers tell us that it was early, still dark, when these ladies set out on their mission to do what they felt they had to do. It is at this point, my sermon begins. I first note that they SURMISED some things as they walked silently through the early morning hours towards the tomb that held their Lord. Next, I note the utter and complete SURPRISE they received upon coming to the tomb. Then, I note how STUPEFIED they became as events happened, events that were completely out of their hands. I wonder what they did with the spices and the linen they brought with them that morning?
I. SURMISED: These ladies went in a hurry judging from what they later revealed about the covering over the tomb. They were in a hurry-maybe they were afraid that if they were found at the tomb, that they would be captured, tried and killed as Jesus was and maybe this was one of the reasons they came early and in haste to the tomb. What ever the reason or reasons, they surmised certain things and they were utterly fooled when they arrived at the tomb.
The first thing of which I think they SURMISED was that they would be in Seclusion as they went about their job. They were not going to a regular cemetery. They were going to Joseph’s tomb. A personal tomb, one that was near the place where He died and was located in a garden. This place was a personal, family plot and it was not in a common grave place. These ladies just thought, they supposed, that they were going to a place that was set apart from the prying eyes of others and there alone, secluded, they could go about their job of making the final burial rites for Jesus. They SURMISED something that proved to be wrong. Their supposition was misplaced; they were to find that even though it was a secluded place set in a beautiful garden near the place of death, that this tomb was going to be anything other than secluded and set apart.
I also note how they SURMISED the simple idea, that they were going to get a great deal of personal Satisfaction from doing what they had intended to do. To properly prepare the body of the Master was a consuming drive for these ladies ever since they knew that He was not properly buried. They supposed that they were going to derive a great deal of personal Satisfaction from taking care of Him whom they had helped for at least three years. No doubt, He sat at their table slept in their homes with His disciples, ate at their tables and talked with them from time to time. No doubt they bathed His feet when He entered their home and they set out clean towels for Him to dry Himself when He had taken a bath in or near their homes. They were used to looking out for Him and I think they never complained and derived a great deal of personal Satisfaction from being able to help Him. Now, they SURMISED that they would be pleased and derive a great deal of Satisfaction from helping Him one more time. This was the least they could do for Him now.
Then, I note something in verse three of my chapter of which they just discovered and in their haste they never contemplated until this time: the stone covering the tomb. Suddenly it dawned upon them that they were incapable of moving such a large stone. They properly SURMISED the fact that they were helpless and they recognized their Shortcoming-they were helpless. What was to be done? They had procured the spices and the needed linen, they had left early so they were not to be disturbed nor captured, and suddenly they felt utterly helpless. Who, indeed, would come to their aid? They, for the first time in this scenario, felt very keenly their Shortcoming, their helplessness. Is this not how we all have felt from time to time as we face crisis, situations, problems that remind us of our limitations and of our Shortcoming-our limitations? They had done all they could have done for the Master, and yet all of their efforts were of naught, if they could not get to Jesus. Wow!!! How true to life that is for we Christians. When we have done all that we know what to do; when we have sat up in the dark hours, wondering, praying, crying because we were alone with our problems, and then we set out to take every thing to Jesus only suddenly to realize that we are helpless because there seems to be a great hindrance between us and our Lord-we then realize our limitations and our Shortcoming of this flesh and our bodies. All we can think of is that, “I must get to Jesus.” I notice the answer these ladies found and this is what we are to do when we are frustrated by sin and situations-we must keep going toward Jesus. They did not stop, turn around, and return home. Even though they realized the situation very well, they kept on pressing on to be with Jesus. I have the belief that they just knew that somehow, the stone would move one way or the other and they would not stop until they held Him in their arms-what a lesson for us.
Yes, they SURMISED certain things like their beliefs that they were going to embalm Him in Seclusion; they also supposed they were going to derive a great deal of Satisfaction from giving Him His last helps in this world. Yet, even though it dawned upon them, on the way to the grave, that they were helpless in getting to Jesus, they never gave up and turned around and headed for home-they kept pressing on. Years later, Saint Paul knew something of what these ladies knew and did that early morning, he said, “I press towards the mark of the high calling.” What a lesson for all of us. Regardless of our limitations-press on.
II. SURPRISED: While these ladies hurried to the tomb, contemplating just what they were going to do with removing the barrier to get to Jesus, God had already taken things into His control. I have to wonder just what these ladies thought as they came within sight and saw that the stone was removed. I wonder if they thought that there were grave robbers in the area and that they had already came and stole Jesus away. What ever their thoughts were that morning, they were in for the shock of their lives.
The Situation that they encountered was far different than what they had previously thought. There, greeting them was an open tomb. Unbeknown to them was the fact that Jesus was not there. Thinking they were set to properly prepare the body for its final and complete rest, they were greeted with the fact that the tomb was open and that Jesus was not there. I have a feeling that these ladies approached the tomb very cautiously. Perhaps they conjectured among themselves that there was mischief afoot and they were ladies, alone in the garden with an empty tomb and they were defenseless to ward off any malcontent who might be up to nefarious deeds. The Situation they encountered that morning was far from what they previously had envisioned. This was SURPRISE number one with more to come. Not only was things completely turned completely on its head but they met, not a grave robber, but an angel.
As they approached the tomb, they were awestruck by the Sight they saw within the tomb. This would have been enough to alarm any person but for some reason, the glow, the illumination that was coming from inside the tomb was not alarming to them. The contrast between the inside of the tomb with its shining light and the waning darkness must have been a sight to behold. What a splendid turn of events that was. These ladies, came bearing their heavy load of spices and linen, in the darkness, thinking of doing a service for their Lord, only to find that what they encountered was a being not of this earth.
As I read the story of these ladies in the garden of the tomb on Easter morning, I never find where there is any hint of terror or fright. For some reason, these ladies were at complete ease when they encountered the angelic beings. There is something about God and His realm that brings peace and comfort to we humans. This is a far cry from any Christian person who has encountered the presence of demons and beings aligned with Satan. There is never any calmness nor rest with any of the Satanic host, but with God, there is always the divine assurance that all is okay. These ladies saw the light and were invited into the tomb and talked with the angel.
We live in a world where many people claim that there is no such thing as talking to God or talking to angels. Furthermore, they not only deny the possibility of having a conversation with the heavenly world, but many think that those who claim to talk to God and to hear His voice are in need of mental help. Yet, at the same time the Ouija Boards continue to sell at a brisk rate and fortune tellers, astrologers and other entities of demonic origin speak with coven tongue and are to be held in high esteem-how sad. These ladies had no trouble nor qualms about conversing with the angel that morning and neither should we if we are ever deemed worthy enough to be addressed by God’s messengers.
Besides being SURPRISED at the Situation and the bright Sight emanating from the tomb, these ladies were in for one more pleasant turn of events when the angel gave them his Salutation to come look, to examine and then to go tell the rest of Jesus’ followers that He had arisen. It is ironic that so many Churches do not accept women preachers or ministers yet the first people entrusted with the news of His resurrection were women. These ladies came to do a menial but important task and were sent away with the mission to tell the world that Jesus had indeed arose. What a blessing, to have the responsibility, the honor, the delight, to tell the world that He had arose!!! No longer did they worry about their spices and the clothes they brought that night; they left post haste and quickly returned to the city bearing the news, “He is alive.” Ever since that glorious morning the Church has shouted out the message, “He is alive.” Satan has tried to stop the Church from spreading that message, but the Church still shouts, “He is alive.” That simple message has saved millions down through the centuries; that same message has overturned and undermined wicked empires; that message has stopped Satan and his hordes more than once; that message has gone around the world into hovels and shanties, into palaces and mansions; that message has lifted mankind from its depths of despair; that message has stopped the slave trade; that message has freed women from bondage; that message has started hospitals, food pantries, universities and has generated millions of dollars for the needy; that message has lifted mankind to his highest level of thoughts and progress; that message has caused untold numbers of men and women to give up lucrative jobs and to take up the Bible and preach the Gospel story and live in or near poverty level just so others could hear about Jesus; that message has caused many, many men and women to leave home, board ships and planes, go to foreign lands and live in loneliness and isolation among people that sometimes killed them and rejected them but they went anyways to tell them that there is a better life to live here on earth by following Jesus; that message, “He is alive” has reverberated down the corridors of time and still echoes today, “He is alive.” What a SURPRISE awaited those ladies that day. They were never the same after that morning when they found the opposite of what they had anticipated.
III. STUPEFIED: These ladies that morning started their journey to the tomb and had SURMISED certain preconceived thoughts such as working in Seclusion and experiencing great Satisfaction in doing a service for Jesus only to have it dawn upon them that they were facing an obstacle about how to remove the stone from the entrance to the tomb. However, when they arrived at the place of internment, they were in for the SURPRISE of their lives when the finally realized the Situation by seeing the bright light of the angelic being and then hearing his greetings and his Salutation to go tell the world that Jesus was alive. All of these events were enough to make one’s head swim in a dizzy spin from which it would be hard to recover.
The first thing I note about the events that left their heads spinning was the Session they just had with the angel. In their society, women were not given the status that they often enjoy in more enlightened societies. They lived in a “man’s world” and there was little they could do to change that equation. Yet, here in the garden where the borrowed tomb which Jesus used they were treated with respect and given an awesome tasks. I wonder what they must have thought as they left that spot that morning. Would they be believed? Would the disciples believe them? Would they be laughed at, ignored ridiculed for the Session that they had just had? This had to weigh heavy upon them as they hurried away from the tomb that morning.
Luke tells us that when the ladies did relate their meeting with the angels, the only one who believed in them at first was Peter and he seemed to be hesitant in accepting their report. They were dismissed at first but then Peter , sensing that these ladies really did have a Session with an angel at the tomb, jumped up and ran to find out the veracity of the truth. These ladies had to be dumbfounded at what they had just encountered yet they knew it was true and they obeyed the command to go and tell. The meeting with the angel had to be an overcoming event in their life.
Not only were they amazed at the meeting with the angel, but they had to be struck by the fact that they, lowly women, non-descript women, common ordinary women were given a very important task to go and tell. They had to be overcome by the Selection of them as being the first to spread the news about Jesus. This has been true to form ever since that day: Jesus uses common, ordinary, everyday people to carry His message to a lost and dying world. They were chosen by God to spread the news just like every Christian is commissioned to do as they were instructed to do. Jesus has built His Kingdom on the willingness of common people to carry an uncommon message to the world. It has always been that way and it will forever be that way. To anyone who is saved and commissioned to tell others-it is a Selection made in Heaven-we are special people.
Lastly I notice the Signification of this amazing event concerning these ladies. This amazing event placed them among the Heroes of the Bible. They never sought fame or fortune-they just wanted to be of service to the Lord. But this was such a Stupefying event that it literally lifted them from obscurity and placed them among the giants of the Bible. What would have happened to our faith if these ladies shrugged the whole event off and went back home never telling what happened that early morning? What would we have done if they went to the Roman government officials and said that the One that was crucified was taken away by mischievous events? What would have happened if they simply said that the whole story was beyond comprehension and never proceeded to tell the disciples? Thank the Lord they believed and obeyed and the world is still a buzz with the Good news. This event was a very important and significant event in their lives. Is this not the way of God? He takes the small, everyday events and transforms them into something special. He takes people who are crooks, murders, malcontents and others and instantly changes them when they meet Him and believe on Him. John Bunyan, John Wesley, Martin Luther, and a host of others were common ordinary people and look what God did with them. He still is in the life changing business. All He asks is what He asked of the ladies that morning-believe and obey and He takes care of the rest.
We still serve an awesome God.
