Where Does Easter Find You?
Mark 16:1-8
All religions are the same – superficially. All religions – Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism are the same – superficially.
• We all believe in the Golden Rule
• We all take up offerings
• We all have holy buildings
• We all try and live by a set of rules
• We all try to be nice to our neighbours
• We all have Sacred Scriptures
So, we are the same, superficially.
Christianity, however, is fundamentally different than every other religion on earth. The huge different between Christianity and any other religion is this: Our Founder, Jesus Christ, was born in 5 BC in an obscure village outside of Jerusalem, lived 30 years of his life in another obscure village in the Galilee, died in Jerusalem on a Roman Cross in about 30 AD and here is the big difference: three days later rose He from the dead.
There is no other founder of a world religion who died and rose again. That is the fundamental difference between Christianity and everyone else. The Sikhs wear turbans and we don’t. That is not a very big difference. The Muslims pray facing Mecca five times a day and we don’t. That is not a big difference. The Hindus believe that they are coming back to earth to live life in another form, and we don’t. Even that is not the big difference between us.
The big difference which makes all the difference is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The account of our Lord’s resurrection is found in all four Gospels. These are eyewitness accounts of what happened on the first Easter morning 2000 years ago.
Somebody says: But that’s not science. You can’t prove that. Of course, it’s not science. It’s history. Science is proven true by repeated experiments. You can’t repeat history. History is proven by eyewitness documentation. For example, how do we know that Julius Caesar was killed on March 15, 44 BC? They kept calendars. They had eyewitness, reporters, they kept journals, they wrote down the facts. That is how all of history is proven.
And that is how the resurrection of Jesus Christ is established. There were eyewitness (over 500), there were people who wrote down the facts. Four of these accounts made it into our Holy Book. We call them the four Gospels. And this morning we are going to look at one of these accounts of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Oldest – the Gospel of Mark.
Mark’s Gospel is perhaps the strangest of the four. It has a very odd beginning and ending. The ending of Mark’s Gospel is verse 8.
If you have one of the newer translations of the Bible, then right after verse 8 it says something about the oldest and best manuscripts do not have the verses that follow.
If you check out the writings of the Early Church fathers from the second and third centuries, they quote extensively from the Gospel of Mark, but not once do they quote the verses you will find in the KJV ending. The best and oldest manuscripts end at verse 8. That is where Mark stopped.
But what a strange place to end the greatest story of Good News ever written: Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
What an odd way to end a book about Good News! How would you have ended the Gospel of Mark if it had been up to you? Here’s how Chapter 16 would have ended if I had written it:
“And when the Sabbath was over, The Trumpet of God sounded. And the Lord of Hosts descended upon Jerusalem.
Three women, including one former prostitute, walked to the Tomb where Jesus had been buried only to see a light brighter than the noonday sun coming from within. With a crack of thunder, the great tombstone flew across the garden like a pebble.
Within moments Jesus walked in triumph in a blasé of light into the Jerusalem City Centre. A growing crowd followed him singing loud praise to God. People now in the thousands are singing and dancing to the Risen Lord.
The victory parade takes them past the Palaces of Herod, Pilate and Caiaphas. These men come out to see what is going on and collapse in terror upon the ground. Jesus marches on in glory to the Mount of Olives.
When he gets to the top of the Mount all heaven opens before him. Thousands, thousands, now are in his train. And they lift their voices as one: Hallelujah, Hallelujah for the Lord God Omnipotent reigns.
As they continue singing the Hallelujah Course he slowly ascends into heaven with the words: Behold, I am with you always even unto the end of the age.”
Now that’s how I would have ended the Gospel of Mark. None of this fear and trembling stuff. None of this uncertainty and confusion.
Most Easter Musicals - most Easter services present it my way. I don’t know of hardly anyone who does it Mark’s way. And yet, Mark was the only true Gospel for a full generation. It was the only story of Good News the Early Church had for almost 60 years.
Where does Easter find you this year? Anybody fearful? Anyone broken and confused? Anyone here like the women? With a mixture of love and unbelief?
The grace of God meets us where we are. These women survived their momentary fear, unbelief, confusion. They went on to be filled with the Holy Spirit and helped to turn their world upside down.
Where does Easter 2021 find you? Can you relate these three women? They got up early in the morning to anoint the dead body of Jesus. So, they deeply loved him, but they hadn’t really listened to him or they didn’t believe him when he specifically said that he would rise again on the third day.
Can you relate to this mix of love and disbelief when it comes to your faith?
After they saw the empty tomb, the historical document says that they were alarmed, they were confused, they were shaking, they shut up when they should have spoken, and they were afraid. And they were followers of Jesus Christ. Where does Easter find you this year?
Our world has had a hard year; Many of us have had a disappointing and difficult year: we have been alarmed, afraid, confused, we have kept quiet when we should have spoken; we have spoken when we should have kept quiet. Aren’t you thankful that our gracious God does not give up on us when we come to our wits end and don’t know where to turn?
Holy Father, we come today to add our words of thanksgiving for the resurrection of your son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. We also, come to confess that we have not always been as joyous and affirming of this fact as we ought to have been. Sometimes it’s almost too good to be true. Some days the cares of this life becloud the truth of what really happen in that cemetery long ago.
Grant us joy in the middle of the mess. Grant us peace in the center of the storm. Grant us hope in the mist of our loss. And give us renewed faith in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ as we plod our way toward Eternity. We ask this in the Name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. Amen.
