Joel M Bradshaw

1When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”4And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.–Mark 16

1. The women honored God’s law as much as possible. Even when in a situation where they might have given themselves excuses not to do so.
2. The fact that they were discussing the heavy stone meant that they didn’t expect the tomb to be empty.
3. From a planning standpoint, not having an answer for the stone wasn’t the best ministry move, but I like their willingness to serve how they can. The fact that they still were planning on serving communicates that they on some level trusted God to provide that answer.
4. Nobody ever has a thought category for an actual resurrection. You could only imagine what had them feeling alarmed in that moment. They literally required a supernatural angel to inform them.
5. The angel confirmed key theology: Jesus was crucified, buried, and then had risen. He wasn’t at the tomb anymore and His earlier message about seeing everyone was still on the books. The angel confirmed that Jesus had certainly been dead, but was now alive and looking forward to seeing them again. We still believe this to be true!
6. At least one of those women, Mary Magdalene, had seen where they had originally put Jesus’ dead body (Mark 15:47). So the angel’s invitation to come and see where they laid Jesus would have meant something to her. She could confirm things.
7. Mark’s Gospel ends with the women astonished and afraid. We might think that we would have acted differently, but I doubt it. The resurrection of Jesus was and is the greatest possible miracle in history. It occurred after the highly emotional drama of His crucifixion. The entire hope offered by the Christian faith is based upon the miracle and what it communicates. This was a big moment, yes, but a difficult one.–JMB