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Home , Anointing of Jesus

The Unfinished Story of Easter :1-8

Michelangelo was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and painter who had an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art. He was considered to be the greatest living artist in his lifetime - and certainly is remembered as one of the greatest artists who ever lived. Michelangelo’s greatest works of art include the painting on the ceiling of the Sistene Chapel in Rome called The Creation of Adam – a sculpture called the Pieta - the fresco of the Last Judgment - and of course, the sculpture of David. Interestingly, Michelangelo is not only remembered for the extraordinary art he produced – he’s also famous for the art he never finished. Among his uncompleted work are a series of sculptures that are on display in the Galleria in Florence, Italy. The statues are called Unfinished Slaves. They line the corridor in the Galleria leading to the sculpture of David. There is the story behind these unfinished statues:

In 1505, Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to sculpt 30 statues. They were to be a part of an elaborate tomb the Pope envisioned for himself when he died. But when Pope Julius II died in 1513, Michelangelo had only finished two sculptures. Several others were started, but were never finished because the Vatican dropped the funding for this ambitious project.

In a similar way, there have been a number of number well-known musical compositions that were left unfinished - either because the inspiration of the composer ran dry or they died before finishing their work. Many composers have tried to finish Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 in B Minor - more commonly known as The Unfinished Symphony. There have been multiple attempts to finish Bach’s Art of the Fugue and Gustav Mahler’s Unfinished Symphony No. 10. Often, when these works are played – the orchestra will abruptly stop where the original composition left off. Conductors do this to honor the original composition. Such endings are jarring - but they have a ring of authenticity to them.

This is how many scholars feel about the strange ending of Mark’s . Many scholars are convinced that Mark ended his gospel, for whatever reason at verse 8 of chapter 16. If you have a Bible open, you’ll notice that after verse 8 there’s probably a superscription in your Bible stating something to the effect that the earliest, most reliable manuscripts 2 do not contain verses 9-20 of this chapter. Some scholars have postulated that it’s possible ancient Scribes added verses 9-20 because they thought Mark’s conclusion was too abrupt. They believe these verses were added in order to make the ending of Mark’s gospel more polished - like the other : Matthew, Luke and John.

But if Mark’s gospel does, in fact, conclude at verse 8 - the Easter story seems unfinished: An in a white robe has just told the women that isn’t in the tomb - that He has been raised - and that He has gone before them to – and they will see Him there. The angel then tells the women to go and tell this good news to the disciples and to Peter. Then Mark writes in verse 8: Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid. It’s a strange way to end to the story.

But I wonder if this was Mark’s intention - that others would finish the story he left unfinished? Back in the very first verse of this gospel, Mark says that what he’s presenting is “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus , the Son of God.” Quite possibly, verse 8 of chapter 16 is the end of that beginning - and the rest of the story was yet to be told?

Whatever side you take on the conclusion of Mark’s gospel, it doesn’t alter the fact that when the women saw the stone rolled away - and when they saw the angel and the - they were afraid! The Greek word speaks of the kind of discovery that stops you in your tracks and makes your jaw drop!

Consider the account of what happened on that first Easter morning in light of the gruesome crucifixion that took place just two days prior. That, too, was terrifying to these women - so much so, that Mark says in chapter 15, verse 40 that they watched the events of the crucifixion “…from a distance.” They watched from a distance as Jesus hung on the cross, His life ebbing away. They watched from a distance when our Lord breathed His last. They watched from a distance when His body was taken down from the cross and had it wrapped in linen and laid in a rock-hewn tomb. They watched from a distance as the 3 large stone was rolled in front of the doorway of the tomb and it was sealed. They watched everything from a distance.

I’d like to suggest that’s a powerful picture of how many people prefer to deal with death, myself included. We do all we can to keep our distance from it! Of course, we’re people of faith and we believe we have a heavenly home - and yet, we do our best to keep death at a distance! We exercise. We try to watch what we eat. We try to lower our cholesterol. We take our vitamins. We try to manage stress. Call me paranoid if you like, but I read the obituaries in the paper every day with careful attention. I not only notice the names, I also take note of the age of the decedents. I find myself becoming more and more like Woody Allen when he said, “I’m not afraid of death. I just don’t want to be there when it happens!” But try as we may to keep death at a distance - it eventually catches up with someone we love - and we’re forced to deal with it up close and personal - just like the two Mary’s and had to!

Now, when Jesus died on Friday afternoon, no one made provision for His burial. The Sabbath was at hand and the Jews didn’t want to see the grisly sight of the three corpses hanging on crosses during the Sabbath. So they pressured Pilate - and he hastened the deaths of the two thieves by having their legs broken. It’s likely that Pilate intended to dispose of the bodies by having them tossed into a common grave in a potter’s field. But Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the , requested permission to bury Jesus. He was granted permission - with the provision that Roman soldiers would inspect the site, place a seal on the tomb, and then guard it. The body of Jesus was wrapped in a linen cloth and He was laid to rest. The tomb was closed and sealed and the guards were stationed. The last verse of chapter 15 says, “ and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.”

At the beginning of chapter 16, Mark tells us that the women returned to the grave in the early morning after the Sabbath to add their personal touch of love and respect and properly anoint the body of Jesus for burial. For what it’s worth, most folks believe this post-mortem of Jesus was for the purpose of embalming His body. Not so. The Jews didn’t 4 practice embalming the dead – and they still don’t today. The purpose of this anointing was, in fact, to hasten decomposition.

The women went to the with burial spices to finish anointing His body. It seems they were well prepared for this task - except for one major oversight. The women asked in verse 3: “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” But when they arrived at the tomb, they were startled to discover that the stone had already been rolled away! What do you suppose ran through their minds at that moment? Surely, they thought that someone stole the body. I assure you, what they didn’t think was that Jesus got up and walked out! Dead people don’t get up and walk out of tombs!

Mark tells us in verse 5 that the women summoned the courage to look inside the tomb - and they saw someone. But it wasn’t Jesus. Mark says it was “….a young man dressed in a white robe.” It was an angel of who said, “Don’t be alarmed…” By the way, in the Bible whenever appeared before people, they always said, “Don’t be alarmed!” Yeah right! How can it not be alarming to see an angel!? The women quickly discovered, however, that the messenger wasn’t nearly as alarming as the message they were about to hear!

The angel said, “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him…..” Mark goes on to say in verse 8: “Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.”

Have you ever noticed that there’s nothing subtle about Easter? We love those familiar images that often appear on most Easter church bulletins - a peaceful sunrise, lilies in full bloom and dew on the roses in a garden. But Matthew tells us in his gospel there was a violent earthquake – and an angel came down from heaven and rolled away the stone. The angel’s appearance was like lightning. Matthew also says that the Roman guards were so afraid, they shook and became like dead men. Easter isn’t peaceful – it’s shocking! The women set out for the tomb that early morning thinking that Jesus was dead and gone – but they were 5 shocked by the discovery that Jesus is alive! The simple point I’m making in all of this is that God knows how to get our attention!

There’s an ancient proverb that says God sometimes uses a pebble to get our attention. If that doesn’t work – He’ll use a brick. Has God ever dropped a brick on your head?

Ward Brehm is a successful Minneapolis, Minnesota insurance executive. In 1992, with no warning at all, his life was turned upside down. It started when his pastor stopped him after church one Sunday and asked him if he’d like to go to Africa. Brehm said, “He might as well have asked me if I’d like to go to the moon.” Seeing his reluctance, the pastor asked, “Will you at least pray about it?” Brehm thought to himself, “You’re the pastor, you pray about it – and I’ll think about it.”

That pastor’s prayers worked. Two months later, Ward Brehm found himself at the Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport with a ticket booked to Ethiopia. There were several more surprises ahead. When he met up with the group he would be traveling with, they were surrounded by a group of “church ladies,” as he called them. They were there to send them off. Just before they boarded the plane, the group decided to hold hands and pray right there in the airport lounge. Brehm said he prayed that none of his clients or business associates would walk by and see him holding hands and praying with little old ladies.

The group spent ten days in Africa – and since that trip Ward Brehm’s life has never been the same. He saw a world that before had only existed for him on a television screen. In Ethiopia, he listened to surviving family members telling stories of loved ones that died during years of famine. In Uganda he saw people everywhere dying of AIDS. In the Sudan, he encountered a crowd of thousands who had hiked as far as 50 miles in hopes of getting food and water to keep them and their families alive - only to find there was no food and water available. All Ward Brehm could hear was moaning in the crowd - as adults and children were dying all around him. The tragedy of people starving to death overwhelmed him.

As Ward Brehm puts it in his book, White Man Walking, everything he thought he knew about the world, his life, and God was up for grabs. God 6 seemed intensely close - much closer than He seemed back home. Brehm said, “Back home with all our comfort and privileges - we are usually only able to see God when things fall apart. Suddenly, I was able to see God everywhere.”

Since that first trip in 1992, Brehm has traveled to Africa countless times in an effort to bring relief and hope to the poorest of the poor on this planet. He has served as a member of the United States African Development Foundation. In 2008, Brehm was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal – our country's second-highest civilian honor. He has been the recipient of numerous other humanitarian awards.

In verse 7, the angel said: But go, tell his disciples and Peter, “He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” Meditate on that phrase, “He is going ahead of you” for just a moment. Jesus has gone ahead of us. He has blazed a path for us to follow. We don’t need to fear where Jesus has already gone. Jesus went to the cross – therefore, we need not fear the cross. Jesus went to the grave and was raised to life – therefore, we don’t need to fear the grave. Jesus is coming back for us one day – perhaps sooner than we think. Therefore, we don’t need to fear the future.

I close today with a question: How are we to live in light of the unfinished Easter of Mark? It could well be that God is calling you to embrace a whole new mission in life. If we’ve read Mark’s Easter narrative correctly – it leaves us with a calling. It’s the call that came first to the women at the empty tomb - scaring them half to death. And it’s the same call that comes to you and me - all these years later. That call is to go and tell others that the tomb of Jesus is empty – death no longer holds Him. It’s the message that life has the final word – not death! It’s the message that Jesus is going before us into Galilee.

What is significant about Galilee – and why would Jesus go back there? Galilee was home for the women and disciples. To be honest, there was nothing terribly special about Galilee. It was a place where people lived and engaged their daily routines: fishing, farming, markets - people 7 working at their trade and raising their families. Galilee had old people and young people and children. There were weddings and funerals. It sounds a lot like Bakersfield – doesn’t it? But this is where the Easter story gets finished! It gets finished in the ordinary places where we live, work, and worship. Jesus continues His work in this world through His favorite means - which is to use your life and mine in ways that far exceed our imagination – if we will only let Him.

Easter gets finished when the hungry are fed and the homeless are given shelter. Easter gets finished when those who are lonely are made welcome in a church family. It gets finished when the sick are visited - and when those who grieve find comfort. Easter gets finished when people throw off the shackles of addiction and live their lives with a new- found freedom and purpose. Ultimately, the Easter story gets finished every time someone opens their heart in faith to Jesus Christ! I pray you’ll do that today if you never have.

This is the message of Easter: He is not here. He has risen from the dead, and has gone ahead of you into Galilee.

There may be a very good reason why Mark didn’t finish the Easter story – if that’s how it went down. If a tomb was unable to hold Jesus – there’s no telling where He might show up next.