Mark 16:6-11

Mark 16:6-11  “Don’t be alarmed,” he 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.  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.’”  Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone because they were afraid.  When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.  She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping.  When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.

It is interesting to note that the disciples did not believe Mary Magdalene's account of what happened to Jesus.  I suspect they thought she was regressing into spiritual confusion.  However, how could they really believe Jesus was alive, for Jesus did not just die a comfortable death.  His death was a violent one.  Because of the beatings and the crucifixion, the disciples had watched Jesus' blood literally drain out of him.  No one can live without blood, so they knew Jesus did not just fall asleep into some comatose condition.  They knew He was very much dead.

Today, millions of people believe Jesus is "very much dead."  They just cannot believe that the resurrection occurred.  How can life begin again after death, but for us Christians this belief in the resurrection is the cornerstone of our salvation.  Jesus said we must be born again.  When Jesus went into the grave, we went with him.  When He was resurrected, we who believe were resurrected into new life in him.  To be born again the disciples had to believe that Jesus was resurrected.  If they believed only that He died an ignoble death for them, salvation would not be theirs.  But by believing and knowing that Jesus not only died for their sins but was risen in new life as well, they could experience new life for themselves, eternal life.  Some people believe that Jesus was a good man who did good deeds, and we should emulate him.  However, they cannot believe that He was resurrected from the grave.  For them, Jesus' life ended at death, for He was not the Son of God.  And for many, all life ends at the grave.  

But for those of us who believe Jesus was the Son of God, who conquered sin and death, we are made living creatures, for his new life resides in us.  He is resurrected in us.  We feel his presence; we know He lives, for He has transformed our lives and has given us a new perspective on life.  If life is only doing good and then we die, we are most miserable.  Paul says, we might as well eat, drink, and live it up, for tomorrow we may die.  If there is no resurrection, we are hopelessly lost.  But Christ's resurrection truly brings life, now and after death.  We enter into that life through faith.  And because of our faith, God has sent an earnest gift to us in the form of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit's presence in us is the earnest gift that there is an inheritance to come--life after death.  We who struggle in our faith, who sometimes totter in our faith as an old man walking down the street, can find the assurance of our salvation by experiencing the Holy Spirit's presence in us.  Mary Magdalene was not losing her rational mind, neither were the many others who saw Jesus after his resurrection.  In fact they were so far removed from being irrational that they gave their lives for Jesus' work, even under heavy persecution, for the sake of the resurrected Lord whom they saw.  May we follow their example of commitment and love in sharing the "Good News."