Crumbs 151

 

Crumbs 151 The Empty Tomb

Scripture Mark 16 :1-8 WEB16 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3 They were saying among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” 4 for it was very big. Looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back.

5 Entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. 6 He said to them, “Don’t be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him! 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He goes before you into Galilee. There you will see him, as he said to you.’”

8 They went out, and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had come on them. They said nothing to anyone; for they were afraid

Crumbs

The account is matter of fact, a simple retelling of what a witness experienced. The authorities feared something like this, hence the big stone. It took the women by surprise. Why did they not bring along some muscle in anticipation of this problem? It was brave, this loving deed. They came in the light. It was a Sunday when this happened. No wonder Christians in my youth called it Lord’s Day. Sunday is resurrection day.

Nothing supernatural was mentioned about the young man. The word angel is not used, But where or from whom had he acquired his information?

Was it the Lord himself unrecognised?

The description of Jesus as the Nazarene is interesting. It does not simply mean a native of Nazareth but a member of a Jewish sect, or so His accusers thought. Nazarene seemed to be serving as an identifying surname. The message for the disciples is particularly moving, especially to the one who denied Him. Even after His death Jesus was pastorally restoring Peter.

The passage concludes with the terror felt by the people involved in this drama. Today we tend to treat faith as an inviting comfort blanket but we need to realise the terror of knowing that our passed sins are noted, It only then we realise the joy of knowing they are blotted out

.

Questions

1. What do we learn about our limitations from this passage ?

2. How does belief in the resurrection affect our every attitudes ?.

3. How does the teaching of the resurrection affect Christian belief ?