Resurrection! Mark and Matthew

Easter Sunday, April 8 -- Read Mark 16:1-8 and Matthew 28:1-20

At last we arrive at the Day of Resurrection towards which we have been moving all throughout Lent! On this day of days we should feel nothing but joy and triumph, right? But the story we encounter in Mark is not a nice ending to the Gospel, all wrapped up in a bow so we won’t have to wonder further. Instead the shock of the resurrection hits us square in the face! Far from remembering Jesus’ words about dying and then being raised on the third day, the women who go to the tomb are undone by what they discover. Mark puts us front and center and gives us a good view of their reaction. Many of the Greek verbs he uses are in the present tense, so that the women “go” to the tomb, and they “see” the stone rolled away. The effect of this is to bring the readers into the scene, almost as if we are accompanying the women. In Mark’s telling, the women discover the empty tomb, and are told by a young man (an angel?) to go and tell the disciples that Jesus is risen and awaiting them in Galilee. The women, however, are so overcome with awestruck fear and ecstasy that they bolt from the tomb and say nothing to anyone. This leaves the story unfinished, perhaps so the reader will be moved to complete the story herself. Matthew, writing later, knows a story of Jesus appearing to the women as they leave the tomb and then adds an account of Jesus’ appearance to his eleven remaining disciples on a mountain in Galilee. Here Jesus sends them out into the world to make disciples of all nations and to baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They see Jesus and worship him, although some still doubt. If it’s any comfort, the earliest affirmation of the resurrection (formed within 2 or 3 years after it happened) is reported by Paul in I Corinthians 15:3-8: “For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas (Peter), then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James (Jesus’ brother), then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” Paul basically says, “Look Jesus appeared to this whole bunch of people, most of whom are still alive. If you have any doubts, go ask them!” Paul writes his letter long before Mark or Matthew are written. But, each in their own way, Mark and Matthew preserve the sheer amazement of Jesus’ resurrection.  

Reflection Question: Clearly Christ’s resurrection is unexpected even to those who know him best. It is revolutionary, frightening and mind-boggling. Far from absorbing it easily, Jesus’ followers struggle to come to terms with what it means for them. How does Jesus’ resurrection affect you?

Prayer: Dear God, your ways and powers are far beyond mine. A world where Jesus is raised from death is not safe and ordinary, but it opens me to mystery. Help me get my bearings. Amen.