The Unfinished Story

The message given on Easter Sunday morning, April 4, 2021, in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish.  The Bible verses used are Mark 15:42--16:8.

            It’s the first Easter morning.  Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, all go out to Jesus’ tomb.   

They knew where Jesus had been placed.  They had watched when Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus’ body and put it in the tomb.  They go out with various spices to anoint Jesus’ body.  This was considered a necessity in the Jewish religion.  It was a way of preparing a body for burial.

            The women knew that a stone had been rolled against the entrance of the tomb.  And yet, the way this is written, it never occurred to them ahead of time that this could cause a problem for them.  They’re on their way to the tomb, just after sunrise, and on their way there, all of a sudden they start asking, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

            Now, this is described as a large stone.  We’re not told how large in the Bible, but from what I’ve read, it could have weighed a ton or more.  Obviously, these women are not going to be able to move a one-ton stone by themselves.

            But they don’t go back and ask for help or anything.  They keep going out to the tomb.  They get there, and they discover that the stone has already been rolled away.

            I wonder what they thought, when they saw that.  Were they relieved, grateful that they were not going to have to go get help?  Or were they scared, thinking that someone must have moved Jesus’ body?  John tells us that was Mary Magdalene’s assumption.  But at any rate, they go into the tomb.  And they see someone, described as a young man dressed in white.  And at that point, we’re told that they were scared.

            But the man tells them not to be scared.  He tells them Jesus has risen!  And he tells them to tell Peter and the other disciples what has happened.  But despite what he says, we’re told that, “Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled the tomb.  They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.”  And that’s where Mark leaves the story.  The gospel of Mark ends on that note.

            Now, if you’ve read the gospel of Mark, your Bible may have more verses.  There are many Bibles that do.  But those extra verses do not appear in the earliest versions of Mark’s gospel that we have.  It’s thought that people were uncomfortable with the gospel of Mark ending this way.  It felt unfinished.  So it’s thought that those verses were added later, to bring the gospel to what was considered a more “proper” ending.

            But on that first Easter morning, the story was unfinished.  No one understood what had happened.  Jesus was not in the tomb, that much was certain.  But--had he really risen from the dead?  Was he really alive?  Was it possible?  Yes, he had said he’d be able to do this, but--could it actually be true?  Or was this some sort of a trick on the part of the Romans, or the Pharisees?  Were they just trying to fool Jesus’ followers into thinking Jesus was alive, so they’d come out of hiding and the soldiers could arrest them, just like they’d arrested Jesus?

            And if Jesus was alive, well, what did that mean?  Was Jesus going to resume his ministry?  Were they going to start traveling with him again?  Was he going to go back to healing people and driving out demons and doing all that stuff he had done before?  Or this time, having conquered death, would he raise an army and battle the Romans and restore the nation of Israel to its former glory?  Was this going to be the kingdom of Israel reborn?

            So many questions, and no real answers.  The man at the tomb had said that Jesus would meet the disciples in Galilee.  So, there was really nothing to do but go to Galilee.  Maybe they’d get some answers there.  But for now, all they really had was questions.

            We think of Easter as a celebration.  And it is!  And it should be!  The tomb is empty!  He is risen!  Jesus has conquered death!  And he did not just conquer it for himself.  He conquered it for us!  For you, and for me, and for everyone who believes in Jesus as the Savior!

            But Easter is a celebration because we know what comes next.  We know the answers to those questions.  The disciples, the women, none of them knew the answers.  They were waiting.  For them, the story was still unfinished.

            But when you think about it, the story is still unfinished.  Jesus rose from the dead.  He came back and appeared to the disciples.  He appeared several times, in fact.  But then, he went back up to heaven.  And the disciples were still on earth.  And it was up to them to continue Jesus’ ministry.  It was up to them to go and spread the gospel to all nations, so that as many people as possible would come to accept Jesus as the Savior.

            And they did.  But of course, the disciples all passed on, too.  And so did the people they talked to.  And so did many other generations of Christians.  After all, it’s been nearly two thousand years since the time of Jesus.  

            It has been the responsibility of all those generations to continue Jesus’ ministry.  It has been their responsibility to go and spread the gospel to all nations.  And they have.  And now, it’s up to this generation.  It’s up to us.  To you, and to me.

            Not by ourselves, of course.  We do this with all the other Christians all over the world.  But still, each of us needs to do our part.  You do, and I do.  It is the responsibility of every Christian, everywhere, to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

            How do you feel about that?  And how are you doing with it?  Are you happy, eager to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ?  Or do you feel more like the women as they left the tomb?  Trembling, and afraid to say anything to anyone?

            If it’s the latter, Jesus understands.  Jesus knows he left us with a tough job.  Jesus knows how hard it can be to spread the gospel.  He knows that better than anyone.  After all, he did it, and look what happened to him.  He was killed.  So Jesus knows this is not an easy job he has given us.

            And Jesus understands why we’re scared of doing it.  There are all kinds of reasons.  Sometimes we don’t feel confident enough in our own faith.  We think, I have all kinds of questions myself.  How can I spread the gospel to others?  

            Sometimes we’re afraid of how people will react.  We think, I don’t want people to think I’m some kind of religious nut.  I’ll just turn them off.  Besides, the people I know probably believe already.  I don’t really need to say anything.

            Sometimes we just don’t want to stand out.  We think, no one else I know talks about the gospel.  If I talk about it, people will think I’m strange.  They might start avoiding me.  I could lose friends.  I don’t want that to happen.

            Jesus understands those reasons and all kinds of others.  But here’s the thing.  Jesus understands them--but Jesus does not accept them.  Jesus does not allow us to make excuses.  Jesus did not say “Go and spread the gospel unless you have some questions.”  Jesus did not say, “Go and spread the gospel unless you’re afraid of turning people off.”  Jesus did not say, “Go and spread the gospel as long as you feel comfortable doing it.”  Jesus just said, “Go and spread the gospel.”  Period.  

            We don’t always feel comfortable doing it.  I don’t always feel comfortable doing it, either.  But that’s not an excuse.  We need to face our excuses, face our fears, and go and spread the gospel anyway.

            Because here’s the thing.  Easter is a celebration.  But it’s only a celebration for people who believe in Jesus Christ.  Because belief in Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven.  Not because I say so, but because Jesus said so.  If you and I don’t go and spread the gospel, there are people who won’t believe who might have, if only we’d tried to reach them.  There will be people who are not saved who might have been, if we had only tried to tell them about Jesus.  There will be people who miss out on salvation and eternal life who might have had it, if only we had told them about the good news of Jesus Christ.

            I understand why we hesitate.  I feel all those same things.  And sometimes I give in to those feelings.  I have missed many, many chances to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to people.  Probably a lot of us have.  And it’s too bad.

            But we cannot go back and change the past.  What we can do is move forward.  What we can do is start now, today.  What we can do is overcome our fears and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

            The women left the tomb trembling and afraid.  They did not know what the empty tomb meant.  You and I do.  So let’s stop trembling.  Let’s stop being afraid.  Let’s go and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Then, next year, even more people can celebrate the glory of Easter!