Easter Morning April 16, 2006

“The Easter Message Pushes Away Amazement”

Mark 16:1-8

1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were amazed.

6 “Don’t be amazed,” 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. 7 But go, tell his disciples and tell Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

So what is your normal day like? Take a minute to think through your routine. Wake up, shower, eat breakfast, brush your teeth, get the kids ready, go to work, come home from work, watch TV, go to bed. There is nothing amazing about days that follow our normal, expected routine.

Sometimes you can be amazed in a good way and in a bad way. How about the day your spouse surprises you with a weekend getaway vacation? That is not routine; that is an amazing day you will never forget. Or have you found yourself saying, “I can’t believe anyone could be so generous. Amazing!” You can also be amazed in a difficult, heartbroken kind of a way. How about that phone call when you hear a loved one has died? That is not a routine day either. Those painful memories last a long time too.

The ladies in our Easter account today – Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James and Salome, experienced quite a few amazing things. Their days were not always routine. Think of all the things that had happened to amaze these ladies over the past few months.

• They had all been faithful followers of Jesus during his ministry in Galilee. Most had rejected Jesus – but these ladies had spent their time, their energy and their money supporting Jesus and his ministry. Think of all the amazing miracles they saw. Watching blind people see for the first time. Watching paralyzed folks run and jump for the first time. Jesus amazed them again and again – in the good way.

• Then these same ladies were shocked and horrified as they watched the nicest person in the history of the world be tortured and killed. Nice people don’t normally get treated like that. But Jesus did. That was a nightmarish kind of way to be amazed.

• They were standing there at a distance and they watched Jesus hang his head and breathe his last breath.

• They were there as his cold and purple body was taken down from the cross. They were standing there when Joseph placed the corpse in the tomb. They saw this first-hand. Think of their amazing grief! They never dreamed they would see the day when Jesus was buried.

And now they woke up before sunrise on Sunday morning to go and anoint the body of Christ with proper burial spices. They had taken care of Christ’s needs when he had been alive; they were now taking care of his body when he had died. They knew right where the body was because they had seen Joseph place it in the grave with their own two eyes.

As they walked to the tomb, not having slept much, not having eaten much, torn up by confusion and grief and depression and anxiety – logic took over. It dawned on them that there was a formidable obstacle in the way of their plans to anoint the body with spices. The large stone was in the way. Joseph had rolled it there after he had buried Christ’s body. These ladies had seen him roll it there and they were not strong enough to move it. “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” they asked one another.

But when they arrived at the tomb, they found something mysterious. The stone had already been rolled away! Did Joseph do that? Did the disciples do that? Who did that? We are here at the earliest possible time, before sunrise. How did this happen? And as they wandered into the tomb to attempt to solve the mystery, they found a young man dressed in bright white clothes. Mark tells us in verse 5 that they were amazed. Astonished. Bewildered. Surprised. Shocked.

And look at what the angel said. The very first words out of his mouth were, “Don’t be amazed.” Don’t be astonished, ladies. Don’t be bewildered. Don’t be surprised. Don’t be shocked.

Aren’t those words strange? Don’t be amazed? Don’t be amazed? How could the angel tell them, “Don’t be shocked or astonished or amazed at what you are seeing?” These ladies had just watched Joseph bury the body with their own two eyes. They had just seen him roll the big stone in front of the entrance with their own two eyes. Should they have planned on visiting the tomb and that the stone would be rolled away, even though they had just seen it set in its place? Should they have expected to find the tomb with no body inside, even though they had just seen it buried? Did the angel mean they should have been expecting the resurrection to happen? Should they have been chuckling themselves, “Why are we carrying ointments and spices when there is nothing to anoint?” When the angel said, “Don’t be amazed” is that what the angel really meant?

Yes, that is exactly what the angel meant. Don’t be astonished. Don’t be shocked. Jesus had told them all along he would suffer, die at the hands of evil men, and rise again on the third day. And that is exactly what had happened. He had risen. He was alive. There was no more death or mourning to be found whatsoever.

And the awesome truth was that because he was alive, all believers in Jesus will be alive too. Think of what that means for you as you ponder your own imminent death. Normally death is an uncomfortable thing for human beings to think about. It is NORMAL to not like the topic of death. It is NORMAL to avoid talking about that subject. It is NORMAL to have butterflies in your stomach when you ponder your death. Even though we KNOW we will die one day – nobody thinks they will live on earth forever – it is NORMAL to resist the reality of death.

But Easter changes normal. Death used to be uncomfortable, but Easter makes death not so bad to think about. Death used to be mysterious – what happens next? – but Easter makes death very clear and simple. Here’s why: Jesus rose from the dead. You’re gonna rise from the dead too. Your coffin is nothing but a feather bed with a pillow top mattress. It is nothing to be afraid of. Why? Because your last moment on earth is your first moment in heaven. Believe it or not, in the Easter message of Jesus, death even becomes as routine as brushing your teeth or eating your breakfast. It is not scary anymore. It is not unknown anymore. It has lost its sting.

As you are going about your daily, non-amazing, routine days…think about death becoming routine. It won’t last forever. It’s just a little blip on the screen, because your Savior Jesus will bring you to heaven. Amen.