Mark doesn't bother to offer extensive proofs of our Lord's resurrection. He explains simply how the news got back to the men Jesus chose as His closest disciples, and how everyone was so slow to believe. More so, they were slow to grasp something He had explained repeatedly.
The same three women mentioned before as viewing the execution and the burial, are now on their way back to the tomb. They arise before dawn bringing highly scented anointing oils to pour on Jesus' body. By the time they got there, the sun had just risen. They could see clearly. On they way they had been wondering how they would access the body, since the tomb had been sealed with a very large stone. Upon seeing the stone already gone, they stepped inside. Mark describes what they saw. Everyone knows this was an angel, but the Romans lacked the Jewish heritage of having dealt with angels so often.
The women were stunned. The angel announces Jesus is risen, and points out the linen casing, now empty and collapsed in upon itself, in which Jesus' body had been wrapped. He commissions them to tell the other disciples, pointedly naming Peter. By ancient tradition, Peter's denial three times was sufficient to exclude him from any further service, but the Spirit Realm operates by God's Law. Even the soldiers who had crucified Jesus could be forgiven, so the senior man of the Twelve was still included, in spite of himself. The angel noted they would all meet Jesus again -- alive -- in Galilee, as He had promised. The women fled the tomb, as much out of sheer agitation as in obedience. They ran to the place where they had been staying, too dumbstruck to say anything to anyone.
At this point, Mark shifts to a different mode, offering a summary of the well known narrative. His point is to show the process of how the disciples went from completely dejected and fearful, to the bold teachers of the gospel message. The first person to see His resurrected body was Mary Magdalene. It was she who brought word to the disciples. Being as yet men without the Spirit, they didn't believe her. Two others reported that evening they had seen Jesus as they were traveling away from Jerusalem. Eventually Jesus Himself came to His disciples during a meal. Among other things, He addressed the issue of their unbelief. Had He not told them repeatedly how this was all going to work out?
Then Jesus gave them the commission to carry on the ministry they had during His previous days on earth. Mark pointedly mentions this has changed to a message for the whole world, not just Jews. People who are changed by this message and immerse themselves in it will be saved. Mark records this in Greek, using the word equivalent to a sinking ship. The one who drowns will be saved, but the one who draws back is doomed.
Those who are saved will be marked by a spiritual power, a power which passes through every attempt to stop the message they carry. Demons will be driven out. Whatever is necessary to speak the message to every ear will be given them, including new tongues. Should they be bitten by poisonous serpents, they would be safe. Even drinking poison will not stop them. Instead, their miraculous health will be contagious, and others will be healed. These signs and wonders would be native to the Spiritual Kingdom, which carries a far higher authority than anything based on earth.
Finally, Jesus visibly rose into Heaven, the place where His Kingdom was based. There, He took His place at the Father's right hand. The symbol was not lost on anyone reading this. Jesus lives to execute the will of the Father, His Right-hand Man. Thus, these remaining eleven men went out, along with others, and began spreading the message of this Kingdom all over the world. When necessary for the purpose of the Kingdom and message, all manner of miracles took place.
Throughout his Gospel, Mark emphasizes Jesus was a worthy King. Indeed, more worthy than any ruler among humans, for His Kingdom was of the Spirit. All this world and its sorrows are just a circumstance, the background against which the authority and purpose of the Kingdom of Heaven demonstrates its power, its call, and its unique spiritual nature. Mark took pains to emphasize how very different this was from what everyone expected, most certainly the disciples. In the end, they finally got it. They finally understood the thing which held them, and their teaching was trustworthy, for they had been chosen by the King Himself.
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By Ed Hurst
24 May 2008
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