An Unfinished Story

Part 10: The celebration of Easter is not only a reminder to remember; it is a call to consecration and an appeal to action.

Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash

Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.  (Mark 16:8, NIV)

Dazed and confused

Dazed and confused, the women leave the tomb, perhaps talking to themselves and each other.

What just happened?
Could this really be true?
Who was that young man in white?
Was that an angel?

Jesus was dead.
We saw it.
He was wrapped up and put into the tomb.
We saw it.

Did somebody come and steal the corpse?
Is this a cruel joke?
What is going on?

It is not hard to imagine the women hastily leaving the tomb only to stop, some distance away, to catch their breath.

Should we tell the others?
What will Peter think?
Will he believe us?
Will they go to Galilee?
Is Jesus really there waiting for us?

He was dead.
We saw it.
What is going on?

Is this the end of the story?

The women are told to “go, tell his disciples and Peter” (Mark 16:7, NIV), but in the earliest manuscripts of the gospel of Mark, the story stops abruptly with the irony of the women “not telling anyone because they were afraid” (Mark 16:8). If your Bible contains verses 9-20, you might notice that these verses seem awkward with a noticeably different vocabulary and style than the preceding chapters. There are a variety of opinions as to how Mark intended to end his gospel. I find the abrupt ending after verse 8 intriguing, so that is where the remainder of this essay will hang.

So, Mark ends his story with the women saying “nothing to anyone, because they were afraid” (Mark 16:8, NIV). Many scholars conclude that the meaning would have been clear to the original readers and hearers. The women were afraid (who wouldn’t have been) and did not tell anyone other than the disciples and Peter, those to whom the messenger had directly commanded them to give the message.

After all, Matthew, in his resurrection story, tells us that following the encounter with the angel, the “women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell the disciples” (Mt 28:8, NIV). Luke tells us that “When [the women] came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and all the others” (Lk 24:9, NIV).

…there are more riches in the Word than I had ever imagined. To view Scripture through the perspective of an ancient Near Eastern culture is to gain additional insights, as certainly as reading the Bible in the original languages deepens one’s grasp of the text.
(Tverberg, Vander Laan, Spangler, Walking in the Dust of the Rabbi, Kindle 71)

Writing for changed hearts

Ancient writers, it seems, rarely wrote purely for the sake of recording historical facts, timelines, and verifiable proofs of the stories they tell. They have a much deeper purpose.

They did not write only to preserve history and provide knowledge but also to impact the reader's heart in a profound, meaningful way.

This is why, throughout Scripture, we find an abundance of rich images, poetry, metaphors, irony, songs, prayers, and other literary devices intended to touch the heart and allow the Spirit to continue the work of breathing into the text as it is read and heard. This “breathing into” is an essential part of what we mean when we talk about the inspiration of Scripture, making the Bible “more like a poem than a newspaper” (Oord and Thompson, Rethinking the Bible, Kindle 563).

The Bible’s true purpose is more than supplying spiritual information to be downloaded. It holds out for us an invitation to join an ancient, well-traveled, and sacred quest to know God, the world we live in, and our place in it. Not abstractly, but intimately and experientially.
(Pete Enns, https://peteenns.com/the-bibles-true-purpose-is-to-make-you-feel-good-about-yourself-jk)

Mark’s unfinished story

Mark doesn’t explain the reasons for ending his gospel account with the abrupt irony of the women being made speechless from fear. What I think might be happening here is Mark leaving the ending of the story unfinished and open-ended, not for the women but the reader.

Yes, the women were afraid.

Yes, it would be entirely natural for them to be paralyzed for a period of time by their fear and uncertainty.

Yet, looking back on this story, we can see that the women did, eventually, relay the message.

They did go. They did tell.

More importantly, Mark’s story ends with unfinished abruptness because we (the readers and the hearers) are the ones to whom Mark is telling his gospel tale.

I am the one needing to respond.

You are the one needed to respond.

Mark’s purpose is not simply to tell a true story but rather to put the truth of the story of Jesus Christ into writing so that we might experience the transformation of our hearts and minds. This opportunity for transformation is only made possible by the grace of God working in our world.

The same Spirit that breathes life into Mark’s gospel story also breathes life into us as we read and respond.

So, how will I respond?

How will you respond?

What is our response?

Simon from Cyrene was commanded to carry the cross of Christ.

            Will I, too, carry his cross?

Jesus humbled himself even to the point of death.

Will I, too, humble myself and follow, too, no matter where the path may lead?

Jesus lived and died in the midst of those who desperately needed God.

Where do I live my life?

Jesus never tried to save himself.

How often am I focused only on myself?

Jesus proclaimed his trust in the Father, even at the point of death.

Do I have that kind of trust?

The lives of people were changed by seeing the way Jesus lived.

What do people see in the way I live?

The centurion was moved deeply by observing how Jesus died.

Will my life, even at the point of greatest trial, point to Christ?

Finishing the story

If the message of Mark’s gospel is for me, then I find myself in the place of the women. Will I be silenced by fear, telling no one? Or will I take my message to others, telling them the story of the risen Christ and invite them into the mission to which God is calling us all?

The seventeenth chapter of Mark is not the story of what the women did next.

It is my story.

It is your story.

This side of Easter, our mission is defined, not only by Jesus’ earthly ministry, but by the whole story of Jesus—his life, teaching, proclamation, death and resurrection. Our challenge, then, is to allow the character of Jesus’ mission to shape our own within our different and diverse circumstances.  
(Dean Flemming, “Mission,” Kindle 1328)

The end of Mark’s story is our story. The Easter story is not merely a story of what has happened but also about what is happening and what will happen. It is not only a story about what God did in the past but also what God is doing now and in the future.

The celebration of Easter is not only a reminder to remember; it is a call to consecration and an appeal to action.

Scripture is about God. It is God’s story, about God’s love, God’s righteousness, and God’s faithfulness. (Fringer and Lane, Theology of Luck, Kindle 946)

As God’s people, holy and dearly loved, we are the bearers of God’s image in our world, an image most clearly seen in Jesus Christ. We are, in fact, the body and presence of Christ in our world.

We are the carriers of shalom in our world, forgiving as we have been forgiven, loving as we have been loved, and extending grace to others in the same way that grace has been extended to us.

We march to the beat of a different drummer and live according to an alternate purpose and plan. Our priorities are centered on the culture, ethics, and responsibilities of the kingdom of God, as revealed in Christ through his birth, life, death, and resurrection.

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This story is part five of an Easter series. Read parts 1-9 using the links below:

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9