1 Cor. 15:1-8, 14, 17-221Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters,15.1 Gk brothersof the good news15.1 Or gospel that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, 2through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.3For 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, 4and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters15.6 Gk brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.15.6 Gk fallen asleep 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

14and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain.

17If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have died15.18 Gk fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.20But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.15.20 Gk fallen asleep 21For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; 22for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.

Psalm 161Keep me safe, O God,for I have come to you for refuge.2I said to the Lord, “You are my Master!Every good thing I have comes from you.”3The godly people in the landare my true heroes!I take pleasure in them!4Troubles multiply for those who chase after other gods.I will not take part in their sacrifices of bloodor even speak the names of their gods.5Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing.You guard all that is mine.6The land you have given me is a pleasant land.What a wonderful inheritance!7I will bless the Lord who guides me;even at night my heart instructs me.8I know the Lord is always with me.I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.

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9No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice.16:9 Greek version reads and my tongue shouts his praises. Compare Acts 2:26.My body rests in safety.10For you will not leave my soul among the dead16:10a Hebrew in Sheol.or allow your holy one16:10b Or your Holy One. to rot in the grave.11You will show me the way of life,granting me the joy of your presenceand the pleasures of living with you forever.

Mark 15:40-16:8 (NLT)

40Some women were there, watching from a distance, including Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James the younger and of Joseph15:40 Greek Joses; also in 15:47. See Matt 27:56.), and Salome. 41They had been followers of Jesus and had cared for him while he was in Galilee. Many other women who had come with him to Jerusalem were also there.

42This all happened on Friday, the day of preparation,15:42 Greek It was the day of preparation. the day before the Sabbath. As evening approached, 43Joseph of Arimathea took a risk and went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. (Joseph was an honored member of the high council, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come.) 44Pilate couldn’t believe that Jesus was already dead, so he called for the Roman officer and asked if he had died yet. 45The officer confirmed that Jesus was dead, so Pilate told Joseph he could have the body. 46Joseph bought a long sheet of linen cloth. Then he took Jesus’ body down from the cross, wrapped it in the cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone in front of the entrance.

47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus’ body was laid.1Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. 2Very early on Sunday morning,16:2 Greek on the first day of the week; also in 16:9. just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.5When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, 6but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth,16:6 Or Jesus the Nazarene. who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. 7Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.”8The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened.16:8 The most reliable early manuscripts of the Gospel of Mark end at verse 8. Other manuscripts include various endings to the Gospel. A few include both the “shorter ending” and the “longer ending.” The majority of manuscripts include the “longer ending” immediately after verse 8.Today is the day! We actually made it all the way through Mark’s Gospel.

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Prayer

Now, in order to fully appreciate the message of the last passage of Mark’s Gospel that we are looking at today, need to have everything we have read up to this point in the back of our minds.

To that end, we are going to watch a video from a website called “the Bible project” I think this video is helpful because it gives us an overview of all of Mark’s Gospel.

So here it is, I hope you’ll enjoy it...

Watch video from Bible Project… amazing? source...At the very beginning of his Gospel account, Mark tells us what these 16 ch. are all about.

Mark 1:1 “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”At the very beginning Mark points out what he is trying to communicate with this

Gospel: Who is Jesus? Jesus is the Son of God.”

Part of our reading last week was verse 39 of ch. 15 “Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

In other words, Mark wants us to know that with this verse, he has reached his goal of answering the question “who is Jesus.”

The outcry of the centurion in 15:39 finishes what Mark started in 1:1.

Now, if it would have been Mark’s goal to just answer the question “who is Jesus” then he may have just as well finished his account with v. 39 of ch. 15.

But Mark’s Gospel, all 16 ch together are an answer to the question “Who is Jesus and what does it mean to follow Him?”

After the question “Who is Jesus” has been answered, Mark adds one last sandwich to talk about what it means to follow this Jesus.

Our passage for today is divided into three parts with the first and the last part being about the women while the middle part is about Joseph.

This last passage is full of irony. Mark flips things around in unexpected ways to get our attention.

Throughout the Gospel, women have been portrayed as examples of faith. All the sudden, the women in our passage today “watch from a distance (15:40)... are

anxious about who will roll the stone away from the tomb (16:3), … are distressed (16:5), and fearful (16:8).

And because of that, instead of sharing with the other disciples that Jesus is no longer dead, as commanded by the angel, the Gospel of Mark ends by pointing out that the woman flee and tell no one.

Furthermore, Mark has not had much good to say about the religious leaders but all the sudden, Joseph, a religious leader is presented to us as an example of what it means to follow Jesus.

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Mark is trying really hard to get our attention. The question “who is Jesus” has been answered with everthing from 1:1 to 15:39. But Mark wants us to ponder one more time what it means to follow Jesus.

So what is it about this Joseph that makes him a positive example for us to follow?Take a look at 15:43 and 46… What did Joseph do?

15:43 “Joseph waited expectantly for the kingdom of God”“Went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.”15:46 “Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.”

Joseph did not remain at a distance from Jesus but came so close to Jesus that he even touched Him. Jesus wants to be just as close with each one of us today.

Joseph was like Jesus. Joseph was not concerned about himself. Instead, his actions were driven by a concern for others, just like Jesus. What about us?

Are we a community of people whose action are driven by concern for others or is our primary concern our own well being?

The example of Joseph invites us to become more like Jesus who was willing to give up Himself for others.

So Joseph functions as a positive example for what it means to follow Jesus in contrast to the women who, in this particular passage, are fearful and remain at a distance.

What is your initial reaction when you ponder how Mark ends his account? 16:8 “The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened.”

It does not feel like a proper ending does it?

People who have copied and preserved Mark’s Gospel from early on thought the same and various attempts exist to provide a more smooth ending following the example of the other Gospel account.

Some are convinced that the so called longer endings are authentic to Mark but the majority agrees that Mark’s original account ended with v. 8 of ch. 16.

What is the effect on the reader when v. 8 is the end? How does Mark want us to respond?I think Mark wants us to say after reading the last verse “What? This is it? No, that can’t

be…” I think Mark wants you to say after reading v. 8 “In light of who Jesus is as presented to

us by Mark in the preceding 16 ch., this can’t be the end!”

Mark would agree that v. 8 is not the end! As he put it in Mark 1:1 “The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of

God.”All 16 ch. Are the beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

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So what is missing is not more information or facts about who Jesus is, what He has done and what happened to Him after He was buried.

Mark ends the way he does because he believes that what is missing in his narrative can only be provided by you.

Mark finishes his account at 16:8 because he wants us as readers to continue the story in our own lives.

Mark’s account is only the beginning of the Good News. The story of Jesus continues to this day precisely because Jesus was raised from the

dead and is alive today inviting us to live with Him. So for Mark, providing an end or conclusion to his account would miss this point that

what is missing from Mark’s Gospel is your response to the living Jesus who calls each one of us to this day to follow Him.

So Mark’s ending at v. 8 really is not an ending but a beginning, the beginning of the story of your life with the risen Jesus.

Mark ends his account at verse 8 because he knows and trusts that the story of Jesus and what He is doing in this world is not over.

There is no ending to the story of how God is working through Jesus in this world. Jesus is alive! The story goes on.

The question then is if what the angel said about the woman at the tomb is true about us: Mark 16:5 “You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth.”

To those who are looking for Jesus, the words of the angel are Good News: 16:6 “He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!”

The angel continues and says to the women, Mark 16:7 “Now go and tell his disciples [...] Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.”

Again, Are you looking for Jesus?The Angel said “He isn’t here” maybe that is your experience,

The angel said to the women, to those who are looking for Jesus “You will see him there.” So the question is, “Where is there for you?”

The angel points out that Jesus had told the women where they would see Jesus. Let’s take a moment and put this conversation between the angel and the women into

the form of a prayer,Jesus, you have told me where I will see you. You promised to meet me there. I am

looking for you Jesus. I want to see you. Where do you want me to look?

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This week as I was thinking about the resurrection and the ending of Mark’s Gospel, I came across this icon.

I think it is a wonderful depiction of what we are doing when we share the peace.Through Jesus we have peace with God. In Jesus, God extends a welcoming hand to us. But those who have peace with God are called into a peaceful existence with all those

who have peace with God through Jesus. I am holding the one hand of Jesus, you are holding the other.

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