Mark 16:1-8 What do we do with Jesus

Theological Proposition/Focus: That something significant occurred on Easter is not up for debate, the real question is what will you do about it?

Homiletical Proposition/Application: Determine to share the good news of Easter.

Introduction:

Setting the Stage:

Mark's Gospel is written in a way intended to allow us to visualize the events and see the motion forward in God's plan. Throughout the Gospel we have been introduced to Jesus. The Savior of the World. However, the biggest twist is that this Savior has been killed. Mark 15 marks the death of Jesus. So, what happens next? Well in verses 42-47 exactly what we might expect is what happens.

Read Mark 15:42-47

Jesus was buried. And likely Joseph followed exactly the cultural practices of the time.

• Quick Burial: It was customary to bury the deceased as soon as possible, preferably on the same day as death. This practice was based on the idea of respecting the sanctity of the body and preventing any undue delay in laying the deceased to rest.
• Simple Burial: Jewish burials were typically simple affairs. The deceased was wrapped in a linen shroud, and the body was placed in a tomb or a burial cave. The use of spices and perfumes was common to mask the odor of decomposition. Unlike the

Egyptians bodies were not embalmed instead decay was expected until the point where all flesh had decayed and the bones would be placed in an ossuary.

• Mourning Period: There was a period of mourning after the burial, during which family and friends would express their grief. This period varied but commonly lasted for seven days (Shivah). The immediate family members might observe a longer mourning period, and certain mourning customs included sitting on low stools, refraining from work, and receiving condolences from others.
• Ritual Washing (Tahara): The body was ceremonially washed and purified before burial. This practice aimed to show respect for the deceased and to symbolize the departure of the soul from the physical body.
• Burial in Tombs or Caves: The wealthy often had family tombs or burial caves. Tombs were hewn into rock, and the bodies were placed in niches or on shelves within the tomb. This practice is reflected in the Gospel accounts of Jesus' burial in a tomb.

The ultimate question that each of us needs to answer is "What will you do with Jesus." Here, we see that Joseph of Arimathea has done exactly what would be expected. If we combine this with the account of John 19:38-42 we learn that Nicodemus was also present and had brought 75 pounds of spices. What will you do with Jesus? For Nicodemus and Joseph, the answer was to show great honor at great personal expense. But let me propose something to you right here and now.

Body

Let my begin by telling you that

The common, maybe even natural, response to Jesus is to seek to show him honor (1-2).

As already mentioned, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus both showed Jesus great honor at great personal expense. But it was not just those two

Three women sought to show Jesus great honor in his burial.

After the Sabbath shops would open up and purchases could be made. Since Jewish bodies were not embalmed they quickly began to stink from decay. Joseph and Nicodemus had already brought some spices but these women also wanted to honor Jesus themselves. So, the previous night they bought spices and early the following morning they began their trek.

These women do what is natural to do, show honor to Jesus. I want to state, this is a natural response to someone like Jesus showing honor to Jesus is a good thing. In fact, throughout his ministry, many people showed honor to Jesus.

Earlier, a ruler sought to show Jesus honor in His title (Luke 18:18-19).

We don't know a ton about this man other than that he was some sort of ruler. Perhaps he was a member of the Sanhedrin, the religious ruling body in Judaism. This ruler, knowing some of Jesus, gave him the label of Good. In this man's mind he was probably bestowing some honor on Jesus. The problem, as Jesus identified, is that the man did not go far enough. Either Jesus was God or he was not. There was no intermediate level of honor.

But, this is not the only time this happened to Jesus.

A Samaritan woman sought to show Jesus honor by identifying Him as a prophet (John 4:19-26).

When Jesus encountered this woman he told her things that only made sense if Jesus had some sort of supernatural knowledge. So, the women thought, he must speak for God. The problem Jesus was not just a prophet here to solve a minor theological misunderstanding or dispute. Jesus was God himself come to solve the problem of sin. Jesus was nothing short of the Christ, the anointed one of Israel who had come to save the world from sin. The title of prophet was an honor for most people but for Jesus the title prophet did not go far enough.

Image: Insufficient honor can actually be disrespectful.

Let me start my example here by stating that I am, in general, title-adverse. I don't like titles and in general, I am uncomfortable with titles because they only create distance. So, please don't change your behavior toward me or Emily based on this example! We want you to call us by our first name!

I love getting the mail, something about opening up the mailbox and wondering what will be next is just a lot of fun. However, there is something that always makes me laugh. You see, Emily is very smart and worked very hard in college and graduate school to graduate early and at the top. I never really worked as hard as Emily and I did not finish my degree in record time. But what will always make me laugh is when we get a piece of mail addressed to Dr. and Mrs. Wakefield. You see, Emily has a doctorate, in fact, Emily finished her doctorate three years before me. I am sure that when someone sends mail to Dr. and Mrs Wakefield they are trying to show honor to Emily but in reality, they are failing to do so because they are missing the mark of the honor she deserves.

When we show insufficient honor to Jesus we miss the mark! Jesus is a good teacher, but calling him that misses the point.

Now, please don't go and start addressing your mail to Dr. Emily Wakefield, you will make her uncomfortable. Just addressing it to Emily and Nathan is fine!

MTR: Evaluate yourself, are you honoring Jesus as just a good man?

C.S. Lewis argued for a theological trilema. Jesus is either Lunatic, Liar, or Lord. Anything else fails to show Jesus honor.

The reality is that Jesus is anything but common and so a common response is not enough (3-7)

There is nothing common or natural about the resurrection.

I have heard people state that the reason they don't buy Christianity is that they just can't believe the resurrection. In reality, these people are much closer to truth than we sometimes give them credit. The resurrection is anything but natural, anything but common. We should be shocked and alarmed at the resurrection. Mark's description in verses 3 and 4 is a reminder,

Look at all the details. A large stone is blocking the tomb.

Image: An uncommon response requires preparation and practice.

I really enjoy going up in the airplane and just practicing landings with Emily. We practice standard landings, she works some of her skills toward landing the airplane, and we just work together to land the airplane. However, one of my favorite exercises I have done with Emily is a simulated engine failure. We will be flying close enough to the airport to be safe. And after warning her, I cut the power. I immediately take the controls of the airplane and start maneuvering for the runway. Emily grabs the checklist and begins asking me call and response questions. Together we go through all the emergency procedures as I am maneuvering to touch down on the runway. The whole process from start to end takes less than a minute and we are on the ground rolling out. You might ask, why would you do that? Simple, if it ever happens in real life and we are at 1000 feet or less we have less than one minute to land the airplane. If we take 15 seconds of that time for a common response of freaking out then we will not make it. If our engine fails we will need an uncommon response so we practice so that the uncommon response becomes our natural response.

The problem is that we commonly fail to properly respond (8).

Initially, the women who were first tasked with telling the disciples failed.

In Luke 24 we learn that eventually they did tell the disciples.