They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping. When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it.
After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country. They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either.
Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
– Mark 16:8-15
The worst thing that could happen with the Easter story is the “short ending.” Scholars have often seen the 16th chapter of Mark as a text that did not all come at the same time. The first eight verses are what is known as the “short ending.” The reason for this has to do with the manuscripts from which our Bible are taken. A significant number of the. manuscripts of this text do not contain anything beyond our verse eight.
Imagine for a moment the implications of the resurrection narrative ending with, “they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” The result would be world-changing. Or perhaps it would be better to say, the result would be non-world-changing. The good news of life, forgiveness, fellowship with our Creator, would become one of the world’s best kept secrets. As for humanity, we would be left without hope.
Fear of the world silences the gospel.
There are a handful of instances in John’s gospel account telling us of people who were believers in Jesus, but held it in silence “for fear” of the Jewish leaders. Joseph of Arimathea (John 19) is an example. There are other such comments shared regarding the general public (see John 7:13). Fear also bound the Pharisees, who wanted earlier to deal with Jesus but chose not to because of Jesus’ popularity. Herod Antipas also was restrained by fear, wanting to put John the Baptist to death, but did not because the crowds considered John a prophet (see Matthew 14:3-5). Indeed, fear has great power to restrain people from pursuing their desired goals.
Consider also that, immediately after the crucifixion of Jesus, rocking the boat again with Jesus’ name would have been dangerous. The Jewish leaders finally thought the matter was put to rest. They would not have been happy to learn otherwise. Similarly, the Romans would have frowned upon further uprising. They had no concern for Jesus and the religious implications tied to him. What they did care about was a peaceful society. Causing a stir could have brought upon the disciples of Jesus serious consequences. These friends of Jesus had plenty of good reasons to stay quiet. The problem is, on resurrection day, they had a very good reason not to.
Personal encounters have power to break silence.
What we see in quick succession (Mark doesn’t waste space) are appearances by Jesus that radically change one’s fear into confidence. Mary Magdalene is first, having encountered Jesus by the empty tomb. After that we are told of Jesus appearing to two of the disciples while traveling in the country, a reference to Luke’s account in Luke 24:13-35. It continues from there with Jesus appearing to the Twelve (minus one) on the evening of resurrection day. This is a picture of how hearts move beyond fear. To see Jesus face to face is an assurance of the generations-old promise of God, “I will be with you.”
In the midst of Hebrews 13:5-6 is a phrase that nearly every Christian has heard and repeated countless times: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” This is actually an Old Testament promise, found with regularity in the narratives about the descendants of Abraham. Whatever they were facing when following God’s call, the promise that came time and again was to not fear, because God would be with them. The promise is probably more familiar to us in the New Testament context of Matthew 28:19-20. Jesus ends this “great commission” with the assuring words, “remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Anyone who has ever raised a child knows the power of being present when facing an anxious challenge. When children are infants you we to do everything for them. As they grow, we begin a process of letting them do things for themselves. Sometimes that means for them going somewhere or doing something that previously we have done for them. If fear is present, the plea usually offered to the parent is, “Will you come with me?” And of course, we do. They are willing to go, if they can go with the assurance of our presence.
When the Christian goes for in ministry, it is under the power of the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul writes to Timothy and reminds him that the Spirit is not one of timidity, but of power (see 2 Timothy 1:6-7). The word translated as timidity means, as one commentator puts it, “cowardice that renders a person unfit for the task at hand.” As a young leader in the church, Timothy could certainly have suffered from such fear. If that would have been the prevailing spirit working in him, Timothy would have been hard pressed to meet the challenges of leading Christians in the early generation of the church. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit does not leave us in fear. Rather, filled with love and self-discipline the Spirit empowers us to face fears with the assurance that the risen Christ is with us.
All of creation needs the gospel.
In Mark 16:15 Jesus commissions his disciples to “preach the gospel to all creation.” The language here reminds us of something important, that the redeeming work of Jesus has implications for the entirety of creation, not just humans. The apostle Paul echoes this in Romans 8:19-22. It is not just humans that yearn for redemption, but the entirety of God’s creation. The work of Christ has cosmic implications. While this doesn’t mean we should stand in the forest reading our Bible to trees, it does remind us that we live in a fallen creation. And if this is true, it affirms the reality that ALL people are in need of the gospel message.
Romans 10:11-15 describes a sequence of bringing “Jew or Gentile,” meaning all people, to a knowledge of Jesus. Jews living in Jerusalem needed the gospel. Samaritans living in the center region of Palestine needed the gospel. The diverse communities of people living in Galilee needed the gospel. The Romans, already having their pantheon of gods, needed the gospel. People groups living in the East needed the gospel. ALL people needed, and still need, the gospel.
When you and I go into the world we see brokenness in many different forms. There is sickness, conflict, poverty and crime often fueled by greed and misused power. I know the nature of my Christian friends, and I can confidently say as a general statement that they are extraordinarily compassionate people. We see the things that plague our common living, and our hearts are moved. As we respond to those things, we are compelled to remember that there is a common source of all the brokenness we see. It is sin, the condition of our rebellion against God’s ways.
What is God’s answer to the sin problem? It is the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know it sounds overly simplistic, but Jesus really is the answer. He holds the remedy for the sin problem. He is the healer of our brokenness. It is true that some of the healing to our brokenness will only come in the eternal kingdom. Until then we will still suffer from the symptoms of our sin. Nevertheless, our compassionate response to the woes of the world is anchored in the gospel. It is something we are called to share without fear. We must not let the “short ending” of Mark be the final word, where the followers of Jesus were paralyzed by fear and said nothing. The world needs Jesus far too much for us to be silent.
The Winding Path 