Sermon Tone Analysis

*“Show and Tell”*

*Mark 16.1-8*

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*            *We begin the message today dealing with a technical issue.

I’ll try to make it brief and simple so that we move on and discern God’s message for us this day.

There is a lot of scholarly discussion that I can refer you to if you are interested.

But for our purposes this morning, I will attempt to summarize.

If you are reading from the King James Version of the Bible, you may be unaware of any issues regarding our text.

But if you are reading from a New American Standard or New International Version or English Standard Version, you may see an inserted note somewhere around verses 8 and 9. Or you may see a line or something separating the text at this point.

The reason for this may be indicated or not.

For instance the ESV indicates that some of the earliest manuscripts do not include verses 9-20.

I’ve done a fair bit of research into the issue and my conclusion is that these verses were not written by the author Mark, but were an attempt to complete his gospel and harmonize it with some of the others.

The reasons are, first, as the notes indicate this portion of the text is not included in earliest manuscripts.

Today, we do not have any original copies of the Greek New Testament.

What we have are thousands of copies of copies.

And predominantly it is the ones that are dated earlier that are the more reliable.

Second, in textual criticism (which is the discipline to determine the original text) it is usually the shorter or more difficult text that is the accurate text.

Insertions were sometimes added by scribes in order to smooth out “difficulties” or harmonize between other accounts.

Third, there is also an abrupt transition from verses 8 to 9.

And verse 9 strangely introduces Mary Magdalene as if she was not referred to before.

And we know that she has been a prominent character in the events surrounding the crucifixion.

Fourth, in this section, there is vocabulary introduced that Mark does not previously use in the entire letter.

So what has troubled some people is an abrupt ending in verse 8.

And many have theorized that either Mark never completed his gospel, or that perhaps part of it was lost.

And so others have tried their hand at tying up the loose ends on a rather inconclusive finale.

For our intents and purposes, we will conclude that Mark ends his account (quite intentionally) at verse 8.

I will provide some reasons for this later on in the sermon.

I should mention that much of the material in verses 9-20 is included elsewhere and is not necessarily “false.”

However, some cults have even begun based on things mentioned in verse 18 that practice the drinking of poison and handling of snakes, which I would suggest, at the very least, is not the emphasis of Mark’s message.

So, with this in mind, we will focus on verses 1-8 as the ending of Mark’s gospel.

Please turn there if you haven’t already.

Mark 16.1-8.

The title of the sermon sets the trajectory for where this should go.

This is a message of *“Show and Tell.” *Let’s read the text as we get underway.

And first, we have the *Witnesses.

*There is no work on the Sabbath.

We remember that the body of Jesus needed to be buried before the Sabbath.

And this is where Joseph of Arimathea stepped up - according to the sovereign plan of God.

He requested the body, purchased the necessary items, and used his own tomb for Jesus to buried.

We recall the several characters that surrounded the crucifixion.

Simon of Cyrene was recruited to carry Jesus’ cross.

There was the cry of the Roman centurion declaring Jesus to be the Son of God.

We heard the cries of Jesus as he experienced the separation from his Father.

And at the cross, there was also a cry of “It is finished!”

found in other gospel accounts.

Mark also records several women present at all the events.

Mark lists a couple by name, noting that there were also other women there as well.

This will become significant in our text today.

And after Jesus is buried in the tomb, all the events of the cross are for naught should Jesus remain there.

Jesus has made bold claims of rising from the dead.

If this is shown to be unfulfilled, then what other claims might also be nullified?

The Sabbath is now over.

Several women approach the tomb in order that they might complete the anointing that was perhaps rushed due to the urgency of getting Jesus buried before the Sabbath.

If there were other women, Mary and Mary are singled out by Mark – perhaps because of their familiarity.

They rise early in the morning on the first day of the week.

It would seem as though they were eager to go to the tomb.

The shops would have reopened after the Sabbath in order to purchases any spices.

And, of course, the women knew where Jesus was buried because they witnessed it.

One might think that the disciples would have been the major players at this point of the story.

But Mark places the women at unexpected prominence at this vital juncture.

It wasn’t the men who were the first to arrive, but the women.

There are several clues here that indicate that the women did not expect Jesus to have risen from the dead – as he had said.

Though, they had shown some level of faith to this point, by standing near the events, it becomes clear that they too were filled with unbelief.

The first clue is found in verse 3.

They were walking in the direction of the tomb and questioning “who will roll away the stone for us?”

            Understandably, this would have been a significant issue if they were truly to anoint Jesus - if he was still there.

I mentioned briefly last week that this would have been a very large stone that was placed in front of the tomb.

In fact, verse 4, confirms this.

“It was very large.”

In addition to this, the stone would have been rolled downhill in order to seal it.

And other gospel writers indicate that there were guards placed in front of the tomb so that Jesus’ body would not be stolen.

The women were obviously not thinking clearly at this point.

The second clue is in verse 4. It would appear as though they were walking with their heads hung low.

Perhaps they were moping in the disappointment that they witnessed the death of their Messiah.

But as they near the tomb, they lift their heads.

And their question loses its significance.

There would be no need for someone to roll away the stone.

It had already been done.

“It was very large.”

Commentators have suggested that this is a “divine passive.”

We’ve come across a couple of these before in Mark’s gospel.

A divine passive is a passive verb whose subject is attributed to God himself.

In other words, the “stone had been rolled back” by God the Father.

And it is here that he continues to complete the mission and unfold the plan for the discovery of his people.

Only a miracle could move this stone.

It should be noted that the stone was not removed in order to let Jesus out.

Do you understand this?

Rather, the stone being moved was to let others witness this miracle.

It is ultimately our responsibility to respond to events in faith.

And so Jesus could have merely ascended to heaven after the crucifixion and left the tomb closed.

He could have required faith on the part of his followers without witnessing this resurrection.

But his grace moved the stone so that others could see and record what they saw.

So, their first obstacle was removed and they enter the tomb.

To say the least, things are not what they expected.

They did not see Jesus, but rather a young man sitting to the side.

He was dressed in a white robe.

And from what we know of other associations, this was an angel sent from God to declare the resurrection of Jesus.

We know of other times when human beings are confronted by an angel and are alarmed.

Most recently we would think back to the appearances to Mary and Joseph that would have announced the birth of Jesus.

And you recall, they were initially alarmed and then comforted by the angel.

The same is true here.