Sermon Tone Analysis

Mark 16:9-13

A message from a Disputed Text

 

/Now when /[Jesus] /rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons.

She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.

But when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it/.

After these things He appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country.

And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.[1]

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Study released this past December, reported that nearly one-third of all Britons do not know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

A similar proportion is unaware that Jesus was Jewish or that the first man to make an appearance in the Bible is Adam.

What a commentary on the dearth of vibrant Christianity in the nation that birthed the modern missionary movement when William Carey carried the Gospel to India, and in the nation that produced pulpit giants such as Charles Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, William Sangster and Martin Lloyd-Jones.

Nevertheless, and in contrast to that dismal statistic, a striking eighty-five percent of Britons did know that the event Christians commemorate on Easter Sunday was the Resurrection of the Christ.[2]

This is Easter Sunday, and I invite you to focus on the conclusion of Mark’s Gospel.

During this week past, Lynda asked my what the message was about.

When I told her it was “A Message from a Disputed Text,” she asked what was disputed.

Verses nine through the end of the chapter are disputed.

The majority of commentators caution preachers against preaching from the text.

The Bible from which I am reading states, “Some manuscripts end the book with *16:8*; others include *verses 9-20* immediately after *verse 8*.

A few manuscripts insert additional material after *verse 14*; one Latin manuscript adds after *verse 8* the following: /But they reported briefly to Peter and those with him all that they had been told.

And after this, Jesus himself sent out by means of them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation/.

Other manuscripts include this same wording after *verse 8*, then continue with *verses 9-20*.”

The traditional conclusion of Mark’s Gospel is, therefore, disputed.

I think it wise in light of this uncertainty to be cautious before drawing any doctrinal conclusions based solely upon this text.

What the text does say must be understood in the light of the whole of Scripture.

Scholars inclined to dismiss this portion of Mark as authentic have concluded that an unknown writer penned these words, perhaps because he was uncomfortable with the way in which *verse eight* concludes: They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

I believe it is fair to say that the vast majority of contemporary scholars, both evangelical and liberal, are convinced that Mark’s words ended with *verse eight*, a most disconcerting ending, indeed.

Nevertheless, it cannot be disputed that the traditional ending of the Gospel is found in the vast majority of manuscripts, and it is evident that this ending of the Gospel, bracketed though it is in most contemporary translations, enjoys considerable ancient support.

What is in view today are the truths that are evident from reading this portion of the Gospel.

Those truths verify the ancient understanding of Jesus’ resurrection, and reflecting the message of each of the other Gospel writers.

The impact of those truths on the earliest Christians was tremendous, and the impact of those same truths still transform the people of God in this day so far removed from those initial events.

Focus with me on several truths that cannot be denied as we study a disputed text.

Jesus Rose Early on the First Day of the Week — [Jesus] rose early on the first day of the week.

Whoever wrote this ending, and I operate on the assumption that Mark did write these words, was familiar with the central truth of the New Testament—*/Jesus lives/*.

Underscore in your mind this essential truth—Christ Jesus is alive!

The author makes two assertions critical to the Christian Faith within this first statement.

The author asserts that *Jesus rose*.

The heart of the Christian Faith is firmly, irreversibly ensconced in these two words.

Remove this triumphant note from the Christian message and our Faith is enervated.

Unfortunately, that is precisely the tragic consequence of modern theology.

Our hope is fixed upon the truth of the conquest of death, hell and the grave by His resurrection.

In His victory, we become victors.

In the days of my ministry, I have presided over far too many funerals.

I have no doubt that I will yet preside over other funerals, and each one will represent deep sorrow and grief for us who are left to continue through this dismal life.

What message do I have for grieving families?

What message will I deliver to those who question why God has permitted death to invade the sphere of hopeful people?

Perhaps I could speak of the beauty of the life of the deceased; but to speak of the beauty of a life just passed is comparable to speaking of the beauty of the wild flowers.

They bloom momentarily and just as quickly they are browned by the march of time.

I personally find it a dismal exercise to speak of how beautiful the flower once was.

Memories are precious, but memories are transient, passing all too quickly as succeeding generations move onto the stage of life.

I would not disparage holding the memories of loved ones, but I will be frank to caution that memories fade and at last die.

Perhaps I could speak of the glory of the accomplishments of the one that died.

However, the glories of past achievements recede and are quickly forgotten.

Quick, name the individual who broke the four-minute mile!  Name the Canadian General who led the first UN peacekeeping force, set up during the Israeli-Egyptian War of 1956!

Who was the first female cabinet minister in Canada?

These are events of which Canadians should be generally knowledgeable, and the names of each of these individuals at one time were prominently mentioned throughout the nation.

How quickly the glory of human accomplishment is tarnished.

My message of comfort for the grieving points to Christ’s victory.

I tell how He gave His life as a sacrifice for sin.

Then, having established that He died because of our sin, I tell all who grieve that He conquered death.

I tell them that He rose from the dead, and that in His resurrection there is hope.

If Jesus conquered death, then we who believe in Him will also conquer death—in Him.

One of the most powerful statements found in all the words of Jesus is this, because I live, you also will live [*John 14:19*].

Whenever a preacher speaks of Jesus, he should quickly affirm of the Lord that, we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honour because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone [*Hebrews 2:9*].

There is great comfort in these words.

When those who grieve ask, “Why?” the man of God can point to the resurrection of God’s Son.

Then, God will gently ask His child, “Did I raise my Son from the dead?”

Of course, the appropriate answer is, “Yes, God raised Jesus from the dead.”

The Father will leave matters at that point.

The resurrection of the Christ is God’s answer to suffering.

God will not often remove us from the situations in which we find ourselves, and, except for the return of our Lord, each of us will succumb to the last enemy.

However, God will Himself be with us when we pass through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, and He will give us hope—hope, because Jesus conquered death.

This is the hope that comes from the Easter event.

Jesus conquered death.

He is alive.

Therefore, we are not defeated, but instead, we who belong to Him live—and we shall live.

I have often cited *1 Thessalonians 4:13-18* as encouragement for those who struggle in the face of the death of a loved one.

There is so much comfort in those words Paul wrote, but today, I especially want to note *verses thirteen* and *eighteen*.

Listen to how Paul begins this portion of the Word, and take special note of the way he concludes.

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope…  Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Christians grieve—but they grieve in hope.

Therefore, we who are believers in the Living Son of God have encouragement the world can never know.

Did you catch that victorious note?

We Christians are not stoically indifferent in the face of death.

Our Lord heard Mary’s sobs and He saw those with her weeping, and Jesus wept [*John 11:35*].

The death of a loved one wrings grief from our souls until the sorrow drips from our eyes.

Despite our tears, we have hope.

Our hope is firmly grounded on the knowledge that our Saviour has conquered death and therefore we face the last enemy with hope.

I have often thrilled at the words of the Apostle.

This perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

 

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ [*1 Corinthians 15:53-57*].

The author of our text also insists that it was *early on the first day of the week* that Jesus rose.

It was indeed miraculous that Jesus rose from the dead, but that He did so in fulfilment of prophecy is more astonishing still.

The Word of God prophesied from the day our first parents rebelled that the seed of the woman would experience pain on our behalf, but that He would crush the serpent’s head [see *Genesis 3:15*].

Contained within that prophecy, known as the protoevangelium, is the promise of a deliverer.

However, the path leading to His victory over sin leads through the tomb.