Three Witnesses and You ...

Your ideas, your perspective influenced by your own history, give you a unique take on any story you may become familiar with.  The core elements of the story may be the same.  But what you pay attention to, the things that are important to you, or that you zero-in-on during the revelation of the story – well those come from who you are, and what matters to you.  You notice subtle things that might have gone un-noticed by others.  Again, the core elements of the story being the same for everyone.  Your unique perspective of the story is something to cherish.  It does not belittle the story, it rather amplifies it.  And sharing your perspective with others, you are bound to pick up new things, that they paid more attention to, that may have slipped by you.  A sharing of perspectives then, adds to the wealth of the story, without tearing down the core elements of it.  This is what is meant by the phrase “the body of Christ” as it refers to His church.  We all have different strengths and weaknesses.  We all have different perspectives.  Jesus is the same.  But what we see in Jesus, is often a function of what we are looking for, and how Jesus uniquely helps each of us.  Jesus is still True.  But how we see Jesus may differ widely, because the difference between you and me may also be a wide one.

Unbelievers will sometimes take our differences in perspective as reason to say Jesus is not true at all.  But that is like saying that a story reported by CNN, MSNBC, and FOX must also not be true at all because those networks come from different perspectives and often report widely different conclusions based on the same set of facts (the story itself).  That is ridiculous.  We all know there is a story out there.  And in the case of our news networks, we tend to have one we prefer, and one we do not.  We tend to side with the network we prefer more, and take the one we don’t with a grain of salt.  The story is there, the set of facts is out there, but how it is reported, and how it is received is more a function of who we listen to, and what we believe to be true.  I would bet, that if you personally were exposed to the entire core set of facts about a given story, you would see some elements of it reported by CNN, different ones by MSNBC, and still others reported by FOX.  None of the networks are lying per se, but their perspectives will certainly alter what conclusions they draw; and therefore what they would like you to draw with them.  But the Truth is bigger than CNN, bigger than MSNBC, and bigger than FOX.  And in the case of Jesus Christ, way bigger than all our news networks, and way bigger than us.

So given this, I would like to focus on a story recorded in three gospels.  You will hear it from three different authors, that is three different witnesses.  The core elements of the story are the same.  But how it is reported is different.  Perspectives of the authors were different.  And to be fair, what you or I pay attention to is likely to be different still.  These differences in scripture are not proof that the Bible cannot be true.  Far from it.  Instead they prove the reality of the Bible in reporting a story where the core elements are true, but the three authors were not copying each other, or lying, that any story like this took place in the first place.  They simply come at it from three different perspectives.  And you or I, the readers, are likely to gain different insights because what Jesus means to us, will likely cause us to focus on a unique insight from the same story in the first place.

The core elements are these.  A person who is mighty, and valued, and important has a need.  The influential person is not a Jew.  This person knows someone he loves who is sick and he needs Jesus to heal him.  The influential person does not feel worthy enough to have Jesus come under his roof.  So he asks Jesus to simply speak the words and the one he loves is healed and made whole.  This example of faith in Jesus by someone who is NOT a Jew, is an example of faith in peoples like ourselves of a future much different than the past.  If you have been a Christian for some length of time, you will likely recognize some version of this story from the New Testament.  Some folks call this a “Centurion’s Great Faith”.  Others might call this “Jesus Heals an Official’s Son”.  But even these titles are examples of perspectives.  While we take a second look at this story try to keep an open mind to absorb an even greater understanding of the story from 3 different witnesses.  The scriptures can be found in Luke 7:1-10 … Matthew 8:5-13 … and John 4:43-54.

Backstory:  

o   Matthew - records this incident right after a healing of a leper.  He then puts Jesus simply entering Capernaum. 

o   Luke - records this incident right after the greatest sermon ever preached.  He then puts Jesus simply entering Capernaum. 

o   John - records this incident right after an unpleasant greeting in His home country.  But John adds that Jesus attended a feast in Jerusalem, then travels to Cana (where Jesus had previously turned water into wine).

 

Protagonist: 

o   Matthew - identifies the influential person as a Roman Centurion and offers no more than that.  Matthew records the encounter as a one-on-one with Jesus.

o   Luke - identifies the influential person as a Roman Centurion.  Luke differs from a one-on-one encounter, saying that the Centurion sought out the elders of the Jews to go to Jesus to ask Him for the healing.  Luke adds that the Jews did this, because the Roman was responsible for building a Synagogue in their area for them to worship in, and they believed the Roman loved their nation.  Luke continues that on hearing this Jesus begins to make His way towards the Roman Centurion’s home. 

o   John - identifies the influential person as only a Nobleman.  John does not seem to see anything noticeably Roman about this person at all, and he too records a one-on-one encounter between himself and Jesus.

 

Victim: 

o   Matthew – identifies the victim as a servant of the Centurion who is sick of the palsy and grievously tormented. 

o   Luke – identifies the victim as a servant who was dear to him, but sick and ready to die. 

o   John – identifies the victim as a son of the Nobleman who was sick and at the point of death.

 

The Request: 

o   Matthew – records the interaction by the Roman stating his own unworthiness for Jesus to enter under his roof.  The Roman states that he has men under his own command, that obey his orders and do what he says.  He asks Jesus to merely give orders for his servant to be healed and he will be.

o   Luke – records that since Jesus was traveling to the Centurions house after the elder’s first encounter, the Centurion sends friends out next to tell Jesus not to trouble Himself.  For the Roman is not worthy to have Jesus enter under his roof, nor was the Roman worthy of coming to Jesus himself to ask this.  It is at this point that like Matthew’s version, the Roman’s message through his friends is the same about giving orders and they will be obeyed.

o   John – records the Nobleman coming to Jesus in person asking Him to heal his son.  However in John’s version the Nobleman is requesting for Jesus to come heal his son in person.

 

The Response: 

o   Matthew – records Jesus marveling at the Roman’s faith.  Jesus says about it “Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great a faith, no, not in Israel.  And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.  But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  Then Jesus tells the Centurion to go his way, as he has believed, so be it done unto thee.

o   Luke – records Jesus marveling at the Roman’s faith.  Jesus says to the people following …”I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” 

o   John – records the incident differently, he has Jesus saying “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.”  But Jesus tells the Nobleman to go his way. For his son liveth.

 

The Results: 

o   Matthew – records the servant was healed in the self-same hour. 

o   Luke – records the friends of the Centurion returning to find the servant whole who had been sick. 

o   John – records the Nobleman returning to a healed son.  He then asks the servants about what time did the son begin to heal (what hour).  They tell him it was about the seventh hour of the day.  This act converts not only the Nobleman, but his entire household.  And John records it as the second Miracle that Jesus did in Galilee.

 

There are some subtle and some distinct differences in these 3 versions of the same story in the life of Jesus and the life of this influential person.  First it is possible that a Roman Centurion was also a Nobleman with some degree of wealth and influence so perhaps that is less of a difference than first thought.  Luke adds the context of having this Roman building a Synagogue for the people.  Next it is possible that the victim was either a son, or a servant loved as much as a son might be.  So again, perhaps less of a difference.  Whether the Roman personally interacted with Jesus as Matthew and John state, or whether he sent emissaries to interact with Jesus on his behalf; what is common is a great feeling of unworthiness on his part.  Luke extends this unworthiness not to even encounter Jesus personally.  In all three cases, this man of influence realized his wealth did not make him a saint.  Perhaps it only added to his own unworthiness.   What is also common among all three stories is that Jesus need only speak the words to have the servant/son healed and he was.   

Matthew reminds his audience (the Hebrews) that they will not be alone in the kingdom of heaven.  There will be many of us there from the east and west as well.  Jesus reminds his audience in both Matthew and Luke that this faith was very great, and it did not come from a Hebrew.  John uses this incident to remind his audience (the Greeks) that entire households were converted from a single encounter with Jesus.  Not just the poor and desperate, but the wealthy and influential as well.  The core elements of the story remain largely the same.  You have heard the story from the perspective of three different witnesses.  But what about you?  What does this story say to you?  What do you get out of it?

For me, it tells me of faith coming from unexpected places, from a people or person, I might have otherwise thought would never be even interested in Jesus, let alone have so much faith in Him.  Keep in mind Romans were hated in their day, with reason.  Yet here is one in perfect submission to Jesus Christ.  This story also tells me that birthright (that is, being raised in the church) is not the same thing as a living faith that grows everyday.  This was a Centurion who had this faith, not a Rabbi, not even a disciple.  This story reminds me that as close as we get to Jesus, the more unworthy our assessment of ourselves becomes.  As we see His perfection, we begin to see our own unworthiness more clearly.  It is easy for me to generalize and think of myself as a good person.  But when I see through the mirror of Jesus, I realize I am not worthy of His forgiveness or His love.  Yet He offers me both anyway.  I realize too, there are too many things in my home that might keep a perfect God out, and worse, too many things in my heart that do the same.  This Roman Centurion seemed to understand this truth better than I do.

I so appreciate having the perspectives of these three witnesses on this incident.  I love the additional context each of them offer.  It renews my faith in scripture, and adds to the beauty of my Lord.  I hope when you read your Bible, you always do it through the lens of Jesus Christ, and through that lens find the love God offers you, and me, everyday.

  

Conspiracies Uncovered ...

It is really hard to watch the news (pick any channel) for any length of time, and not begin to see a conspiracy behind a given event.  We used to call those folks conspiracy theorists (or nuts), now we just call them uncle 😊.  But where once we believed in the “good” of our institutions, or at least in the attempt to do good by our institutions; now we lose faith them in from the barrage of what we see on any news channel at any given point in the day.  Happy stories on the news are hardly even imagined.  If it bleeds, it leads, is still the mantra (perhaps a horrible reflection of who we are).  And this has never been truer since the advent of cable news (thanks Ted).  So to join the ranks of the conspiracy “team” (trying to be polite uncle), all you really need to do, is connect some of the relatively obvious dots.  Getting anyone to admit there actually was a conspiracy; or trying to prove one in the face of constant denials, keeps most of this stuff where it started out – in the backrooms, and dimly lit nocturnal abodes of the less-than-savory. 

And frankly, there has been a lot of practice to get a conspiracy right since the first one launched in heaven itself more than 6,000 years ago.  Imagine a pristine environment where a lie had never been told.  Imagine having the complete trust of anyone you came in contact with, because they did not know even what a lie was.  This was the condition, when Lucifer invented lies and began to dabble to perfect his new craft.  Before you know it, nearly a third of the heavenly angels (his peers), were convinced that God was an ego-maniac who would kill you for disagreeing with Him.  The first conspiracy was to overthrow God and take His place running the universe.  It failed.  But it has taken nearly 4000+ years for the Truth to come out to the rest of the universe, and the clock is still running here on planet earth for humanity.  The universe has made up its mind about the character of God.  We can’t seem to get our act together on that topic.  We are not quite sure Satan is wrong.  Just look at the imagine of God most Christian churches present when they talk about hell fire and eternal torture.

Assaulting God’s character and trying to overthrow Him may have been the first conspiracy against God, but it would not be the last.  Oh sure most of us have heard about the one at the Tower of Babel, when man decided the first time, to take his salvation in his own hands and build a tower so great not even God could flood it again.  Yeah, that one did not do well either.  But then comes one of the most dastardly conspiracies of all time against God.  The one where the religious leadership of His church, decided (under Satanic inspiration, but not much needed there), to kill Jesus Christ – just not on feast day – in case the people might get a little upset.  Yeah, it sounds a little crazy on a lot of levels.  But it was a conspiracy.  And of all things, Jesus knew every detail.  He did not nothing to stop it.  But He did unmask it, and try to warn the ones who would be impacted by it, perhaps to offer a last hope of salvation for them (even if it would be rejected again).

Matthew records this conspiracy for us, in his gospel, picking up in chapter 26 and verse 1 saying … “And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, [verse 2] Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.”  Catch the key word there that reveals the conspiracy, the word betrayed.  Someone Jesus trusted was going to turn Jesus over to someone else who hated Him and had in mind to kill Him.  Where there is more than one person working towards a nefarious goal, you by definition, have a conspiracy.  But here is the kicker, Jesus knows it is coming.  He even knows when.  Not because He has a spy keeping Him up to date, but because you simply cannot do anything that God is not aware of, even if it is still just an intent in your heart.  That’s scary.  At least, that is scary for those of us who think we actually have “secret” sins.  The only thing secret about them, is that for a while they may still be in dark from our peers here, but eventually the Truth will out.  And for God, even before we take action, our thoughts, and our motives were known.

Matthew is not subtle about it as he continues in verse 3 saying … “Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, [verse 4] And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him. [verse 5] But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.”  This just blows my mind.  It was NOT the Romans who started this conspiracy.  Everyone likes to conveniently blame them because eventually they played a role in it.  But that is just convenient memory.  The truth is that the head of the religion handed down by Jesus Himself to Israel, to Moses, to David, to Solomon, to all the Prophets and Kings that preceded Him – that One true religion – was determined to kill its Author.  Can you imagine the Pope, and the archbishops of the Catholic church, just determined to kill anyone that ever disagreed with them?  Too soon?  Or can you imagine on a more personal basis, what the leaders of your church might do to hang on to power and money even today?  People have always killed to hang on to power or money.  We just seem to forget when they do it to the least of these, they do it to Christ.  However in this case, these Pharisees were just “actually” doing it to Christ.

Matthew wastes no time connecting the dots of the warning of Jesus, with the reality of what followed it.  Even though Jesus had unmasked the conspiracy, that conspiracy formed, and continued to plan and carry out its goals.  Notice too, they were not out to just assassinate Him, instead they wanted to take Him with subtlety (and not on feast day).  Hypocrites to the end.  We must kill our God, but not on one of His special days.  Not much different than folks today I know of, who have no love of the poor, and would be happy to see them go anywhere “else”, even if that means they go away to die in hunger.  As long as they are not here in our church on our “holy” day while we are trying to get our worship on.  We are busy “worshipping”, we have no time for the inconvenient distractions of people who are hungry.  We have on our “good” clothes, and don’t want to get messy.  Get a job.  Go away.  Anywhere else.  Just don’t disturb us while we worship.  And we have the audacity to call what we are doing “worship”.  But it is so easy for us to see the “least of these” and just not see Christ.

The disciples just seem oblivious to what Jesus said.  It’s like they went deaf for a few sentences or something.  There is no record of any reaction to it.  They don’t start buying swords to defend their Lord, (but perhaps Peter did, or at least he got his sword out of storage).  They don’t start looking to find the culprits and reason with them, perhaps diverting them to another course of action.  They don’t start praying for them.  Just nothing.  Life goes on, like if no warning had been given.  How eerily familiar.  But someone heard what Jesus said.  Someone who was listening, like perhaps what all women do, even when men think they don’t.  Matthew continues in verse 6 saying … “Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, [verse 7] There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.”

How incredible.  We would like to think this woman was Mary Magdalene.  It is convenient for men, that all the heroic things that take place in the New Testament scriptures are done by Mary Magdalene, that way there is only “one” exception to rules.  But Matthew (who knew Mary Magdalene) does not name her so.  Ok so if not Mary Magdalene, then perhaps it was Mary or Martha one of the sisters of Lazarus who were also devout followers of Jesus.  But Matthew knew them as well, and did nothing to call either by name here.  Which by process of elimination, means this woman was a devout follower of Jesus, and unnamed to history – that would mean there is more than one exception to the rule, or perhaps better still there was never any rule in the first place where it comes to the roles of men and women as they follow Jesus Christ.  Perhaps the Holy Spirit is in charge of that, or should be.  Nonetheless, this woman was listening to the sad proclamation of Jesus, and she did something about it.  She did all she could.  She likely spent as much as a year’s wages (maybe more).  In short, she gave everything she had.

But no good deed goes unpunished, even within the church it seems, even the new church.  Matthew continues in verse 8 saying … “But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? [verse 9] For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.”  Given what will follow with Judas in only a few verses further, it is easy to assume this was at his instigation.  Judas was likely the one who carried the money for the poor, so putting a few gold coins in his purse might have appealed to him.  Again convenient memory.  Matthew is careful to use the word “disciples”.  When there is more than one person engaged in a nefarious action there is by definition a conspiracy.  If it were only Judas, everyone would have been all too happy to cast the blame solely on Judas.  Keep in mind this gospel was written well after the facts.  But it was not just Judas.  Peter, Matthew, perhaps John and yes, perhaps Judas too – were ALL too happy to complain about this woman’s good deed.  They were collectively guilty, not singularly so.  And they had the nerve to be angry about it.  Here is the “new” leadership of the church angry with a woman, for giving all she has to Christ.  How eerily familiar. 

Matthew continues in verse 10 saying … “When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. [verse 11] For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. [verse 12] For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. [verse 13] Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.”  Jesus defends the woman, and her act of love.  He testifies that this act should be remembered as the gospel itself is remembered (and so Matthew records the entire incident, even to his own shame).  Jesus also calls out the hypocrisy of false motives if “anyone” intended to pocket some of the gold coins in a purse they might be carrying for the poor.  The leadership of the new church is rebuked for criticizing the act of love a woman has done for our Lord.  So strange that our modern churches remain so steadfast on a course of criticizing any woman for how she may be gifted to serve her Lord through love.  We still do it, and read these passages as if they are nothing more than history – no lesson for us here.

Matthew again is not too subtle about connecting the dots as he continues in verse 14 saying … “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, [verse 15] And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. [verse 16] And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.”  People have always killed to hang on to money or power.  If Judas must bear the rebuke of Jesus over a few coins this woman wasted, there are other ways of making money, money he will not have to share with the poor either.  And here is where our hearts should break.  Judas cast out demons.  Judas healed the sick.  Judas was a missionary in partnership with one of the other twelve, commissioned by Christ to spread the gospel in earlier days.  That means Judas was a witness, who spoke, who healed, who had the Holy Ghost within him while engaged in these actions.  And yet it is Judas who throws his whole relationship away, and for what?  A few coins?  A perception of an insult or rebuke?

Judas would rather give up his role in church leadership and join a conspiracy to kill his Lord and ask yourself for what?  What would you give up a close relationship with Jesus over?  What conspiracy would you want to join?  Is it a conspiracy for wealth that drives you.  Would you focus more on career to bring you what you think you need (like Judas may have done) – than to sacrifice your job, or your promotion, or your career trajectory - in favor of time with Jesus Christ, even if only revealed through the least of these?  Judas is a cautionary story for us.  Not of betrayal, that’s too easy.  It is of forsaking victory in favor of self-service.  Even when he was directly warned by Jesus that “someone” close to Him would “betray” Him.  The conspiracy was already unmasked.  There was already a light shining in the corners.  Yet Judas ignores the warning and joins it anyway.  As usual this conspiracy against God did not work out well, nor would any other.  They may have appearance of success in some limited fashion.  But in reality, they continue to fail.  Because to fight God, is by definition, to fail.

It is also worth noting that “group think” does not make you right.  There was an entire array of church leaders engaged in the same conspiratorial plot, the same ideas.  They may have had varying motives, but they nearly all wanted Jesus dead.  And the ones who might have disagreed with this stance were certainly quiet about it before time.  Having your entire church leadership of one mind on any given topic is great for unity, until they are united in doing the wrong thing.  To try to determine the right or wrong of a thing in our by-design very-gray-world, ask yourself – what love will this thing show to the least of these, or what love might it take away.  Don’t try to hide insults and hate speech behind the wall of doctrines, claiming you are merely doing God’s work.  That same excuse came right out of Caiaphas’ home that night word-for-word in the matter of trying to kill Jesus to protect the church and “save” the people from His incessant focus on love.  If you find yourself already in the conspiracy, drop out.  Look up.  Go back to Jesus and ask Him what He would do.  Then try to listen and do what He leads you to do.  That might be the distinction to tell if you are in a conspiracy or not – are you following Jesus’ lead; or are you deciding what must be done next.

 

A Biased Media ...

What happens when the messenger wants something to be true?  Is the message corrupted by desire, or is the audience simply more skeptical of the messenger?  How could desire not impact what is said.  In this election cycle, there are strong opinions on either side.  But then, listening to those with strong opinions is not quite the same as listening to the source.  Once upon a time, our country had a news media not obsessed with corporate profit.  News organizations were largely loss-leaders for the entertainment divisions.  The news was considered a public service, mandated by the FCC to serve that interest.  To do news properly, one had to be extremely vigilant not to insert opinion, or preference, but to be devoid of it.  News was supposed to be a recitation of facts in order that an informed public could create its own opinions.  But today, news has become a corporate machine designed to create our opinions, providing only enough select information to do so.

Media itself has changed as well.  The internet has offered an explosion of personal opinion, bias, and anonymity.  Being responsible for the words you say in a face-to-face conversation, is a far cry from what is typed on a screen in absolute solitude.  Electronic friends are not the same thing as ones who could reach out and touch us in person.  Electronic friends are those of like mind, like preference, like bias on a particular topic.  Those of like mind congregate together reinforcing each other’s opinions but considering no new information that might alter them.  It would seem in our age, the only delivery system capable of offering information in a format we might consider when different than our own, are the comedy shows that focus on news related topics, despite the bias.  If we can laugh at reality, perhaps we can accept reality may not be exactly as we imagine it.

The world faced no such dangers in the time of Christ.  For news to travel it had to be face-to-face, or carrier pigeon mail to its recipient.  There was heavy responsibility for what words you said, for the person you said them to, knew it was you, and remembered what you said.  Bias still existed.  Preference still existed.  But friends in that day, had the luxury of knowing each other, understanding the history, putting the bias in context.  And so, news, while not centrally distributed, was still effective face-to-face despite the bias.  But stories of the impossible are still harder to believe, even when you know the source of the story.  To overcome common sense, takes great faith.  To believe what history, logic, and common sense say is impossible takes greater faith.  This is what our God asks.  He asks it still.  His messengers face this résistance still, because in addition, they want what they say to be true.

Good news, may represent the only time, when bias and truth align.  When something we have waited for, longed for, and hoped for becomes our reality; this is when bias and truth align without negative side effects or consequences.  A Father and a mother wants to see their children live, not just exist, but live.  Our Father wants this for us.  Our parents want it too.  To offer news in this regard is a great story, a happy story.  Peter recalls one to John Mark that formed the basis for the gospel story.  While Peter and John Mark wanted it to be true, it was true, bias and truth aligned.  The story begins in the Gospel of Mark in chapter sixteen, picking up in verse 1 saying … “And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.”

Peter opens with a declarative whose significance cannot be overstated … and when the Sabbath was past.  Christ has finished resting from the work of our redemption, to now begin the work of our re-creation.  Without having paid this price, we could never be reconciled to God.  But a new day has dawned.  The first day of the week has arrived.  The first day of a new week, of a new phase of our reconciliation process.  The week is not at an end, but at its beginning.  And what happens now, is about what happens when something new has started.  Women of extreme courage are present once again.  The first ministers in the new covenant, in the new testament, in the new gospel, are to be women.  A hooker (now former), a mother, and a sister of Jesus with a famous name, have all come to anoint a dead body, which will never be found dead again; for death will hold no sway ever again.

Mark continues in verse 2 saying … “And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher at the rising of the sun.”  Before the sun has arisen to start the day, the Son of God has arisen to start the new day of our reconciliation.  Those pagan cultures that worship the sun in our solar system, will have no event to further commemorate their misguided beliefs.  For while it was still dark outside, in the dark of morning between midnight and before the crack of dawn; something wonderful has already occurred.  The tomb was enlightened with the light of many suns, the entire Roman garrison was laid back in the dirt at the brilliance of God emerging from this tomb.  All of these events having already transpired before the dawn.  This sunrise will not light the events of the resurrection, they have already occurred.

John Mark continues in verse 3 saying … “And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? [verse 4] And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.”  Upon arriving at the tomb, the Roman garrison has fled.  They are alone at this site, no soldier stretched out to meet them or offer assistance to them.  They begin to ask how three women will be able to move a stone at the entry of the tomb that it took nearly a dozen soldiers to place there?  If they cannot move the door, they will not be able to get to His body.  They persist in their mission, not realizing there is no need for it anymore.  And as they arrive, the stone is already moved.  This makes no sense.  The Romans have no interest in this Jew.  They resent guarding Him, and surely would have not wanted anything more to do with a rotting corpse.  Something is wrong, wonderfully wrong.

Peter continues the recollection to John Mark in verse 5 saying … “And entering into the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.”  Entering the tomb they encounter an angel, who remained for just this mission.  Humanity fears the divine when it is encountered.  It could be the sin in us.  It could be the realization of what true purity is when it touches the likes of us.  We recoil.  We wonder if judgment is upon us now, without further time for repentance, or reformation.  Our fear is instinctive as it comes from the deceiver of souls who also fears what true purity looks like now.  We are too akin to darkness than to light.

Mark continues in verse 6 saying … “And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. [verse 7] But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.”  Before the gospel can be heard, or understood, we must lose our fear.  We must put aside our instinctive fear, and pay attention to something greater than our fear.  The first message of the gospel is herein defined.  The angel said it directly to these women.  The angel spoke the words of the gospel, the hope of the gospel to these women of extreme courage.  You seek Jesus.  He is NOT here.  He is arisen.  That is the gospel.  That is the good news, the great news.  It is both what we long for, what we want, and it is the truth.  Bias and truth aligned, as it can, ONLY when good news is spoken.

But beyond the angel’s declaration of the gospel itself.  He gives a command, a commission … to these three women.  They are to go to His disciples (and Peter) and tell them Jesus plans to meet them in Galilee as He had said to them before His death.  This is a specific message to be delivered to the people of God.  This is the first sermon to be spoken on earth.  It is to be short.  It is to be directly to the point.  It is to be directed at those who claim to follow Jesus the Christ, those who say they are His followers.  The first sermon is to be preached by women, by these three women of extreme courage.  The spices for this body will never be needed, but the message about a resurrection will never stop being needed.  It is not His death on the cross that is to be celebrated, but it is His resurrection from that death which is.  Those who wish to honor Jesus would do better to wear a stone rolled away from a tomb around their necks, than a wooden cross that commemorates only His death, not His victory over it.

And still the stubbornness of the men in our age is willing to proclaim that women should not preach.  Yet our God plainly thinks differently.  The prologue also being less than ideal as Mark concludes these thoughts in verse 8 saying … “And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulcher; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.”  The word of an angel was enough to make them tremble and fear.  But in these women of extreme courage, this was enough fear to make it fail.  Fear overcame commission.  Fear has always overcome our ability to spread the gospel.  Fear of our reputations being held in even less regard.  Fear that our sanity may not actually be quite intact.  Fear that our fondest hope is nothing more than self-hallucinations.  So these women believe what they have been told, but are unable to speak about it for fear.  Imagine how disappointed all of heaven must have been.

But where the words of an angel were not enough to conquer fear, this was a gospel that must get out.  The message could not be left unsaid.  The fear of messengers could not stand in its way.  The bias of believers could not stand in its way.  The limitations of the media could not stand in its way.  The gospel must be preached.  It must be heard.  It must have its chance to get right to the heart of one in need, right to you, right to me …