“See! Go! Tell!” (Easter Sunrise)

Scripture: Mark 16:1-8

This is our last Lenten message from Mark’s Gospel, but it is one that is just as important, and maybe even more important, than the previous 9. The series that we have studied from Mark has been about living a life in Christ. This lesson is about leading others into that same life.

Read Mark 16:1-8

This is the story of every Christian’s life. It begins with uncertainty. We believe,we try to follow, but what’s it all about? How will it all come together? How are we going to do this?
The women were full of uncertainty that first Easter morning. Was this all a dream, or was our Lord really crucified? What will come next? Will we be next? Will they let us into the tomb to finish the burial anointing? The soldiers put that huge stone in front of the tomb’s entrance and there is a guard there –will they even let us in?
Life had been going so well with Jesus, and now this. What will we ever do without him?

But the questions – all of them – would soon be answered.

they wold idscover that the stone had been moved, the soldiers were gone, and they could enter the tomb without any opposition. They were even greeted by a beautiful young man who told them that fear no longer belonged in their lives. And he began to tell them that not only would death never be able to hold God, not only had he reclaimed his life, but that life for them had taken on an entirely new purpose. And he told them that this new life that they had received in Christ would now require three things of them – they were to SEE, they were to GO, and they were to TELL.

“SEE the place where they laid him.” The “place”, of course, was empty, but that is exactly what they were to see – not the stone shelf, but the EMPTY stone. The body hasn’t been stolen, it hasn’t been moved, this isn’t an allusion – Jesus is alive!
This is pure evidence for the women. And the witness of centuries of faith tells us the same thing. Jesus is alive! But what will the women, and what will we, do about this unexpected life?

“But GO, tell his disciples and Peter.” You have seen the truth – now get out of here! This place of death is no place for the living, and you have this wonderful new life. Live it! Don’t just wait here until someone else comes along, don’t think that this place is all there is, don’t expect that mourning and sorrow is your last act of faith. Get out of here - there is so much more for you to do!

“TELL them.” Let the others know that death has been jilted, that it no longer is in control, and that the life that has been resurrected in their Lord is now their life, too. You have been given a message that is so important and so vital for the lives of the people that you cannot keep it to yourselves!

And the women are told that they will not be alone. “You will see the Lord again, just as he said you would.” You will never have to see life with the same myopic eyes again, you will never have to decide where you should go next, you will never have to figure out what to say to those you meet. Jesus will be yours though it all – he will be going ahead of you, he will be preparing the way for you, he will be leading you in his path, he will be giving you the words to share with others. This is to be a partnership in faith – you, the Lord, and other believers.

But we also read that the women were terrified by this message, and ran for their lives. They were so scared that they couldn’t utter a word of this experience to anyone. And that is part of the Christian life, too. For far too many, the realization of salvation, the truth of Christ in our own life, is so overwhelming that we are afraid to share it with anyone! What will they think of me? What will to say to me? How can I ever make it meaningful to them? And we keep the most glorious, most significant, most vital message of all time to ourselves.

“See! Go! Tell!” wasn’t just a message for the women who came to perform a most difficult task that Sunday morning. It is the message that the Church has been given throughout the ages. It is the message that makes us Easter people, it is the message that Easter people must carry to the world, it is the Easter message that God has won for earth –

Read John 14:15-21 - Did you catch that? “The world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.”
What a marvelous opportunity the Church has to let others know that in the Life of Christ, we, too, will live forever. And we can never keep it to ourselves!

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! HE LIVES!