Thursday, April 12, 2007
Mark 16:1-8
16:1 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” And 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. (ESV)
by Dale E. Rood
This is a difficult passage to interpret. Somehow verse 8 seems like such an anticlimax: “They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.” If the story ended here, it would have been a great tragedy. They have the greatest news the world has ever heard, that Jesus has risen from the dead, but they tell no one because they are afraid. Fortunately the story does not end here, but it does raise a question we need to consider: Are there those times when we have said nothing because we were afraid? Lord, fill us so full of resurrection joy that we cannot hold the good news in.
Copyright Information
Daily Bible Meditations are taken from The Helping Hand,a Sabbath School student quarterly for youth and adults. Copyright © 2008, Seventh Day Baptist Board of Christian Education, Inc.
Scripture quotations marked "ESV" are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Text provided by the Crossway Bibles Web Service .
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