Mark 16:5-7
As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.”
Today, let’s listen to the whole message delivered by the young man in white. We’ve already heard, and recognized, the telltale signal that what’s coming is good news: “do not be afraid.” In the rest of his message he delivers the good news; actually, he gives these frightened disciples the best news ever: “Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified – he has been raised!”
The impossible is suddenly possible; the unimaginable is suddenly imaginable; what cannot be suddenly is. The women came wondering who would roll away a stone and are greeted by news that the foundations of the earth themselves have been shaken, as death, the one constant in life and our experience, has been interrupted, cheated, actually defeated.
But notice that as spectacular as this news is, it’s not given in generalities or universals. It’s actually not that death has been defeated in general, but that Jesus of Nazareth, whom the Romans crucified – he, that particular one – he is alive. Nor is it delivered to humanity in general, but to these particular women, and through them to “his disciples and Peter.”
There is a poignancy here that we shouldn’t miss. Peter. Peter, the one who when we last saw him was weeping as he realized that he had, indeed, denied his Lord three times, actually called down curses on those who tried to link him to Jesus. Peter, that one who denied and in denying betrayed both his Lord and himself. And so the message of resurrection is delivered not to an anonymous public but to this particular disciple.
And then there’s the promise, and this is specific and concrete as well: “he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” Jesus is keeping his promises. He told his disciples not only that he would be handed over and crucified but on the third day would be raised. And now he goes ahead to meet them, just as he promised, in Galilee, where it all began, where he first called these disciples and announced the coming kingdom of God. And with that promise, Mark’s story comes full circle.
Particular promises to particular people. I suspect that’s always the way good news works. “News,” perhaps, can be given on a grand and general scale, but “good” is always in the ears of the hearer. So “good news” is always specific, and promises, similarly, are never made in general but are always concrete, between one person and another.
So what would be good news for you this day? What promise do you need kept? Go ahead, name it, for the impossible is now possible: Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified, has been raised.
Prayer: Dear God, remind us of your good news, root our faith in your promises, and make us bold to reveal to you our hearts’ desires as we learn to trust in both your will and your mercy as we see them in Jesus’ cross and resurrection. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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