On the Holy Day of Easter.
Mark 16:1-8. [KJV]
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. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. 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. But go <104> your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.
[Our unbelief]
The holy evangelists have described with great diligence the history of the resurrection of Christ, and this not without noticeable cause. The article is great and among the most prominent in the confession of our faith, that we believe Christ rose from the dead and became the firstfruits of those who sleep. But that He is great and hard to grasp by carnal men is shown by so many stories and examples in this history that further proof and evidence is not greatly needed. It is written by Luke the Evangelist that when the women came and told the Apostles what they had seen, they took such words for a fairy tale [Märlein]. Christ himself had told them before that He had to be delivered to the Jews and Gentiles for crucifixion and that He would rise again on the third day. Nevertheless, they did not believe and had to be brought to faith by seeing, feeling, grasping, and by many words and miraculous works. Even the angels are not believed here until Christ himself comes to confirm their message. But as difficult as this article of the resurrection is to grasp, it is necessary for righteousness and salvation. Where this article is not grasped and believed, one can never become justified, pious and saved. St. Paul proves this to the Romans in short, powerful words, saying: “Christ was delivered up for our sins, and raised for our righteousness [Gerechtigkeit].” Rom. 4:25. [literal translation; LED]
Two things Paul indicates here. To the suffering and bloodshed of Christ he ascribes <105> forgiveness of sins, which cannot be taken away by any other work or merit. Isaiah 53. But to the resurrection he ascribes our justification [Rechtfertigung], and from this it follows that the death of Christ, however salutary, would not be enough for us if our Lord Christ had not also risen from the dead. Therefore, if we want to be freed from our sins, we must believe that this can happen through no human work or merit, but only through the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. And if we are to be justified, righteousness must be communicated to us through the resurrection of Christ. Since our saved salvation is through the death and resurrection of Christ, it is also necessary that we grasp this with true faith and take it to heart. But here, too, mere head faith will not accomplish much. Many who are called Christians confess that Christ has risen from the dead, and yet they are condemned. They confess the resurrection of Christ, but they cancel out the power of such resurrection by placing their confidence in works and ascribing righteousness to them. If you want to walk on the right path here and do not want to damage the merit of Christ, you must believe not only that He died and rose again, but also that He served you, I say, and all sinners hereby. For by His death He took away your sin, and by His resurrection He justified you. Yes, by the resurrection He began His kingdom and proved mightily that He had overcome sin, death, hell, and the devil, and that all things were subject to Him, and that as Lord of heaven and earth He graciously sustains His own and will make them partakers of His kingdom. Again, in faith we are to die to sin and walk in newness of life. <106> Here belongs the sixth chapter of the epistle to the Romans, in which the Apostle deals with this article of the resurrection in a masterly way, especially when he says: “If we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” [Rom. 6:8-11 KJV]
[All lacked faith at first]
Secondly, in this Gospel, since the flesh finds it so difficult to grasp the article of the resurrection, we see how God graciously ministered through His angels to the women who came with their spices to the tomb to anoint Christ, and proclaimed the resurrection to them by word and sign. But who would doubt such a gracious, kind and merciful God and Father, who can tolerate and bear our weakness so graciously and teach us so sweetly! Who should not be moved to faith by such love? The women who buy spices to anoint Christ mean well and show that they still love Christ in their hearts by hurrying to the grave. But what they do there is done according to the flesh. If these women had not lacked faith, they would have remembered the Word that Christ had said to them, that He would rise on the third day and go before them in Galilee. But now they forget the Word and set out to anoint Christ, which they were not commanded to do, as reason is wont not to do what it ought to do, but what it ought not to do, it does, that Lord God also commanded such presumption to be restrained in the Law. Deut. 12:8. Nevertheless, God is such a <107> kind God that He does not reject these women because of their presumption and unbelief, but wants to lead them through the angels from their carnal worship to the Word. And this is what happened: When the women went to the tomb and said among themselves,
“Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb?” they realized that the stone had been rolled away. And they entered into the sepulcher, and saw a youth sitting on the right hand, clothed in a long white garment; and they were astonished. And He said unto them: Do not be dismayed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified; He is risen and is not here. Behold the place where they laid Him." Here you hear that God sends His angel not only to roll away the stone from the door of the tomb, but also to teach the women and to proclaim the glory of the resurrection to them, which was also signified by the shining garments of the angel. Notice, however, that here it is described in the most orderly way how man must become pious, justified and saved. First, the women are described as being terrified. The sermon of the Law causes such terror and trembling when it shows us our sins. Indeed, who should not be frightened by the fact that we are commanded in the Law what we are to do, and yet the verdict stands that everyone who does not keep everything that is written in the book of the Law is to be cursed? Now here must follow the angel, God's preacher, with his comfort and Gospel, as has happened here. Be not dismayed, he says, because of the joyful message that we should no longer be afraid and despair because of sin. But from where do we get such comfort? From Christ our dear Lord, who died for our sins and rose again for our justification. With such a sermon of the resurrection the angel <108> comforts the women and reminds them of the Word they had heard before about this resurrection. Moreover, he confirms his word by showing them the place where they had laid Christ. I mean indeed, that he means to instruct the women in a nice, friendly way, to teach them and to bear their weakness. Now what Christ did to the women and the apostles in this case by word and sign through the angels, He also wants to do to us through His Word to the end that we obediently believe His Word and seek our salvation in His merit alone.
- - - - - - - - - - - Conclusion in the next Part 4B - - - - - - - - - - - -
Faith = Remembering the Word.
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