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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) The four Gospels tell slightly different Easter stories. They don’t contradict each other; they tell the same story from different perspectives.
I prefer the story that has the least detail, because it allows for the most mystery. It’s the story that suggests the mighty hand of God played the biggest part in spreading the good news of Jesus Christ’s resurrection.
Some say Mark’s version of the Easter story is the shortest, and the least satisfying. Respectfully, they are wrong.
In Mark’s telling: “Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”
8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.”
In Mark’s telling, the women and Jesus’ disciples were in hiding. They were fearful that other Jewish leaders would have them rounded up and crucified too. So, at least at first, they told no one.
Yet from then to now, obviously the news of Christ’s resurrection was told, and spread across the world. Exactly how is not entirely clear. Jesus’ disciples were nobodies. If they marched into a town as evangelists and church planters, there was no reason for people to believe these strangers… but they did. Paul and Peter went to Rome, the crossroads of the world, and Christianity took hold there. Far flung cities received a small band of Jewish men, and believed their testimonies.
On this Easter, remember two miracles. God’s son, who suffered a horrible death, overcame the grave. And a small, unpromising group spread the news of Christ’s resurrection so that you and I, today, might believe. Give thanks for both.
Chris Conley
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