A Different Place

Mark 16:1-8 is arguably the earliest account of the disappearance of the body of Jesus of Nazareth. The oldest manuscripts of Mark's gospel end at 16:8, which is something of a problem. Mark records that three women went to pay respects and tend to the body of Jesus of Nazareth, who had been executed just prior to the Sabbath that week. In the New International Version of the Bible, verse 8 reads as follows: "Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid." Initially this might cause us to ask, "How did the word about the empty tomb get out?"

The word translated "bewildered," which can appear in other forms in English Bibles - such as "amazement," has an interesting etymology in the original Greek. It's root meaning is literally something like "a change of place." The whole issue of place was alive on that resurrection morning. Jesus was not in the place where the women expected to find him. A messenger from God was in that place instead. The messenger told them to tell the disciples to go to a different place where the risen Jesus would meet them. And, in the original intent of the word for "bewildered," the whole experience put the women in a different "place" than they anticipated.

I think there's a message here. If Easter is more than just a day on a calendar, if it is more than just something a church does once a year (like Christmas Eve communion or Vacation Bible School), if it is more than a story in history, then the Jesus who ignored a sealed tomb and dismissed the reality of death will put us in a different place. If Easter doesn't do that, have we really experienced it?

Consider these questions:

How did their experience put the three women in "a different place"?

How has the news of a risen Jesus put the world in "a different place"?

Are you in "a different place" because Jesus is alive again? If so, how?

How do you want Jesus to put you in "a different place"?

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.