Before the Open Tomb: What Choice Will You Make?

Introduction

Mark ends his Gospel in a puzzling way. No tearful reunion, no appearance of the Risen One, no "happily ever after." Three women discover the open tomb, a young man in a white robe tells them Jesus has risen, and they flee, trembling, saying nothing to anyone. The end. In Mark 15:42-16:8, Jason Procopio shows you why this abrupt ending is actually a brilliant rhetorical choice: Mark places you, the reader, before the open tomb and forces you to decide what you're going to do with this news. Because the resurrection is not a conclusion, it's a beginning.

Sermon Outline

1. A quick detour: why we don't read Mark 16:9-20

• In most modern translations, verses 9 through 20 of Mark 16 are in brackets or preceded by a note. The brackets signal that a word or verse doesn't appear in the oldest manuscripts.
• Most scholars agree: Mark probably didn't write these verses. They're found elsewhere in the other Gospels, but two verses are problematic (v. 17-18): they suggest that believers would be protected from snakes and poison, something the rest of the Bible never says. Some churches have built deadly practices on this.
• Early church theologians like Origen or Clement of Alexandria don't seem to know these verses. The style doesn't match Mark's either.
• Conclusion: Mark really does stop at verse 8. And this abrupt ending, on a cliffhanger, is fully intentional.

2. The boldness of an unexpected disciple: Joseph of Arimathea (v. 42-46)

• Joseph of Arimathea is a prominent member of the Jewish council, a Sadducee. Now the Sadducees are among those who trapped Jesus and demanded his death. They were in the crowd shouting for the crucifixion.
• But he saw something the others didn't see. Mark says he "was himself waiting for the kingdom of God." He takes courage, he dares to go to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus, a very risky move: it publicly identifies him as sympathetic to the enemy his own group had just brought down.
• Joseph's courage is all the more striking because at this exact moment, Jesus's eleven disciples are nowhere to be found. An outsider shows faithfulness while the insiders have vanished.
• Pilate is surprised that Jesus is already dead, and calls the centurion to confirm it. External confirmation: Jesus hasn't simply fainted, he is truly dead. Joseph buries him in a tomb cut out of the rock and rolls a stone against the entrance.

3. Faithful women at early dawn (v. 47 - 16:4)

• Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses watch where the body is laid, because they know they're coming back. According to Jewish tradition, the dead were honored with oils and spices. There hadn't been time before the Sabbath.
• On Sunday at sunrise, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome arrive at the tomb with their spices. They expect nothing miraculous. They expect to find Jesus dead.
• They wonder: "Who will roll away the stone for us?" The stone was enormous, impossible for them to move alone. They are still in grief, not in expectation of a fulfilled promise.
• But God had already taken care of the problem they thought they'd have to face. When they look up, the stone has already been rolled away. As with Joseph, the proof that someone is truly a disciple doesn't show up when everything is going well, but under pressure.

4. The angel's message: "He has risen. Tell Peter." (v. 5-7)

• In the tomb, a young man in a white robe, most likely an angel. The women are terrified, not so much because he's there, but because Jesus is not.
• The angel condenses the whole Gospel into three sentences. "Do not be afraid": this weekend has been horrible, but there's no longer any reason to be afraid. "He has risen, he is not here": Jesus didn't just die for you, he defeated sin at the cross and defeated death in the tomb. Everything we need as fallen human beings is found in him.
• "He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him." Not immediate proof, proof yet to come. The risen Christ brings his disciples back to the starting point, where the ministry began.
• Finally, the most astonishing part: "Go tell the disciples and Peter." It's utterly illogical. Jesus could have switched teams, called on Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, the faithful women. He had the choice. But he goes back to those who abandoned him. And he names Peter, the one who denied him three times. His goal isn't just efficiency, it's restoration. Friday's failures are not the end of the story.

5. The ending that puts you before the choice (v. 8)

• "They went out and fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid." And that's it, it's over. No appearance, no "happily ever after."
• We can understand these women: in their day, they had no legal credibility, they weren't allowed to be witnesses in a trial. And yet it's to them that God entrusts the mission of announcing the resurrection. Have you ever been afraid to proclaim the Gospel? Then you know what they were feeling.
• If Mark ends this way, it's not really a cliffhanger. His readers already know that the disciples made the right choice, that the church exists. By stopping short, Mark forces his readers to enter the story. The resurrection is announced, but nothing is fully wrapped up. He puts you before the empty tomb and forces you to make a choice.
• The resurrection always confronts us with a choice: stay silent, remain in uncertainty, in fear, or move forward, live, obey. Mark ends in uncertainty because he wants his readers to feel the weight of an obedience that isn't yet complete. Jesus has risen. What are you going to do with this news?

Key Takeaways

• The central truth of the Christian faith isn't that Jesus died for you, it's that he died and rose again. Without the resurrection, he would only be a great teacher, a miracle worker, but not a Savior.
• When the plan seems dead, God raises up unexpected disciples. The proof that someone is truly a disciple doesn't show up when everything is going well, but under pressure.
• Jesus's goal isn't just efficiency, it's restoration. He comes back for those who abandoned him and calls Peter by name. The resurrection doesn't just defeat death, it restores failure.
• You don't need oversized faith to begin. Even trembling disciples are called. A small faith is enough for the first step.
• The resurrection is not a conclusion, it's a beginning. The empty tomb isn't the end of the Gospel, it's where a disciple's life truly begins.

Personal Application

1. Are you a hesitant disciple, wanting to move forward but afraid you don't have all the answers? Recognize that even a small faith is enough to take the first step, God will make it grow.
2. If you're living with a deep sense of failure, remember: "tell Peter." Your worst moment doesn't define who you are. It's Christ who says who you are. What will define you is the restoration you find in him.
3. Have you gotten a little too comfortable, a little too settled in your idea of your own faith? Faithfulness is revealed under pressure, not when everything is going well. Would you stand up like Joseph, or vanish like the eleven?
4. Do you feel like God is absent right now? Remember: "He is going ahead of you into Galilee." The silence you feel doesn't mean God is absent, he's out ahead, and he knows exactly where he's leading you.
5. If you're still not convinced, you too are standing before the open tomb. Jesus lived, he died, he rose again, and he's calling you to follow him. There are no half-disciples of Jesus Christ. What will your answer be?

Verses Cited

• Mark 15:42 - 16:8 (main text)
• Mark 16:9-20 (ending likely added later)
• Mark 14:28 (Jesus announces he will go ahead of his disciples into Galilee)
• Mark 14:66-72 (Peter's denial)
• Jonah 4 (another book of the Bible that ends abruptly)

Further reading

• How to Effectively Announce a Church Event
• Church Event Budget: How to Create One
• How to Create a Christian Editorial Calendar

Frequently Asked Questions

Why don't we read verses 9 through 20 of Mark 16?

Because they don't appear in the oldest manuscripts of the Gospel. In most modern translations, you see them in brackets or preceded by a note pointing this out. Early church theologians like Origen or Clement of Alexandria don't seem to know them, and their style doesn't match Mark's. Two verses are especially problematic (v. 17-18): they suggest that believers would be protected from snakebites and poison, something the rest of the Bible never says. Some churches have even built dangerous theologies on this. Most scholars conclude that Mark probably didn't write these verses, they were added later. Mark really does stop at verse 8.

Why does Mark end his Gospel so abruptly?

It's not an accident, it's a deliberate rhetorical choice. Mark writes at a time when the church already exists: his readers know full well that the disciples eventually proclaimed the resurrection, that the women spoke up, that the good news spread. So it's not really a cliffhanger. By stopping short at verse 8, Mark forces his readers to enter the story. He puts you before the empty tomb and forces you to make a choice: stay silent out of fear, or move forward and live as a disciple. He ends in uncertainty because he wants you to feel the weight of an obedience that isn't yet complete. The resurrection is announced. What are you going to do with it?

Why does the angel's message specifically name Peter?

Because Peter had just denied Jesus three times, only hours before the crucifixion. He had sworn that even if everyone else abandoned Jesus, he wouldn't, and he was the first to fall apart. Humanly speaking, he would have been set aside. Jesus, instead, calls him by name. Jesus's goal isn't just efficiency, it's restoration. He could have switched teams, called on Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, the faithful women. But he goes back to those who abandoned him, and he has Peter's name spoken to show him he hasn't been erased. The resurrection doesn't just defeat death, it restores failure.