Mark’s Gospel has a very clear beginning (1:1), but a completely missing ending (see note after 16:8 in most Bibles). The missing last page leaves us with the question: What might I expect from a risen Savior?  We learn…

With Jesus, expect the unexpected.

1. Verses 1-2, the women bought spices and went to the tomb expecting a body inside a sealed tomb. They were not expecting Jesus to be resurrected. This is highly practical. They spent time and money on the wrong thing because they had not internalized Jesus’ repeated teachings about his resurrection.

2. Verse 4, once they arrived to find the stone rolled away, the women expected either a body inside or an empty tomb. Instead, there was a young man in white with a message from Jesus. He was clearly an angel from heaven. Jesus is ruling all of history unseen from heaven, but his handiwork and his messengers are all around us. We must have eyes to see and expect manifestations of the spiritual realm.

3. Verse 7, the angel singles out Peter by name in his message. The only reason this makes sense is that Peter’s own expectations were wrong. On the one hand, he expected that he had enough strength in himself to withstand the coming temptations (see Mark 14:26-31), and on the other hand, having failed the test three times, he expected to not be worthy of forgiveness. In both cases he was wrong. His sin and weakness, like ours, were greater than he realized. But God’s forgiveness and help are more than we need.

Taking It Home: Ask yourself what it means for you personally that Jesus is alive.  What do you expect of him and what is he asking of you?  (Read Colossians 3:1-4).