Trembling And Astonishment

Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain

Presbyterian Church, and it's my joy to bring God's Word to you today. A special welcome if

you're new or visiting with us. We're glad that you're here, and we're glad that you're here not

because we're trying to fill seats, but because we're following Jesus together as one community,

and as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced there's no one so good. They don't

need God's grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it, which is why we come back

week after week to hear what God has to say to us in His Word. We're continuing and actually ending

our series in the Gospel of Mark, and you'll remember that the Gospels tell the story of

Jesus and His life and His death and His resurrection, and I reminded you last week that our journey in

Mark was not meant to be merely an intellectual exercise. It would be a great tragedy, as I said,

for us to move on to the book of Judges next month and to merely think of Mark as just a book that we

looked at at some point, because that's not Mark's intention. That's not his goal in writing this

Gospel. His goal is that we would see Jesus and that we would be changed, and I've also been telling

you over and over again that as the Gospel progresses, you move from three groups of people

to two groups of people. First, you have three groups, those who are for Jesus, those who are

against Him, and those who are in the middle. And as we come to the very end, the middle group

disappears. There are those who are for Jesus and those who are against Him. And so Mark really gives us

a double ending here, two different pictures of two people responding well to Jesus. Last week,

we looked at Joseph of Arimathea, and you will remember that Joseph's response was this. He was

willing to lose his kingdom for the sake of God's kingdom. Joseph was willing to lose his kingdom for

God's kingdom. And we're going to return again to this same question, the question we started with at

the very beginning of the Gospel. Who is Jesus, and how do we respond to Him? We're going to have one

final model as we come to the end. Now, you may be wondering at this point, if you've looked in your

Bible, what do you mean that we've come to the end? I only see verses 1 through 8, and my Bible has an

additional section of verses 8 through 20. Why are we not going to talk about that? Why are we suddenly

ending the Gospel now? You may see, if you have an ESV, it has this note, some of the earliest

manuscripts do not include 16 verses 9 through 20. In fact, most scholars do not consider verses 9

through 20 to be original. In other words, most scholars are convinced Mark did not write verses

9 through 20. And so we're not going to cover it here in worship, because our goal is we're here in

worship together, as I say every week, is that we're looking at God's Word. And so I don't want to say,

hey, this is God's Word, when it's unclear to us, it's doubtful that it is. Now, you may be thinking

at this point, wow, I can't trust the Bible. And that's the last thing that I want you to be thinking,

because what I actually want you to see here is how seriously we take the Scriptures. So seriously

that your Bible has a note in it, making sure you know there are certain sections that don't appear in

the earliest manuscripts. Okay, so actually I want you to increase your trust in it. Oh, when there's

something going on with the original manuscripts, my Bible's going to tell me, so I can have confidence

in what it is that I'm reading. Now, that raises another question for us, which relates to our

passage this morning. Why would someone add on an extra ending to the Gospel of Mark? And one

explanation is this, and I think this is probably one of, if not the most likely answer. Mark ends his

Gospel in a very strange way. Look at the last two words of verse 8. Really, the last four words,

for they were afraid. Why in the world would Mark, after we have taken this journey with Jesus,

right after we have seen his death and resurrection, decide to end his story with a group of women being

afraid? Why would he end the story that way after he's told us things that we should be looking

forward to? Jesus is moving forward to Galilee, right? Why isn't it that we're going to hear that

story? He tells these women they're meant to go forward and be witnesses and share these things with

the followers of Jesus. Why don't we get to hear about that? It's those questions, I believe, that

cause certain people later to write an ending because they were unsatisfied with the way that Mark

left things. It seems abrupt and strange. And I'm going to suggest to you this morning

that if we understand fear rightly, this ending is incredibly fitting to Mark. It's incredibly

fitting to Mark, and it's actually fitting to the witness of the rest of the Scriptures. It makes sense,

as I'll explain to you in a minute, that Mark would end his gospel in exactly this way. Once again,

and for the last time, he's giving us a picture. How should we respond to Jesus? And so as with that,

I'm going to invite you to turn with me to Mark chapter 16. You can turn in your Bible. You can turn

Mark 16 · chapter mention

on your phone. You can turn in your worship guide. No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's

word. And God says in Proverbs chapter 30 verse 5, we're told every word of God proves true. He is a

Proverbs 30:5

shield to those who take refuge in him. And so that's why we're going to start now reading Mark

Mark 16 · chapter mention

chapter 16 at verse 1. When the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome

bought spices so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the

sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, who will roll away the stone

for us from the entrance of the tomb? And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back.

It was very large. Verse 5, and entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side,

dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of

Nazareth who is crucified. He has risen. He is not here. See the place where they laid him. Verse 7,

but go tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him just

as he told you. And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized

them. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. I invite you to pray with me as we

come to this portion of God's word. Our Father in heaven, we praise you and thank you again that you

have not left us to stumble around trying to figure out life on our own, but instead you have given us

your word, given us your instructions about how to walk in this world. You've given us reminders about

your glory and your grace. And most of all, you've given us a vision of Jesus Christ. We ask that one

more time you would show us Jesus, that we would see his beauty and his glory, and it would lead us

to worship him, to love him, to follow him, to obey him. We ask all these things in the mighty name of

Jesus Christ. Amen. I want you to think back just one week to how we ended our story last week.

The very last verse in chapter 15, we were told, verse 47, Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of

Joseph saw where he was laid. Now that was not a random remark. It was meant for us to know they

are doing their homework. This plan that they're about to execute has been in the works ever since

Jesus has been put in the tomb. They have made a note of where Jesus' body is so they can do this

very thing that we see in this passage, so that they can go and anoint his body with spices and oil.

Now, they've been delayed in this task because they can't do that on the Jewish Holy Day. They're not

able to do it on the Sabbath, and that's why we're told in verse 1, when the Sabbath was passed. In other

words, they have been waiting. They've been waiting until the moment when they can finally go and honor

Jesus' body. They're buying spices then. This is again, verse 1, Saturday evening. This would be after

the Sabbath is over because it would have gone from Friday evening sunset to Saturday evening at sundown

so that they can be ready, verse 2, to go as soon as possible to care for Jesus. So they've done their

homework. They've noted the location of the tomb. They have their assignment and their mission. They

want to honor Jesus' body, and they get after it as quickly as they can. You can sort of sense their

impatience here. They've been honoring the Holy Day, and they're trying to get there as fast as possible.

That's why we're told in verse 2, it is very early on the first day of the week that they went to the

tomb. In fact, they've gone so early that they have not done all the appropriate planning that they

should have. So it seems that while they're running to the tomb, verse 3, it suddenly occurs to them,

oh wait, we didn't make a plan to deal with the stone that's rolled in front. And these stones would

have been incredibly large, and so these three women would not have been capable of doing it on

their own. And so we can sense their anxiety and their fear as they're approaching for this important

task to take care of Jesus' body. They realize they haven't quite done everything because they know

that they're not able to roll the stone away by themselves. And so that's why we see in verse 3,

who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb? Now, this also reminds us

that when this angel in verse 7, and we'll talk about why it's an angel, calls them out, because he

does call them out, he says, this is what he told you. Go tell his disciples and Peter that he is going

before you to Galilee. There you will see him just as he told you. In other words, these women have not

put the pieces together. And not just them, none of Jesus' followers have put the pieces together.

Jesus has told them over and over in the Gospels, I'm going to die, and then after three days, I'm going

to rise again. And so really, it should be the expectation, as these women are going to the tomb,

their expectation should be that Jesus has risen. But of course, just like everyone else, this has

gone over their heads. I say all this to understand, as you understand the story, their surprise when

they finally arrive at the tomb. Verse 4, we can imagine their relief. Looking up, they saw that the

stone had been rolled back. And in case we'd forgotten, we're reminded that it's very large, so

they're not able to do it on their own. That, of course, might cause them to be anxious and worry about

what had happened to Jesus' body. But things get even worse after that. Verse 5,

And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe,

and they were alarmed. Now, we can imagine their alarm is for a variety of reasons. One,

they're not expecting to find someone else in this tomb so early in the morning, right after the

Sabbath day has passed. But there's another reason that they would find this man alarming. It's

understated here. We are told simply that he is dressed in a white robe. The other Gospels help

us understand this is more than just a white robe. Matthew chapter 28 says his appearance was like

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

lightning and his clothing white as snow. Luke, in chapter 24, tells us he had dazzling apparel.

I think that's going to be my goal from now on. I want people to say, look at him. He's got dazzling

apparel. But we can understand their shock, right? We can understand why it is they are alarmed.

They're alarmed because they're probably wondering, okay, what has happened to Jesus' body? There's a

potential that his body has been stolen and taken away just as they are coming to anoint him.

They're terrified because here is someone who is clearly more than human. He's more than human

because of his appearance. And he's also more than human because of his knowledge. What is this

man able to do? And it's more than a man. Matthew's Gospel confirms for us this is, in fact, an angel.

So really, we could say he just looks like a man. Matthew also confirms for us, by the way,

that it's the angel who moved the stone away. So he's done them a huge favor here.

But we know he's more than human, not just because of his appearance, but because of his knowledge.

Verse 7 and verse 6. He's able to tell them what no human would know at this point.

Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen. He is not here.

Without that explanation, we would simply assume that Jesus' body had been stolen.

It's not enough for there to be an empty tomb.

There has to be an empty tomb because Jesus has risen from the dead.

That, then, is why the angel tells them, verse 6, don't be alarmed.

Even though I'm a scary angel, the body wasn't stolen.

Don't be alarmed.

Even though I have dazzling apparel,

Jesus has risen from the dead.

And, by the way, Jesus told you that over and over and over.

Things have happened just as he said.

Now, there's plenty of things that we could say about Jesus' resurrection.

And I'm not going to say those things this morning

because I don't believe that is actually the focus of this particular passage.

Yes, we see Jesus' resurrection,

and Mark's focus, what he spends time on,

is telling us about the response to the resurrection.

What Mark wants us to see is what these women do with it.

And so we're going to focus on that this morning.

Before we do, though, I want to quickly say one thing

that I want you to notice in verse 7.

Go tell his disciples and Peter.

Now, why should they need to go to tell the disciples and Peter?

That doesn't make sense

because Peter is actually one of the disciples.

It would be like I said,

okay, go talk to all the new deacons we just installed and Greg.

That doesn't make sense.

Greg is one of the new deacons.

You don't need to add him onto the list.

Except Peter is the one who denied Christ.

In fact, some people think he said,

tell the disciples and Peter,

it's possible that Peter was so ashamed by what he had done

that that would be a separate trip.

In other words, it's possible that Peter

has actually isolated himself away from the other disciples.

And so as Jesus tells these women to go and share the news,

he remembers that he and Peter have not interacted

since they made eye contact after Peter's denial.

And so as we look towards these women's response

to Christ and his resurrection,

I don't want you to miss this moment of grace

that the forefront of Jesus' mind

is Peter's denial

and Jesus' desire to reunite with him.

One question the readers might ask of this passage

is what is it that Jesus is going to do

when he finds his disciples?

The last thing they did was abandon him.

Should they be scared of Jesus coming and talking to them?

Should they be afraid that Jesus is going to come

and rebuke them and correct them for abandoning him?

And the answer here is no.

Jesus is going to go and be restored with his disciples.

He's going to go and be restored with Peter.

Because of Jesus' death and his resurrection,

he is coming to be restored to sinners.

Becoming to be restored to people like you and me.

I don't want to distract us from our focus though,

which is the response of these women.

And it's actually surprising in certain ways.

Verse eight, we are told,

they went out and fled from the tomb

for trembling and astonishment had seized them.

They were literally shaking

after encountering this angel.

Which in some ways makes sense.

This is an overwhelming experience.

And in some ways is very surprising.

They've just received great news.

Jesus has risen from the dead.

And he's risen from the dead

just like he told you over and over again.

And so it's likely that they're remembering finally

the things that Jesus was trying to communicate to them

and they weren't able to hear.

And so why is it that they are physically shaking

and filled with astonishment?

And why is it that we're told

they're not able to say anything

because they're afraid?

Well, in his book,

What Does It Mean to Fear the Lord?

by a man named Michael Reeves,

he says,

trembling is actually the common denominator

that we see throughout the story of the Bible

for people who experience the fear of God.

Whether it is a fear of God

from someone who's a sinner,

who's afraid of his punishment,

or someone who's experiencing the fear

that the Proverbs talks about,

the fear of all at God's majesty and love

and his power,

trembling is what those people experience.

And so what Mark is telling us here

is that these women are overwhelmed

by the demonstration of God's power and love.

They are overwhelmed as they understand

what has actually happened.

They're trembling as they see what Jesus has done.

Reeves goes on to clarify,

and this is an important thing for us to understand,

that there are two types of trembling.

The first kind of trembling,

he says,

is the kind of trembling

that happens when a soldier is under heavy fire.

It's the trembling of terror.

And that's the kind of trembling or fear

we would expect from someone

who is not a Christian if they encounter God.

That they would have terror

knowing that they're facing God's judgment

for their sins.

He then goes on to tell us

so there's another type of trembling.

Trembling as a soldier under fire

is not the only way.

The other kind of trembling

is the trembling of overwhelmed adoration

as a bridegroom first seeing his bride.

That when we think about the fear of the Lord,

the fear of the Lord for Christians

is not a fear of God

as if God is going to hurt us somehow.

It is that kind of trembling

as the bridegroom seeing his bride.

It is the trembling that happens

when we see something great

and powerful and overwhelming.

Jeremiah 33 verse 9,

Jeremiah 33:9

talking about God's people,

says this,

they shall fear and tremble

because of all the good

and all the prosperity

I provide for it.

And so they're not afraid of God

in Jeremiah 33

as if he's going to do something bad to them.

No, they have this fear of God

because he is so good.

In other words,

they are overwhelmed

by God and his goodness.

They're trembling

because God has been so kind to them.

They're trembling

because they realize

how powerful God is.

it's the sort of trembling

that you might experience

as you look out

on the Grand Canyon.

It's the kind of trembling

you might feel

as you see the northern lights.

It's the kind of trembling

that many people felt

back in 2017

when we had a total eclipse.

You guys might remember that.

Nature is only a signpost

to point us to God.

If people tremble

at a solar eclipse,

imagine how much more

they will tremble

before the king of the universe.

And so there's a trembling

that comes from realizing

God's greatness

and our smallness.

There's a trembling

that comes from realizing

our wickedness

and God's forgiveness.

There's a trembling

we experience

when we are overwhelmed

by the reality of our sin

and we're also overwhelmed

by God's mercy

and His goodness

and His love.

And so that helps us understand

what it means

for someone to fear the Lord

because we're told

in 1 John 4, verse 18,

1 John 4:18

that perfect love

casts out fear.

In other words,

we need an understanding

of the word fear

that goes beyond

just being scared.

When a Christian

experiences the fear of God,

it is not being scared of God.

It is being overwhelmed

by God's holiness,

by His power,

by His authority,

by His love,

by His goodness,

by His mercy.

And it's that fear of God

that moves us

to obedience

and love

and awe.

It's true

of the entire Bible

and it's true

of the Gospel

of Mark.

Reeves also

gives us a list

of people

in the Old Testament

and the New Testament

who trembled

in God's presence.

He tells us,

Abraham, Joshua,

David, Ezekiel,

Daniel, Paul,

and John

all fell

on their faces

in God's presence.

Now,

if I've lost you

a little bit,

this would be the time

for you to come back

in with me.

The point is this.

These women

have trembling

and astonishment

because they have

finally realized

how great God is.

They have trembling

and astonishment

because they are

overwhelmed

by what it means

that Jesus has died

and risen from the dead.

They have trembling

and astonishment

because finally

they realize

who Jesus is.

and so they have

appropriate

a true,

a right fear.

We might say

in a sense

they are falling

on their faces

like Abraham,

Joshua,

David,

Ezekiel,

Daniel,

Paul,

and John.

They have

a true

fear of the Lord,

not a fear

of punishment,

not afraid

of God,

but an understanding

of God's greatness.

And that understanding

hits them

so hard

it knocks the wind

out of them.

Now I only

can remember

a couple times

as a kid

that something

knocked the wind

out of me

such that I actually

wasn't able to speak

and I've tried hard.

I can't actually

remember what it was

that happened to me.

I think maybe one time

I ran into a chair

and I wasn't able

to say anything

for a certain amount

of time.

All I could do

to my parents

was mouth words.

And as a parent

you realize,

okay,

this kid's not going

to be able

to talk for a while

because the force

is so great.

We know

from the other gospels

that these women

went forward

and did exactly

what this angel

told them to do.

They went

and shared

the news

with Jesus'

disciples.

disciples.

And so what do

we make

of these last

couple phrases?

They said nothing

to anyone

for they

were afraid.

God's greatness.

God's goodness

and his love.

Jesus' power

and authority

overwhelmed them

so much

it knocked

the wind

out of them.

God's goodness.

God's goodness

that's what happens

when we see

God

for who he truly is.

That's why

we don't want

the gospel of Mark

to be merely

an intellectual

exercise.

That's what happens

when we understand

how great God is

and how small

we are.

That's what happens

when we see

how terrible

our sin is

and how great

a forgiveness

we have

in Christ.

It does not

lead us

to make

simply

an interesting

note

in the margin

of our Bibles

although that's

certainly not wrong.

It does not

cause us

to think

theoretical

thoughts

at the end

of the day

and at the

very end

of Mark's

gospel

if we

understand

who Jesus

is

it will

take the

wind

out of us.

If we

understand

what Jesus

has done

we will

have no

choice

but to

tremble.

when

we

see

God

we

will

be

like

Joseph

of

Arimathea

who gives

up his

kingdom

for God's

kingdom.

We will

be

like

these

women

overwhelmed

with

who

God

is.

And so

you can

see why

I think

this is

an

appropriate

ending

to Mark's

gospel.

Mark

actually

tells us

multiple

times

in other

parts

of the

gospel

about

people

having

this

fear

of

God.

Mark

Mark 9 · chapter mention

chapter

9

we had

the

transfiguration

remember

Peter,

James,

and John

got to

be part

of this

elite

group

that

went

with

Jesus

and

they

saw

Elijah

and

Moses

at

the

top

of

a

mountain

and

what

are

we

told?

Peter

did

not

know

what

to

say

for

they

were

terrified.

Now

they

Moses

was

going

to

hurt

them

right?

No

they

were

terrified

overwhelmed

by the

power

and

grace

that

was

present.

We're

told the

same

thing

Mark

Mark 4 · chapter mention

chapter

4

remember

Jesus

calms

the

storm

and

they

were

filled

with

great

fear

and

said

to

one

another

who

then

is

this

that

even

the

wind

and

the

sea

obey

him?

And

so

verse

8

here

the

last

verse

of

Mark's

gospel

completes

the

pattern.

This

is

what

happens

when

people

see

God

for

who

he

truly

is.

When

we

grasp

our

sin

and

God's

grace

this

is

what

happens.

When

we

grasp

God's

power

and

our

weakness

this

is

how

we

respond.

When

we

understand

how

loving

God

is

that

there's

no one

who

loves

you

more

than

Jesus

loves

you

we

will

have

trembling

and

astonishment.

One

of the

reasons

scholars

are

dissatisfied

by this

ending

even as

they know

that the

addition

is not

original

is that

there's

been all

these

references

throughout

the

gospel

to

what's

going

to

happen

next.

We're

told

Jesus

has

gone

on

to

Galilee.

And

that

they're

going

to

meet

him

there.

They're

told

we're

told

these

women

are

supposed

to

go

and

spread

the

news.

And

the

other

gospels

tell

us

about

those

things.

And

so

some

people

say

well

Mark

must

have

had

an

ending

that

got

lost.

He

must

have

gone

on

to

tell

us

those

things

like

the

other

gospels.

When

in fact

I think

Mark

is saying

this.

Yes

there are

many

things

that

happened

after

Jesus'

resurrection.

Yes

the women

went

and they

shared

the good

news

that was

given

to them

by the

angel.

Yes

they went

on and

met

Jesus

in

Galilee.

Yes

we're

told

at the

beginning

of Acts

and at the

end of

Luke

the

continuing

ministry

of Jesus

and

all

of that

is

downstream

of

knowing

who

God

is.

None

of that

matters

if we

have not

stood

in the

presence

of God

and none

of that

will last

unless

we see

Jesus

for who

he truly

is.

and so

as we

move on

to

Judges

and we

look back

at Mark

what I

don't want

you to

do

is to

think of

it as

just

another

book

that we

studied.

Instead

I want

you to

remember

that Jesus

was the

one who

came

and worked

miracles

because he

is the

king of

all heaven

and earth.

I want

you to

remember

that Jesus

is the

one who

cast out

demons

because there's

no evil

power that

does not

submit to

him.

I want

you to

remember

that he's

the one

who was

in darkness

for three

hours as

he hung

on the

cross

because he

received

God's

judgment

and wrath.

I want

you to

remember

that as

Jesus

prayed in

the garden

of Gethsemane

he was

abandoned

by his

disciples

because in

the end

he was

all alone.

I want

you to

remember

that Peter

denied

Christ

and when

Jesus rose

from the

dead he

said tell

the disciples

and Peter.

I want

you to

remember

that when

the enemy

comes knocking

to accuse

you as

the liar

that he

is

that

Jesus

suffered

under

Pontius

Pilate.

He

received

the

guilty

verdict

so that

we could

be declared

innocent.

The

gospel of

Mark

and

Jesus'

life

and

death

and

resurrection

are

meant

to

change

us

forever.

We

are

meant

to

have

trembling

and

astonishment

and in

a true

and right

sense

to be

afraid.

Of course

as we

come to

the end

of Mark's

gospel

it is not

the end

of the

story.

There are

many many

more things

to come

and all

of them

are

downstream

of this.

What

comes

first

is who

is Jesus

and how

do you

respond to

him?

And who

is Jesus?

He has

more power

than anyone

else.

He has

more glory

than anyone

else.

He has

more love

than anyone

else.

And how

do we

respond to

him?

Verse

7 of

your

worship

guide

says

this,

To

encounter

the

living

God

truly

means

that we

cannot

contain

ourselves.

He

is not

a truth

to be

known

unaffectedly

or a

good

to be

received

listlessly.

Seen

clearly,

the dazzling

beauty

and splendor

of God

must cause

our hearts

to quake.

not

quake

in fear

but

overwhelmed

by God's

love,

power,

authority,

and holiness

and glory.

That causes

us to

follow him

and to

love him

and obey

him.

So that's

why we're

going to

sing now.

Behold

our God

seated on

his throne.

Come

let us

adore

him.

Behold

our

king,

nothing

can

compare.

Come

let us

adore

him.

Let's

pray.

Let's

pray.

Let's

pray.

Let's

pray.

Let's

pray.

Let's

pray.

Let's

pray.

Let's

pray.