Mark 16:8
It
can be hard to hold fear inside in a way that doesn’t let it show on the
outside. It is difficult to hide the emotion of fear. Fear can affect us much
more than we are willing to admit. Fear can keep us locked up for years. Fear
can give a person a heart attack or a stroke. Fear can end relationships,
leading to divorce. And yet, fear is a God-given emotion. Fear has its place.
The
women who arrived at Jesus’ borrowed tomb had good reason to fear. The One they
had followed and interacted with over the past three years had been killed,
brutally killed just a few days before. They had seen it happen with their own
eyes. They probably helped tuck the temporary grave clothes around His body.
They saw the stone rolled against the entrance to the tomb. They had walked
home to wait until time had passed, the Sabbath had been completed, and they
could return and finish the job of burial.
But
now the time had passed. They had returned to find the stone rolled away and a
scary angel told them things their minds couldn’t fully comprehend. Fear was
their dominant emotion. It had taken over their grief. And the absence of the
closed tomb and the presence of the angel had completely rattled them. They
just didn’t know what to do with the information they had obtained.
As
a woman in that society at that time, their testimony wasn’t officially
accepted. They were like women in many Muslim cultures today, second class,
subservient. But the Gospel changed all that. Everyplace across the globe where
the Gospel has been preached and accepted women have been freed. Their status
in society has been raised. In the Gospel, men and women stand before the Lord
as equals, equal sinners and equal saints. Nothing enables the recognition of
human value more than the Gospel. The LORD cared enough about us, placed so
much value in us, that He was willing to interrupt history to correct the fatal
flaw that sin caused.
But
silence can be hard to maintain. Once the fear had worn off, they told what
they had seen. But for those first minutes, fear had their tongues tied in
knots. Their grief and sorrow was transformed to fear. Fear is about survival,
and these women had encountered a scary angel. So what do they do? They flee,
they skedaddle, they get their tails in gear and leave.
Their
reactions were just like our reactions. People often run from scary situations,
seeking safety in other more familiar surroundings. They put distance between
themselves and the fearful object or situation.
One
other things that fear does. Fear often shuts down the brain’s ability to speak
and articulate rationally about the situation. Different parts of the brain are
used to survive, and all the resources to survive are the priority. Paying
attention to the aesthetic beauty around you will not save your life. Quoting
or composing poetry will not protect you. Running will. So the fact that they
didn’t tell anyone makes sense. Fear gripped them and telling people wasn’t
important.