Though Mark's Gospel seems to end unsatisfactorily, his ending is theologically and thematically consistent with the rest of the text. We are given a trustworthy testimony of the resurrection by an empty tomb, a messenger from Heaven, and (eventually) the women who witnessed Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, and by the other accounts in Scripture. It is by the power of God that Jesus was raised from the dead–vindicating Jesus as His beloved Son, accepting His sacrifice on the cross, and to prove the authority of Jesus Christ. The tomb is opened to stand as a witness to the world that it is the power of God that the dead are raised, the witnesses of the resurrection are telling the truth, and that God's Word bears faithful witness to the bodily resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Whatever fear and unbelief we have must be rolled away by the God of the Living to open our eyes, ears, minds, and hearts, and we must not harden our hearts to this gospel. If we have been saved by the object of our faith, Jesus Christ, then we too must go and tell all the world that He died in our place, and was raised for our justification. |