But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”
Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
Mark 16:7,8
The women have just received the most historic, earth-shattering news ever. Even though the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the greatest event in all of history, we don’t see the messenger doing cartwheels. He didn’t jump up and down. He wasn’t yelling. He wasn’t floating in air to give the message more significance. The messenger just calmly told them what had happened. Now, this same messenger again calmy tells them what to do now.
Go. They have to leave this place. They have to leave this holy and historic place. They might have been tempted to stay. Build a shrine. Set up signs to tell future visitors what happened. Open a gift shop. Launch a social media site and video campaign. They might have wanted to put down roots right there. But you don’t accomplish anything without going. You don’t change without going. You don’t change the world without going. Others don’t change without you going.
Tell. And after their going, they have to tell. Tell the disciples. And especially Peter. Yes, Peter. The disciples that abandoned Jesus. Yes, the disciples that all said that they would never disown Jesus[1]. But there was something special about Peter. Peter, the one who shot off his mouth all the time. The Peter that boasted that he would never deny Jesus. He’d even die before denying Jesus. But the weak words of a young girl one cold night started the ball rolling downhill for Peter. It ended after his third denial when Jesus looked straight at him. Their eyes met. Peter remembered. Then Peter falls apart.
After all this, God’s message and will for these women is to go and tell the disciples, and especially Peter. Peter, with all his faults. With all his weaknesses. With all his mistakes. With all his prejudices.
The message to be passed along is simple enough. The instructions for the disciples to follow is also simple. Even they couldn’t mess this up. All they had to do was to obey the simple directions so they could see the risen Jesus for themselves.
And for these women, who now held the future of Christianity in their hands, they were trembling and bewildered. Was it the sight and appearance of this messenger? Or was it his words about the resurrection? Or was it his direction to tell the disciples and Peter? Or was it all of it?
They were emotionally and mentally overwhelmed. Out of their minds. They were beside themselves. Nothing in their lives had ever prepared them for this message. Nothing prepared them for the weight of their assignment.
And yet, they went. They told. They fulfilled their task. They fulfilled their destiny. They didn’t argue about their qualifications or education. They didn’t look for reasons why they couldn’t do it. They just did it. They passed the message. They passed the torch. Their obedience is written in the gospels and we are forever thankful.
And then they are forever forgotten. They disappear. Nothing else is written about them in the historical record. They don’t become significant leaders in the early church. They don’t start ministries. They don’t appear on talk shows or launch their own podcasts.
They were asked to do something. They did it. And they were satisfied with that. They didn’t need to move onto something bigger. Something more important. Something more significant. Something grander. They heard what God wanted them to do. They did it. And that was enough for them.
But would it be enough for us? What if God gave us a very specific, very important task to pass along a message from him. And then we did it. Would we be satisfied with doing it? Would we be satisfied without something coming behind it?
Or would we wallow in the past? Would the focus of our life be behind us? Would we boar people to tears by telling, repeating, and then retelling again how there once was a time that God significantly used us?
God might want to use you in a significant way. He might give you a word to share with people. Or he might give you a task to perform. For his glory. For the good of many people. And once complete, what next?
Will we be satisfied to live in the glow of past accomplishments? Past glories? Or will we only be satisfied if we something new and different?
The desire and focus to please God are enough to satisfy. It should be enough. But is it enough?
[1] Matthew 26:35
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