“When the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome brought spices so that they might go and anoint him. Then 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 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 was crucified. He has risen. He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 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.”
– Mark 16:1–8
Oh, there’s so much we could talk about here on this Easter Sunday and pray according to Mark 16:1–8. But I want to emphasize one thing before we pray. Before we praise Jesus that he has risen from the dead, that he is not dead, that he is alive. What I want you to notice is how the gospel of Mark ends this passage and if you look in your Bible, you see that there’s a Mark 16:9–20. But you’ll see a note that says some of the earliest manuscripts don’t include those last verses in Mark. And many believe that they were added on later. So think about what if indeed, Mark 16:1–8 is the end of the gospel of Mark?
Mark 16:1–8 Leads Us to Praise Jesus for the Resurrection
Jesus, we praise you today and every day, especially today for your resurrection from the grave.
And the last verse says, “They went out, fled from the tomb and said nothing to anyone for they were afraid.” We know Mark is writing his gospel to Christians who were persecuted in the first century. They faced temptations on every side to stay silent with the good news of Jesus. Mark writes this gospel. And he leaves it on this note as if to say, “Don’t let this be the way your story ends with fear.” The fear of what others may think of you, what others may do to you if you proclaim Jesus.
No, make this good news known in the world. And so, I want to lead us to pray today that this good news would spread today. That in churches where we proclaim the gospel, many people would come to faith in Jesus. And we would have renewed boldness to share this good news with people right around us and people far from us.
Mark 16:1–8 Leads Us to Praise Jesus
Lets pray that the end of our stories doesn’t say that out of fear we stayed silent with this good news. Jesus, we praise you today and every day, especially today for your resurrection from the grave. We praise you for conquering death. We praise you for defeating sin and Satan and the grave. All glory be to your name for what this means for our lives.
For all who have trusted in you, that we have life forever in you, eternal life in you, we celebrate your life today. We praise you that we’re not just speaking into the sky, that you are alive, that you’ve ascended into heaven. That you’re coming back, that you are the risen and exalted Lord over all. All glory, be to your name, Jesus, we pray. We pray that you would deliver us from all fear and you would help us to proclaim this gospel with faith.
This Verse Leads Us to Pray for Unbelievers
Today, we pray that you would bring friends and family members to trust in you. That you would help us to spread this news far and wide today. And this week in our spheres of influence, God may we have deeper resolve this week to proclaim Jesus as Lord. Also, to people around us in need of your loving Lordship in their lives. And God, we pray for this.
When we think about 7,000 people groups in the world, 3 billion people who have little to no knowledge of the gospel today, little to no knowledge of this good news of even your name, Jesus, God use us to change that. We pray. We pray to you to help us to make disciples of all the nations. Just like you told us to do after you rose from the dead. God, help us to be faithful, to obey your commission, your plan to make the gospel known in all the nations of the earth.
Mark 16:1–8 Leads Us to Pray to Be Fearless
God, that you would not let fear hold us back. God, that we would be obedient to your command. That others might know you as the risen and exalted Lord of their lives in Jesus name, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
