April 6th, 2024

Both the importance and the distinctiveness of the previous Sunday is apparent when the title of this current Sunday is given, ‘The Second Sunday of Easter’. Note that the title is not ‘The First Sunday after Easter’.

The resurrection of our Lord is much more than just another event. Jesus, true God and true man, was Lord over sin when he came to the cross on so-called Good Friday. He was the sacrificial lamb for the sins of the whole world. And his dominion over that sin was seen in the life of his body on that first Easter Sunday. But Jesus could have appeared to his followers on a different day of the week. But he chose to meet with them on the very first day of the week; he chose to meet them when they were afraid and the doors were locked (John 20:19-31; you may wish to note that this text is also the gospel reading for this Sunday). The first day of the week also happens to be the first day in the account of creation, the day when light was created (Genesis 1:3-5). It should be no surprise, therefore, when Jesus called himself the light of the world (John 8:12).

What follows could be called a somewhat-literal translation of our next section of the book of the bible that we are currently looking at, the Gospel according to Mark (9:1-13; you may wish to look at an easier translation or read a study bible to help your understanding of the text; and the words in bold print below are the historical presents; that is where a type of past-tense verb is expected but a present-tense verb is given). A significant portion of the following text happens to be the text for Transfiguration Sunday; and this event certainly has some similarities to the Easter season:

And he was saying to them, “Amen, I am saying to you that there are some here, of the ones standing, who certainly not will taste of death until they see the kingdom of the God, having come in power.” And after days, six, he takes along, the Jesus, the Peter, and the Jacob, and John, and he leads up them into a mountain, high, according to their own, alone.

And he was metamorphosized before them, and the clothes of him became gleaming white, exceedingly, such as a launderer upon the earth, not is able, so to whiten. And he appeared to them, Elias with Moses, and they were conversing with the Jesus. And having answered, the Peter, he says to the Jesus, “Rabbi, good it is, us here to be, and let us make three tents, for you, one, and for Moses, one, and for Elias, one.” For not he knew what he answered; for feared out, they became.

And it happened, a cloud, overshadowing them, and it happened, a voice out of the cloud, “This one, he is the Son of me, the beloved; hear him.” And unexpectedly, having looked around, no longer, none they saw, but on the contrary, the Jesus alone, with themselves.

And coming down, they, out of the mountain, he ordered them that to no one, what they saw, they should relate, except when the Son of the Man, from dead ones, he should rise. And the word they held toward themselves, debating what is the “from dead ones, to rise.” And they questioned him, saying, “They say, the scribes, that Elias, it is necessary to come first?”

Now he said to them, “Elias, indeed, having come first, he restores all things; and how has it been written on the Son of the Man, that many things he should suffer and be despised? But on the contrary, I am saying to you that, both Elias has come, and they did to him what they were wanting, as it has been written on him.”

The first historical present in the text above, ‘he takes along’, has some interesting connections to other places within this gospel account. The first time the word is used in this gospel account, it also appears in an historical present. The first time it is used, the disciples are doing the taking, and they are taking along Jesus into a boat. There is a storm, the disciples are afraid, and Jesus takes care of the situation (see Mark 4:35-41). The next time it appears, Jesus is the one who does the taking. Jesus takes the father and the mother of the dead child, along with the same three disciples who are mentioned above, and Jesus raises the child from the dead (see Mark 5:40-43). There are three other times in which this word is used (see Mark 7:4, 10:32, 14:33), and the last of those times is when Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane, and this verb appears again in the historical present, and Jesus again has those three disciples, and Jesus is the one who is greatly astonished and distressed. But, as Easter people, we know the end of that situation.​

The taking along that sinners do, that does not do too much. The taking along that Jesus does, now that makes a big difference. It is an important question to ask: Who is doing the verbs?