He Goes Before You
Read Mark 16:1-8
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 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.’” –Mark 16:6-7
Mark’s Gospel has a strange ending. It ends with the women fleeing from the tomb, filled with “fear and trembling.” Worst of all, they said “nothing” of what they had seen to others, “for they were afraid.”
Later manuscripts added verses 9-20, but they were not part of Mark’s original gospel. And while these verses are strange in their own right (they include Jesus’ promise to the disciples that they could pick up snakes with their bare hands and drink deadly poison but not be hurt), they at least include an appearance of Jesus to the disciples and a final description of the their subsequent ministry: “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” (v. 20)
But let me make the case for Mark’s original ending. The angel that appeared at the tomb gave a specific message to the women: “Go and tell the disciples that he is going ahead of you to Galilee.” These instructions recall one of Jesus’ last promises to the disciples, on the night when he was arrested. Jesus had told them that they would scatter after his arrest, but then he’d given them this promise: “After I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” (14:28)
On a literal level, Jesus had provided the disciples a location where they could find him, and the angel was reminding them of this. But to me, the important part of the promise was not the location (Galilee), but the preceding words: I will go ahead of you. These words echo a promise that gets repeated again and again in the Old Testament—that God “goes before” his people. Consider just a few examples:
When the Israelites wandered in the desert, God went “before them” with a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. (Ex 13:21)
On multiple occasions (Joshua 6, 1 Chronicles 14 & 20), God told the Israelites that he would “go before them” in battle to give them victory.
When the people returned from exile in Babylon, Isaiah promised them: “The Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” (Is 52:12)
The 139th Psalm declares that God “hems” us in both “behind and before.” (Ps 139:5)
In Deuteronomy, Moses promised: “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deut 31:8)
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, described the work of grace in our lives in multiple phases. Often when we talk about grace, we focus primarily on the gift of forgiveness that takes place when we confess Jesus as Lord (this is what Wesley called “justifying grace”). For Wesley, though, grace was more than a one-time experience. There is a grace that “goes before” our moment of confession (what Wesley called “prevenient grace”), drawing our hearts toward God and making our confession of faith possible. And there is a grace which continues to work in our lives beyond that confession of faith, transforming us more and more into the image of Christ (Wesley termed this “sanctifying grace”). All these are facets of a singular grace, given to us through Christ’s offering of atonement and through the ongoing work of the Spirit.
I see a deep connection between Wesley’s understanding of grace and Jesus’ promise to “go before” the disciples (and us). Grace always goes before us, to lead us into a deeper understanding of God’s love and mercy. That “going before” does not stop when we confess Jesus as Lord—it continues throughout our lives. There is no situation or place we encounter in life where God has not “gone before” to prepare our way.
This includes even the reality of death. When we face the difficult moment of saying goodbye to our loved ones, we do not have to be afraid. Even if we do not know what lies on the other side of this life, we can be assured that Jesus has “gone before us”—even experiencing our death—so that he might lead us into everlasting life.
This is my final devotion for the Gospel of Mark (I leave it to you to sort out the “snake handling” part of those extra verses!). In a couple of weeks, I will begin a three-month Sabbatical, the first I have taken in my time in ministry. I trust that God goes before me, wherever my journeys may lead these next three months. I know that God will go before you, in whatever challenges or joys you may face as well. I look forward to reuniting again in August to share all the ways that God has been leading us, and I anticipate with joy all the ways that God will continue to “go before” and lead our church in the future. May we all continue to serve him with astonishment and amazement and joy!
Thank You, Lord, for this journey through the Gospel of Mark. Thank You for the good news that You go before us in all things. May we be faithful to follow! Amen.