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When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Jesus. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
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This is the second option [Track 2?] for the Gospel selection to be read aloud on Easter Sunday, Year B principal service, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. In the season of Easter, beginning with Easter Sunday, the Church makes a certain reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles mandatory to be read, either taking the place of an Old Testament reading possibility [the First Lesson] or taking the place of the Epistle reading possibility [the New Testament slot]. In some way, by design or chance, this reading from Mark can be chosen over the first Gospel choice from John. The John 20:1-18 option is optional to choose in all three years of the lectionary cycle, whereas Year B primary service is the only shot Mark 16:1-8 has to be read aloud and thereby be explained in homily.
Knowing this is the second option for the Gospel and assuming it will be read if the mandatory Acts reading takes the place of the second lesson [the New Testament category], that would mean this reading from Mark will be preceded by a reading from Isaiah 25, where the prophet wrote, “Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth.” That will be followed by a selection of verses from Psalm 118, which sings, “The Lord has punished me sorely, but he did not hand me over to death.” Lastly, the mandatory reading from Acts 10 will be read, which states, “They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear.”
Before delving into what Mark wrote about the first Easter Sunday, it is important to realize the Gospel of John recounts this differently. There certainly are opponents of Christianity who will challenge any seeming inconsistencies as being weaknesses that make the foundation of Christian faith crumble, from stories that approach one event from different perspectives. Different perspectives do not mean contradiction. In this regard, I recommend a true seeker, even an opponent of Christianity, read my interpretation of John 20:1-18 [on this website's blog], because I show how nothing John wrote is contrary to what Mark wrote. It should be realized that Mark wrote the accounts of Simon Peter, so John’s direct mention of Simon Peter entering the empty tomb does not mean that Mark has to also tell of Simon Peter doing that. Not telling of something is not evidence that another who told of something was incorrect.
It is now important that I attest to a divine syntax that I have been led to realize and become somewhat fluent in reading, over years of practice. This divine syntax is necessary to follow, if one wants to grasp the deeper meaning of what is written. By reading under a new set of rules of language [by “speaking in tongues”], hidden meaning rises from the surface meaning that is all allowed to be seen by normal syntax. In this regard, one has to admit the texts of the Holy Bible were written in either Hebrew or Greek, such that English translations [beginning with the King James Version and multiplying like rabbits ever since] have been memorized by Christians and made to seem as if the Biblical characters all spoke English – a language with syntactical rules that differs from the divine language all Scripture is written by [from the Godhead]. The source of all holy text is God [Yahweh] and must be realized as perfection, as written; therefore, any changes made to that perfection [to suit the needs of translators] weakens the truth that is divinely told.
With that disclaimer stated, this reading has verse 1 begin with the benign phrase, “When the sabbath was over.” That is not what Mark wrote. The Greek text shows: “Kai diagenomenou tou sabbatou,” where the first word is a capitalized “Kai.”
The Greek word “kai” is ordinarily a simple conjunction that is translated as “and,” according to the normal rules of Greek and that language being translated into English. I have found that the divine rules of syntax tell me to see “kai” as a marker word [not “and”], one that does not need to be read in English. The word "kai" should just be noticed, so one realizes something important will follow that marker word. In this case, where “Kai” is capitalized, such that another rule of divine language says all words capitalized take on higher meaning, of spiritual essence. This verse beginning with “Kai” [improperly translated as “When”] says the first series of words [to the comma mark] is an important spiritual statement that needs to be seen in that light, above the simple surface meaning that says, “When the sabbath was over.”
A literal translation of the Greek stating “Kai diagenomenou tou sabbatou” says, “Kai having passed this seventh day.” Because the capitalized “Kai” is seen as a signal to look for higher meaning in those words, “having passed” becomes a divinely inspired statement of time elapsing. Because the last verse in Mark 15 told about the burial of Jesus [on a Friday], the spiritual meaning of “having passed” is less about the days of the week having gone by, but the timing of Jesus prophesying he would die and after three days be raised. Seeing that, “having passed” becomes a divine statement of when those three days were officially over. By adding to that meaning “this seventh day” [not capitalized, therefore not specifically stating the Sabbath], Mark is making a very important statement [“Kai”] that the timeframe of Jesus’ prophecy was up on the seventh day, which was the day after his burial on Friday [the sixth day]. It also [by counting backwards] makes an important statement that Jesus died at 3:00 PM on Wednesday [the fourth day].
From seeing that being the deeper intent of Mark writing those words, the rest of verse 1 states, “Mary Magdalene , and Mary the mother of James , and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Jesus.” While that seems to be Peter telling the names of three women who went to the tomb to anoint Jesus, one has to slow down and realize in these segments of words are five capitalized ‘names,’ each of them having a root meaning that importantly [capitalization] needs to be understood. Those root meaning are as follows [all sourced from Abarim Publications]:
Mary – “Beloved”
Magdalene – “Of The Tower”
James – “Supplanter” [or “He Who Closely Follows”]
Salome – “Peace”
Jesus – “Yahweh Saves”
When these root name meanings are seen as divinely raised to the intent behind the names, the rest of verse 1 can be read as: “Beloved Of The Tower, and Beloved the mother of Supplanter, and Peace bought spices, so that they might go anoint Yahweh Saves.” In this being based on the translations into English and not the literal Greek text, we find with closer inspection that some words have not been translated and the places one find “and” written and where the word “kai” is adding a mark of importance.
Based on that awareness, that written literally translates into English as the following segments:
“this Beloved this Of The Tower” ,
"kai Beloved this the one of He Who Closely Follows" ,
"kai Peace" ,
"purchased perfumes" ,
"in order that having come" ,
"they might anoint [the dead] him" .
Again, I recommend reading what I interpreted about John having also written (similarly) of “Mary this Magdalene comes early,” where the use of the root names are discussed deeply. Here, I want to focus more on all who are named “Mary” are women who are spiritually deemed “Beloved.” The raised essence that must be seen now is “Beloved” means family relation, not just some friend or follower of Jesus.
Because some tend to see Mary Magdalene as some woman Jesus knew, who was a female disciple, this makes it clear that she was related to Jesus [“Of The Tower”] through marriage, as the wife of Jesus. As the wife “Beloved,” she was first in the list of women responsible for preparing the dead body of her husband for transfer from a loaner tomb, to the ‘family plot’ [the one Lazarus had been buried in].
The second most important “Beloved” is the mother of James, the half-brother of Jesus. Still, the word “mother” is not written, but implied from an article – “hē.” That same word [a letter in Greek – “ἡ”] is written before the first “Maria” and before “Magdalēnē.” At neither place has a translator seen reason to imply the word “mother” needs to be added. The presence of the word “kai” before the second “Beloved” says this woman has greater spiritual importance than the wife, where “kai” becomes the indication of the mother, one who conceived Jesus without physical penetration or intercourse. This makes “James” become a statement of her having since become a mother who conceived through intercourse with Joseph, her husband; but that couple had more children than just James. Therefore, the meaning of the name says the “Beloved” mother of Jesus also was one “Who Closely Followed He,” making that name become representative of her divine Son of man.
After seeing that identification of Mother Mary, one finds another use of “kai,” which says “Peace” is another element that must be understood. The name of the woman Mary Salome is that of an aunt of Jesus, as the wife of a brother of Mary the mother of Jesus. Her husband is believed to have been Zebedee, making Salome be the mother of James and John of Zebedee, saying they were cousins of Jesus. By a third woman being announced as important to know on a spiritual level, “Peace” must be read as the strength that held all three women up, enabling them to do the work they were leaving to do. Mary Salome became that "Peace" with them. She was a presence of calm for two women who were most distraught over the death of a husband and son.
The following segment is separated by comma marks, saying “purchased perfumes” or “bought spices.” That has to be recognized as a statement of the past, as acts done in preparation for this day. Since there would have been no buying nor selling on the Sabbath, these three women had gone on the day of preparation [Friday] and “bought spices” for the purpose of preparing the body of Jesus for transfer, from one tomb to another. They would have done that separate from Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus taking seventy-five pounds of embalming perfumes with them to prepare Jesus’ body for burial. This segment means Jesus was representative of their Sabbath to recognize, based on prior preparations. Their "day of preparation" was for Sunday, the first day of the week, not the Sabbath.
Most likely, these women did little more than cry and pray on the Sabbath, in preparation for doing what had to be done on Sunday morning. This becomes the focus of the next segment of words: “in order that having come.” More than them walking to the tomb as the meaning of “having come,” it was a day prepared for “having come.” Therefore, the word “hina” is written to connect that which had been bought in preparation, so it follows an order or schedule, such that a day of work had arrived.
The final segment of words places focus on anointing. The Greek word “aleipsōsin” states the conditions planned in preparation, which were to be apply olive oil scented with fragrances to the face of Jesus. It is here that one finds the translation that has “Jesus” listed is incorrect, as that name has been applied to the Greek word “auton,” which simply means “him.”
The intuiting of Jesus, a name that means “Yahweh Saves,” says two things. First, a corpse no longer has a name. A male corpse is "him." Second, the plan to anoint one who had already been the Anointed One of Yahweh means the conditional (“might anoint [the dead]”) says the women had given up hope that Jesus could not die, having assumed he had been given eternal life, therefore impossible to ever be dead.
Verse 2 then states, “And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.” This verse also begins with the word “kai,” although not capitalized. This says the timing is important to understand. The two words “lian prōi” translate as “very early,” but the importance of “kai” says “lian” must be read as “exceedingly” or “extremely,” where the “earliness” means the second 6:00 AM ticked off. Any earlier and it would have still been technically the Sabbath.
When Mark wrote “the first day of the week,” this is the same terminology used by John. This being stated in verse 2 says the elevated meaning found in verse 1 is correct, as that stated the timing of Jesus resurrection of death, more than identifying it was now the day after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week [Sunday]. This also says it was immediately upon that new day having arrived.
There are two segments of words, set off by comma marks, that make the NRSV translation a paraphrase. The literal translation into English shows those segments as stating: “they come to the tomb , having arisen the sun.” The order of those segments is important to grasp.
First, “they come to the tomb” is stated in the present inductive, not in the aorist past, meaning the women left before the sun actually rose. That says sunrise had not yet occurred at 6:00 AM. However, the aorist active participle of “anateilantos” [“having arisen”] says sunrise occurred after they left to go to the tomb. It was then, second, as they were walking that "having risen the sun."
Verse 3 then has Peter recall a conversation, one which he personally should not have been present to hear. By Mark writing, “They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” this implies the conversation happened at the cemetery. For Peter to tell this to Mark [his writer], it means less in hearsay, but when this is shown to be the past, it says Peter could have heard the women voice their concerns as they were preparing to leave. It makes “among themselves" reflect back to a memory of Peter, as one present overhearing them talk. This past tense use of “were saying” could have been early in the morning, when the women voiced that concern before leaving to the cemetery. In that case, Peter sat nearby and heard them purposefully talk so he could hear them, as a way of them trying to motivate him to volunteer to go with them and do that work [as trying to make him feel guilty]. In that case, Peter knew he had let the women go alone, without offering to go along and possibly help them.
That verse is introduced by the word “kai,” such that the importance becomes this element of them talking among themselves. As women knowing they were not strong enough to roll away a heavy tomb stone, they also knew it was not their place to do a man’s work. Therefore, the importance of this becomes a confession by Peter that he knew about this conversation beforehand, rather than after the fact, as hearsay.
Verse 4 then says, “ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.” Here, again, is a verse begun by the use of “kai,” showing importance needs to be seen in “having looked up they see that” [from “elegontheōrousin hoti”]. This puts emphasis on that point of their prior discussion, now showing it to be needless worry.
This makes “having looked up” be akin to having a premonition or imaginary vision of them reaching the tomb and seeing a stone in need of being rolled away. From this, going back to the “bought spices” or “purchased perfumes,” these women had not been to the tomb to watch the interment, as it happened so late in the day Friday, while they were shopping. Peter most likely had watched that interment [as secretly as a casual bystander could] and knew there would be guards there to help the women. Thus, he did not offer to go and possibly help, when he knew his help would not be needed and he did not want to be arrested. The vision the women has conjured up ["having looked up"], from fear of going without a man, disappeared when they saw the tomb already opened.
When Mark is shown to have written, “the stone, which was very large,” the separation by comma marks says the stone for the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea was “extremely large,” using the same extremity as was found in the earliness of the hour prior. This says the imaginations of the women led them to “see” which tomb was his [an act of “perception” beyond personal knowledge from past experience] and to realize that tomb was opened, no longer sealed by a stone greater than they had expected.
When the translation states in verse 5, “As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed,” this ignores the presence of another capitalized first word that is “Kai.” This places great importance in understanding “having entered into the tomb” [from “eiselthousaieis to mnēmeion”].
This is where linking John’s story to Mark's is important, as John makes it easier to intuit that women and children did not have any rights to enter into tombs. That was only allowed to adult males. Therefore, the great importance comes from not thinking three women casually walked into an open tomb, previously where a dead body had been placed. The presence of a capitalized "Kai" has greater power when seeing the meaning coming from understanding someone [not the women] was evident, as “having entered into the tomb” because it was opened. The divine importance says God was the one "having entered into the tomb," to retrieve the soul of His Son, who also was another "having entered into the tomb."
From grasping the importance of that statement, rather than thinking women would go into a tomb not owned by either of them, without asking permission first, makes sense that the next segment of words tells of them seeing “a young man,” not inside the tomb, but outside, “sitting on the right.” This then gives the impression that “a young man” was thought to be “an attendant” [the meaning of “neaniskon”], who was employed by the garden cemetery. By stating he was “sitting on the right,” this implies the stone had been rolled away to the left. A “sitting” position [from “kathēmenon”] can even be a statement of him being in a “dwelling” or “residence,” implying the “attendant” was under a canopy or tabernacle.
The next segment of words, separated by comma marks, says this “attendant” was “clothed in a robe white.” Here, the symbolism of “white” needs to be seen as a statement of “purity.” The Greek word “leukēn” can mean, “bright, brilliant,” implying dazzling white.
When this is combined with the prior statement of “on the right,” where the word “dexiois” equally can translate as “the right hand,” this becomes descriptive of Jesus’s soul, which has ascended to the Father and sitting at the right hand of Yahweh. Seeing this, the word “sitting” can now be read as “enthroned.” This makes the reading from John [as explained in my commentary about that] be supported here, as to when Mary Magdalene was told by Jesus [who she thought was the gardener], “Not me appearance.” Instead of a "young man" actually being outside the tomb, the women saw Jesus there, as an unrecognizable transfiguration.
In the NRSV translation that adds, “and they were amazed,” this segment of words is begun by the word “kai,” signifying importance must be seen in what was witnessed. The “kai” leads to one word in Greek, “exethambēthēsan,” which makes the important statement: “they were greatly amazed.” Here, again, there is a superlative used [embedded in the usage applied normally to the root word “ekthambeó”], which elevates this word so it means the women suddenly felt as if they somehow had come into the presence of God. As such, their “amazement” was actually “great fear.”
In Luke’s version of this event, two angels were said to have been seen, such that he wrote: “In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground.” While not written here in Mark that they bowed down, one can expect the women felt such a strong presence before them [unnatural and quite holy] that they would have prostrated themselves out of a fear of God Almighty.
This state of being is then confirmed when Mark is shown to have written in verse 6, “But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him.”
Keeping in mind that no words have been exchanged between the women and the “attendant” or “young man,” it is now clear that the one in a bright robe knew the hearts and minds of the women. From that source of divine knowledge was spoken a series of segments that are missing important signs that keep the reader of the NRSV from comprehending.
To best grasp this, I will now do as before and break down the segments of words, complete with the correct punctuation, and literally translate the Greek into English. What was said goes like this:
“Not be terrorized” .
“Jesus you seek” ,
“the Nazarene” ,
“this one having been crucified” .
“he is risen” !
“not being here” !
“behold the place where they laid him” .
Because John wrote of Jesus speaking to Mary Magdalene, one must see this “young man” as the spirit [or soul] of Jesus, as an apparition. Rather than being a physical body, as would later seem to appear in the upper room, the appearance of a young man makes the soul of Jesus take on the appearance of Adam, the Son of God, made by His hand. Therefore, just as John wrote that Mary thought Jesus was the gardener [John later knowing it was Jesus, but not the man], that same entity has just spoken to three women in Mark's Gospel.
In the first segment, the capitalized Greek word “Mē” is written, importantly stating “Not.” This then leads to the word “ekthambeisthe,” which was similarly stated as how the women felt great fear and fell down. The power of “Not” is then less about being a spoken word, but a presence that spoke to the women, such that the fear they had felt from seeing holiness before them suddenly ceased oppressing them. Because these two words end simply with a period mark, there is no sense of command that should be read into words spoken; but one should see that just as suddenly as the women felt weak and meaningless, they stopped and felt secure enough to stand up or kneel before this presence in white.
The next three segments are broken into important mind-reading steps, such that all three women were thinking the same things, all of which were known by the soul of Jesus, because he was married with the Holy Spirit and therefore one with the Father. In the segment that says, “Jesus you seek” [from “Iēsoun zēteite”], here is found the capitalization of the name “Jesus.” Returning to the previous section where I explained several names presented in verse 1, the meaning here now bears the same translation presentation. Thus, first stated is “Yahweh Will Save you seek.” That becomes the knowledge of Yahweh reading their hearts and minds, saying He knew they sought salvation through Jesus.
When next is said “the Nazarene” [from “ton Nazarēnon”], the capitalization of “Nazarene” brings out the name meaning [of a place, Abarim Publications] “One Of The Scattering.” While this statement can go quite deep in explanation [which I will sidestep for now], the point of this should be seen as knowledge that Jesus was born of Mary [there before this “young man”] in Bethlehem, not Nazareth. The use of “Nazarene” then speaks of Jesus as human, while also becoming spiritually elevated, as one of Yahweh’s spiritual seeds sown on earth. Jesus was one of many in the line of Adam's soul that the hand of God had spread, planting holy seeds upon Israel.
The next segment then knows the three women stayed vigilantly at the cross upon which Jesus of Nazareth was crucified and taken down dead. The reason the women had left so early in the morning to get to the cemetery was because they witnessed that death and wanted to care for the corpse. They wanted to pour olive oil with sweet fragrances one last time upon his face and say prayers of lament for him. As women named "Beloved," they all wanted to show the respect of love for one they had lost.
Then, the next segment begins a new line of though, following a period mark. It ends with an exclamation point. The word exclaimed is “ēgerthē,” which is the third person aorist passive indicative form of the verb “egeírō,” which is translated as “he is aroused, awakened, risen.” The third person is assumed to be “he,” but because the soul of Jesus is then the one speaking, and because the first person singular is not used, a better translation would be “it is risen.”
The “it” would be the soul; and, the use of “awakened” or “aroused” attests to what Jesus had said about Lazarus (on the other side of the Jordan): “Lazarus is only sleeping.” Lazarus likewise was in need of “raising, arousing, awakening” from the sleep that is death. A body never has life without a soul, thus a body is always asleep; but, a soul never dies, as it is always awake, but in need of a body if not saved from death.
To fully understand the impact of “it is risen,” Jesus was not standing physically before the women. The brilliance of his “robe” means he was observed in a transdimensional state of being, just as Peter, James and John saw Jesus “transfigured” along with Moses and Elijah. The soul of Jesus spoke to the women, saying “I am risen,” meaning his soul was then where he could truthfully say something like, "I am seated at the right hand of God, but you can see me as an apparition now. Later, you will have my body before you as you expected when you came early in the morning to here."
This is then confirmed in the next segment of words that state, “not being here,” ended with an exclamation point. The “being” of all living creatures is the soul in the flesh. Just as Jesus would ascend in the flesh on the forty-ninth day [day before Pentecost], and just as Elijah ascended in the flesh before Elisha, the “being” [from “estin,” a form of “eimi”] that was recognized as Jesus of Nazareth was not available at that time. Think of this as God having 'beamed Jesus' body up to heaven.'
Thus, verse 6 concludes with the soul of Jesus telling the women, “behold the place where they laid him.” That becomes an invitation to peer into the tomb and see for themselves it was empty [except some linen wrappings and coverings], which acts to inform the reader that none had prior entered the tomb to look around.
Verse 7 then has the soul of Jesus tell them, “But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” In this, the exception [“but”] says seeing nothing in the tomb means nothing, because the body of Jesus had left the plane of the earth. This then speaks symbolically to the women [and Peter and John if there by then], saying, “enter your own tombs of self-ego death, so you too can “go” to the same place as went Jesus. It says Jesus will “go” to “tell his disciples” after you “go.” In this translation, the use of the third person pronoun "he" becomes confusing and could use clarification.
Clarification comes after a comma mark about telling the disciples, where one finds another usage of “kai.” This shows the importance of specifically naming Peter and the place Galilee. In addition to those two capitalized names is found between them the capitalization of “Proagei,” which means “It leads forward.” Again, the presence of capitalized names makes it important to see the root meaning of the names imposed into what was stated.
“Peter” – “Stone”
“Galilee” – “Rolling”
Simply from seeing the two names brings out importance to “Stone” and “Rolling,” where the women had just arrived to find a massive stone rolled away. By realizing the possibility that names are leading readers away from the hidden meaning, the instruction can now be read as: “this Stone that It leads before you towards these Rolling.”
Amazingly, this statement reflects back on Jesus knowing all about the unwillingness of Peter to come to the tomb, having nothing pertinent to do with talking about Galilee [the region where the disciples lived]. The capitalization of “Proagei” becomes an important statement about “It,” as the third person present indicative, meaning the Holy Spirit. That becomes the “Leader” that will become the same power “Rolling” away the “Stone” covering their tombs, after they submit them to Yahweh and become Jesus reborn. That "Leader" becomes metaphor for the "Christ," which comes along with the name "Jesus" [Yahweh Saves].
The last two segments of verse 7 place focus on “there you will see him , just as he told you.” The use of “there” seems to mean “Galilee,” but when the name meaning spiritually says “Rolling,” “there” then becomes a place in the future, when the Holy Spirit will allow one’s eyes to open and “see” the truth as Jesus had seen. That place in the future will then be one prepared in the spiritual realm, as a room within the Father’s house. It will mean when all the things taught by Jesus will be understood perfectly and a soul will have come to know Yahweh personally.
Finally, verse 8 states, “So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” Here, rather than “So,” this last verse begins with another capitalized “Kai,” signaling it to be most important to grasp properly. This word leads to one word, “exelthousai,” which has been used similarly twice before, meaning “having gone out” or “having come out.” The importance stated is then spiritually realized to be the whole experience of a glowing white presence speaking to them telepathically, as if it knew them personally. That becomes an impact statement about Jesus having come out of the tomb to greet his relatives and loved ones, not looking like himself and making them all fear God, while having their hearts warmed at the same time.
The next segment of words say, “having fled from the tomb.” This has the dual meaning [minimally] of saying they all ran away from the cemetery, returning to where they stayed quickly, while also saying deep within their souls they all knew they had escaped the fear of death, which is symbolized by the tomb. The promise of salvation means escaping the repetition of a dead body of flesh entombing a recycled soul, life after life. That "fleeing from the tomb" means salvation from reincarnation.
The next segment says that before this moment they “had seized for them trembling,” meaning they feared death tremendously. That past sense of fear had been removed. Thus, the next word is set apart by the use of “kai” internally in this segment of words. The “kai” states the importance of them having “amazement,” where the deeper meaning of “ekstasis” [the root for ecstatic] says they were overcome by a “trance-like state of being.” The fears they once let lead them had become disconnected, which was in itself bewildering to them.
The last two segments then say, “kai to no one nothing was said ; they had reverence for.” This says none of them had been told to go tell the disciples what they had seen, as they had seen nothing – the absence of what they expected to see. What the soul of Jesus had told them prior was to speak as the disciples of Jesus had been taught to speak. There was nothing they could say that Jesus had not already said, preparing them all for this time coming. Thus, they said nothing to nobody because they revered the experience of Jesus at the tomb and had faith that everything would be better soon.
As a short Gospel reading selection for Easter Sunday, it should be seen how much can unfold from only eight verses. The depth of understanding that comes from this selection is tremendous, while on the surface it seems other Gospel selections say more. The use of names in this selection, just like in that from John, becomes powerful; but few will ever see that or point it out so others can see it. Few will stand firm and say the three Marys saw Jesus. Many will be looking for something to happen in Galilee. This all becomes capable from true discernment, when one knows a divine system of language is in play; but most people are blinded by the syntax of English and paraphrases that dilute the truth. Therefore, no one is fluent in the language of God, so no one tells anyone the whole story that is written.
As the first Sunday in the Easter season, when it is most important to see how the mandatory readings from Acts are telling Christians it is not enough to meekly believe, but one must be prepared for ministry and the works of faith, few have teachers leading the seekers to that goal. At one time the Church knew this was important, setting up a system that is inspired by Yahweh; but over time that knowledge became lost. It is time to rekindle that Spirit and be prepared by the Word of Jesus Christ to return Christianity to what it is meant to be.
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