Children’s Sermon

Mark 16:1-8

The Mystery

Object suggested: A jigsaw puzzle or a children’s mystery book.

Let’s talk about the word “mystery.” A jigsaw puzzle is a mystery. We can’t see the whole picture until all the pieces are put together.

As we begin to work the puzzle we get clues about what the picture might look like when it is finished. We see different colors and shapes or bits of the picture such as a leave, a stone, or a part of a person’s face. We get clues along the way.

The same thing happens when we read a good mystery book. Something is unknown to us. We need to follow clues to help us figure out the mystery. Sometimes the mystery is a big surprise – something we did not expect.

Three women in the Bible had first-hand experience with the biggest mystery of all. After Jesus died, these women, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome went to Jesus’ tomb. When they arrived they discovered “that the stone was rolled back”
(16:4). This was the first clue.

When they entered the tomb they found, “a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were amazed” (16:5).
The young man said,” You seek Jesus… He is not here” (16:6). They looked and saw with their own eyes that Jesus was not there. Another clue.
The young man said, “He has risen” (16:6).

As you can imagine, this was a big surprise; not what the women had expected. They were amazed and frightened because they did not yet understand the mystery.

This is the mystery of our faith. We do not know how Jesus was raised to live again after he died, but we have been given many clues. Jesus asks us to believe. We have faith even though the picture is not complete. We don’t have all the answers, but we know the mystery will be revealed in God’s time.

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible