Easter
Notes
Transcript
The Dawn Of A New Day
The Dawn Of A New Day
1 “Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.
1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.
In the book of Mark it gives very good indication that the women who came were not expecting anything except a body in a tomb.
They had no way of opening the tomb. They just wanted to pay there respects in some way.
My Question to you is, “What are you expecting today?”
Scripture says they came for a look, a peek. Three years of fallowing Jesus has turned into a peek. Maybe some would say it all happened so fast i need a moment of closure. I just need to settle all this in my mind then move on.
Maybe they might want us to bury him in another place, or need help with the body.
But lets look at verse 2
2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.
3 And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.
4 The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.
This has now turned into a different kind of a day.
It starts with an earthquake - Not just any earthquake - a severe one. The first earth quake was on Friday - powerful enough to split rocks
51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.
52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;
53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.
54 Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
Now if you were a Roman or Greek - you would say to yourself the Gods are angry, we are in deep trouble.
But this earthquake came with angels - One was big enough to roll the stone away by himself. The soldiers were frightened. So much so that they shook with fear then passed out.
What does this say about the soldiers? They were expecting nothing , they were guarding the tomb of a dead Jew. They saw many dead Jews and none of them moved from the tomb after being crucified.
5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.
6 “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.
7 “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”
8 And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.
Before we get into this - It looks like the disciples were also not expecting anything. The women beat them to the tomb. It says in Luke 24 that to them this was an idle tale. Not worth believing.
Pilate didn’t expect anything, Herod didn’t expect anything, the chief priests didn’t expect anything except maybe someone would steal the body which was never going to happen at a guarded tomb.
Again I ask the question, what are you expecting?
I think we would expect hot coffee and Easter eggs for kids far more than an empty tomb., or for god to do anything miraculous.
But the angel said
Do not be afraid.
He is not here - He is Risen
Just as He said.
The moment of truth has come
Jesus can actually do what he said he could do
19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
Easter is the validity of the Gospel, the validity of Jesus having the power over death.
Jesus can do what he says he can do.
The living is not among the dead.
The disciples who for the most part felt lost and alone met a man on the road to Emmaus . They were not able to recognize it was Jesus. But they shared about Jesus and they talked about him all day. It was all that was on their minds.
Finally the day is over they invite this stranger to dinner and the man broke the bread and blessed it. Then they knew it was Jesus and he disappeared.
32 They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”
The significance in all of this is whether you can see him or not He is with you. He wants to commune with you. He is alive and well.
That burning in their chest was the hope that Jesus wants to put in you.
When all else fails and you feel like your kicking a can down a dusty old road. God shows up
Jesus said to Mary why are you weeping ? The time for weeping is over.
This is a dawn of a new day.
A day of victory, a day of rejoicing, a day of Hope, a day filled with life not death, a day of unexpected miracles, a day filled with excitement.
Today is the start of a new journey and future and a hope. AMEN
Vs 18 of Matthew
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Conclusion
In this day and age when there is a global battle for authority, it is very comforting to know that Christ has the authority.
He can do what he says he can do. because he has the authority to do it.
He can heal, He can release people from demonic oppression - he can give you a purpose - He can forgive you of your sin -
A new day starts with a new day in Christ.
Your goodness cant save you
Your best efforts always seem to run short