Jesus in Mark: Wk 20

Intro

Go over story of me and Jenna getting married, end- NOW, Someone convince me that Jenna is not my wife. Someone convince me that Jenna isn’t a real person. pull a volunteer- just say something or do something to make me admit that Jenna isn’t really my wife.

Step further back, my parents being married- ok I wasn’t there, I can’t verify a lot of what i can with Jenna. But they have a marriage license, I know people who were there and have talked about their wedding, their lives sure look like that is the case. Even in rough times they made it clear they were married.

Now, that is one thing with marriage, or relationship statuses.

But this same exercise is 100 percent possible with Christianity.

We have to see if there is one moment, one “Wedding Ceremony” so to speak that we can go back to and say yeah see that happened so I know it is true! What is that event for Christianity?

Mark 16. Or any of the other Gospel accounts that talk about the same story. Jesus’ Resurrection.

We have to know that Jesus is who He says he is, and if He is worth following with our whole lives. That question all comes down to whether or not He rose from the dead.

Turn with me to Mark 16 tonight.

As you turn there I just want to say

First, thank you for coming out all spring. Many of you have been out to almost every Wednesday night we’ve had. I love seeing it because these times are so important for all of us, and the more of us come consistently, the healthier and stronger this family can be. So, thank you for being here.

Second, I want to say GREAT JOB! You all have been locked in as we have walked through the entire book of Mark! We have spent 20 weeks in the the book of Mark and that’s a big deal, you guys have done awesome. I hope you guys have enjoyed it as much as I have!

We don’t always get to go through entire books of the bible here on Wednesday nights, but it is so important you do that on your own, and it’ll take you a lot less time than 20 weeks! But reading entire books of the Bible allows us to see the big picture from start to finish, just like how we need to see the entire Bible as one story from start to finish!

So, let’s dig into Mark 16

Mark 16:1–8 (CSB)

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they could go and anoint him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they went to the tomb at sunrise. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?” Looking up, they noticed that the stone—which was very large—had been rolled away.

When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side; they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he told them. “You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they put him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there just as he told you.’ ”

They went out and ran from the tomb, because trembling and astonishment overwhelmed them. And they said nothing to anyone, since they were afraid.

Women go to Jesus to treat his body the way it should’ve been done. Remember he was buried on a Friday just before Sabbath began, they had to rush o get him off the cross and in the tomb before sabbath began because Jew’s couldn’t work on the sabbath. So, they didn’t have time to anoint his body before burial, they had to go now, on the third day- Sunday.

They don’t know how they will get in- rock in the way.

Now, they arrive and see the stone is already rolled away.

In shock they enter into the tomb and see a man in a white robe, obviously- as the other Gospel writers say- this was an angel- a messenger sent by God. He tells them don’t be afraid! Don’t freak out… you are looking for Jesus but he isn’t here. He has risen! Like he said he would…remember?

And this is Huge news. Remember, this was exactly what Jesus said would happen three other times throughout the Book of Mark. He predicted he would be arrested, beaten, killed and buried and then on the third day he would rise from the dead.

And now, He did it! The tomb is empty, everything he had promised, he now delivered on.

Jesus, wasn’t dead anymore, He was alive.

And so, the messenger gives the women a mission- go tell the disciples Jesus is risen as he said he would and he will meet you in Galilee just as he said he would!

And what do they do?

They freak out and run away and don’t tell anyone!

Now thankfully, we know from other Gospel accounts they DID go tell the disciples later.

They are so scared, Jesus isn’t there- a guy in bright white clothes said he rose from the dead and they were responsible to go tell the disciples and Peter.

And the story ends like that.

Now, we will get back to that odd ending in a minute, but first, how do we know this really happened?

Because yes, if this happened then it changes everything, and it is the “Wedding Ceremony” so to speak of our faith. We can have confidence in any circumstance that Jesus is Lord, we will follow Him through anything and we will never lose Hope that one day he will return and bring us into new creation free from sin and death forever!

But, did this really happen? Well, there is a ton of historical support to the resurrection, and zero against it.

Like the wedding analogy- we need a record of the event, we need witnesses, and we need support over time after that event took place.

Remember this happened almost 2000 years ago, ancient history! Our country was only founded a few hundred years ago to put things in persepective.

But we have more historical documents that talk about the resurrection and support the Bible than any other event in history! We don’t have enough time to explain how that works tonight, but there are essentially a whole lot of copies of biblical texts from very early on that people kept copying and distributing, and there are many documents outside of the bible that talk about the people and events of the Bible. So we have a ton of support that the Bible is legitimate and all of them are consistent in pointing to the claims of a literal resurrection.

On top of that, we have a lot of witnesses.

Paul writing about this said in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8

1 Corinthians 15:3–8 CSB

For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time, he also appeared to me.

All of Jesus’ followers, plus crowds of hundreds of people got to see him multiple times after he raised from the dead, and it was from that moment on that we saw all of His close disciples change dramatically. Remember all along they were struggling to trust him and believe in him, but after the resurrection they went out and began the church! They spread the news. Many of them wrote parts of the Bible, and almost all of them died for their faith in Jesus.

Perhaps the transformation of the disciples of Jesus is the greatest evidence of all for the resurrection.

John Stott; Robert J. Morgan

Now, why would they die for their faith if they weren’t 100 percent convinced it was true?

Answer: They Wouldn’t.

If Someone wanted me to genuinely say Jenna wasn’t my wife I couldn’t do it because I KNOW it is true beyond a shadow of a doubt.

So, the resurrection is the lynchpin of our faith- if it is ever disproved we can leave Christianity behind forever. But 2000 years later and there is more proof now than ever. If you are wrestling with that, or want to learn more talk to me before you leave tonight and I can get you some really good resources to look at!

But also, one quick really obvious reason we can know the resurrection really happened right off the bat:

Remember, the romans killed Jesus and the Jewish leaders made it all happen. These were the two wealthiest and most powerful groups of people in the world at that time.

The Romans were the super power of the ancient world- they could do anything anytime that they ever wanted and no one could stop them.

The jewish leaders stopped at nothing to make sure Jesus was dead so He would never be a problem for them again.

Now, if Jesus wasn’t really dead- all the romans and Jewish leaders would have to do was grab Jesus’ dead body and put it out in front of everyone and listen- no disciple would’ve been able to lie about that. The world would’ve known Jesus stayed dead. But they didn’t because they couldn’t.

Jesus really died and Jesus really rose from the dead. There were lots of powerful people who could’ve proven if this wasn’t the case, and they didn’t do anything.

No, Jesus really died and Jesus really rose again.

So, what do we do with this truth. Because this matters more than anything. Well, back to the end of Mark 16.

Mark ends his entire Gospel account in such a weird way in verse 8.

Before we get there I know you all probably have a question.

What do I mean the book ends in verse 8?

Well, all of our Bibles probably have a few more verses in them however it should also have a note that says something like this: Some of the earliest MSS end at 16:8.

This is because the two earliest copies of Mark that we have found to date did not have anything after verse 8. So many scholars believe that that is actually where Mark ended his writing when he originally wrote it.

So, where did the other verse come from? Well, we don’t have time to get into that, but essentially as christians were copying the Bible they would add notes and correct each others writing mistakes along the way. And there are some places in the Bible where it seems like they also added a few sentences after the original was written. But this happened like in that time period- not like someone got the bible recently and just added whatever they felt like. This is devoted Christians who were copying these letters and wanted to make sure it was complete and accurate. So, with a lot of research and study they believe 9-20 was added later. But listen, that would’ve happened veyr early on and those changes all would’ve had to be approved by other christians. And God allowed that to happen. So, we can still trust it, and if you look at those verses they just add what all the other Gospel accounts say too! So it lines up with the rest of the Bible- it’s not controversial or concerning. But we need to realize Mark most likely didn’t write it originally.

So, why did mark end on verse 8.

The women run away afraid and we don’t know what happens next.

We are like well what do they do? how did they respond to this news of Jesus’ resurrection. EXACTLY!

Mark leaves it hanging like that so that we all have to choose how we will respond to this news just like the women had to.

The resurrection demands a response. Meaning, the Gospel demands a response.

You cannot ignore Jesus’ death and resurrection.

If he only died you could ignore that. Still super interesting and significant- a man came, miraculous birth, a perfect sinless life, and innocently killed on the cross- still significant but still a dead man.

However, all of that, and he claimed he would die an rise from the dead and then he actually does it!

That can’t be ignored. You must respond to it, everyone must.

The resurrection is what our confidence and hope come from as Christians.

It’s our confidence to live as Jesus calls us to now.

Because if Jesus truly raised from the dead then EVERY other word he spoke is worth listening to. HE said he is the way the truth and the life and we can believe it because he rose from the dead!

He said in him we would find life and life to the fullest- we can believe that.

He said we have to deny ourselves daily, take up our cross and follow Him! SO WE SHOULD!

We must respond to the Gospel in either acceptance or rejection- there is no middle ground.

Anyone who calls upon the name of Jesus will be saved.

Paul in Romans 10:9 “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

We can have confidence in Jesus’ teachings and our salvation in Him because he rose from the dead.

It is our confidence.

It is also our hope.

It is our hope that Jesus will come back with the fullness of the Kingdom!

When all seems lost, when you feel like you can’t be free from your sin or struggle or your pain- you can look to the resurrection and say: “NO! Jesus told me in him I was forgiven, set free, and have a hope and a future. And He rose from the dead- so I can believe it!”

WE have confidence and hope in Jesus because he lived, he died and he rose again.

Bow your heads and close your eyes with me.

So, to the christian in here have confidence and hope- FOLLOW JESUS because he proved he is worth following when he rose from the dead!

To the skeptic in here if you are still struggling to believe- look at the resurrection, talk to me and lets explore it together. If you can disprove it, then you know JEsus is a fraud, but if you can’t then Jesus is LORD and worth following with your whole life- that decision is worth getting right!

If you are not saved, GOSPEL invitation.