Mark 16:1-8 (Easter 2024)
Notes
Transcript
1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.
2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb
3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.
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.
6 “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.
7 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.’ ”
8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
It’s one thing to encounter an empty tomb, but it is an altogether different thing to allow that encounter to change you!
It’s one thing to encounter an empty tomb, but it is an altogether different thing to allow that encounter to change you!
No one expected resurrection
No one expected resurrection
Not ahead of The End anyway
Many believed that there would be a resurrection, sure, but it would happen at the end of time when the Lord comes.
Jesus takes that hope of the end and brings it with him NOW… the miracles, the healings, the raising of people from the dead - even his own resurrection - show that the hope of the end is breaking through NOW!
But, no one recognized that at first… No one expected resurrection that morning.
Even though Jesus prophesied about it
Mark 8:31 (NIV2011) 31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.
Mark 9:31-32 (NIV2011) 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.
Mark 9:9-10 (NIV2011) 9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant.
Mark 10:32-34 (NIV2011) 32 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”
But, on that morning, the women went to the tomb NOT expecting to see an angel, NOT expecting to experience hope, NOT expecting to be told to tell the others the good news.
THEY WENT EXPECTING TO SEE A COLD TOMB CONTAINING A COLD, DEAD, LIFELESS BODY!
They went with spices to prepare Jesus body for burial.
Even while they were on their way they realized someone would need to assist them with rolling the stone aside so they could get in.
They saw Jesus crucified, they saw him buried, they saw the stone rolled in front of the tomb and they saw it was sealed.
They go to the tomb expecting things to be just as they had left them before the sabbath -Dark, cold, and hopeless...
But something happens while they are on their way...
But something happens while they are on their way...
Light is about to dawn onto the otherwise dark situation.
Just after sunrise…
Light is beginning to shine into the dark world. Mark is probably writing this to show that the women didn’t accidently go to the wrong tomb while it was still dark… but there’s more to it...
It is indeed the 1st day of the week…
This sunrise marks the beginning of a new week as it is now Sunday morning, the first day of the week. However, it also marks the beginning of a new story. It is a story of hope and redemption, it is a story of God conquering sin and death, it is a story of brightness and comfort in the midst of darkness and despair.
Every first day of the week would remind the Jewish people of the story of creation, but on this First Day of the Week the story of NEW CREATION has begun...
Oh, and this day was The Feast of Firstfruits...
After the sabbath that marked the end of Passover the people would celebrate the feast of firstfruits. This was a time where the first of their harvest would be brought to the Lord and consecrated unto Him. The idea was that the people would celebrate God’s goodness at the beginning of the season and trust in God’s provision of more to come… If there is a first, there would be MORE...
This is a theme that Paul highlights when writing about the necessity of resurrection in his letter to the Corinthians...
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
The stone is already rolled away!
The object of conversation while on the way to the tomb, the stone, has been dealt with.
All hindrances experience resurrection have been taken care of.
Something happened on the way to the tomb, but the women do not know what. All they know is that when they get there the scene is different than when they left it Friday late in the afternoon.
The stone is rolled away and there is someone else in the tomb, a messenger or representative of God who tells them that Jesus is NOT in there...
Hope has entered the places where death once reigned!!
Hope has entered the places where death once reigned!!
The light has overcome the darkness! He is NOT HERE!
John 1:5 (NIV2011) 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
The man in white invites the women to see the aftermath, the results, of resurrection.
It is interesting that the women, at first, were not suprised by Jesus not being there. IN fact, according to Mark, they haven’t realized that Jesus is gone yet.
They saw the stone was removed
They saw the messenger from God - the man dressed in white
They hear his message of hope and joy
6 “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.
They came to the right place
They are looking for the right body
But, it is NOT here
THEN after hearing the Good News the women are instructed to experience the results of resurrection for themselves...
It’s one thing to encounter an empty tomb, but it is an altogether different thing to allow that encounter to change you!
And, after being invited to experience it themselves they are sent into the world to share the same message and invite others to experience the hope and joy of resurrection in their lives
And here, Mark doesn’t do what we expect...
And here, Mark doesn’t do what we expect...
We would expect Mark to tell us that they left leaping for joy and telling others.
We would expect Mark to say that they went to the disciples and told them and their testimony was valid...
But, we do not find what we would expect to find...
Like the women, we are drawn to the tomb and we are presented with something we did not expect to find
Mark tells us that the women tell no one and they fled...
8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
This is TERRIBLY ironic
The story has unfolded that these women have been FAITHFUL to Jesus until the very end. They followed him, although at a distance, through the crucifixion while the other disciples fled.
They went to the tomb to show their care, love, and devotion to the one who had been their rabbi.
It wasn’t Jesus’ crucifixion, it wasn’t Jesus’ trial, it wasn’t Jesus’ death or burial that caused the women to flee - it was the amazement of resurrection and the message of the angel that caused them to flee...
Mark is inviting us into the story
Mark is inviting us into the story
Mark wants to church to know that we are these women...
Obviously, we KNOW they told someone. The fact that the church has gathered on the 1st Day of the week to remember resurrection for 2,000 years informs us that the women told someone!!
Mark KNOWS that the church knows and believes the story of the resurrection. But, Mark also knows that if he wraps it up nicely with a bow on it, then there’s no call to action on our part...
Mark states, at the beginning of his account of Jesus’ life that he is concerned with telling us the BEGINNING of the Good News
1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God,
What this means is that there is more to the story, but Mark is laying the foundation.
Throughout the Gospel account, Mark invites us into the story in a way that we make the story OUR story to tell.
Mark has told us the beginning, but, like the women at the tomb, it is our task to continue telling the story.
Choose Your Own Adventure
Choose Your Own Adventure
I LOVED choose your own adventure books. These are books that bring you into the story and you become a character in the story. You are invited to make decisions throughout the story and as you make those decisions you help unfold the plot of the rest of the story.
Mark presents the church with a choice of their adventure...
Obviously the women chose, eventually, to tell others
But, Mark is concerned with YOUR choice!!!
We have 2 Choices to make...
1 - To experience Resurrection Hope and New Life for Ourselves
The angelic pronouncement of the Good News has been shared. Christ was crucified and Christ is Risen!
But, we must experience this for OURSELVES! It must be OUR CHOICE to allow the events of Friday and Sunday to change us and transform us into people who not only HEAR the good news, but to be people who are TRANSFORMED by the Good News!
3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
2- Once we EXPERIENCE Resurrection for ourselves we have the 2nd choice to make - the choice to tell others!
Resurrection changes us, but it also gives us a purpose to GO AND TELL!!
Mark brings us to the tomb to allow us to choose our own adventure.
We will accept resurrection.?
Will we accept that we can be made new?
Will we accept being a part of the New Creation?
Will we go and share with others?
The Choice is OURS!
We live in a world that could benefit from hearing the good news of the resurrection, will we fulfill our purpose and tell them? Or, will we run away in fear?
You have heard the good news! Now you make your choice; what you will do with it?
It’s one thing to encounter an empty tomb, but it is an altogether different thing to allow that encounter to change you!
COMMUNION
COMMUNION
As we respond to God’s word, we participate in an act of worship that has been commemorated since the day Christ stepped foot from the tomb.
The Disciples, and the early church, celebrated communion / the Lord’s Supper to remember Jesus’ words that declared he would be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins and that his blood would sign the new covenant.
But, they also were reminded of Jesus’ promise to come again. That they WOULD, in fact, see him again.
Communion was therefore both a solemn reminder of the cross, BUT ALSO A CELEBRATION OF RESURRECTION AND THE COMING AGAIN OF JESUS!
Paul stated
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.
As we celebrate Communion we are reminded of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins, but we are also reminded of the Resurrection of Jesus that proves sin and death have been dealt with.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So, we both celebrate and mourn. We celebrate resurrection and the hope that it brings and the promise of Christ’s return. But, we also mourn, and repent again if need be, of our sinfulness that led Christ to the cross.
And, may God be glorified as we worship this way.
I would like to invite Pastor Jim forward as he leads us in stating one of the earliest Creeds (statements of belief) of the Christian Faith from Philippians 2:5-11.
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
This morning, as we receive the elements, I invite you to come forward and receive a piece of bread and a cup of juice. RETURN TO YOUR SEAT and we will participate in the act of worship TOGETHER.
As a note, you do not HAVE to receive these elements if you do not wish to AND, you do NOT HAVE to be a member of our church to receive. We only ask that you seek to experience the grace of Jesus that is offered during this act of worship and that you be willing to follow the leading of Jesus Christ in your life.
PRAYER
All who are willing May Come.
BENEDICTION
20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.