Resurrection Morning

Introduction

The doctrine sine qua non for Christians is the resurrection.

Paul says that without it, our faith is vain.

Without it, we blaspheme in multiple ways.

We say God raised him from the dead.

Subsequent to the event, we speak of Jesus as the equal of God.

Romans 1:1-4 makes clear the resurrection affirms, supports, and confirms the deity of Jesus.

The most essential doctrine would, in theory, be the most difficult to prove and to accept.

Who, after all, has been raised from the dead?

Who has been raised with a new heavenly body never to die again?

Resurrection Defined

According the NT, the resurrection was not a spiritual event.

It was historical.

It was physical and bodily.

It was not an apotheosis.

1 Cor. 15.

Resurrection, according the Bible, differs from mere afterlife.

Afterlife is illustrated by “The Rich Man and Lazarus” (Lk. 16:19ff).

Eph. 4 and 1 Peter 3-4 both make reference to Jesus engaging in “spiritual activity” after his death, but ultimately, the resurrection is a physical event.

What doctrines depend on the resurrection?

Per Romans 1:4 (above), the deity of Jesus.

Hence, the doctrine of the Trinity.

Justification: Romans 4:25 teaches that he was raised “because of our righteousness.”

Hope: the hope of eternal life, judgment, and being with the Father, our Creator.

Introduction: Part 2

It changed the disciples from skeptical to committed unto death.

They were absolutely certain.

They reevaluated and changed their understanding of Messiah’s coming.

They met daily, they refused to stop preaching his resurrection and deity.

They welcomed death rather than to lie about Jesus.

The simple, not the dramatic, should be the foundation for our assurance.

Experience does not provide our assurance.

Memory does not provide our assurance.

Emotion does not provide our assurance.

The details, the facts, provide our assurance.

In this message, we will note time, place, and source.

How do you establish a resurrection?

There must be a death.

If the body is buried, then, there would have to be people who know the correct tomb.

The Scriptures are clear on the high security around Jesus’ tomb.

Also, the stone and the guards would not just prohibit entrance. They would also prohibit exit.

The person inside couldn’t “stagger out” if he had not really been dead and if he could muster the strength after the ordeal of crucifixion.

The Passing Sabbath

We have noted that Mark marks time meticulously.

He did this with the day of the crucifixion.

He did this with the days of the week.

He continues this practice with the days of the week.

His account moves to what happens after the Sabbath passed.

We have the preparation of the Sabbath.

The Sabbath.

Now the passing of the Sabbath and the first of the week.

Again, Mark gives us very specific, yet common information.

There are only two things extraordinary about this account.

The Same Women

Mark, like all the gospel writers, placed the same women at the the major scenes of the death and burial.

Now, he names three of the group who came on the morning after the Sabbath day ended.

Mark 15:40 “Ἦσαν δὲ καὶ γυναῖκες ἀπὸ μακρόθεν θεωροῦσαι, ἐν αἷς καὶ Μαρία ἡ Μαγδαληνὴ καὶ Μαρία ἡ Ἰακώβου τοῦ μικροῦ καὶ Ἰωσῆτος μήτηρ καὶ Σαλώμη,”

According to 1 Cor. 15, along with the gospel accounts, there was a web of witnesses to Jesus death, burial, and resurrection.

The Focus on Process

Like he did with the soldiers and the people during the crucifixion, Mark focuses on the “nuts and bolts”.

The women purchased aromatic spices.

They wanted to anoint the body. The Sabbath necessitated the return to do this.

Mark gives the time of their travel.

Exceedingly early on the first of the week.

The sun had arisen, thus officially ending the Sabbath and marking a new weekday.

Mark records what the women discussed on their journey.

“Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?”

Most likely, the last explanation, given in Mk. 16:4, is designed to explain why they were having this specific conversation.

The look up and behold that the stone has been rolled back.

The Meaning

Jesus’ disciples did not expect to find him alive.

The women were not talking about the possibility of resurrection.

They came for a formal burial, not a resurrection.

Jesus own disciples were skeptics thinking him to be completely dead still on day three.

What does that mean for us?

What changed their minds?

This indicates it was not easy to access Jesus’ tomb.