The Good News II Mark 16:1-8

300 Illustrations for Preachers Harsh Weather Bad News for Ash Borer, Good News for Ash Trees

Along with the fact that school children got some extra days off, the extremely cold weather created by the “polar vortex” in North America in January 2014 may have had some benefits. For several years, entomologists have been concerned with the impact of the emerald ash borer on ash trees in parts of Minnesota. (Since 2002, the bugs have killed tens of millions of trees in the US) Temperatures approaching nearly 20 degrees below zero without a wind chill should have been cold enough to kill many of the pests. Lee Frelich, director of the Center for Forest Ecology at the University of Minnesota, estimated that almost 80 percent of the population would be expected to die at that temperature. Although the bark of the tree could insulate some of the bugs, the fact that the cold lasted several days was a reason for hope. So even though the human population was inconvenienced in many ways, the unexpected cold spell could have unexpected benefits.

-The Resurrection of Jesus is an invitation to believe in Him

I. Come and See vv. 1-3

When we pick up the story, it is Resurrection Day and the women we met earlier are coming to the tomb of Jesus

They have a specific expectation:

They will find a dead body there

They will prepare it for interment by anointing it with a collection of oils and spices.

This is a show of honor and allegiance to Jesus, but it’s also a hard thing

They expect to find a stone there as well:

The stone is a problem! The death is a problem! It’s all hard

However, I think we need to pay attention. They do not run from the hard thing

They could have responded to this with apathy or avoidance

However, ought of a love for Jesus and a faithfulness to Him, they come and see

Sometimes, we have to engage with the grave

I keep reminding us that the good news is bad news first and I don’t think we can shy away from that

When we interact with lost people, we have to be able to confront lostness, brokenness, and hopelessness

When we consider our own walk with Christ, we also have to confront those issues in ourselves and consider how the Good News meets that reality

None of us like to engage with what is difficult in our lives:

We all have an ongoing fear of being ghosted. Ghosting is now so common that it was added in February of 2017 to the 

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

. It describes the phenomenon of leaving a relationship by abruptly ending all contact with the other person, and especially electronic contact, like texts, emails, and chats.

Some of us are “ghosting” ourselves by avoiding the hard realities of our spiritual lives. We won’t look into the grave!

II. Look and Listen vv. 4-6

Next, the women go to the tomb and they are shocked by what they encounter there

They look:

The stone has been rolled away from the tomb

Inside the tomb, they will look and find that it is empty; there is no body there

A young man, dressed in white is waiting for them and he has a message for them

They listen:

They must not be scared by what they see

The body of Jesus is not present here

His body has not been stolen or desecrated

He is alive!

These women will have to weigh the evidence and make a determination on what to do with it

Will they believe this Good News?

If so, will they do something about it?

This is also the choice that we have to make today!

Will you repent and believe the Gospel?

If Jesus is alive, I must stop living in my own way

If Jesus is alive, I must start living in His way

Mark 1:14–15

[14] Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, [15] and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (ESV)

The Kingdom is not just at hand, the King is risen. It is time to repent and believe the Gospel!

III. Go and Tell vv. 7-8

Finally, we see how they respond to the news:

They are given instructions:

Go and tell the disciples and Peter

They disciples fled, but Jesus wants to gather them

Peter has failed, but Jesus wants to restore Him

Jesus will fulfill His Words to them

He is faithful

He will meet them there in Galilee and will be reunited with them

This news changes everything!

They are astonished by what they see:

They tremble, out of fright, because this is a complete shock; the world doesn’t work this way

They are in ecstasy by what they have heard; the world has now changed and is different!

If Jesus is alive then nothing stays the same

This is so much the case that it leaves them speechless

They will eventually tell the disciples

But, for this moment, they cannot even talk among themselves about it

I think we could learn something from their example:

Stop for a moment and be amazed by the Resurrection of Jesus

Go and tell someone else about the Resurrection of Jesus

Saving Private Ryan is one of my favorite World War II movies. Three out of four brothers are killed in action, and then a search is launched to find the fourth, Private James Ryan, so that he is not killed, leaving his mother childless. Eight men are sent out to find Private Ryan, who is missing somewhere in Normandy. As these men wander through the French countryside, they have a running dialogue of angst: “Why is the army risking the lives of eight men to save one?” Their anger and frustration only increases as they experience one life-threatening situation after another. Then, one evening, before they sack out for the night, Captain John Miller says to his sergeant: This Ryan better be worth it, he better do something important with his life, he better become a doctor and cure some disease or invent a longer-lasting light bulb or something. Captain Miller hopes Private Ryan will be worthy of the risks that he and his men are taking to find him.

Eventually, Miller and his Rangers locate Ryan, but he is duty bound to stay and defend an important bridge from German forces. Miller agreed to join Ryan and his makeshift unit, but in the battle Miller and most of the men who came to find Ryan are killed. In the final moments before Captain Miller dies of his wounds, he says to Ryan in a law and shaky voice: “Earn this. Earn it.” In essence, Captain Miller is telling Ryan to live his life from that moment on in such a way that it is worthy of their sacrifices. At the end of the movie, an elderly Ryan is seen visiting the graveside of Captain Miller and the other Rangers who sacrificed everything for him. Turning to his wife, he says, “Tell me I’ve led a good life. Tell me I’m a good man.” As the scene fades out you realize that Private James Ryan has lived his entire life with Captain Miller’s words echoing in his mind: “Earn this. Earn it.”

We cannot “earn this” when it comes to the life and death of Christ, but we can definitely live differently in light of it!