The Resurrection of Jesus

Today, let’s look at chapter 16 in Mark, verses 1-8. We are very near the end of this book that has been such a blessing for me personally to preach through.

Mark 16:1–8 ESV

1 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, 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 that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Prayer

If Jesus stayed dead, would his teachings be worth following?

There was a book that came out in 1952 by the famous Christian author named C.S. Lewis. This book was titled Mere Christianity and it deals with Christian morality, beliefs, and behavior. In this book, he makes a claim that you may have heard. He makes the claim that for everyone, Jesus is either going to be a liar, a lunatic, or he is going to be Lord.

If the things he said were not true and he was trying to create a some sort of self-centered following, then he was just a liar. Or if he really believed the things that he said, yet he was not actually God incarnate, then he was a complete lunatic. Or, if the things he said were true, and he was truly who he said he was, then he is Lord.

The way that Jesus proves who he really is is through the resurrection.

Our entire belief system as Christians hinge on this event. If Jesus had not resurrected, then what are we doing here. Hearing some good teaching, being encouraged, going to go and eat a good lunch together afterwards. None of that has any eternal value. We must look at the resurrection as the pivotal piece of our faith that we hold to.

Anyone had a hard day in the last week or so? I mean the kind of day where you have no idea why you are going through what you are going through? It is in times like this that we look to the empty tomb. I said we have been in this book for nearly 2 years now. In the last 2 years, has anyone experienced a great loss in their life? Maybe it was a job or a friendship or someone being taken from us by death? It is in times like this that we look to the hope that we have in the empty tomb. And it gives us comfort.

The Empty Tomb Gives Us Comfort

People look to so many places to find comfort. New cars or trucks, nice houses, a cushy 401K, relationships, addictions, drugs, alcohol, relationships, or maybe even church. But none of this is lasting. It feels good for a time and gives us temporary comfort.

But, when those hard times hit and our faith is tested, we cannot look to any of those things to give us lasting comfort. To give us what scripture calls the peace that surpasses all understanding. That only comes from Jesus and he is able to give us this because of the empty tomb.

Let’s dive in.

So Mary and Mary and Salome go to the tomb. Mark makes sure to tell us that this was after the Sabbath had ended. The Sabbath was on a Saturday. They had brought with them spices to anoint the body of Jesus. The body would have been there since Friday, it was now Sunday. Death brings stench and rot and decay. The spices would have helped this. But it was also a way to honor Jesus. On Friday, there was a rush to get his body in the tomb because of the impending Sabbath. Joseph and Nicodemus had taken his body and put a lot of oil and spices on there, but there would not have been much time for the women to spend with the body of Jesus.

Mark 16:1–2 ESV

1 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.

The first day of the week was Sunday. They went on Sunday morning. Have you ever wondered why we gather together on Sundays? This is one of the reasons. I can remember growing up, going to Sunrise services on Easter Sunday. Several of you in the church went to these very same sunrise services too. We would have it in the cemetery and have it very early on as the sun was coming up. Just like the women coming at dawn after the Sabbath to a place of burial, we would do the same.

I absolutely love the play on words here that Mark gives us. He says that they came when the sun had risen. They knew that the sun in the sky was rising, but what they didn’t know was that the son of God has also risen.

But on the journey there, they had some concerns.

Mark 16:3 ESV

3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”

They were just 3 women. This stone would have been weighty and would have been too much for them to remove. I think that this is a perfect picture of our need for provision and our trust in God. These women were not oblivious to the fact that the tomb had a humongous stone rolled against it and that it was going to take more than just them to move this stone. But that didn’t stop them from going. How often do our doubts and questions keep us from obedience?

Just like these 3 women, we must trust that God is going to provide for us even when we don’t see a way.

Mark 16:4–5 ESV

4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed.

They get there and the tomb is already open. This huge stone is gone. And clearly, there isn’t anyone out of the tomb who moved it. Because they walk right in. There was no question whether or not they were at the right tomb. That would probably be one of my first questions if we get there and it is open. But at the end of chapter 15, it tells us that they witnessed Joseph putting Jesus into the tomb. So they know which tomb it is.

Because of this, they walk in expecting to see the body of Jesus wrapped up and laying there. But instead they find what Mark calls a young man. We know from the other accounts of the resurrection that he was an angel. Now, let’s put ourselves in their sandals for a moment. Our friend, our leader has died. We see him get buried. We wait till the Sabbath is over and we go to his tomb, not to find everything like it was before, but to find this huge stone rolled out of the way and an angel there.

When Mark says that they were alarmed, I think we can take that as an understatement. Not only is this not Jesus, but there is this heavenly figure there instead. I know that Jesus says he is the son of the most high, but is this right? Shouldn’t Jesus be here? The correct answer to that is that these women would probably have known this was going to happen. Jesus had predicted his death and they would have heard this.

Mark 10:33–34 ESV

33 saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

Yet, they get there and see this heavenly figure, and are alarmed. They knew, yet until now, they didn’t understand. I want to put this into better terms for us to understand.

There was a guy who lived out in the country, let’s say he lived up towards Booger Holler. Well, there was a sign out for weeks and it was saying that they were going to be replacing that little one lane bridge they have out there. He knew that his daughter had to go across the bridge to get to school. So he kept telling her that she needed to find a new way to school because the bridge would be gone on Monday morning. Monday morning comes. Her alarm goes off late, she throws on some clothes real quick, and hops in the car. She doesn’t even have time to get her morning coffee.

That morning, it was really foggy. She gets to going down Booger Holler road and is trying to find the right radio station to listen to. She isn’t paying attention and comes around the curve and all of a sudden she has to slam on breaks because the road suddenly stops because the bridge is gone. Her father had been telling her and telling her that this bridge would be gone. She may have heard him, but it wasn’t until the rubber met the road, and almost the water, that she truly understood. These women are alarmed because they now understood that Jesus was no longer dead.

Mark 16:6 ESV

6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.

The man who you are looking for, the one who hung on the cross and died, the one who was brought here and buried, he is not here. Look around, he is gone. Why? Because he did what he said he was going to do. He was not a liar. He was not a lunatic. Clearly he has proved that he is Lord.

All of these emotions just surging through these women. Mourning for the loss of not only their leader, but their friend. Seeing him be beaten and bloody and killed. Seeing him be buried and the stone rolled into place. Knowing that they wanted to go and honor him this morning, and now they have gotten there and he is gone. Maybe, just maybe, they knew when they saw the stone that all of those times that he said he would die and then rise from the grave were now proven right. But, if there was any doubt, it was now erased by the words of this angel.

Mark 16:7 ESV

7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”

They get first a declaration, now they get a directive. Go. And tell. What and who do they tell? They go and tell the disciples that Jesus is going to be in Galilee for them. Now, Jesus had told them this. Mark 14:28 “28 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.””

What is unique about Jesus and about Christianity is that Jesus always kept his word. He came and he fulfilled the word of the law and the prophets. But he also fulfilled his own words. He is going to go before them in Galilee. There are 2 very clear instances that we have of Jesus appearing before them in Galilee.

One is in John 21 when Jesus appears to the disciples while they are fishing. If you know this passage, you know that this is when Jesus kind of pulled Peter aside and cleared the air with him. And he told him that it was going to be his job to preach. So we see Peter go from being panicked to being a proclaimer of Jesus in the book of Acts. If you were wondering why the angel would have singled Peter out of all of the disciples, Peter was the one who tried to hide the fact that he was a follower of Jesus even after he promised Jesus that he would not. He had lost his confidence in his relationship with Jesus and he was running from his problems.

Brothers and sisters, instead of running from our problems, let us run to Jesus. This is what is means to believe the gospel. (gospel presentation with an explanation of repentance)

But, there was one other clear instance of Jesus in Galilee. We find that in Matt 28. This passage is where we go to find the clear command that Jesus gives the disciples and also to the church to go and make disciples of all nations. This is where Jesus gives them this heavenly charge. As the NT progresses, we see this happen. The disciples, who are now called apostles, spread the gospel throughout Jerusalem. They raise up missionaries to go out to all of the known world at the time. They truly obey this command. I don’t want to sit here too long because I think there will be a sermon very soon on this passage and what it should mean to us as a church. But do know that there is an urgency for us to share the gospel and make disciples in our world today. And we are going to do that.

But they are told to go and tell the disciples that Jesus is going to meet them in Galilee.

Mark 16:8 ESV

8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

They were afraid. Mark uses these descriptors throughout his book to describe reactions in the moment of revelation. We should not see this description of them not saying anything as the finality of doing this, but as the initial reaction. In the moment, they ran and didn’t say anything. But, as the other gospel accounts tell us, they went and told the disciples. They relay this message and the disciples are witnesses to the resurrected savior.

After verse 8, we have this statement in brackets in most of our translations today. It tells us that verses 9-20 are not found in the earliest manuscripts. We are going to look at this next week, but I don’t want you to sit here and linger on that. Just because it says that does not mean that it is not the words of God. It is just a factual statement that a few of the oldest Greek manuscripts do not contain this, but the later ones do. Pray for me as I study this next week.

I want to circle back and look at a couple of application points that I mentioned already.

Comfort In The Empty Tomb

We seek so many avenues today to try to bring ourselves comfort. We look to things like approval of people who truly don’t matter. We get involved in organizations that make us feel good but don’t make an eternal impact. We even give money to places who do not honor God with it and feel good like we have done something monumental. Yet, comfort does not last.

Lasting comfort only comes from knowing that the tomb was empty that early morning after the Sabbath. It is in this where we can take comfort that one day, we will partake in the glorious resurrection of the saints. When Jesus will call us home and we will get to see a new heaven and a new earth. And we will not have to worry about cancer killing our loved ones or our friends overdosing on drugs and dying or someone we love being depressed and taking their own life instead of coming to us for help.

We need comfort brothers and sisters. This world is a mean and cruel place that will bring all kinds of chaos and we need to find lasting comfort and that is found in the empty tomb.

Trust In Times Of Uncertainty

We all have times when things are uncertain. Whether it is us walking into work tomorrow and not knowing if we will have a job. Maybe it is how we are going to pay the car insurance, light bill, health insurance, and rent, and still have to figure out how to buy groceries. Maybe it is trying to have kids and seeing those negative pregnancy tests time after time. Uncertainty does not discriminate.

But neither does trust. Each and every one of us have the ability to trust. You go to work each week and trust that your employer is going to compensate you for your time. Or, you trust that the mailman is going to deliver your social security check. Or, you trust that I am not going to preach too long. There are some things we shouldn’t trust in. But one thing that we must be growing in our trust in is trusting in Jesus and him alone for our provision.

I am not saying that Jesus is going to let us win the lottery next week. But, I firmly believe that he is going to take care of us to the extent that he sees fit. Maybe he lets me make that decision on what bills get paid and my lights get cut off. This doesn’t mean that he is not in control. Every situation that we go through is a means for us to be shaped. See, our trust is reflected in our reactions.

If I trust in God when I am not sure what is going to happen, then when bad happens, I praise God and ask him what it is that I am to learn from this. When good happens, I praise God and ask him what it is that I am to learn from this.

If I trust in Jesus for my provision, and my lights get turned off, then my reaction will not be one that curses God for letting it happen. It will be one that seeks God and looks for what it is that God is trying to teach me. Which leads to the last part of application I want to bring before you.

Understanding God’s Purpose

Praise God for his revelation. We have available to us the sufficient word of God. When I say that, I mean that it is there for what we need, when we need it. And we always need understanding.

I mentioned it somewhat when talking about trust, but have you ever sat back and wondered what it is that God is doing in your life and around you? I believe that we can find those answers. We have access to God both through prayer, where we speak to him, and through his word, where he speaks to us.

I am not sure the extent of what God is doing with me and with us as a church. But what I do know is that it has to do with the calling that he has placed on us. And that calling is to go and make disciples. I want to ask you to pray with me that God be clear on what that looks like for us.

Conclusion

This text is such a rich text.