Who is this Jesus, Risen from the Dead
Notes
Transcript
Announcements:
Announcements:
Wednesday Nights
OC Youth
Introduction
Introduction
This is it
Today we are finishing up Mark’s gospel
We’ve been devoting our Sundays to studying it for over a year
Last week we looked at the crucifixion
We saw that as Jesus died—The veil in the temple was torn
And that we now have complete and full access to God our Father
But as we continue we see that the cross is not the end of the story
We celebrate this every Easter—but after the cross, comes the resurrection
Scripture Reading:
Scripture Reading:
1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they could go and anoint him. 2 Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they went to the tomb at sunrise. 3 They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?” 4 Looking up, they noticed that the stone—which was very large—had been rolled away.
5 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side; they were alarmed. 6 “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. 7 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.’ ”
8 They went out and ran from the tomb, because trembling and astonishment overwhelmed them. And they said nothing to anyone, since they were afraid.
The Abrupt Ending of Mark
The Abrupt Ending of Mark
Now you may wonder why we stopped the Scripture reading at verse 8
Depending on your Bible translation you’ll read something along the lines of:
“Some of the earliest manuscripts conclude with 16:8”
What we read in verses 9 and after are generally not considered a part of Mark’s original gospel
And if that is shocking to you...
The Bible was a real written book that was passed down from generation to generation over thousands of years
And the fact is we have so much manuscript evidence of the Bible, that we can actually tell what is original and what has been added
Nerding Out
Most of the older translations (NKJV) were based on Latin translations of the Bible
St Jerome the entire Bible into Latin in the late 300s and early 400s (roughly 400 years after Jesus)
But due to archeological advancements: we’ve found a ton of more manuscripts and many of them date before Jerome's translation
We have hundreds of manuscripts in the original Greek
And many of the newer translations (CSB, NLT, NIV, ESV) all use these manuscripts because they are closer to the time of Jesus—so they are more reliable
And this is one of the areas that we can see… the longer ending of Mark isn’t in the older manuscripts
Why would someone add to the ending?
I think because it ends pretty abrupt
Many people think that it wasn’t finished or completed
But I think Mark knew what he was doing and had a point in ending his gospel like this
Mark is a master storyteller
We’ve seen this since the beginning of the Gospel
He isn’t as concerned about all of the teachings and conversations Jesus has (like Matthew or John)
But he is action-focused—What is Jesus doing
Reading Mark is like reading a story
And here Mark finishes his story with an open-ending
Why do story-tellers do this?
To get you to think—To engage the reader/viewer
Inception
And for Mark there has been a question at forefront of the entire Gospel—that everyone is grappling with—and we are being pulled into this drama:
The question is: Who is Jesus?
He gives us a clear answer in the beginning:
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
10 As soon as he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.”
But as the story continues—everyone else is trying to figure this out:
The demons know and recognize Jesus—as he is casting them out
32 When evening came, after the sun had set, they brought to him all those who were sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town was assembled at the door, 34 and he healed many who were sick with various diseases and drove out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
He tells them to be quiet—He is going to reveal himself on his own terms
Crowds begin to amass because everyone wants to see who this Jesus is
Who is HE?
In chapter 2, Jesus has his first run-in with the religious leaders and they are wondering too:
6 But some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts: 7 “Why does he speak like this? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
In chapter 3, he again faces demonic opposition
11 Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God!” 12 And he would strongly warn them not to make him known.
His family says hes crazy, the religious leaders say he’s possessed by a demon
In Chapter 4, Jesus and his disciples are out at sea—and a huge storm rolls in
Jesus is peacefully sleeping, and they wake him up because they are afraid for their lives
He calmly silences the sea and tells it to be still and it did so
Then we read:
41 And they were terrified and asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”
In Chapter 5, again, a demon recognizes Jesus and is told to be silent
In Chapter 6, Jesus returns to his hometown—and he is almost unrecognizable
2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. “Where did this man get these things?” they said. “What is this wisdom that has been given to him, and how are these miracles performed by his hands? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” So they were offended by him.
And as we continue in chapter 8 we reach one of the small climaxes of Mark
Jesus takes his disciple aside and asks “Who do people say that I am?”
And some say he’s John the Baptist back from the dead, others say He’s Elijah, others say he’s a new prophet
But then Jesus asks his disciples— “Who do you say that I am?”
And Peter responds— “You are the Messiah”
And after this announcement—Jesus begins to head to Jerusalem
And while he is on the way he is continually telling his disciples that He is going to be rejected, crucified, and raise from the dead
And the disciples just don’t get it
And as we’ve read in the past couple of weeks—this question is still at the center of Mark’s Gospel:
In his trial with the religious leaders:
61 But he kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest questioned him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
62 “I am,” said Jesus, “and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
In his trial with Pilate:
2 So Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
He answered him, “You say so.”
3 And the chief priests accused him of many things. 4 Pilate questioned him again, “Aren’t you going to answer? Look how many things they are accusing you of!” 5 But Jesus still did not answer, and so Pilate was amazed.
And on the cross—Jesus takes on the sin of the world—and dies on the cross
An onlooker—A Roman centurion makes a comment
39 When the centurion, who was standing opposite him, saw the way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
And so us—as the reader—follow Jesus from the beginning of his ministry—all the way to the cross
And at each step—we aren’t just faced with who these people 2 thousand years ago though Jesus was
But we are being poked and prodded—Who is this Jesus?
That has authority over creation
That heals the sick and needy
That walks on water
That casts out demons
That feeds the multitudes
That offers himself as a sacrifice
That raises from the dead
This isn’t just a story—this is history
Jesus was a real man who walked the same earth as us
So as Mark’s story makes an abrupt ending—the focus is then put on the reader—on us
Imagine the scene—if this were a movie
The pain and sorrow of the cross we read last week
Then the discovery of an open and empty tomb—Where did the body go?
And angelic appearance telling the woman that “He is risen! He is not here.”
And being told to gather the disciples—He is going to meet them again
The disciples that all abandoned and scattered after his arrest
Then the final scene: These woman are running from the tomb—trembling and astonished
What happens next?!
Did he really raise from the dead?
Mark is inviting us into a life of faith and discipleship
“The narrator has permitted the reader to be ‘with Jesus’ the whole time, from beginning to end… When family rejected him, the reader persisted. When religious leaders, crowds, and disciples misunderstood and abandoned Jesus, the reader stood by him… Now, the readers stand at the brink of the incomplete narrative in which all others have failed and with terrible restraint, the narrator breaks off the story and leaves the readers… with a decision to make.” — Eugene Boring
Or as another author writes:
“This is the end of Mark’s story because it is the beginning of discipleship.” — Morna Hooker
We’ve heard the story of Jesus
But now as the narrator breaks away, we are left with a question
And this is the most important question we will ever answer...
This question has ETERNAL implications
Who is Jesus?
And not just the textbook answer—but who is Jesus to you?
Look, if I asked you about your best friend—who they are, I would probably get a different kind of answer than if I asked you who Abraham Lincoln was
It’s not just facts about this man Jesus—but actually knowing Him
You see, there are many ‘Jesus’s’ out there
Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet
Mormon’s believe Jesus is the brother of lucifer and a created being
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe Jesus is the arch-angel Michael
Both political sides have their ideas of Jesus
The MAGA Jesus
The Social Justice Jesus
The “He Gets Us” Jesus
There’s people who believe Jesus is a myth
There’s others who believe he was a misunderstood prophet who never claimed to be God
And the list goes on
And we are swimming in all of these answers—Who is right about who Jesus is?
That’s why we go to this book
That contains eye-witness accounts of people who lived with Jesus
That is the most historically reliable book without rival
But even bigger than this book—as believers—we have the Holy Spirit
The same spirit that Jesus had now lives and dwells in us
Opening our eyes to the truth of scripture
Showing us the heart of Jesus
And this is how we get to know Jesus
Through God’s word
Through Prayer
Through the Holy Spirit
And I can say will all sincerity—when asked: Who is Jesus?
That Jesus is my king and my shepherd
Jesus is my savior and strength
That Jesus is my best friend and brother
That when I fail—He is right there to lift me back up
Then when I go through seasons of life where I completely ignored him—He stayed by my side
That when all others let me down—He is always faithful
More than my family—more than my wife
I love Jesus
He died in my place to set me free from sin and death
And he has brought me into a new life
But again—this is just what I have to say—What do you have to say?
Who is Jesus to you?
Not to your parents
Not to your friends
He is here today asking the same question He asked to his disciples: “Who do you say that I am?”
As we take communion today—Remember
Remember who Jesus is—and what he came to do
When we take this bread and this cup—we remember the cross
That Jesus gave his body and shed his blood for each of us
That’s why we do this every week—to recenter our lives back on the most important relationship we have
Remembering his love for us
Small Group Questions
Small Group Questions
Icebreaker:
Choose one historical and one fictional person you would want to be friends with
What are some ideas people have about who Jesus is?
(At your school, on the internet, in your family, etc.)
Who is Jesus to you?
Do you know Jesus personally?
Do you want to know Jesus deeper?
How do you think we can grow to know Jesus deeper?
(Scripture, Prayer, Worship, Community, etc.)
