Mark 16:1-8 | Easter 2026 (V2)
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Mark 16:1-8
Mark 16:1-8
When I was a growing up
We all run from the resurrection… but we don’t have to.
2000 years ago something happened that changed the world. More than any explosion, the fall of any empire, any catastrophic weather event. In one day, with the testimony of an empty tomb the entire course of human history would change forever. And that’s not hyperbole.
And on Easter we remember this, we consider what it means that the tomb was empty, (TAKE TIME) but we remember the resurrection not because it changed human history but because it changes human hearts.
For two thousand years people have testified that when they came to know Jesus, their life was forever changed. That’s my story, and I hope it is your story too. Because, what you believe about the resurrection of Jesus is the most important question you will ever answer.
The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:14
and if Christ has not been raised, then our faith is in vain.
Paul says all of Christianity hinges on this one event: the resurrection of Jesus. If Jesus didn’t raise from the dead then our faith is pointless, its useless, it doesn’t matter.(SLOW) But, if Jesus is alive then the empty tomb didn’t just change history, What you believe about the empty tomb will determine everything here on this earth and for eternity.
If you don’t know Jesus (this morning) (tonight), the Jesus who changed all of human history and changes human hearts everyday, is willing and waiting to change yours too.
The question for all of us this morning is what do we believe happened 2000 years ago. And if we believe that Jesus rose from the dead will we take his word that no matter how far we have run or how bad we have messed things up, because of the cross and empty tomb we can have new and eternal life in him.
Some of us here need to accept this truth for the first time (this morning) (tonight), others of us need to be reminded what the empty tomb says about a God who loves us more than we can comprehend.
If you would stand in honor of God’s word and open your Bibles to Mark 16, we will begin reading in verse 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. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they went to the tomb at sunrise. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?” Looking up, they noticed that the stone—which was very large—had been rolled away.
When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side; they were alarmed. “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. 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.’ ”
They went out and ran from the tomb, because trembling and astonishment overwhelmed them. And they said nothing to anyone, since they were afraid.
Pray
Before we can understand the full significance of resurrection morning we have to first understand the narrative up to this point. For three years Jesus had been going from town to town performing miracles and teaching those who would listen. All this time he was with the disciples, pouring into them, speaking life and truth over them, they were the closest people to Jesus, and were hand picked by Jesus to be so.
But, then in one day the disciples life for the past three years was upended. Their leader, teacher, and friend was dead. Killed on a cross by the roman empire in conjunction with the religious elite. Can you imagine that moment? The darkness and uncertainty. You can picture the disciples gathered around a table, mourning, filled with fear, wondering… what now?
What we know from the gospels is that is exactly what the disciples did after the crucifixion, they hid away in fear. But, not these three women that we read about in Mark 16. Look at verse 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.
The two Marys and Salome come on the morning of the third day to anoint Jesus’ body. These same women were recorded just a few verses earlier having been at Jesus’ crucifixion. What’s interesting about this is who’s missing from both the crucifixion and the morning of the third day? The disciples.
Every last one of them abandoned Jesus in his darkest moment. They ran away in fear. Only these three women remained.
And they came that morning, scripture says, to anoint Jesus. This was a Jewish practice done to show love and honor to someone who had passed.
And we can tell something important from the fact that they came to anoint Jesus and from their conversation as they headed to the tomb… we read this in verse 2: Mark 16:2-3
Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they went to the tomb at sunrise. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?”
The women came to the tomb expecting to find Jesus dead and were there to show him honor and love. On its face this sounds like a good thing they have done. I mean, the disciples are no where to be found hiding away in fear, at least these three women are standing by Jesus, honoring him.
The problem is, these three women came out of love for Jesus not faith in Jesus… You see Mark records Jesus telling his followers that he would be killed but would raise again, three different times throughout the gospel. If they had taken Jesus at His word they would have shown up ready to see Jesus, not anoint him. We see jesus tell them what will happen in three places, in Mark 8:31
Then he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and rise after three days.
For he was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after he is killed, he will rise three days later.”
“See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death. Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles, and they will mock him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him, and he will rise after three days.”
Jesus had told them at least three times, that are recorded, exactly what was going to happen but no one listened. Not Peter, not James and John, not the other 9 disciples, and not these women. They came to anoint the dead body of Jesus wondering who will open the tomb.
So many of us know the words of Jesus. We know that he says if we will have faith in him, repenting of our sins, we will be forgiven. Our sin will be cast as far as the east is from the west and we can have relationship with the God of the universe. Yet, we still show up to the empty tomb wondering, who is going to roll this stone, what am I going to do with the brokenness thats within me.
I know for me, I came to a place in life where I knew there was something broke within me that I could not fix. For all my efforts to find comfort and make peace with myself, for all the striving to find something that will satisfy my soul, I came to this place where I realized I cannot move my heart of stone. “Who is going to roll away the stone for me”
Mark continues in verse 4 to answer this question. Mark 16:4
Looking up, they noticed that the stone—which was very large—had been rolled away.
Y’all, look at me. For every time you have wondered, every time you have asked yourself “what am I going to do with the brokenness within me” The empty tomb sits there proclaiming that the work has already been done. See before there was a resurrection there was a crucifixion. God, in his great love for us, had a plan all along to save us from our brokenness and sin. In fact this was prophesied about in Isaiah 53 700 years before Jesus. Isaiah 53:1-6 The prohpet isaiah proclaimes of the messiah:
He didn’t have an impressive form
or majesty that we should look at him,
no appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of suffering who knew what sickness was.
He was like someone people turned away from;
he was despised, and we didn’t value him.
Yet he himself bore our sicknesses,
and he carried our pains;
but we in turn regarded him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced because of our rebellion,
crushed because of our iniquities;
punishment for our peace was on him,
and we are healed by his wounds.
We all went astray like sheep;
we all have turned to our own way;
and the Lord has punished him
for the iniquity of us all.
God always had a plan. His plan was to send Jesus, God himself in human form to die on a cross so that we may be healed. If you are new to church let me explain this a little deeper.
See, God created the world and everything in it. He created man and women and placed them in a garden. God gave them everything they needed to flourish, it was all theirs, except they had one rule, there was one tree they couldn’t eat from. But together, man and women disobeyed God in a effort to be like God. Because of this man’s relationship with God was broken, sin entered the world and with it death, sickness, and pain of every kind. But God promised as he cast man out of the garden that he would one day bring forth a child who would defeat sin and death.
For years humanity longed for this savior to come, whether they knew it or not all creation was groaning for this coming messiah, and then one day a baby was born in Bethlehem. His name was Emmanuel, God with us, Jesus. He would go on to live a perfect life, proclaiming the news of a coming kingdom of God where man would live at peace with God once again.
But, In order for this to become a reality someone had to pay for all of the sin and disobedience of man. This Jesus, Gods only begotten son and God himself, came to die on a cross, one perfect unblemished offering, for all the sins of those who will believe.
This happened 2000 years ago in Jerusalem. Where God himself was beaten, stoned, spit on, ridiculed, and died in anguish and humiliation. On this cross, Jesus died so we could live.
But three days later an angel appeared at his tomb to proclaim something miraculous. and this is where our text continues in verse 5 Mark 16:5-6
When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side; they were alarmed. “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.
Jesus not only died on a cross, he rose again, showing that he has authority over life and death. The curse that humanity brought upon themselves in the garden was now broken for all who would have faith in what Jesus had done.
Notice what the angel says next. Mark 16:7
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.’ ”
The angel points out that Jesus had told them already multiple times that he was going to raise again, they just didn’t listen. Family and friends, we must not make the same mistake. If we believe Jesus raised from the dead then we have every reason to listen to the words that he says. And we better take head of them. But here’s the problem, we aren’t very good listeners and obeyers.
We see this human reality in the women in verse 8 Mark 16:8
They went out and ran from the tomb, because trembling and astonishment overwhelmed them. And they said nothing to anyone, since they were afraid.
There is this angelic figure proclaiming the good news of salvation, the tomb is empty, just as Jesus said it would be, but the reaction is fear. They run away. Just like the disciples ran away and hid from the crucifixion, now these women too ran away from the resurrection.
The truth is that we have all ran from the resurrection. In one way or another, for one reason or another, we have all ran away from the greatest news the world has ever known.
Some of us have already said yes to Jesus by recognizing our need for a savior and repenting of our sins, yet we are still running. Instead of living in the freedom and purpose Christ has won on the cross, we live consumed with shame for who we used to be. The empty tomb is a reminder that the battle has been won. The old you is dead and gone. You have been called to a greater purpose, to live for the kingdom of God and tell others th good news.
Some in this room haven’t said yes to Jesus yet. Maybe because you are afraid you can’t trust him… maybe you have doubts.. you feel like if he knew the worst of you he would say the empty tomb is for everyone but you.
The cross and empty tomb are the greatest picture that the God of the universe is pursuing you despite your shame, fears, and doubts.
The Word tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and that because of our sin we deserve death and eternity in hell, but if you confess with your mouth that "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that he did in fact raise from the dead, you will be saved. Not only saved, but fully redeemed, given new life, and a new relationship with the God of the universe you loves you so much he died and rose for you.
See something happened 2000 years ago that changed human history. And we all have to make a decision about what we believe happened. It is the most important decision you will ever make because it will determine your life on earth and eternity. And indifference is a decision.
If Jesus is really risen, we cannot be living the way we have been living. We must repent of our sin and trust in the crucifixion and resurrection for our salvation. The good news is, whatever mess you find yourself in this morning (EVENING), Jesus has already rolled away the stone and gone ahead to Galilee. He has won the battle, you can be set free, all you need to do is surrender.
What I want to do in this moment is give you the opportunity to respond. I want everyone to bow their head and close their eyes. For those of you who have repented and trusted Christ for salvation, I want you to reflect on where you are at with Jesus right now, have you been running from the resurrection out of fear and shame? And I want you to pray for those in this room who for the first time are about to make the most important decision of their life. And for those outside of this room who God is calling you to share the good news of the cross and empty tomb with.
Now for those of you who have never made the decision to trust in Jesus. I want to give you the opportunity for him to change your heart right here right now. If in this moment you are saying to yourself I have never made this most important decision and I recognize my brokenness and know I need Jesus. If you are feeling in your mind, chest, or stomach that now is the time, that is the Holy Spirit. What I want to do is pray with you and over you.
Lets pray.
You may have noticed I didn’t ask anyone to raise their hand or come to the alter, all I ask is this, if you made that decision today, Give us an opportunity to contact you. Fill out the connection card in the seat back in front of you and mark, I want to give my life to Jesus. Place it in the white buckets on your way out of the service and we will reach out this week.
Now would you all stand with me. Lets pray. May we not run away from the resurrection…
