He is Risen

He is Risen and it Matters

Mark 16

Mark 16 NKJV

Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.” So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either. Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.

The Easter Story- Refuted by the World. The very backbone of our faith.

If Jesus didn’t resurrect then our hope only extends to this life- which doesn’t offer us much hope and leads us into the trap of “eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die”

If Jesus didn’t raise from the dead, then we Christians are to be pitied above all else.

So is it true?

Let’s think through this like reasonable people: Let’s look at what the historians agree with us about.

Jesus was a real man, a carpenter and Nazarene.

Jesus led a group of people (His disciples) in a public ministry in the last 3 years of his ministry.

Jesus was crucified at the hand of Pilate and the Jewish leaders. Jesus died on a cross and was put to death by the Roman Govt.

Jesus was called the King of the Jews.

Several people (hundreds) claimed to see Jesus alive after HIs death.

These people all kept this same story. There is no record of recanting, even 40 years later and even when facing imminent death if the story wasn;t recanted.

These who claimed to see Him risen, were arrested, beaten and murdered.

His body was never recovered.

With these facts, there has to be theories as to what really happened if it is not that He resurrected

The disciples in a faith induced frenzy, all hallucinated or had a spiritual vision of Jesus.

Problems- What faith!?

10 are cowering in a room afraid for their lives, 1 has failed miserably and given up and returned to his life as a fisherman, and 1 has committed suicide for his grief.

There was not fervent spiritual activity, etc.

They were asking what to do with their life and how to not end up like Jesus-

If your leader ( a king) is killed for insurrection, you know you are next.

It can’t be a group hallucination- they weren’t in a group AND their main concern was escape and survival, not a religious experience.

The disciples made it up to progress their agenda:

Problems:

The first witnesses- women- Couldn’t testify.

Where were the men?

Cowards-

How would they tell the story?

None of it is real and all made up-

1.There are too many records, too many accounts, too many witnesses.

A lawyer or an interrogator uses a technique where they ask the same question several times and in several different ways, because if one is lying, they will forget pieces and details of the story.

They will also ask everyone involved the same questions. Because if a story is being fabricated, then their story will be different.

Over 40 plus years and spanning several witnesses, the story remained the same. This would pass the test of the scrutiny of today’s courts.

2. The biggest problem: If you accuse someone of a crime (in this case fabricating the resurrection) in order to be guilty, the prosecution has to show a motive.

What motive could these people have?

They were exiled, hunted down, despised, and killed for this story.

No motive to lie about it.

If you are reasonable, you have to conclude there is more to this resurrection thing than a kids story, bunnies and funny colored eggs. In fact, it takes much more faith to believe the alternatives.

As one of my favorite teachers say, The Bible stands up to your scrutiny and as you search it, you find it is actually searching you.

And so This begs the question: Does this matter, and if so why?

Without the resurrection, Jesus was a good teacher. a prophet maybe, a leader a good man.

If Jesus died and stayed dead, He is equal with all other teachers, prophets and leaders. There is nothing to distinguish Him and HIs message should be considered equal to the others.

Buddha- seeking of peace and peace within yourself.

Hinduism- we will reincarnate over and over again.

Mormon- we will inherit our own planet.

Islam- God is vengeful and we must act out his vengeance.

If Jesus didn’t resurrect, then spin a wheel and pick one.

Only Jesus claims to be the One and only. I am the Way, the truth and the life. Nobody comes to the Father except for me.

If Jesus truly resurrected from the dead then His message is true. His message is that the other paths are false and lead s to destruction.

Ultimately, your eternity hinges upon what you believe about His resurrection.

On one side- eternally separated from God. You don’t get to the Father, you spend eternity empty of Him.

On the other- this promise. His words” I have come to give you life and life to the full” Eternal life. Abundant life.

Back to the story- 3 women learn Jesus has resurrected, 2 disciples see Jesus and speak with him, but the 10 are still huddling in fear. They like so many in the world don’t believe. Why?

I have some suggestions-

they had experienced trauma and hardship- How could God allow such events. His own son killed. Their friend, mentor and supposed savior- Their life looked nothing like they imagined.

Their “logical mind” couldn’t comprehend it. It defied science, it defied common sense.

Finally, this was not the way they had presupposed the Messiah would come and lead.

In their faith, the belief was, once the messiah came, He would stay forever.

I would love to quickly tackle these:

1. If God is good, why does He allow bad things?

I want to ask you this question in response? Did Jesus die because he was ok with the human condition, which we all can agree is the cause of our issues. Or did He die to turn the evil to Good?

Job- God never gave permission. We did with our sin. (All he has in in your power) - Prince of this world.

The thief comes to steal kill and destroy but I come to give you life.

2. It doesn’t make logical sense-

Do you really want to follow a God who is bound by natural laws and physics?

3. God;s plan doesn’t meet our expectation.

This is the real one isn’t it?

In Tewin church yard, a short distance from King’s Cross Station in England, stands a great four-trunked tree growing out of a grave. This has given rise to much speculation among the residents of that region. The grave from which it grows is that of Lady Anne Grimston. Is the tree a monument to a woman’s disbelief or did it happen to grow there by chance? Lady Anne Grimston did not believe in life after death. When she lay dying in her palatial home, she said to a friend, “I shall live again as surely as a tree shall grow from my body.”

She was buried in a marble tomb. The grave was marked by a large marble slab and surrounded by an iron railing. Years later the marble slab slipped. Then it cracked, and through the crack a small tree grew.

The tree continued to grow, slowly tilting the stone and breaking the marble masonry until today it has surrounded the tomb with its roots and torn the railing out of the ground. The tree at Lady Anne Grimston’s grave is one of the largest in England. Is it possible that God decided to take her challenge?

Cooper, R. L. (2000). Mark (Vol. 2, p. 278). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers. history minus God is full of the history of men and women trying to make their own way. Trying to be their own God. Trying to be in control.

3. The messiah isn’t doing it the way we want.

Man wants to control their own life. Make their own way.

Go back to the original sin- Satan tempting “God doesn’t want you to eat this fruit, because you will be like God, knowing good and evil”

From the dan of history, we want to be our own God and we muck it up!

Jesus didn’t come as the heroic military messiah they wanted. He doesn’t come as we want him to. He isn’t swayed by our selfish desires.

This is our real issue, isn’t it? If you are here and you haven’t believed yet, this is your issue. It’s not that you can’t believe in impossible things. Or improbable things. It takes a lot of belief to believe that all of this human body happened to accidentally happen without intelligent design. It takes a lot of belief in the improbable to believe that a band of people made up a ridiculous story at the cost of their life to propagate a dead man’s message.

No… Belief isn’t the issue, faith is. Faith is giving away your control to another. I believe in you!

If I believe in this, I can’t live my own life anymore. That is true.

Back to Mark- Jesus rebukes them for their unbelief- then gives them a new life plan and purpose.

But if you read in the other accounts, He allowed Thomas to touch his hands, his side etc.

Have you messed up your life? Jesus didn’t stay in His grave.

Now He sits at the right hand of the Father- He is alive and He has a plan for your life.

If you read in the other accounts, He allowed Thomas to touch his hands, his side etc.

Let’s quite ourselves- invite Holy Spirit to come. Can you feel Him? You can experience Him and He loves you. And He is good.

Invitation to accept Jesus. (Will you give your trust to Him)

Invitation to re-give your life to Him. (Did you try to take back control)