Resurrection Sunday - 2019

Mark 15.42-16.8

LOUIS FARRAKHAN on March 30 (speech put on Twitter)

After misquoting John 3:16 intentionally, “for God so loved His people...” he said,

"God does not love this world. God never sent Jesus to die for this world.

Jesus died because he was 2,000 years too soon to bring about the end of the civilization of the Jews.

He never was on no cross.

There was no Calvary for that Jesus.

Early one Saturday morning…when he found out he was 2000 years too soon to end the civilization of the Jews, He decided that he would give his life for the truth that he taught so that his name would live, until the one that he prefigured came into existence. That’s why the Quran says Jesus and his mother Mary were a sign.

Jesus didn't die on Calvary. He died in front of an old Jew's store that was boarded up and the Roman soldiers came to get him...”

(https://apple.news/AOLEM26rKRtKZEZeCB0hlWw)

The Qu’ran and the Bible can’t both be true.

Islam and Christianity are not the same.

The Jesus of the Scriptures and history IS the Messiah, He is Emmanuel, the Merciful Faithful High Priest, the Precious Cornerstone, the true Vine, the Waymaker…HE IS SALVATION.

And it is HIM that we have declared to you faithfully as we’ve walked through the Gospel of Mark together.

Quick Survey of the week:

SUNDAY - PALM SUNDAY

Jesus Triumphal entry into Jerusalem is juxtaposed against his heartbreak for his people.

Often - great triumph comes with much weeping.

THURSDAY - MAUNDY THURSDAY

Jesus final meal with his disciples - the Last Supper

It would be a sweet evening of fellowship and communion…and heartbreak. From our perspective, we see things begin to unravel quickly…from the Father’s perspective - the plan, timing, and ultimate rescue of mankind are still in motion - set ablaze in Eternity past.

FRIDAY - GOOD FRIDAY

Mark 15:33–41 NIV

33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). 35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.” 36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said. 37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. 38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” 40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

We read the text and wonder why on earth we call it good.

It is only good in light of Sunday morning’s reality of the resurrection.

In fact we call the Gospel the good news…but you cannot fathom the depth of it’s goodness without the darkness of its bad news.

He is crucified - as spikes are driven through his hands and feet, THIS MAN...

(who spoke and the winds and seas obeyed)

(who loved the marginalized)

(who physically and emotionally touched those that culture marked as “unclean”)

(who was love incarnate)

(who at his confession of his eternal name, when He said "I am He”, knocked down the guards in the garden with the power of word alone)

this man Jesus while is he being nailed to a tree that he created with spikes containing metals he formed in the earth,

was mocked as he was being prepared for the cruelest act of torture,

he is mocked while he is being tortured and until his torture is relieved by death

1 criminal mocks him as soon as they’re erect

1 criminal acknowledges his innocence and divinity and asks Jesus to remember him

women watch from afar as it becomes obvious by His cry that He has been forsaken by his Father…(THIS IS THE WORST SUFFERING TO HIM)

Charles Spurgeon writes:

Will he not sing sweeter songs than ever came from martyr’s lips? Ah! no; it is an awful wail of woe that can never be imitated. “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” The martyrs said not that: God was with them. Confessors of old cried not so, when they came to die. They shouted in their fires, and praised God on their racks. Why this? Why doth the Saviour suffer so? why, beloved, it was because the Father bruised him. That sunshine of God’s countenance that has cheered many a dying saint, was withdrawn from Christ; the consciousness of acceptance with God, which has made many a holy man espouse the cross with joy, was not afforded to our Redeemer, and therefore he suffered in thick darkness of mental agony.

​The New Park Street Pulpit Sermons, Vol. IV The Death of Christ (No. 173)

The lights go out - the earth goes dark.

This darkness that Creation experienced was darker than the darkness of natural night.

It was darker than the plague that befell Egypt as the tried to hide the light of God’s people.

It is likely the closest thing this earth will ever experience to the dark abyss of the place referred to a Ghenna, Sheol, Hell, itself.

Unseen to us but felt by God, Himself…the weight of sin was heavy and it was dark

Isaiah 53:6 NIV

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

there is an earthquake

the veil of the temple is torn from top to bottom

some of the dead in tombs are raised

Jesus cries out…and dies He cried out “It is finished”.

At 12, he said, “I must be about my Father’s business.”

At the height of his ministry he says in John 9 - “I must do the work of Him who sent me while it is still day.”

In his high priestly prayer in John 17, he tells the Father, “I have finished the work you gave me to do.”

He cries out, “into your hands I commit my spirit.” And announces to the work I came to do in this mortal body is done. NOT I am finished BUT It is finished.

Mark 15.42-47

Mark 15:42–47 NIV

42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.

And then...JESUS IS TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS

CUSTOMS NOTE:

Who was Joseph?

- probably lived in Jerusalem / originally from Arimathea, a village 20 miles northwest of the city.

- a wealthy (Matt. 27:57), reputable member of the Council (bouleutēs), a non-Jewish designation for the Sanhedrin. He had not approved of the Sanhedrin’s decision to kill Jesus (Luke 23:51).

- He was personally waiting for the kingdom of God (cf. Mark 1:15) which suggests he was a devout Pharisee.

- He regarded Jesus as the Messiah though so far he was a secret disciple (John 19:38).

Aware of Roman regulations, Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate and requested Jesus’ body for burial. He did this as evening approached (lit., “when evening had already arrived,” i.e., probably about 4 p.m.). This gave urgency to his intended action.

But he took courage and went to Pilate boldly, a description unique to Mark. His action was bold because:

(a) he was not related to Jesus;

(b) his request was a favor that would likely be denied on principle since Jesus had been executed for treason;

(c) he risked ceremonial defilement in handling a dead body;

(d) his request amounted to an open confession of personal loyalty to the crucified Jesus which would doubtless incur his associates’ hostility. He was a secret disciple no longer—something Mark impressed on his readers.

- John D. Grassmick, “Mark,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 191.

These formerly secret disciples, along with several women, would do the gruesome task of preparing His corpse for burial. Once the soldiers lowered the body of Jesus from the cross, His friends would have to flex and massage His arms in order to relieve rigor mortis, which kept the arms stuck in the V position after death. Then they would wash His body and anoint it with oil before wrapping it in a single linen cloth. A separate napkin tied under His chin kept His mouth from gaping open after the muscles began to loosen.

Next, they were to wrap His body from head to toe in long strips of linen, which had been soaked in a mixture of spiced resin. They would use 75-100 lbs of heavily scented spices to offset the smell of decomposition.

REALITY: As the sun sank below the horizon, the burial party found themselves pressed between two of God’s commandments. They were to keep the Sabbath day sacred (which began at sundown), but Deuteronomy 21:22– 23 required the body of someone who had been executed to be buried that same day.

With night closing in, they had just enough time to hurriedly wrap His body in linen, apply at least some of the spices, and place Him inside the tomb.

(Swindoll, Charles R.. Jesus (Great Lives Series) (pp. 234-235). Thomas Nelson.)

The tomb is sealed to keep the foul odors in and the grave robbers out (it seems as if the Pharisees believed His promise of resurrection more than the disciples did)

The watch is set

REALITY:

Death. The unbroken testimony from the Old Testament to the early church fathers, including believers and unbelievers, Jews and Gentiles, is overwhelming evidence that Jesus really suffered and died on the cross. The death of Christ by crucifixion is a historical fact beyond all reasonable doubt.

SATURDAY:

Saturday his disciples hide

Saturday his mother cries

Saturday, it seems like hope, light, and truth die...

For all the disciples knew:

Jesus was a carpenter.

From Nazareth.

He was their friend.

And now He was dead.

SUNDAY MORNING - Resurrection

Mark 16:1–8 NIV

1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, 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, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’ ” 8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

v1

This was not embalming, this was an act of devotion and love.

The women here - are demonstrating that they had no expectation of His resurrection.

The first few hours of Sunday morning were nothing short of pandemonium, of which the four Gospels give account. Very often, when people tell the story of a chaotic event, they focus on the aspects of the story they consider important and may leave out other details. They also tend to compress some details into summary statements while drawing out every nuance of another. In this case, we have four witnesses to the event, which gives us much information. However, to see the whole picture, we have to correlate their accounts.

John’s record focuses on the experience of Mary Magdalene, while Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us what happened to the other women (Luke 24:10).

The morning after the Sabbath—Sunday morning—the guards stood watch over their dead prisoner when, suddenly, the ground shook and a brilliant light flooded the garden.

An angel of the Lord descending from heaven came and rolled away the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.

The guards were shaken and became like dead men because they were so afraid of him. Matthew 28:2–4 NET

Sometime later, Mary Magdalene, another Mary, Salome, Joanna, and some other women converged on the tomb of Jesus.

Luke’s account reveals that their purpose was to complete the burial process with the spiced resin they had prepared (Luke 24:1) and that they even wondered how they would remove the giant stone.

As Mary Magdalene and the women approached the tomb, they saw that the giant stone had been tossed aside and the guards were lying unconscious nearby.

According to the Gospel by John, Mary Magdalene immediately ran to tell Peter and John what she thought had happened. “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him” (John 20:2).

“[The women] went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid” (Mark 16:8).

But then they encountered someone who removed any doubt that might have lingered in their minds. Jesus met them, saying, “Greetings!” They came to him, held on to his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. They will see me there.” Matthew 28:9–10 NET

I wish that I could preach on the weight and the darkness of the offense of our sin to such a degree that you would leave this place fearful…but even if I could, that would be no way to leave. Because the Gospel isn’t the Gospel because of the Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, or even Good Friday…it’s all that WITH THE RESURRECTION!

REALITY:

Resurrection. If Jesus Christ had not clearly and unequivocally been raised bodily as the permanent conqueror of death on behalf of the human race, we would have never heard of him. The demoralized movement would have fizzled out on the launching pad. For a while memories of a carpenter – healer would have persisted around Galilee; then "the Jesus event" would have washed over like a child's Sandcastle on the beach by the tides of history.

I opened our time with a statement from the Nation of Islam’s leader - paraphrasing the Qur’an. That was their view of Jesus. Islam and Christianity can’t both be correct. They are mutually exclusive.

But there is a galaxy of Christ figures paraded by groups and organizations for their own purposes. People have been doing this ever since Christ's first hearers tried to turn into a liberator from the Roman occupation. Even Herod had hoped that prisoner Jesus would become an entertainer for his enjoyment.

Military Christ - from the ill-conceived Crusades

Sentimental Christ - of English Victorian gentility

Political Messiah on one end and...

Social Justice Christ on the other.

Superstar Christ - from show-business industry

Signs and Wonders worker from the religious existentialists.

The Artists' Christ has been painted youthful and virile, pale and emaciated, severe and majestic, ethereal an remote.

He's been feminized on one extreme and...posited as a violent "Ché Guevara" Revolutionary

He's been rendered a clown, a dancer, a radical, and a tramp.

In our Postmodern culture, we are encouraged to create a Designer Christ who can be cut and pasted into our own molds to fit our needs on our timetable.

PAUL BRINGS US BACK TO OUR GOD AND KING THOUGH…THE ONE WHO HAS ALL THINGS UNDER HIS FEET LIKE THE PSALMIST INDICATED IN PSALM 8.

1 Corinthians 15:3-5 has a single unbroken sentence where Christ is the subject of four verbs. Within a single sentence, Paul does not switch from factual language to metaphorical language

1 Corinthians 15:3–5 NIV

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.

The Crucified King is also the Resurrected King of Glory!

1. It is this God to whom we are accountable! (Rom 1:1-7)

2. We have rebelled against God - directly! (Rom 1:18, 21-23)

We have all embraced a culture of death and darkness.

3. God’s solution for all humanity is Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection. (Rom 3:21, 24-25)

4. How can we be involved in this great salvation? (Rom 3.22; 4:5)

ANSWER: (Where we started about 1 year ago on this journey through Mark’s Gospel) Repent and Believe - Mark 1:15

​Mark 1:15 ESV15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

SIGNAL FOR INVITATION!

Have you done that?

Recognized God as the ultimate creator and authority to whom you are accountable

Acknowledged that you have directly rebelled against God?

Confessed the only solution to your standing before this Holy God is the sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of God’s only son, Jesus Christ.

Repented of your sins, and put your faith and trust in Christ alone

Have you done that? If not, and you feel a pressing need to deal with that today, I’m going to invite you to respond today.

FINAL THOUGHT: Christian friend, stop carrying around things in your hands, busying up your calendars, tying up your resources - as if there’s no resurrection! HE LIVES! HE IS RISEN!

HE IS RISEN INDEED!

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COMMUNION

INVITATION

Brothers and sisters, as we draw near to the Lord’s Table to celebrate the Communion of the body and blood of Christ, we are grateful to remember that our Lord instituted this ordinance:

For the perpetual memory of his dying for our sakes and the pledge of his undying love;

As a bond of our union with him and each other as members of his mystical body;

As a seal of his promises to us and a renewal of our obedience to him;

For the blessed assurance of his presence with us who are gathered here in his name;

As an opportunity for us who love the Savior to feed spiritually on him who is the Bread of Life; and As a pledge of his coming again.

COMMUNION PRAYER

Father in heaven, we bow our heads now because Jesus bowed his head and gave up his spirit. We bow in reverence, in respect, in awe, and in adoration for the person of Christ, the words of Christ, and today for the cross of Christ. Fill us now and afresh with your Holy Spirit, so that our worship in this moment will bring true honor to you—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and genuine consolation to our souls. We pray this in Jesus’s name. Amen.

FENCING

This sacred time at the Lord’s Table is for believers who have rested all their hope on the death and resurrection of Christ.

If you are not yet a believer, you should refrain from partaking until you come to faith in Christ—and then joyfully partake along with the body of Christ. We encourage those of you who are believers to examine your hearts, so that you can partake in a worthy manner. If your heart is not right, refrain until you can come freely to partake.

As the bread and the cup are served, we ask that you hold them, so that we all partake together.

THE BREAD

“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me’” (1 Cor. 11:23–24).

PRAYER FOR THE BREAD

Christ Jesus, when you came into the world, you said to the Father: “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.” Then you said, “Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book” (Heb. 10:5–7).

And then you came in the incarnation, and by a single offering of your body on the cross you achieved what all the offerings on Jewish altars could never accomplish—the complete forgiveness of our sins. Bread of heaven, as we now partake of the symbol, ravish our hearts and refresh our souls. Amen.

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PARTAKING OF THE BREAD

Jesus said: “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Cor. 11:24). Silence

THE CUP

“In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me’” (1 Cor. 11:25).

PRAYER FOR THE CUP

Our gracious God, we thank you this day for the new covenant, the covenant sealed through the blood of Jesus Christ, your Son. And we drink this cup in remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins, asking him even now, through the Spirit, to commune with us as we commune with each other. With grateful hearts, O Christ, we drink of you and to you. Amen.

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PARTAKING OF THE CUP

Jesus said, “Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Cor. 11:25b).

Silence.

BENEDICTION

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor. 13:14). Amen.