04-08-07-Who Will Move the Stone
Today is Resurrection Sunday! In the early church and in many countries around the world there is a customary greeting that is given on this day. If you are familiar with the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding there is a scene in which the Greek lady, Toula, is trying to teach her non-Greek fiancé, Ian what to say in Greek on Easter. She tells him to say “Christos anestee!” which means “Christ is risen!” Then the response from the other person is “Aleethoos anestee,” which means “He is risen indeed!” In the movie, Ian responds with something like “Cheetos are nasty!,” which although it is funny and sounds close to the Greek means nothing about Easter. In similar ways today in America, the greeting that we hear is Happy Easter!, which means about as much as Ian’s response. The reason Happy Easter! means so little is because it has no real connection with the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So to help begin this Lord ’s Day properly let me say the traditional greeting to you in English and then have you respond. I’ll say “Christ is risen!” and you’ll say “He is risen indeed!” (repeat 3x)
Our world thinks of Easter as bunny rabbits, baskets full of candy, colored eggs, and new clothing. To many in the world, Easter is a celebration of spring and the new life that we see in nature. Yet, Easter is so much more than these trivial things and we in the church should not get caught up in such carnal celebration. Easter or as I prefer to call it Resurrection Day, is a day of celebration. It is the day that we celebrate the resurrection from the dead of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Our celebration of Easter should be every day, not just on Easter Sunday. As Christians we should celebrate Easter:
v Every morning when we wake up and see the beauty of the day, remembering the new mercies and new grace of God for that day.
v Every time we see our children running and playing in the house or yard, thanking God for the blessings of them and their health.
v Every time we kiss our spouse, recognizing that they are a gift from God.
v Every time we see our paycheck and realize that God has given us the job that we have so we can provide for our family.
v Every time that we pass an accident on the road, realizing that God protected us from tragedy and hurt.
v Every time a loved one leaves this life and goes on to their eternal reward with our God in heaven.
Christ died and rose from the grave so that we might have God’s grace and mercy everyday of our lives. Not just once a year grace. Not old stale worn out grace from years gone by. But grace that is free and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year for the rest of our lives. That kind of grace is truly worth celebrating!
Yet the price for that kind of grace was not cheap. It cost God everything He had, to give us His grace. It cost His Son Jesus Christ dying a horrible, cruel death on a cross, being buried and lying dead in a tomb for 3 days, and then being raised from the dead.
On this Resurrection Sunday 2007, I’d like to look at the question asked by the women who came to the tomb, “Who will move the stone?”
Ø Mark 16:2-8 (NIV) 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they (the women) 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.
Early on Sunday morning the two Mary’s and Salome (v.1) came to the tomb to embalm the body of Jesus with spices. They knew it would not be easy. They knew a huge stone had been placed across the mouth of the tomb. They knew about the Roman seal on the tomb and the guard of soldiers at the tomb. But because they loved Jesus they were willing to overcome any obstacle to show their love for their Savior.
As they neared the tomb where the body of Jesus had been quickly laid, before the start of Passover, at sundown on Friday; they were wondering out loud (v.2) who would roll away the stone from the tomb? The huge stone blocked the entrance to the body of Jesus. No one could get in and no one could get out—or so they thought. They thought about how since they were only 3 women, how could they roll the stone away? Maybe they could beg the Roman guards to roll it away, since all they wanted to do was complete the embalming of the body of Jesus. Surely the guards would not be threatened by 3 women.
This stone was a big obstacle for them to overcome. It represented that which separates us from our Lord. These women felt helpless against such a large stone. They knew that they did not have enough power to move it away, yet they knew that some how they had to move it. The impossibility of the situation was separating them from their Lord. Maybe, as they thought more about just how impossible it would be to move the stone, they said, “Maybe we are just wasting our time. Maybe we won’t even get to Jesus’ body.” Each step they took toward the tomb got harder and harder because they did not know what they were going to do when they got there. They began to doubt and fear that they would be separated from their Lord forever.
What is it that separates us from God today? What huge difficulty do we have to overcome? What impossibility looms so large that it consumes our thinking and causes us to doubt our God? What sin in our life separates us from the Lord? What problem is so big that we begin to fear that we cannot overcome it? Whatever it is, this is the stone that separates us from our God.
Ø Romans 8:35-39 (NIV) 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? . . . 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,d neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The good news of the resurrection of Christ is that there is nothing too big to separate us from the love of God. There is nothing too big, no problem too great, no difficulty too hard—no stone too large—that God can not move it! AMEN!?
The stone also represented despair. The Messiah who they loved had died and was buried in that tomb. Jesus had raised Lazarus from a tomb like this one, but of course, He had been on the outside and Lazarus was the one who was dead. So to these women, all they could think of was that the One they loved was dead and buried behind that big stone.
How like this stone is the despair of death to many of us. Our loved one dies and is buried and we are separated from them by a grave. Many grieve for the rest of their lives because they think that the person is gone forever. Yet the wonder of the resurrection of Jesus is that it shows us that there is hope that one day we will see our loved ones again. The power of the resurrection gives hope to us that there is life after death! Christ’s empty grave gives us confidence that one day the grave of our loved one will be empty
Ø 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NIV) 13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep (died), or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep (died) in Him. . . . 16 For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.
So be encouraged and do not allow the despair of death to overcome you. Yes, my friends, Jesus has conquered death and is alive today! How do we know this? Because the stone was rolled away and the tomb was empty!
The stone of separation and the stone of despair is what the women expected to face at the tomb. As they walked along with their heads bowed down, full of despair, they finally arrived at the tomb. But they did not know that the stone was gone until they looked up (v. 4) and to their amazement they saw that the stone was rolled away! The huge problem that they thought they would have to face was gone. No guards, no seal, no stone on the mouth of the tomb. Who moved the stone?
There can be only one answer to this question. God moved the stone!! Hallelujah! Just like Jesus had called Lazarus forth from the tomb, God Almighty called His Son forth from the tomb, only this time no men moved the stone away, but God did. He could not allow His Son to stay in that grave any longer because He was not bound by death. The grave was empty because Jesus was not dead—He was alive! Jesus the Christ—the Messiah—the Anointed One—The Son of God—King of Kings and Lord of Lords—had risen from the dead by the power of Almighty God and no grave could keep Him in it.
Ø Acts 2:23-24 (NIV) 23 This Man (Jesus) was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,b put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. 24 But God raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him.
These women had seen a frightening thing—no stone where there should have been one. Can you imagine the shock they must have felt? But thank God that He understands our feelings and is always there to comfort us when we need it. Rather than leaving these women to wonder at who moved the stone, God sent an angel to explain it to them.
(v.5) Entering the tomb, they saw an angel who looked like a young man in a white robe. (v.6) The angel quickly calmed their fears with the announcement that Jesus had risen. The tomb was empty. The angel told them to look at the place where Jesus’ body had been laid. Then the angel told them to go and tell the disciples about the resurrection. They were to tell His disciples—and Peter (v.7) — that Jesus would meet them in Galilee. Notice that Peter, the disciple who had denied His Lord, was singled out for special mention. The risen Lord had not disowned Peter even though Peter had denied Jesus 3 times. No, Jesus still loved him and longed to see him again. There was a special work of restoration that needed to be done. This wandering sheep must be brought back into fellowship with the Shepherd. Like the prodigal son this backslider must be returned to the Father’s house.
The women fled from the tomb with mixed emotions. (v.8) They were too afraid to tell anyone what had happened. This is not surprising. The wonder is that they had been so brave and loyal and devoted up to now. Any of us who may want to criticize them for their fear, must put ourselves in their place first before we do so. They at least were brave enough to go to the tomb that morning. Where were the rest of the disciples—including Peter—on this resurrection morning? They were hiding, fearful for their lives that the Jewish religious leaders would find them and crucify them, just like they had killed Jesus. And when the disciples were told the news that Jesus had been raised from the dead, they did not believe it. (Mark 16:11, 13). They had yielded to the stone of separation and the stone of the despair and could not believe that God had moved the stone away. So I commend these women for their courage and willingness to face their stone of separation and despair—no matter how big it may have seemed
Who will move the stones in our lives? Only God can do so. No matter how impossible things may seem to us, the resurrection shows us that God is in the stone moving business! He can move any stone that separates us from Him and He can move any stone that causes us to doubt and live in despair. He can calm our fears and give us hope for our future. There is no stone that is too big for Him to move if we will simply roll it over on Him.
Friends this is why we celebrate Easter/Resurrection Sunday—there is power in the resurrection. If you have problems today that are too big for you to handle—don’t despair—give them to God. If the weight of sin has caused you to feel hopeless and to want to give up, roll it over on His shoulders by surrendering your will to His and accepting the risen Savior as your Lord.
Let’s end with the greeting we started with, “Christ is risen!” and you say “He is risen indeed!” . . . Do you believe it? Then live like it everyday! Go and tell the good news to everyone—Christ is Risen!
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d Or nor heavenly rulers
b Or of those not having the law (that is, Gentiles)