Hope is Here Mark 16:1-8
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction
Introduction
It has been a crazy week...
It was an emotional week for the Disciples and for Jesus...
Jesus started the week by entering Jerusalem and was welcomed as a King...
He went to the temple and cleaned house of money changers and He has given, on Tuesday He looked across the city and wept.
Wednesday we took pause; where preparations for Passover and for Jesus arrest were being made.
Thursday; Peter and John prepare the Passover meal, and when the Disciples came together Jesus lowered Himself to wash their feet and He instituted the Lord’s Supper.
After this we see the record of Jesus in the agony of the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas betrayal of Christ, and Jesus arrest...
Friday brought the trials…the sentence…and the death of Jesus.
First trial, before Annas [nightime hours]; Annas is looking for an accusation, biding time till Sanhedrin is gathered at High Priestly villa
Second [and primary] trial- Before Sanhedrin, Jesus is condemned
Third trial- Immediately at dawn [meanwhile, Peter denies Jesus a third time; Jesus looks upon him]; the condemnation repeated, then Jesus taken to Romans
Fourth trial -Before Pilate [till "beginning at Galilee"]
Fifth trial -Before Herod [looks for miracle]
6th trial-Before Pilate
Jesus is scourged; the city cries, "Crucify Him or we will tell Rome!"
Jesus is finally turned over to be crucifiedJesus mocked (Roman soldiers); crown of thorns.
Judas hangs himself.
Jesus bears His cross to gate on north of city and is crucified around 9 am
Jesus' Seven Sayings from the Cross
"Father, forgive them..."
"Today...with me in paradise"
"Woman, behold thy son..." [darkness: noon – 3 pm]
"My God, My God..."
"I thirst"
"It is finished"
"Into Thy hands..."
The Death of the God- About 3 pm; veil torn, rocks rent; some graves opened and people rise [to mortality] and go into the city.
Jesus' side pierced
Passover lambs slain in temple.
Jesus buried by sundown
Jesus was betrayed; He was beaten, and Jesus was hung on a tree and died.
His death paid our sin debt.
But I want to tell you this morning that Hope is Here…Hope that is Jesus Christ.
So that brings us to Sunday...
It brings us to where we find ourselves today.
So if you would please turn with me in your Bible to Mark 16 verse 1
...
...
Mark 16 beginning in verse 1 were we will see that our Hope has risen.
The Scriptures tell us...
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.
[Some of the earliest conclude with .]
Prayer....
1st we see...
Hope Sealed
Hope Sealed
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.
Jesus was crucified and buried on Friday.
On Saturday the tomb of Jesus was ordered to be secured and sealed so that nobody could steal the body...
Matthew describes this how this event took place...
62 The next day, which followed the preparation day, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember that while this deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give orders that the tomb be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come, steal him, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”
65 “You have a guard of soldiers,” Pilate told them. “Go and make it as secure as you know how.” 66 They went and secured the tomb by setting a seal on the stone and placing the guard.
So Sunday Mary and Mary Magdalen went to put spices on Jesus body; which seems kind of weird to us, but the Jewish people did not embalm their dead…they anointed them with spices…this was an act of love to them; a way of mourning.
The conversation as they approach the tomb is interesting.
3 They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?”
Who will roll away the stone???
Who will help us if we need it??
So often we worry of things that do not exist; we worry of things that are out of our control.
We cannot control the sun, the weather, we cannot control what other people think of us or how they act.
We cannot control the future of our jobs or if we are going to be sick in the future.
These 2 are a worry that all of us have right now…there are some of us that if we sneeze or if we have to cough we are worried that we are sick and how that will impact the next couple weeks of our lives; or for some how this changes their life completely.
I understand and we should be smart in how we move forward through this, but it cannot consume us so much that we become frozen to the everything else.
We spend so much time worrying about things that do not matter…what matters in 100 years…what if we worried this much about the conditions of our our soul or our children’s soul.
How would that worry impact your family tree?
We all face obstacles; money, jobs, illness, but it is our faith in our God who will see us through.
Did any of you have a rock polisher growing up?
For those that do not know; you took rough stones and put them into a tumbler. and you added grit or sand to the tumbler along with the rocks and 2 or 3 days later you check it and add polish; then 7 days later you check it again.
In 2 to 3 weeks the rocks; once rough now beautiful and smooth.
This is what our Lord does He takes tough people, tough times, rough edges, and He shapes those people into something beautiful and in situations that we have in our life He helps smooth it out.
But He does this when we rely upon.
When Mary and Mary Magdalen arrived at the tomb…the look up and the stone was gone.
The angle had removed the stone....
2 There was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it.
The angel came down and removed the obstacle in their path…the one they worried about.
Charles Spurgeon wrote;
“There might have been no angel if there had been no stone---and we might have no revelation of the power of heaven to help us if we first had a revelation of our own weakness and inability to roll away the stone.” Charles Spurgeon
We have no ability to roll away the stone by ourself…we as believers of Christ need to rely on our God to help when we have no ability to do so.
We see the stone had been rolled away; the seal broken…the path to hope is wide open..
Path to Hope is Open
Path to Hope is Open
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.
They go into the tomb…they see the angel and they are scared…they don’t know how to react.
The angel responds to them with a statement...
You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.
It is not a really a question…it is more of a statement to them…the angel knew what they were looking for.
The angel states, “He has risen.”
He is not here; He the man who was buried here is not here…just look at where you put him.
The Risen Savior is the foremost truth of Christianity.
The Risen Savior is on the same plane with the virgin Birth it is an essential doctrine.
The Scribes and Pharsees knew this…that is why they wanted the tomb sealed and guarded.
They knew the prophecy…
There is no doubt of who was in the tomb; the angel attest to that.
Some have said the women went to the wrong tomb.
The Jewish Leadership who just crucified Jesus validated that empty tomb.
The posted the guard and the seal...
They worried about it…they thought that by setting a guard that they would prove Jesus was just a man..oh how wrong they were.
Christ had risen.
Jesus was crucified in weakness, but raised in power.
Jesus was crucified, but now glorified; and any shame of the suffering He endured is now past and now Jesus is exalted…that glory is now upon Jesus, the job that God sent Him down here for completed, Sin washed away, what we owed; now we do not.
The glory of our God perfectly wipes away any admonishment that was placed upon Him while He suffered.
The tomb was empty to fulfill Jesus promise...
22 saying, “It is necessary that the Son of Man suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day.”
The tomb was empty to give us hope…the tomb was empty to seal us in the Hope of Jesus Christ..in Jesus our Hope is Here!
Hope is Here
Hope is Here
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.
[Some of the earliest conclude with .]
Jesus risen..tomb empty and the angel gives them some instructions.
He tells them to go and tell His disciples and Peter.
Tell them that Jesus is going to Galilee; just like He said He would and make sure you tell Peter.
We may know the story of what Peter had done just a couple days ago.
It was Peter who said he woudl be with Jesus wherever He went.
It was Peter who proclaimed a desire to stay with Jesus no matter what.
Peter who drew a sword and cut the ear off of the temple guard in the Garden defending Jesus…then just a few hours later denied Jesus
Peter denied he knew Jesus not once, not twice, but three times.
Then Peter watched as Jesus was scourged and beaten…He watched as Jesus arms were spread out and nailed to the wood, He watched as feet were crossed and the spike was driven through his ankles.
Peter watched as Jesus died…and I bet on his mind was his failure.
This is us...
We all have failure; we have all displeased God.
We all have moments where we feel we do not live up to the expectations of people let alone ourGod.
I think this is what Peter felt…but I also think that this is why the Angel asked them to make sure Peter knew.
If you leave out anybody…make sure you do not leave out Peter; make sure that Peter knows.
Peter had a bad day…but what was meant for evil the Lord meant for good.
In our devotions this week I found this quote from J.R.R. Tolkien.
“Let us remember that a traitor may betray himself and do good that he does not intend. It can be so, sometimes. Good night!” J.R.R. Tolkien
I equated this to Judas betrayal of Jesus and in that act Judas actually did something good.
I think that this act of denial by Peter will actually embolden Peters ministry.
If you have been following along with us here at Connect Community in our study of Acts…we just studied Peter and how he just layed down a sermon on the people of Jerusalem and thousands of people to know Christ.
I mean this is man who is no longer afraid, no longer hidden; no longer letting his weakness get the better of him.
Peter lays down a messages and thousands of people believe.
Now I’m not advocating going and doing something awful or against scripture to increase your ministry; but what I am says is that God’s love for Peter did not end when Peter denied Him.
Jesus loves you…even when we deny Him…even when we fail Him…Jesus loves you!
This is one of the very reasons that Jesus did die; to show us how deep His love for us actually is.
He loved Peter…even in His weakest day…thast day that he made some bad choices and he did stuff that was out of character from the Peter we know.
This messenger from God made sure to tell them make sure Peter knows; make sure Peter knows to go to Galilee and I’m here to tell you.
Our God is bigger than your bad day and our God’s love is greater than your bad choice, but Peter repents and He pursues God with all of his heart and soul; and this is how we should respond in our bad day and in our bad choice.
With repentance…with our making the choice to humble ourself and turn back to His love.
Jesus died to save us and to pay for all sin…the sin on our good day and the sin on our bad days and when we just loose it all together.
Peter was hurt and ashamed of what he had done…but God loved Him and knew that Peter’s had a part to play in the His Kingdom.
Jesus made sure that Peter knew there was hope.
Application
Application
Hope in Jesus is what gives us the strength to face another day....Hope in Jesus is the strength we need to take another step; Hope in Jesus is what we need move throughout our life.
There are 3 things I think we can take away from today.
1st is how we view obstacles...
How we view obstacles with the hope found in Jesus?
How we view obstacles with the hope found in Jesus?
Our God from the moment He was Born was meant to go to the cross.
He faced opposition; He faced scrutiny; He faced a angry crowds; He was beaten and died a death that no person should have to suffer, but He had to.
We will very seldom have a smooth path as we walk through life.
Sometime the stones will be small enough that we can move forward without much problem…other times the stones will be so big we will feel we cannot get around them, but in both times we need to realize that God may have left us and empty tomb but He never left us alone…He will always be here.
it is His promise to never leave nor forsake.
He will never leave you and His promises will always remain true.
Do you really think that Jesus would do what He did if He just planned on forgetting you…No…our Hope is found in the arms of Jesus Christ.
It is there we you can find rest.
2nd
How we respond with hope knowing the tomb is empty?
How we respond with hope knowing the tomb is empty?
How do we respond with Hope knowing the tomb is empty?
Some may look at the empty tomb and see nothing…just an empty room, but we need to look at the empty tomb as our God fulling the mission and knowing He gives us the hope of reunion.
A reunion that will be great…a reunion where we see the full glory of all that He did for mankind.
A meeting where pain and suffering are gone and we will live free to worship, fellowship, and love forever.
A meeting where those who believe and those who follow will be welcomed in and are given the words we all desire…well done my good and faithful servant.
Lastly...
How we display our hope of our faith in Jesus?
How we display our hope of our faith in Jesus?
Hope is something that we all desire in one way or another.
We hope in the future that better things are to come.
For today we place hope that life returns to normal.
We hope in our children’s future.
We hope in our parents future.
We hope for live lived fully and life lived free.
My friends Hope is Here.
Jesus death on the cross was brutal…but that was a means to an end.
It is pain that leads us to…joy.
Like the pains of labor and then a life…a child…a joy for the future.
My friends our joy and our Hope is found in the Savior Jesus Christ.
For those who have placed their eternal hope in Jesus this day is a celebration of the Risen King!
But some of you listening are unsure about your future hope.
You wonder and doubt about what comes next.
You desire something more.
Some of you listening think that God has no room for you…some think I’m a good person and that is enough.
Some of you truly fear the future…but I tell you that your fears can be calmed…that you can have peace about what comes next in your life.
My friends the Hope found in Jesus Christ is a path to peace…to living beyond yourself…to a life lived free; with joy and no fear because we can rest in the Hope of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Today I ask you to appraise your life…do you want peace; do you desire to live without fear; if so Hope for you is here; it is found today in Jesus.
All you have to do is ask Him into your life...
Believe He is Savior and Lord…and then tell Him of your past and ask forgivness...
Jesus will save you...He is faithful to save you...
Hope lies in Jesus Christ…Hope is Here.
Pray with me today!