Truly Alive

Who Is Jesus?

Before we dive into our text, I want to reflect a moment on the question, “Who is Jesus?” This is a fundamental question. There are a lot of different answers.

On Good Friday, we looked at three different disciples and we saw how Judas never saw who Jesus really is. We, who know Jesus might wonder how you could spend 3 years with Jesus and never really know him. Then again, in our community here in Lethbridge, we don’t have to look very far to discover different religions who have a different understanding of who Jesus is, Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons.

But what does the Bible say about Jesus?

The whole Bible describes God’s incredible rescue plan to save sinful (guilty of doing wrong) people from God’s righteous judgement. God, the creator of the universe has every right to punish people, he warned them what would happen if they disobeyed. And yet, the entire Bible describes how and who would save us. At our Lethbridge Ministerial Prayer Meeting a week and a half ago, Messianic Jewish Rabbi Sidney Speakman opened the meeting with a devotion on the curtain of the tabernacle. The curtain is what separated the Most Holy Place from the rest of the tabernacle/temple.

The curtain was made up of four colours: blue, purple, red and white. The wandering Jews in the wilderness would have associated blue with the sky, heaven. Purple then, as now, represented royalty, a king. Red represented blood, for sacrifice, and white represented purity. And two cherubim, angels were woven into the curtain as well.

This, then, is what the curtain represents: From heaven (blue) will come a King (purple) who will offer himself as a sacrifice (red) in order to make his people pure (white).

Jesus is that king. The fact that the curtain was torn in two proves that Jesus is the one the curtain pointed to. Now there is no longer separation between God and His people! All are able to go directly to God. There is no mediator but Jesus. Jesus is ever present before the Father, pleading our case.

Let’s turn now to our text: Mark 16:1-8

He Has Risen

Mark says three women, early on Sunday, well after the Sabbath was over, went to the tomb to finish the work started by Joseph and Nicodemus. They had done a bit of a rush job because Jesus’ died just before the Sabbath began. As they were going together, they were saying, “Who will roll away the stone for us? Jesus tomb was brand-new, and featured a heavy stone that sealed off the entrance, to keep out grave robbers and wild animals. Additionally, the religious leaders asked for the stone to be sealed and a contingent of soldiers to guard the tomb, for the feared that the disciples would try to steal Jesus’ body, and claim a resurrection. The stone and the guards assured that couldn’t happen. Ironically, that thought didn’t even enter into the disciples minds, because they didn’t get what Jesus said to them.

He Is Not Here

As it turned out, the women needn’t have worried. The stone was already rolled away! And not by any human being. They entered the tomb, but they didn’t see Jesus’ body, instead they saw a young man, an angel, sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe. They didn’t have to anoint Jesus’ body—remember Mary already did that for him by pouring out an expensive jar of perfume on him. That was an incredible act of love and faith, which totally set Judas off, prompting him to betray Jesus.

There was no need to anoint his body because he was no longer dead! He is alive!

The angel confirmed it. The angel (like the cherubim depicted in the curtain), is the messenger for the King. He first, like many angels before him, told them not to be alarmed, not to be afraid. “You’re looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He’s has risen; he is not here. Look for yourself, the place where they put him is empty. He asked me to be here; He told me to expect you. But he’s not here.”

He Is Going Before You

“Go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee.” Remember, Jesus is the Way, he prepares the way. He goes before his disciples. He makes things ready for them. He leads them back to the beginning, where Jesus called Peter and the the others to follow him.

There You Will See Him

“There, you will see him.” The angel commanded Mary, Mary and Salome to go back to Galilee, there they would see him.

That’s what they longed for. They longed to see Jesus.

Stop for a moment and imagine their amazement. They went to see him in his tomb, to see him one last time, and to finish anointing his body. But his body wasn’t there!

Then, they did see him. The other gospels tell us that Jesus met his disciples in Jerusalem.

Later, Jesus did meet them in Galilee. Why? Because they went back to the beginning, like Jesus said to do, but they went back to the wrong thing! They went back to fishing for fish! Jesus met them there, and brought them back to his purpose for them. Fishing for men.

Lesson For Us

Jesus has called us to follow him also. On this Easter Sunday, He’s calling us to go back to the beginning. He’s saying to us, “Come, follow me. Learn from me. Do what I came from heaven to do. Be obedient. Be faithful. Seek the lost, and share the good news with them. Tell them that there is forgiveness of sins.

But before we can do that, we have to ask ourselves, right where you are, right now, “Have I truly received forgiveness of sins through believing in Jesus Christ.” If the answer is no, then I invite you to believe in him!

When you believe, your sins are forgiven. Jesus paid for them, already. All of them, past, present and future.

He is alive, and he gives all who believe in him, real, True Life! He gives us life to the fullest! He breathes into us, like yesterdays’ Today devotional said, he breathes into us His Spirit—the centurion who witnessed Jesus last breath, who received it, by that Spirit, recognised Jesus as the Son of God.

Recognise Jesus for who he is.

Then be transformed. Consider this teaching from Hebrews 10:19-25: “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

We have confidence to enter the holy places—the holy of holies—by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh! See how it all ties together. See how Jesus is woven through all the scripture, Old and New Testaments! See how Jesus is the great high priest over us, the house of God—the people of God, we can draw near to God in confidence! We draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, with hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, bodies washed with pure water. Hold fast to the true confession of our hope, and do not waver. The one who promised is faithful, he will deliver.

Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. Let us exhaust ourselves in looking for ways in which to compel, encourage, exhort, and motivate, each other to love—to truly care for each other, to care for the lost! To move each other to good works—to deeds done in faithfulness to God and His commandments.

Look how, in the face of a worldwide pandemic, we are not neglecting to get together! We are still getting together, even as we are seeing the Day drawing near!

Brothers and sisters in Christ. Believe in Jesus. Trust him! Let him live in and through you! Now and forever more, Amen!