Sun of Righteousness is Risen - Mark 16:1-8

Mark 16:1-8 Sun of Righteousness is Risen. INTRO (Psalm 65:8) Says…“You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.”…What a great verse and how true that is. The manifold works of God…his wondrous deeds in creation. “You make the going out of the morning and the evening shout for joy.” And HOW this time of year,..amen? When the days are the longest. I mean it’s as if the song birds are in mass congregation at your windows edge at 4am. The leading..the…directing song bird…tapping the music stand… “Okay, ready and…begin!” (explosion sound) The chorus erupts blasting through prior to my alarm set to go off…. “WHAT?, I’m not ready yet.” But I’m up and the new day has dawned. Truth be told…I really don’t mind. In fact, often times I begin to get stirred real early in the morning before it sounds like an instant blast of song birds coming through the window…rather, when I’m stirred early enough I am blessed to hear the slow building progression towards the time it sounds like the shouting chorus. It’s very sweet. Of all the song birds out there…there is that one who starts it off just as the night sounds are tapering…the initiating bird….chirp……chirp..chirp. And then the next and so forth till the shout for joy can be heard through ear plugs. I truly love it and marvel how it coincides with the slow rising of the sun which I understand to chiefly be the shouting for joy of the morning God makes to go out which is followed by the shout for joy the setting sun brings at the going out of the evening….as stated in that verse…also accompanied by song birds. The shouts of joy which book end a day lived in God’s glorious creation that is filled with wonders to behold. And though God’s creation sings the glory of God 24/7. From the growing and producing the daylight hours bring…the earth yielding it’s increase to the praise of God, the endless variety of crazy cloud formations, the mighty array of weather systems to humble and awe us over the course of a year…to the manifold activities of the night and the stars and moon that shine upon it proclaiming His handiwork. No book can contain the wonders of God’s creation. There is not one moment in a day that does not in some shape or form herald the greatness of it’s creator. Of all these moments, the one I like the most is the morning. A nights rest, mind and body are refreshed, quiet time with the Lord as I hear and see His creation awake to the start of a new day. I love it. The colors in the sky as the sun is rising are always different from day to day and throughout the seasons. It’s great morning stare time as my faculties come to life. I love all parts of the day but the rising of the sun is my favorite. It is also my favorite, and most notably so, because it was at the rising of the sun that the Sun of Righteousness had risen from the grave. And we are blessed this morning with an account of this rising….in the gospel of (Mark 16:1-8). And as with the rising of the sun which brings the dawn of a new day….so also the rising of The Sun…The Sun of Righteousness…brings with Him the dawn of something new. MARK will give us three considerations of this, this morning. The first dawn revealed in the passage is simply the dawn of a new day as seen through the lives of women who remain courageously faithful to serve The Lord Jesus. BODY 1) FIRST POINT - (Mark 16:1-3). Dawn of a New Day. Let’s go ahead and read these 3 verses - read Good question, right? Quite steadily now we have seen the prominence of women in the account of Jesus’s crucification. They followed him to Jerusalem. They are committed. When the disciples all fled, when they all scattered and Peter denied the Lord it was women (save the apostle John) it was women who stood close by at the foot of the cross while Jesus’s was being crucified,… it was women also who followed closely to see where He was to be buried,….it is women who come here, as the text states…to serve our Lord Jesus, at the dawn of this new day, who they expected to be lying in the tomb and it would be them, as we’ll soon see, who were to be given the first message of His resurrection. That he is no longer in the tomb but risen from the grave. During a time when a women’s credibility was low..very low..God’s word testifies to the worth, the dignity of women. In a day and age TODAY when confusion and perversion abound over gender in ways not many years ago…I never would have imagined possible. But the confusion and perversion not only exists today….but is celebrated. In the state our world is in on this topic matter,…may we simply celebrate the clarity God’s word provides on His creation of man making them male and female. (Matthew 19:4) “…he who created them (created man….a human..a living being) He who created them from the beginning made them male and female,” Crystal clear. And God’s clear design for marriage - (Matthew 19:5-6). “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” The complimentary Biblical view is so balanced and beautiful. The Bible recognizes the intrinsic value of both male and female and doesn’t elevate one over the other. God’s word makes clear the respective roles He designed for men and for women and they don’t compete with each other, rather they compliment each other and when operating as such…bolster much strength and JOY to be shared. - AMEN? And this is not exclusive to marriage..mind you Things that man neglect, as in the account here, women don’t. Husbands will attest for this…will we not? Things that are not on my radar my wife is tuned in to. And a healthy society, has men and women operating in a complimentary way for the good of both. God’s Word is not fuzzy on how a man or woman is to live whether single or married…Christ as the chief example was single all his life and though clearly around women often,…day in and day out he - JESUS lived that in all purity and devotion to God, (Hebrews 4:15) …Jesus - “our High Priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses,…who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus, being served by these women here and who was around women regularly remained sexually pure. And He is also known as the bridegroom to the Church…His bride whom He laid down His life for. Loves her perfectly…sacrificially. He is the epitome of what men are to aspire to exemplify in their lives whether single or married. Christ is the MARK for both. SIMILARLY, God’s word gives clear concise instruction along with Christlike examples of what a woman who Fears the Lord is to be whether single or married. Take for instance the very glorious, but also intimidating passage on the woman who fears the Lord in Proverbs 31. It opens with “An excellent wife, who can find?” Now a woman doesn’t all of a sudden attain these qualities in Proverbs 31,…once married. NO, the passage is speaking of a woman who Fears The Lord which is how the passage concludes. And if she is to marry she would indeed be an excellent wife. Let’s go ahead and read that shall we? (Proverbs 31:10-31) - turn to and read “A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” A glorious crystal clear description of a woman who fears the Lord, single or married and intimidating no doubt to woman because of what she is ascribed with. What man is not himself, intimidated by that lineup of attributes? I recon that every woman who looks upon this passage thinks…at least to some degree… “I can’t live up to that.” But that doesn’t mean it’s not the MARK to aspire to…right? Similarly, single men are to singularly love and be devoted to God as Christ exemplified and IF MARRIED are to also be husbands who love their wives as Christ loves the church. Now there is something I fail at often…BUT,…. nevertheless,… ought to aspire and strive to do so each and every day…am I right? We agree then and we have before us these women who demonstrate these qualities.…these attributes. Though Mark mentions by name three of them here in the text, we know by fill in from the other gospels…who all include this account, mind you,…that there were at least 5 total. And at the dawn of this new day these upwards of at least 5 women teach us ALL something exemplary. At the dawn of a new day they rise to fulfill plans for this new day in service to Jesus. This is what they are doing right? Serving Jesus. The Sabbath had past, they purchase items to anoint the body…the corpse of Jesus as is the custom of one dead and buried and soon to decay which is good and proper to do. They remain courageously faithful to serve our Lord….even in this very dark hour of sadness. And this is what we are to do. SERVE JESUS. Not just on special occasions. Not just on Sunday. Not only when we feel like it. NO. As His servants, we are to serve Jesus and delight in doing so. And this begins at the dawn of a new day. WHATEVER our day consists of, the awaiting of it ought to come under the banner of serving our King. As we rise to the dawn of a new day…even if that is far past the sun breaking through the horizon…which is all fine and well…when the start of your day begins, following the example of these women who Fear The Lord. START it off with the outlook to serve Jesus. (Colossians 3:23-24) “Whatever you put your hands to do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” The women here are clearly serving Jesus himself,…but God’s Word’s says that in “Whatever…whatever means whatever…and whomever..YOU KNOW…this service is COLOR BLIND…..because it’s all in service to JESUS….fill in the blank…it’s all for him and do it heartily meaning with joy, with thankfulness and full effort.….Do IT to great degree. Begin your day with JESUS and He will nourish and equip you from His Word along with the supply of the Strength of His Spirit to serve Him which is such a free and unpredictable adventure. It really is. I appreciate some of the impulsiveness seen here by these women. Serving Jesus but not sure how it’s all going to pan out. Women going without a complete plan right in the middle of (verse 3) “who is going to roll the stone away for us?” Sounds like ministry in many ways wouldn’t you say. The Spirit of God must be at work otherwise all well intended efforts are in vain. Plans and preparations are made…put into action..but then there is this component that….is out of their control.…these women would not be able to move the stone. It’s early in the morning…this detail was not figured out yet and yet they are on their way to the tomb where they saw the corpse of Jesus placed the night before. Once again, courageous faithfulness seen by these women. They have a plan, they are as prepared as they can be, have bought the items to anoint the body of Jesus and they go forward to do so despite real obstacles being in their way. A challenging example to us as to what God calls us to in service to him and our dependency on the work of His Spirit to establish our plans to fulfill His purposes. I appreciate these women’s example who seek to serve the Lord…SEEK to serve him who was crucified…And notice with me what happens as a result….the unexpected. They encounter the unexpected. As it is with those who rise with hearts and minds set out to fulfill plans at the Dawn of a new day…plans in service to JESUS,…On that trajectory….be ready to encounter the unexpected. Good works God has prepared beforehand, from eternity past…good works…prepared specifically for for each and every one of His children that we should walk in… serving the purposes of God in our generation (Acts 13:36, Psalm 138:8)…participate with Him in giving contributing effort towards the building of His Eternal Kingdom. In ready service mode for JESUS - the unexpected happens. In the case of these women, ….they encounter the Dawn of a new Era. 2) SECOND POINT (Mark 16:4-6)- Dawn of a new Era First notice of it…of this Dawn of a new Era…is seeing the very large stone rolled away, the stone they were just discussing “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb?” As that is being discussed they…picking up in (verse 4) - read through verse 5 NOT what they were expecting. So it is with the work of God’s Spirit. The very large stone is rolled away, they go into the tomb that had been cut out of a rock…not a typical trench grave but an expensive burial place where the deceased would be laid on a bed cut into the rock within the tomb and once decayed the bones would be placed elsewhere in the tomb so that the bed could be reused. This is why the borrowed tomb was widely recognized as belonging to the family of Joseph of Arimathea. The bed could be reused by other deceased family members whose bones ultimately would all reside together in the one tomb. So picture this tomb as a small cave like area which you were able to walk into such as these women do in (verse 5). And the expression on there faces must have painted a picture of 1,000 words to the young man sitting on the right side of the bed where Jesus’s body laid. They expected to see JESUS’S body lying there and instead it’s this young man in a white robe. Clearly an angel and one of two,…as the other gospel accounts make known. (Luke 24, John 20, Exodus 25, 37, Leviticus 16) Located on either end of the bed…one at the foot and one at the head…very pictorial of the cherubim in the tent of meeting who were located on either end of the mercy seat that was on the top of the ark at which place God would meet with the High Priest and speak, (audible voice - speak) with them about all that He will give in commandment for His people. The High Priest would enter The Inner Chamber, the most Holy Place once a year to atone for the sins of Israel, sprinkling blood from the sacrifice on the mercy seat at which place also He would receive commandment from God (audibly speaking the commandment) for the people of Israel. Something if not done as instructed to would result in his death. As Ben rightly noted last Sunday and my daughter as well when we recently discussed this. This was a terrifying and wonderful service for the High Priest. Terrifying because they could drop dead if they did not reverently perform the duties properly and wonderful because they would literally meet with God who spoke to them from a cloud that dwelt on the mercy seat representing His presence. To go beyond the veil. The veil God tore from top to bottom at the death of Jesus, the curtain..glancing back to (verse 38) of chapter 15….the curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom, the curtain that separated that most inner chamber from the outer chamber. And now the stone, at the dawn of this new day, the stone rolled away by God for these women to freely enter and see where God’s sacrifice was laid. Angel’s overshadowing from end to end the place where His body laid as they did over the mercy seat. MARK only notes the one angel on the right side, perhaps he was the first one they saw as they may have been looking to where the head of Jesus would have been and didn’t notice the angel on the left at first,… especially in the state of utter shock they are in being that they were entirely expecting to be anointing the dead body of Jesus who should be by himself in the tomb. Focus on details diminishes, doesn’t it?…when in a state of alarm. And furthermore, that was not the thing to be focused on. The angel, clearly seeing the women in a frantic state goes right to the heart of what has taken place. He doesn’t even introduce himself. (Verse 6) - read He has risen! Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified is now risen. He-is-not-here. The Dawn of a new era has begun. (Hebrews 9,10). Jesus the Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come…have…have come…the dawn of a new era…good things that have come through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation)…but heaven itself…he entered once for all into the holy places, to appear in the presence of God on our behalf, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus…..securing an eternal redemption…..He appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself and after doing so sat down at the right hand of God waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.” At which place, listen, it’s not a High Priest that enters the Inner courts to meet with God at the mercy seat of this creation to intercede on behalf of the people once a year…BUT Jesus as our Hight Priest entered into Heaven itself and sat down (at the mercy seat in heaven if you will) JESUS sat down at the right hand of the throne of God to intercede to the Father continually on our behalf. The Dawn of a New Era. Jesus does away with the first covenant, (the Mosaic Law with it’s priesthood, sacrifices, tabernacle and ritual duties which was a shadow of the good things to come) in order to establish the second,…by which covenant we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all,….and are able …the curtain is torn the stone is rolled away..both by God…we are able to confidently enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus by the new and living way he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh. The Dawn of a New Era.…perfecting for all time those who are being sanctified…the born again follower of JESUS CHRIST. He - JESUS, as the mediator of a new covenant, enters heaven itself to make a way for us to meet with God 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. The Dawn of a new era. An era in which God will put his laws on our hearts, and writes them on our minds. God will remember our sins and our lawless deeds no more.” Promises of the new covenant we inherit through faith in JESUS as we patiently await His return when all that we have now through faith is fully revealed…obtaining the outcome of our faith…the salvation of our souls. (1 Peter 1:5-12). JESUS, the first born from the dead, (Colossians 1:18), rises from the grave in fulfillment of the beginning of a new era. Much is the same of one who is born again. (John 1:13) “who are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” Born of the Spirit of God where the Spirit of Christ takes up residence in the heart of one who was dead in their sins and brings new life. (Titus 3:5) “The washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” A christian, by definition is truly a new creation. A Born Again person is one who awakes to the dawn of a new era…an era as now being a part of God’s Kingdom and operating from that realm their remaining days till they arrive home to be Him. (2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 6:15) As Ben spoke last week on Baptism and how this gives an outward illustration of this miraculous work of God in your heart. A picture of one dead and buried and rising to new life. It’s a glorious picture of the miracle taken place within. Raised to new life by the powerful working of God. You may have heard before the analogy of bloated corpses lying face down in the water, lifeless and helpless till God reaches down to rescue and bring new life to. As accurate as that is…scripture takes in even further. The prophet Ezekiel, (Ezekiel 37) when the hand of the Lord was upon him, was given a vision of a The Valley of Dry Bones. A valley full of dry bones…very dry it says in fact. And God asks EZEKIEL, “can these bones live?” Ezekiel answered… “Oh Lord, you know.” Smart response. What follows is Ezekiel prophesying over them as God told him to do and they indeed come to life. The bones come together first, sinew takes shape on them and then flesh, followed by skin and then lastly - BREATH. The breath is sent from God - His Spirit - and they come to life. That is how much life we have in us prior to the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. Prior to being born again. WE are that dead, very dry bone dead in our trespasses and sin before God makes us alive together with Christ. (Ephesians 2:1,5 ; Colossians 2:13). It’s a Dawn of new beginnings made possible because the Sun of Righteousness is risen with healing in his wings. (Malachi 4:2) Which leads us to our 3 POINT. 3) THIRD POINT (Mark 16:7-8) Dawn of New Beginnings The angel, given instruction by the risen Lord Jesus no doubt, tells the fearful women - (verse 7) - read Go and tell…tell who? Tell the disciples of his who abandoned him…and the one who denied him 3 times…Go tell them that JESUS is going before them to Galilee just as he said he would. “There you will see him.” SEE - the risen Lord Jesus. JESUS gave them this instruction back in chapter 14 (verse 28) of MARK. “But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Which, in the conversation with His disciples, is followed immediately with Jesus responding to Peter’s insistency that he would not fall away, though the other disciples may, “I will not” says Peter. JESUS responds, “actually Peter, you will deny me three times before the rooster crows twice.” JESUS, steadfast as our healer, initiates the restoration of his disciples and mentions Peter by name. Can you imagine how needful that was for PETER to hear? The last interaction Peter had with His Lord was catching his eye in the moment of denying Him the 3rd time just as He said he would. Denied three times his Lord whom Peter was exuberantly emphatic that He was willing to die for..…how soothing the ointment of those words must have been for Peter. (Peter’s thoughts) “He made a point to ensure that I was included…I, Peter? The one and only one who denied Him three times with..increasing insistency even after hearing the 1st crow of the rooster which should have served as a warning to me. He included me by name?…”…….I believe JESUS knew that Peter needed that affirmation. That he was loved anyway. To be assured of His unconditional love. JESUS’S love for Peter didn’t flicker the slightest when Peter denied Him. His heart broken yes, very much so…but He loved Peter anyway. That didn’t change. The disciples needed to hear this as as well, same as YOU AND I right? To know that we are loved anyway. God knows us by name and He knows everything. He knows our failures and our successes. His love doesn’t change. That’s agape love, unconditional love. (Romans 5:6-8) “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” It’s that everlasting love that sent Jesus on a rescue mission, it’s that everlasting love that held Jesus on the cross, it’s the same everlasting love that in the presence of God Jesus intercedes on our behalf and it’s that same love…that same everlasting love we can be assured of that He will never leave us or forsake us and that He will return one day to take us home where we will be forever with Him. That love does not change. “What shall we say to these things?…says Paul in (Romans 8:31-39), If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—-more than that; who was raised——who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ NO, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It’s this everlasting love,…that will rightly cause you to tremble and be seized with astonishment…as we see in (verse 8) with the women who are beside themselves upon seeing the tomb empty and hearing the news of the risen Lord Jesus who initiates restoration with His disciples. The Dawn of New Beginnings. And the women, in this state, don’t say a word to anyone till they share the message with his disciples and Peter as they were instructed. CONCLUSION The Sun of Righteousness has risen. Has he risen in your heart? Does the dawn of your day begin with the outlook to serve Jesus in whatever you put your hands to? Has the dawn of a new era of a life in Christ begun in you? Do you know that He is in you? Does His Spirit bear witness with your Spirit that you are a child of God? Do you need a knew beginning? Have you denied the Lord? Have you lost your first love? Have you rejected His council? Have you ignored His word? Have you sinned against Him today? Jesus the Sun Righteousness heals and restores. There is healing with Jesus. True healing. NOT to be compared with anything the world will try to sell you. Only Jesus is the Remedy to all our sin sick problems…and He is risen. He, and He alone is the mediator of a new covenant between us and the Father whom we can be confident to approach His throne of grace with full assurance of faith in Jesus that we will be forgiven and restored in our relationship with our Father in heaven. The tug on your heart that perhaps you feel right now to go to Him is Him initiating the process to receive healing from Him. Don’t resist, yield to it and go to Him whose love is an everlasting love never to be separated from those who belong to Him. - PRAY COMMUNION Benediction (Malachi 4:2) “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.”