Hope: Meet me in Galilee Mark 16:1-8

Intro:

Ping Pong paddle

Helpless, hopeless, hindered. What are some other words that describe fear?...

“Fear is a liar” song Zac Williams

“Rattle”

Outline:

Helpless: “They went to the tomb” (vs. 1-3)

Hopeless: “They went in the tomb” (vs. 4-6)

Hindered: “They left the tomb” (v.s 7-8)

Summary: Fear leads you to be helpless, hopeless, and hindered in a life without a risen Jesus

Prayer: when I am afraid, I will trust in God

Helpless: “They Went to the Tomb” (vs. 1-3)

When the Sabbath was past: the day of preparation, the Passover, the day after (3 days)

Mary Madgalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome- the ones looking on at a distance from Jesus. What would the Passover been like for them?

Bought spices- on the eavening of the passover because the next day starts at dusk

So that they might go and anoint him- they did not expect Jesus to raise from the dead

And very early

On the first day of the week

When the sun had risen- it is not dark they are not going to the wrong tomb

They went to the tomb

They were saying

to one another

“Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”- great question since the men are hiding (jn. 20:19)! For fear of the Jews.

This is a legitimate question and cause for concern- “how are we going to do it when we get there”.

They knew what they wanted to do but not how it was going to happen

Application

When I was typing this outline I almost wrote “when the SON had risen”. It made me think, usually it is during the cloudy days that we wonder if the sun is going to shine at all today. But the reality is that the sun rises every day. Even when I cannot see it, even when it is hidden from my eyes. The same could be said about Jesus! We seem to question his presence and power on the cloudy days of our soul.

Sometimes, following Jesus look likes getting up tomorrow morning and coming to Jesus even if you don’t know what you are going to do when you get there or what kind of stones will be blocking your path. They came, they prepared, yet they did not know exactly what to expect.

“Who will roll away the stone...” Mark attributes this to God, who are you looking to with the barriers, fears, and feelings of helplessness?

At the heart of fear is unbelief, “I can’t” which then turns into “God can’t” therefor my trust is broken, not only with myself, that I am unable to do anything about this, but also with God, “neither can He”. This sets us up for idolatry and adultery, why, because we seek someone that can!

Sunday is the day that we celebrate Jesus being risen by the Father. Do you come to Sundays expecting to find a dead saviour that is unable to give you hope? Are Sundays merely closure to the week for you before starting the next week the same as the one before?

We too can be adament followers of Jesus but not expect a risen saviour. We hold whole-heartedly to the death He died for my sins but we waver on the power of his resurrection to help me with my daily life. The death and resurrection of Jesus is far more than a theological truth that happened a long time ago that I need to get me into heaven in the far future, it is the hope I need to get me from this moment to the next one

Hopeless: “They Went in the Tomb” (vs. 4-6)

And looking up

They saw that the stone had been rolled back

It was very large

Mark V. Conclusion: The Good News about the Empty Tomb (16:1–8)

Here the statement shows that the removal of the stone was a supernatural event. It was removed, however, not to give the woman access to the tomb but to demonstrate to them that Jesus had risen from the grave.

2. And entering the tomb

They saw a young man sitting on the right side- interesting detail

Dressed in a white robe

And they were alarmed- to be excited, “affrightened” in the KJV combines afraid and frightened.

The Gospel according to Mark Faithfulness versus Fearfulness (15:40–16:8)

(ekthambeomai, v. 5), found only in Mark, means both fear and wonder, astonishment and distress; the same word is used in 14:33 of Jesus’ intense distress in Gethsemane.

3. And he said to them

“Do not be alarmed” excited

You seek Jesus of Nazreth- mild rebuke

The Gospel according to Mark Journey Inward, Journey Outward (1:35–39)

“Seeking” connotes an attempt to determine and control rather than to submit and follow. In this respect, seeking for Jesus is not a virtue in the Gospel of Mark. Nor are clamoring crowds a sign of success or aid to ministry. Here, as elsewhere in Mark, enthusiasm is not to be confused with faith; indeed, it can oppose faith.

We see this all the time, people will walk through difficult circumstances and they seek in the chaos to try and take control of something, even if it is seeking spiritual guidance as a means of controlling the wielder of their circumstances instead of submitting and following Him. These women came to Jesus expecting Him to be dead, expecting to do something for Him because He couldn’t, expecting to deal with broken expectations.

The Gospel according to Mark Faithfulness versus Fearfulness (15:40–16:8)

They endeavor with their spices and anxieties to bring some kind of closure, however inadequate, to a tragic drama. But all their preparations leave them unprepared for the reality they encounter; what they intend to be a terminal visit is but a commencement. The Jesus they are “looking for” enshrined in a safe place cannot be found. The visit to the tomb is vintage Markan irony: the living are consumed with death, but the Crucified One is consumed with life.

Who was crucified

He has risen- “He was raised”- resurrected by the Father.

He is not here

Mark V. Conclusion: The Good News about the Empty Tomb (16:1–8)

The concept of the empty tomb, however, is especially useful as a symbol that death has been emptied of its power by the risen Christ.

See the place where they laid him

Application:

What would it take for the “stone” in your life to be rolled away? As large as it is? Ask Jesus to move it right now...

If you have placed Jesus in the hopless tomb labeled “he can’t” or “He is not trustworthy” I have to tell you, he is not there in the place where you have laid him!

Do not be afraid…not because circumstances are stable, the worst is over, or it will not happen again, no! Do not be afraid…Jesus was raised!

When you go into the tombs of death in your heart and mind, what brings you out of that spot? What brings you comfort and strength to continue?

What are you seeking Jesus about? Are you seeking Him to be what you expect, to fulfill your expectations? of who you think he is or who you would like him to be?

How many times do I look for God to “open the door” or “roll the stone away” in my life to give me access to what I think I want. I seldomly stop to think of it not so much about benefiting me as much as a demonstration that Jesus is alive and well and actively a part of my life.

How many times in your life are you excited into fear because you believe that things are hopeless. Whether as a teen because the words of your peers are more important than the words of God, or as a married couple you believe that things cannot change or your spouse will never change, or as a dear saint you never thought that being close to seeing Jesus would be filled with so much pain and loneliness. Fear not only wants you to live in “I can’t” but also, “He can’t either”. Sometimes fear grows in my life because God did not meet my expectations and therefore I cannot trust Him anymore.

“My God is able to save and deliver and heal and restore anything that He wants to just ask the man who was thrown on the bones of Elijah if there’s anything that He can’t do. Just ask the stone that was rolled at the tomb in the garden what happens when God says to move. I feel him moving it now, I feel him doing it now, I feel him doing it now, do it now, do it now.

Hindered: “They Left the Tomb” (vs. 7-8)

But Go- to go away

Tell his disiples and Peter

That he is going before you to Galilee- where it all began, where they first were called to follow Jesus. They will come full circle!

There you will see him

Just as he told you (5x, 8:31; 9:9, 31; 10:34; and 14:28)

And they went out- Exit

and fled from the tomb- to flee, I exit my house in the morning, I am not fleeing from it

For trembling and astonishment (bewildered, NIV) had seized them

And they said nothing to anyone

for they were afraid- fear the inhibits faith. This is not obedience to the Angel’s message

The Gospel according to Mark Faithfulness versus Fearfulness (15:40–16:8)

It is clear that Mark does not intend v. 8 to imply reverence or faith on the part of the women, but fear and flight.

The Gospel according to Mark Faithfulness versus Fearfulness (15:40–16:8)

The resurrection does not magically dispel fear and cowardice, transforming fallible human characters into faithful disciples. Faithful discipleship consists of following Jesus, not contemplating doing so; acting courageously on his behalf, not standing on the sidelines and watching. In the concluding sandwich of the Gospel, Joseph does the former, the women the latter. Throughout the Gospel, Mark has warned that signs, miracles, and portents do not evoke faith (8:11–13). The same note persists at the resurrection, the greatest of all signs: even the visitation of angels at the empty tomb fails to produce faith. Faith comes rather through hearing the gospel and personal encounter with the One who was crucified and is now raised from the dead. Even at the close of the story, the human characters fail the divine will: in his earthly ministry, Jesus commanded people to silence, and they spoke; in his resurrected state, the women are commanded to speak, and they flee in silence!

Mark V. Conclusion: The Good News about the Empty Tomb (16:1–8)

In the end they seem to have failed just as much as the male disciples.

Application:

Trembling and astonishment or amazement seized them. A reaction of body and mind. God does not want fear to paralize you. He does not want it seize you from doing what He wants you to do