Sermon Tone Analysis

Resurrection Day 2022

This morning we’ve gathered to celebrate that Jesus has risen from the dead.

I’ve titled the message, Jesus did what He said He would do.

Maybe this is your very first Easter Sunday going to church or watching a church service.

But for most of us, this is one of several.

For me, its my favorite day of the year, because without the resurrection, I could never have been forgiven, could never have been set free.

I’d have no idea what would happen when I die or where I would go, but now I do.

But that first Easter, was dark and depressing, I mean before they got to the good part.

But I’ve spent some time thinking about this over the past month or so.

If I’m being honest it began from a feeling of being let down by people.

Having expectations of others that were never lived up to.

Then I got thinking about me, and all the plans the Lord has for me, and how often I fall short, it only takes a few minutes of that for me to be ready to extend grace towards others.

And I began to think about the Disciples, those that had left everything to follow Jesus.

At least four of them were fishermen, one a tax collector, but as Jesus traveled, they traveled, so they were separated from their families by distance and some of them by division.

See, just like today, not all believed that Jesus was truly the Messiah.

In one sense or another, they had given up all to receive all.

But then He died.

Now for you and I with multiple Easter Sunday’s under our belt’s... hallelujah, Jesus died, but on the third day…but for them, who walked away from everyone and everything with joy and excitement, because the Kingdom of God had come and they were going to rule and reign with their King, but He died.

Typically on Resurrection Day, we rejoice and we read a piece of the story on the morning of the resurrection.

The pastor comes up with something clever depending on how many Easter messages he’s given in the past, if its a lot, maybe he just pulls something from the bottom of the pile and puts it back in rotation.

But this morning, I’m going to read a big chunk from the Gospel of Mark.

I don’t usually preach this message from Mark, because his version of the Crucifixion and the resurrection are really pretty brief.

But rather than you think I’m cleaver this morning, or that I came up with another neat way of presenting the story, I want you to see what they saw and feel (at least a little bit of what they felt that morning).

Let’s pray and would you turn with me in your Bibles to Mark chapter 14....Let’s pray.

I want you to notice that none of the men that left everything to follow Jesus were there that morning, why would they be?

They all believed Jesus was dead.

That He had betrayed them,... they certainly had betrayed him.

I mean sure, we know the story of Peter, but all of them really did the same.

None stood with Him, none fought for Him, or said, If you’re going to take Jesus, you’ll have to take me too!

No most of them said nothing, they just abandoned Him when He needed them the most, after calling them when they needed Him the most.

They didn’t even battle in prayer with Him, and now He was dead, and they couldn’t fix it.

They couldn’t make it right, I mean dead is final and it was too late.

That is such a horrible thing when we’ve let someone down or disappointed someone and they go and die and we can’t fix it.

We can’t be stubborn for as long as we want to be stubborn, or be ashamed for as long as we want to be ashamed and then go to them on our schedule when they mess it up by dying, that’s what Jesus did!

Only they didn’t disappoint Him, Jesus knew what was going to happen.

He told them!

He quoted it from the book of Zachariah, we read it, Mark 14:27

This was written in the book of Zachariah over 400 years before the Crucifixion....Jesus said He would be betrayed, that all of them would abandon Him, that He would be delivered to the Jews, and they would deliver Him to the Romans…Jesus said He would be crucified, and that three days later He would rise from the dead, and Jesus did what He said He would do.

But these guys, His closest followers didn’t believe Him, they didn’t show up!

They skipped church on Easter, the very first Resurrection Day.

Listen some of you are bugged because I’ve said Easter a couple of times instead of Resurrection Day every time.

Get over it, I’m sick of the world claiming things that don’t belong to them.

We don’t celebrate Easter because of some Pagan Holiday, We celebrate the resurrection every time we gather on the first day of the week and we do so, because that is when He rose from the dead!

The rainbow is God’s promise to us! Keep it holy, don’t reject it, or give it away.

It was the ladies, the faithful women that gathered on that day.

They were the ones who became the first missionaries really as they came back the the news that He has risen!

But remember they didn’t show up to have an Easter egg hunt, or to get a basket filled with candy, I got an news bulletin email yesterday that said that American’s will spend an estimated 20.8 Billion, that’s B- Billion dollars on Easter related items and due to inflation the average price of an Easter Basket has gone up to $61.83.

Talk about a nation in rebellion.

It only takes a fake bunny, and some stale marshmallows to distract you from your only chance of salvation.

But even the ladies, they weren’t there for a celebration, they came for a burial.

They thought He was dead, they thought that Jesus wasn’t going to do what He said He would do.

We have a very different process for funerals today, where we live.

We have professionals take care of the body.

We might bring them a nice set of clothes, but they prepare the body, do the embalming, put on the make-up, we have professionals for that.

There are still remote areas in the world where they can’t do what we do, they don’t have professionals, so they bury the body very quickly, so they don’t have to associate the smells of death with someone they love.

In this culture in Jesus’s day, they used fragrant spices, we read in the gospel of John and Joseph and Nicodemus brought myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds of it to begin the burial preparation when they took His body to the tomb.

This was days later when the ladies came.

As they did, I’m sure they were weeping, they were grieving, no doubt depressed.

The guys didn’t even show up.

They were in hiding, in fear of what might happen to them.

But they were also experiencing the grief of personal failure.

Can you imagine that?

Guys, we’ve been arguing for three years about who among us was the greatest, who would be at His right hand and at His left, and we lost Him.

We bailed on Jesus, none of us stood with Him....and we can’t fix it, we can’t make it right, He’s dead.

In their minds that was final, it was over.

You guys know the story, Mark tells in further in chapter 16, Luke gives us more of the story in chapter 24 as on this same day, the greatest day, two of his follower had given up and said we’re out of here!

They are walking away from where Jesus has risen and He appears to them, but their eyes were somehow restrained so they didn’t recognize Him.

Jesus asks them, fella’s why are you so bummed out?

What’s going on.

They respond by asking him if He’s the only stranger in all of Jerusalem, man did you just show up, it’s the talk of all the town, Jesus of Nazareth, they killed Him, it’s over.

Some ladies from our group came and told us that He had risen, but other’s went to the grave and it was empty…He wasn’t there…we were hoping....Luke 24:21

Jesus then rebuked them for being so slow to believe, and He expounded the Scriptures to them, and their eyes were opened and they realized that Jesus did what He said He would do, and they went and told the others.

It was the ladies first, that shared the news that He had risen, but the Apostles didn’t believe.

Then these guys came and said, men, we’ve seen Him, He appeared to us.

And still they didn’t believe…Maybe that’s you.

The first time you heard it, you didn’t believe, you’ve heard it read this morning, and so far, you’re not buying it.

You’re in good company, apparently, that doesn’t disqualify you from growing up and becoming an Apostle.

But then Jesus shows up, and says, guys, they’re right, I’m not dead.

I did what I said I was going to do.

I didn’t bail on you.

I didn’t save Myself....I gave myself, so I could save you.

And then they believed except for Thomas who wasn’t there…He heard the stories, his brothers telling Him that Jesus showed up, but he said unless I see with my own eyes and see the spot where the nails went in and tough them with my own hands, I won’t believe.

And a whole week goes by.

Can you imagine everyone celebrating the resurrection, talking about Jesus, that He really is the Messiah, except for the one grumpy guy in the corner or sitting at the table, refusing to believe that Jesus was who He said He was and that He did what He said He was going to do?

Maybe you can.

Maybe that is what lunch will be like for you when you leave here today and grumpy Uncle Joe doesn’t want to hear any of that Jesus talk especially now that NASCAR is finally on Easter!

I want to spend just a couple of minutes and take another look at the last couple of verses that we read in Mark 16:5-7

Go tell them He did what He said He was going to do.

But... go tell His disciples.

GO tell the ones that He was closest with.

Those that left Him when He needed them, go tell them that He didn’t forsake them.

Tell them He’ll see them in Galilee.

And Peter, those two words amaze me.

And Peter, make sure he knows.

Let Him know I didn’t abandon Him, I didn’t leave any of them.

Let them Know I wasn’t surprised by what they did, I wasn’t disappointed, I told them it was going to happen.

John 16:32-33

Can you imagine what Peter must have been thinking, what he was feeling when he heard these words?

If it was anyone but Jesus, he would probably be scared He was coming to get vengeance, but not Jesus.

In that moment, Peter understood unconditional love.