Easter Service

Easter Service, Tell the events of the previous week

1. Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Now Today The climax to one heck of a week

Look at Mark 16:1-8--This is the climax of Mark’s Gospel, The Resurrection

• Without the Resurrection the life and death of Jesus even though it would have been admirable would have been nothing more that overwhelming tragic facts

• But with the Resurrection Jesus is declared to be the Son of God, and not only is He the Son of God but He has Power

• The good news about Jesus Christ is that God, by the Resurrection of His Son defeated Sin / Death / Hell

Read Text

1. We are told that when the Sabbath ended that they went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus body

• Sabbath Sunset Friday to Sunset Saturday

• To dark to go now to travel the path

• The women wanted to be prepared to go do what they had to do

• The anointing was not for the purpose of preserving the body (embalming was not practiced by the Jews)

• But was an act of love and devotion,

• It would also have reduced the stench of the decomposing body. Palestine's hot climate causes corpses to decay rapidly.

• Either way the idea that they went as early as possible shows the importance.

2. Who will roll away the stone

• Their concern with moving the stone was a real one because, it would have been difficult to move.

• A circular stone, though relatively easy to put in place since it was usually set in a sloped track, was very difficult to remove once established in place.

• It would either have to be rolled back up the incline or lifted out of the groove and then removed.

3. But we find that their worries were for nothing because the stone had been rolled away

• But Mark makes no attempt to explain how the stone was removed.

• Once inside the tomb the women saw a young man dressed in a white robe; his dress suggests an angel (cf. Mt 28:2).

• No human eyes saw the resurrection, but angels, as witnesses of God's actions, could report what happened.

• The reaction of the women to the angel was what one would expect: "They

were alarmed."

4. Don’t be alarmed (You ever notice that whenever the angels appeared to people the first thing they tried to do was to put their minds at ease?

Zechariah about Elizabeth (Birth of John)- Mary- Shepherds-Now these women

5. Once again we see the women's fright was calmed by words of reassurance: "Don't be alarmed."

• The angel knew whom they were seeking / Looking for --Jesus of Nazareth.

• He then spoke the revelatory word, "He has risen!"

• And invited them to see the evidence of the empty tomb.

• An empty tomb, of course, invites the question, What happened to the body of Jesus?

• God supplied the answer to this question and He sent an Angel to Deliver it

And that explanation / Answer is the Resurrection!

6. Across the centuries many other explanations have been proposed:

1. The body of Jesus was stolen;

2. The women came to the wrong tomb;

3. That Jesus didn’t actually die on the cross but walked out of the tomb; etc.

• Some of these explanations have had success with skeptics.

• But the only adequate explanation / Real answer is still what the angel said to the women who were at the tomb on that first Easter morning:

"He has risen!"

7. And in verse 7 we see that after the women had had a chance to see for themselves that He had risen

• The Angel tells them to "Go, tell his disciples and Peter"

• Why do you think he phrased it this way?

• It shows just how gracious God was

• He made arrangements for Peter's special need.

Peter was damaged / Hurt / is singled out because he had denied Jesus (14:66-72)

• And now Peter needed reassurance / that he was not excluded from the company of the disciples.

• Jesus had forgiven and restored him.

Jesus had predicted their regathering in Galilee (14:28).

• But Why Galilee?

• Perhaps he wanted to meet not only with the disciples but also with the community of believers there to give them his last instructions before his ascension.

• Or maybe because Galilee would be a good place for the launching of a Gentile mission.

8 The confrontation with the angel proved to be too much for the women.

• They fled "trembling and bewildered"--a natural and to-be-expected reaction.

• They were so frightened and confused that they were at first silent.