“The Stone Was Rolled Away”
Mark 16:1-8
The theme of today’s message comes from the Easter Cantata the choir is singing next Friday, Saturday and Sunday, “Arise and Reign.” One of the songs the choir is singing is titled, “He is Risen – Alleluia.”
The words go like this: “Look! The morning sun is rising, shining on the sparkling dew. Mary’s grieving heart surprising with the angel’s happy news! Come disciples, leave your grieving; Rush to see the empty grave. Just as Thomas bowed, believing, touch the wounds and stand amazed. He is risen, Alleluia! See, the stone is rolled away.
My Lord what a morning when the stone was rolled away.”
Matthew tells us who rolled the stone away: “Suddenly there was a great earthquake, because an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone and sat on it.” Matthew 28:2
When we combine the four Gospel stories we get a comprehensive story of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
There are many viewpoints on the death and resurrection of Jesus. We each come to the story with out own prejudices and bias.
Two boys were playing basketball in Kentucky when a rabid Rottweiler attacked one of the boys. Thinking quickly, the other boy ripped a board off a nearby fence, wedged it down the dogs collar and twisted it as hard as he could. The dog’s neck was broken before he could bite the other boy.
A Lexington, KY. Herald Leader reporter saw the incident take place and rushed over to interview the boy. The reporter wrote in his notebook the headline: “Young Wildcat fan saves friend from vicious animal.” The boy responded, “But I’m not a Wildcat fan.”
The reporter told him he was sorry and replied, “We’re in Kentucky and I just assumed you were a Wildcat fan.” The reported wrote another headline, “Cardinal fan rescues friend from terrible attack.” The boy looked at the pad and said, “I’m not a Louisville fan either.”
The reporter looked at him and asked, “I assumed that everyone in the state of Kentucky was either for the Wildcats or the Cardinals. What team do you root for? “I am a Tennessee Volunteer fan,” the boy replied.
The reported turned to a new sheet in his notebook and wrote: “Little redneck hoodlum kills faithful family pet.”
Everyone looks at Easter through different views. Some see Easter bunnies and egg-hunts and others see an empty tomb.
Mark 16:1-4 “When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices so they could embalm him. Very early on Sunday morning, as the sun rose, they went to the tomb. They worried out loud to each other, “Who will roll back the stone from the tomb for us.” Then they looked up, saw that it had been rolled back- it was a huge stone – and walked right in.”
The stone was not rolled away for Jesus to walk out. Jesus could easily walk through stones like he walked through walls where the disciples were hiding in fear of the Jews.
The question I want to ask this morning is: “What stone is blocking your life and keeping you from being all that God wants you to be.” There are many stones that are barriers to seeing and experiencing the risen Christ. This morning I want to mention two stones many people experience as barriers. You may come up with another stone that you are dealing with.
I. The Stone of Fear
Matthew 28:4 says that when the guards experienced a great earthquake and saw an angel of the Lord roll aside the heavy stone that it usually took several strong men to move. The face of the angel shone like lightening and his clothing was a white as snow. “The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.”
Mark 8:8 tells how after an angel told the women that Jesus was raised from the dead, “The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, saying nothing to anyone because they were too frightened to talk.”
There are all kinds of fears that keep us from embracing all that God wants to give us. Intense fear keeps us from having faith in the risen Lord.
We have fear of the unknown.
We fear rejection by other people.
We fear being different.
We fear failure.
Do you have fears like stones blocking your view of the empty tomb?
After the crucifixion the disciples of Jesus were hiding behind locked doors fearing for their lives. They thought they might be on the Jewish leaders hit list.
Most of our fears have no basis or facts for our fears. In a Peanuts cartoon strip Charlie Brown goes to Lucy for a nickels worth of psychiatric help. Lucy proceeds to pinpoint his particular fear. Perhaps, she says, you have hypengyophobia, which is fear of responsibility. Charlie Brown says “no.” Well perhaps you have ailurophobia, which is the fear of cats. “No,’ Well, maybe you have climacophogbia, which is the fear of staircases. “No.” Exasperated, Lucy says, “well, maybe you have pantophobia, which is fear of everything.” “Yes,” says Charlie Brown, that is the one!”
Jesus lived, died, and rose again to take away the stone of fear. Jesus near the time of his arrest and crucifixion gave his disciples the assurance and promise, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be while I am.” John 14:1-3
The average person has a deep sense of the fear of dying. Even the best Christian is not exempt from the fear of death.
Our fear of death diminishes when we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and accept the gift of eternal life through repentance and faith in Jesus. We have the assurance that because Jesus lives we also shall live. The resurrection of Jesus gives us that assurance that death is not the end, but the beginning of living in the very presence of God in heaven.
Jesus told his disciples to have a healthy reverential fear of God. For those who think God is just the figment of a person’s mind and treat their Creator in a flippant and casual manner are in for a great surprise. Jesus talked more about hell than he did about heaven.
Jesus speaks directly to our heart when he says, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill you. They can only kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Matthew 10:28
Yes, God is love, but God is also just and cannot tolerate sin and evil. The person who thinks they are righteous and holy in themselves will be I for a surprise and shock. John 3:36, “And all who believe in God’s Son have eternal life. Those who don’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life, but the wrath of God remains upon them.”
Your stone of fear is removed through your personal faith in Jesus Christ.
II. The Stone of Doubt.
It’s interesting that all the people involved in the resurrection story were not expecting to see a risen Savior. The women going to the tomb were going to anoint a dead Christ.
The two disciples walking to Emmaus were convinced that Jesus was dead and buried, period. It was only when Jesus joined them in their walk and showed them his scares that they believed.
A huge stone for many people is the stone of doubt. When Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary mother of James and other women told the disciples that the tomb was empty. Luke reports that - “The story sounded like nonsense, so they didn’t believe it.” The women were fanaticizing and believing their own fantasies.
When Jesus first appeared to the ten disciples behind closed doors, Thomas was missing. When Thomas returned the disciples told him that they had seen the Lord. Thomas said, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, and put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” John 20:25
We all have a little doubting Thomas in us. Thomas knew that dead is dead. Thomas was a realist. He needed evidence.
There are many who say unless I see I will not believe.
A Liberal Theologian spoke in a Christian College. He told the students that you can’t take the stories in the Old Testament as historical facts. He said the Hebrew word for “Red” is the same as “Reed.” So when the Bible talks about Moses leading the children of Israel through the Red Sea with the Egyptian army in pursuit, it really means that it was a Reed Sea. There was no miracle. There were only two inches of water in the Reed Sea. It was more like a marsh. A wind came along blew the water aside, and they were able to easily walk through.
When the speaker said that a student stood up and said, “Praise the Lord, another miracle!”
The visiting speaker was surprised at the outburst and asked the student, “What did you say?” The student said, “Praise the Lord! Another miracle! Just imagine. God drowned all those Egyptian soldiers in just two inches of water.”
When Jesus appeared the second time with Thomas present he said to Thomas: “Put your finger here and see my hands. Put your hand into the wound on my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” John 20:27
Just seeing was enough for Thomas, he cried out: “My Lord and my God.” Then Jesus told Thomas, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven’t see me and believe anyway.” John 20:2829
Frank Morison was a British lawyer and skeptic of Christianity. Morison decided to disprove the historic Christian belief that Jesus had physically risen from the dead. He was going to write a book to prove his belief. He investigated the four Gospels and as he examined the evidence he came out with a much different belief. He titled his book, “Who Moved the Stone,” an account of the historical resurrection of Christ. He accepted Jesus and began to lecture on proofs for Christ’s resurrection.
The truth of the resurrection presents a challenge to your life. If you believe what Jesus said then what Jesus taught makes a difference in the way you live.
Have you allowed the stone of fear or doubt block your view of the empty tomb? Jesus wants to remove that stone.
The Gospel is clear – whosoever will may come and personally experience God’s love and forgiveness. You can personally know you have eternal life.
John 3:16 is the golden text of the Bible: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
“Whosoever believes shall not perish, but have eternal life.” There is only one sin that Jesus cannot forgive. That sin is unbelief. Unbelief separates a person from God’s forgiveness and blessing.
The stone has been rolled away by the resurrection power of God. Whatever stone may be blocking your life so you’re not experiencing the joy of the Lord can be removed. Jesus speaks to you and says, “Fear Not, Do not doubt, and do not disbelieve. I am alive.” As you look to Jesus you can cry out with Thomas, “My Lord and My God.”
