The Resurrection of Jesus
Mark 16:1-20
- Reminder, final msg in Mark, Wed Oct 22, will be “open forum” style
- Jesus is demonstrated in this book as a “servant”
-- Today we conclude our Mark series (approximately 17 weeks)
- On Sunday we saw the final day of Jesus’ life playing out
-- It is important that we keep ONE specific verse in mind here (prophecy)
-- Isaiah 53:10, “Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.”
- What has Jesus gone through up until now?
-- He has been betrayed a disciple … someone He trusted
-- He has been abandoned by His friends … those He spoke life into
-- He has been beaten beyond anything anyone should deserve … for you and me
-- He has been crucified … totally alone to suffer in anguish
-- He was buried in a borrowed tomb … abandoned by those around Him
- Jesus has become the complete embodiment of sin, by God’s will (Isa 53:10)
- Read Mark 16:1-8
∆ Point 1 – I am the Resurrection (1-8)
- In v1 we see these same women Mark honored in Ch. 15 coming to the tomb
-- They would have been coming to anoint Jesus, but not to embalm Him
-- This would’ve helped with the aroma in the process of decomposition
-- It was a process of honor they were coming to perform; to honor Him alone
- The Jewish week begins on Sunday (Sabbath on Sat), so this is when it is (v2)
-- They are headed to the tomb at daybreak (realistically, in order to see their way)
-- Since the Sabbath would’ve ended at 6pm, it would already be too dark
- As they are walking, they are thinking “Who will roll away the stone?”
-- Gospel of Matthew tells us there were guards placed at the tomb
- Turn to and read Matthew 27:62-66
- This would be to prevent looting; and to ensure Jesus stayed put in tomb!
-- It was out of fear; they wanted to end the rumors of a “resurrection”
- Upon arriving they see something only describable as amazing
-- 1) The stone had been rolled away
-- 2) A man dressed in a white robe is standing there to greet them
-- Their clothes are a dazzling white, indicating glory and God’s purity
- Luke 24:4 records this also: “While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.”
-- What they are seeing is an angel, dressed in white; pure as God’s holiness
- This is a total surprise to see this happening; they are “alarmed” (v5/6)
-- They are having a conversation with an angel, telling them Jesus is alive!
- v6 says, “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here.”
- We have to chat about the importance of this sentence here …
-- To the Christian, this is the most important verse of all of Mark; or the Bible!
-- He is risen – He is not here – He is alive (just as He said He would be!)
-- This one verse is what we base our entire hope and promise on!
- HUGE: If this verse is a lie, then truly, what can we believe?
-- Mark 9:31, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.”
- This command they give the ladies to “go and tell” is of GREAT importance
-- Remember, they have all fled ad abandoned Jesus when He was arrested
-- Even Peter denied ever being associated with Jesus when he was asked
-- APP: This message would’ve been a VERY welcome statement
- Note: Peter is dictating this Gospel, and to him, this is MUCH needed news
-- “Go tell the disciples AND Peter …”; give the news that He is alive!
- They are instructed to go to Galilee, but why Galilee? Why not Jerusalem?
-- The followers of Jesus are not there, they’ve assembled away from Jerusalem
-- They are gathering together for strength
- TRANS: The bible says the women left afraid and fled from the tomb
-- Why? Women do not rank in Jerusalem, their testimony is not counted
-- These women have been given this message to encourage the disciples
-- Yet, knowing that, they could not contain and stifle the GOOD NEWS!
- Read Mark 16:9-14
∆ Point 2 – Seeing is Believing (9-14)
- Mary Magdalene has been mentioned four times in the ending of the Gospel
-- Here we see that she was indeed relieved of demonic spirits; 7 of them
- After the other two women had gone to the tell the disciples, she stayed
-- She stayed at the tomb and was the first to physically see Jesus alive
- v12 and v13 is a parallel story of what we see in Luke 24:13-35
-- Jesus appears to two disciples, talks with them, and then departs from them
-- APP: They too had issues believing that He had risen, until they SAW him
- The something happens in v14 that snaps them out of this “we don’t believe”
-- They are having dinner, and Jesus appears to them directly and rebukes them!
- I want you to imagine this conversation for a minute …
-- Disciples: “Oh, woe is us … what will we do now … now that He is gone …”
-- Jesus: Are you kidding me with this? Where is your faith in God and in me?
-- Didn’t I tell you that I would rise after three days? Are you still so dull?
-- APP: It is the ultimate rebuke here; it is a stern reminder of who they are!
- TRANS: What we need to see here is simple: He is alive, they have seen Him
-- IMP: What will we do with their testimony and with what Jesus has taught?
- Read Mark 16:15-20
∆ Point 3 – Keep on Keeping On (15-20)
- What Jesus does here is EMPOWER the Disciples (and us) to GO!
- The message is very simple (v16):
-- 1) If you believe and are baptized … you will be saved
-- 2) If you do not … you will be condemned
- This is the message we are called to share to the world that needs Jesus
-- It is NOT our place to argue this point, or even to prove this point to anyone
-- We are not Jesus’ defense team (face it … if we were He’d be doomed)
-- We don’t know everything; we cannot think like God; we don’t have His mind
-- We are tellers of what He has done for us, and how we have been rescued
- Now, before we get silly (v18) with picking up snakes, let’s be clear
-- We are NOT called to be snake handlers to prove our faith … that is FALSE!
- As soon as we start trying to prove that God is God we are acting like Satan
-- Matthew 4:5-7, “Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
- APP: We are not called to prove our faith to ANYONE, but submit to God
- Miracles and faith testing become less and less prominent in the 1st church
-- Why? Because we are not called to prove our faith … called to share it
-- How do explain what God has done? By saying, “This is what God has done!”
-- It is by the word of our testimony that we show others who our Lord is
-- Revelation 12:11, “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”
- When Jesus ascends (v19), Mark is recording what he knows from Acts 1
-- This is the promise and concludes his recounting of what Jesus has done
- Today, right now, He sits “at the right hand of God”; interceding for us
-- Romans 8:34, “Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died--more than that, who was raised to life -- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”
- TRANS: The final sentence here is a testimony, and an instruction to us (v20)
-- THEN … after Jesus ascended, they went … now, what will we do?
-- If there was ever a “big idea” of this series it is right here … what will we do?
- Pray
∆ Lord’s Supper
- The Bible tells us that we celebrate the Lord’s Supper to remember Jesus
-- We remember His sacrifice; we remember His words, and His love for us
-- Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me”, and that is what we will do
- But before, I want to ensure you have time to reflect on its importance
- 1 Corinthians 11:23-32, “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.”
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