No longer Doom Gloom
1. The women in the text felt the Doom And Gloom of the week’s happenings
• Messiah had been killed in a humiliating death on a cross.
• His body had been laid in a cave-like tomb, and a
• large stone had been rolled against the door. They were feeling grief over the death of Jesus Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint [Jesus]. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb” (16:1-2).
2. Doom and Gloom are large stones in our lives But Dooms and Gloom can be rolled
• But when they arrived, “they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back” (v. 4).
• No more doom and gloom for the women they heard encouraging words they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed” (v. 5). The man said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised”
• Certain type words can remove Doom and Gloom The young man gave words that give them reason to hope. “He has been Raised”
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3. The women heard news of a new possibility for the future No More doom and gloom
• Then the man ordered them to go “tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you” (v. 7).
• He promised them that Jesus was going ahead of them, and that they would see him in Galilee. So the women fled the tomb, filled with terror and amazement. Since negative emotions can be hard to overcome, Mark admits that “they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid” (v. 8). Yes, the fear that had been gripping them was not easy to throw off. It took time. And what was true for them is also true for us.
4. The Good News of Easter No more Doom and Gloom about Death
• the good news of Easter God has Acted in a mighty way.
• the stone has already been rolled away so we can believe that Jesus has been raised, and to focus on the future where our risen Lord is ahead of us and waiting for us.
• Barriers are broken Most of us have fears about the future, and we often focus on worst-case scenarios. This was what the women were doing as they approached the tomb, fixating on the enormous stone that they feared was going to block them from entering the tomb and anointing the body of Jesus.
• Fear is always worse than reality. “Our brains are crazy,” writes Tyler Tervooren in HuffPost. “Every day they lie to us about how terrible things are or how bad they’re going to be, but when we finally ignore the fear [we] realize everything’s pretty much okay, the world will keep turning, and we’re going to survive.”
• The women were filled with gloom and doom Their brains were lying to tell them about how terrible things were and how bad things were going to be. But then God replaced their doom and gloom with
• So don’t let your brain convince you that the stone you fear will always stand in your way. Maybe you are anxious about something at school or work or home. Perhaps you are fearful of failure or loneliness or a health issue. Don’t let your brain lie to you. Since God is always at work, fear is worse than reality.
• Don’t let your brain lie to you GODISNOWHERE Now open your eyes and see that Jesus is no longer dead. The young man in the tomb sensed that the women were not going to believe what he was saying, so he invited them to see for themselves. Jesus “is not here,” said the man. “Look, there is the place they laid him” (v. 6). There no longer Doom and Gloom because the Tomb is EMPTY.
