Following Jesus (16)
Scott Bayles, pastor
Scripture: Mark 16:1-8
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 4/16/2017
Good morning, welcome to the Grove and Happy Easter.
I’m reminded of a preacher who spotted a young man he recognized at church on Easter Sunday. On his way out the door, the preacher grabbed him by the hand, pulled him aside and said to him, "Young man, you need to join the Lord’s Army!" The young guy replied, "But I’m already in the Lord’s Army, Pastor." The Pastor questioned, "Then how come I only you at Christmas and Easter?" The young man whispered back, "I’m in the secret service. "
I don’t know if you’re in the secret service or not, but I’m really glad decided to spend Easter morning with us here at the Grove. The down side of only attending church on Christmas and Easter is that it’s a lot like reading the first and last chapter of a book and skipping everything in-between. There’s a lot of good stuff in-between.
Sixteen weeks ago, we began a journey that has taken us through the deserts of Palestine, along the shores of Lake Galilee and the Jordan River, and into the cities of Nazareth, Bethany and Jerusalem as we have followed in the footsteps of Jesus.
The Gospel of Mark has been our tour guide on this journey. At just sixteen chapters, Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels. It’s also the first, written as early as 45 AD. And Mark wrote it as a fast-paced, action-packed drama, making it the ideal starting point for anyone wishing to follow in Jesus’ steps.
Last Sunday, in Mark 15, we followed Jesus to Golgotha—to the cross. The various elements of his crucifixion—including the spit of the soldiers, the spikes in his hands, and the sign above his head—each tell a story. Together they tell us just how far Jesus was willing to go to win our hearts and souls.
In the wake of the crucifixion, though, Jesus’ followers were devastated. Today we call it Good Friday, but there was nothing good about it in their minds. Their spirits were crushed by the same nails that pierced the hands and feet of Jesus. They were discouraged, disheartened and defeated. But that was Friday. Today is Sunday. Easter Sunday. Resurrection Sunday. A day of hope and happiness! The day that changed everything!
If you have a Bible or an app on your phone, let me encourage you to open it to the last chapter of the Gospel of Mark, where we read of several female followers of Jesus who wanted nothing more than to see him one more time.
Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside. When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.” (Mark 16:1-7 NLT)
The Easter story is undoubtedly among the most memorable and amazing stories in Scripture. Even though much of this is familiar to you, I’d like to highlight three important elements of the Easter story as Mark tells it. The first thing these ladies notice on their journey to see Jesus is that they’ve got a problem.
• THE PROBLEM OF EASTER
These ladies committed their lives to following Jesus and, more than anything, they wanted to see Jesus one last time, to honor him by anointing his body with spices and perfumes (the first century equivalent of laying flowers by his grave side).
But as they walked that long, lonely path to the tomb, it suddenly dawned on them. The Bible says they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” (Mark 16:3 NIV). Two of these women, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, saw where the body had been placed and knew that a huge stone was rolled across the entrance to the tomb, so as they approached the gravesite they remembered the stone and realized that they couldn’t move it on their own. The stone itself weighed several hundred pounds and would have to be rolled uphill out of a rut in the ground in order to open the tomb. Even if all five women worked together, they wouldn’t have been able to budge it. As far as they were concerned, it was an insurmountable obstacle.
But you know what that’s like, don’t you? We all have our own stones. You know yours. You know its size, its shape and circumference. Your stone doesn’t cover the entrance of a tomb in Jerusalem; rather, your path is blocked by the boulders of unemployment, abandonment, abuse, or addiction. We face the insurmountable obstacles debt, divorce, drunkenness and depression. “You have bills you can’t pay, grades you can’t make, people you can’t please, whiskey you can’t resist, pornography you can’t refuse, cancer you can’t escape, a past you can’t shake, and a future you can’t face.” And the reality is—by ourselves, we aren’t strong enough to roll those stones away. Come at from any angle you choose, use whatever tools you wish—you can’t budge it, you can’t get over it, you can’t go around it, you can’t move it, not even inch.
But notice what these women did. They kept walking to the tomb. They recognized their problem. They acknowledged the stone’s presence. They wondered what they were going to do and who might help them. But they didn’t let it stop them! They kept right on walking. They didn’t give up. They didn’t go home. Yes, they had a seemingly insurmountable obstacle ahead of them, but they kept moving forward in faith. Whatever problems you face or obstacles you have to overcome, don’t let it stop you. And for heaven’s sake, don’t let it keep you from Jesus! Keep moving forward. Keep moving toward Jesus. And trust him to move the stone.
Jesus does for us, what He did for Mary, Salome, and the rest. Their lives were forever changed because He rolled the stone away. That stone represented all the fears and failures of Jesus’ closest followers. And His resurrection personally and powerfully impacted the lives of those who knew Him and loved Him. Jesus rolled away the stone that hindered their faith and their future. And he can do the same for you. That brings us to the second installment in this story, which is the power of Easter.
• THE POWER OF EASTER
When the women arrive at the tomb, not only has the stone already been rolled away, but Jesus is gone and an angel sits there waiting for them.
Mark writes: The women were shocked, but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!” (Mark 16:5-6 NLT)
This is the miracle and the power of Easter. Jesus’ resurrection was the single greatest feat ever accomplished.
I heard a story about a guy who took a shortcut through a dark cemetery after a long night at the bar. Unaware that a new grave had been dug in his path, he stumbled right into it. He tried to climb out, but the mud was too slippery, so he just decided to wait until the morning. He curled up in the corner, covered himself with his coat, and went to sleep. An hour later, a farmer out coon hunting came walking through the cemetery and fell into the same grave. He desperately tried to climb out, unaware that there was anyone else in the grave. The first man listened to the farmer for a few minutes, then reached over in the pitch darkness and laid a hand on his shoulder. “You ain’t never getting outta here,” he said. That old farmer jumped clear out the grave and never looked back!
It would take a lot of muscle and motivation to jump out of a six-foot grave, but just imagine the power it took for Jesus to walk out of his tomb! It was the most powerful event in human history, an event that separated AD from BC. And the cool thing is—that resurrection power is available to change your life!
The most important thing in life is knowing Christ and experiencing the power of His resurrection first hand. Years later, the apostle Paul expressed his greatest longing: “I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead” (Philippians 3:10 NLT).
In another letter he tells his readers, “I pray that you will begin to understand how incredibly great His power is to help those who believe Him. It is that same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in heaven” (Ephesians 1:19-20 TLB).
Paul uses the Greek word for power, dunamis, which is the root of our word dynamite. So Paul is saying, “God wants to give you dynamite power that can change your life.” Yes, the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead two thousand years ago is available to everyone who believes in him. Because of the resurrection, we know that God is in our corner ready to help us overcome every enemy and obstacle. His power is mightily working within us to transform our weaknesses into strengths! That’s the power of Easter. It wasn’t just a one-time event; it’s an everyday event! Finally, let me spotlight the promise of Easter.
• THE PROMISE OF EASTER
Following the angel’s announcement that Jesus is risen, the angel then offers a poignant promise. He says, “Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died” (Mark 16:7 NLT).
The promise of Easter isn’t really the angel’s promise, though. The angel is just reminding these women about a promise already made by Jesus. Before his crucifixion, Jesus said, “in a little while you won’t see me, but a little while after that you will see me again” (John 16:19 NLT).
This is the hope and the promise of Easter—seeing Jesus. And his promise to them is his promise to us. Elsewhere, Jesus put it this way: “When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me” (John 14:3 NLT).
This promise of Christ reminds me of George Tulloch. In 1996 he led an expedition to the spot where the Titanic sank in 1912. He and his crew recovered numerous artifacts, everything from eyeglasses to jewelry to dishware. In his search, Tulloch realized that a large piece of the hull had broken from the ship and was resting not far from the vessel. Tulloch immediately saw the opportunity at hand. Here was a chance to rescue part of the ship itself.
The team set out to raise the twenty-ton piece of iron and place it onto the boat. They were successful in lifting it to the surface, but a storm blew in and the ropes broke and the Atlantic reclaimed her treasure. Tulloch was forced to retreat and regroup. But before he left, he did something curious. He descended into the deep and, with the robotic arm of his submarine, attached a strip of metal to a section of the hull. On the metal he’d written these words, “I will come back, George Tulloch.”
At first glance, his actions seem silly. I mean, it’s not like he has to worry about a lot of people stealing his piece of iron. For one thing, it’s two and one-half miles below the surface of the Atlantic. For another, well, it’s a piece of junk. We wonder why anyone would be so attracted to it.
Of course one might say the same about you and me. Why would Jesus go to such efforts to reclaim us? What good are we to him? He must have his reasons because two thousand years ago, he entered the murky waters of our world in search of his children. And on all who will allow him to do so, he lays his claim and tags his name. “I will come back,” he says.
George Tulloch did. Two years later he returned and rescued his piece of iron. Jesus will too. We don’t know when he will come for us. We don’t know exactly how he will come for us. But we know that he will. And, the Bible says, “we can’t even imagine what it is going to be like later on. But we do know this, that when he comes we will be like him, as a result of seeing him as he really is” (1 John 3:2 TLB).
Seeing Jesus will change us. In an instant. In the twinkling of an eye. Just seeing Jesus will change everything. I don’t know about you, but I’m really looking forward to that day!
Conclusion
In the meantime, we look backward to the problem of Easter, the power of Easter, and the promise of Easter. And we celebrate! Easter is so much more than candy, colored eggs, and cartoon bunnies—Easter is the cornerstone of the Christian faith; the celebration of Jesus rising from the grave, conquering death and giving us peace with God, a purpose for life and the promise of heaven.
That’s what today is really all about. That’s why we’re here, why this building exists, the greeters, the shepherds, the singers, the band members, the Sunday school teachers—all of us who follow Jesus. We’re here because of Jesus!
And we’re here for you.
Invitation:
God loves you and me more than we’ll ever know. He gave his one and only Son so that we could live forever with him. If you have some problems in your life that seem insurmountable, if you need to experience the power of God, and embrace the promise and hope of seeing Jesus, I want to encourage you to follow Mary and others to the empty tomb, listen to the angel’s announcement, and put your faith in Jesus. If I can help you, let me know. Think about. Talk to us. Drop us an e-mail. Text us. Whatever it takes. We’ll walk you through it.
