Read Mark 16:1-7
Pray. (During the prayer, have the techs turn off all lights, we used black slides so screens appeared to be off as well, act confused for a minute as to what happened, then assure the church that the techs will figure it out as we continue in the dark. The lights will slowly be turned back on, we used three sets, to simulate the increasing light of day as noted through the sermon and the screens will be restored in time to sing the invitation.)
I imagine we’re only feeling a part of what the women in our text were feeling that first Easter Sunday morning. They had just witnessed their leader being crucified on Friday and now they’re here in the dark on their way to finish the preparations of Jesus’ body for burial. Mark 16:2 tells us the sun had just risen, Matthew 28:1 says it was toward the dawn, Luke 24:1 says at early dawn, while John 20:1 says they were walking while it was still dark.
Why would they go so early? I mean, I can’t imagine wanting to get up early to go prepare a body for burial, regardless of who it may be. One part of that could be that the burial process had to be paused for the Sabbath- they couldn’t finish the process sooner because no work was allowed. This was Jesus and they wanted to give him a proper burial, couldn’t stand the thought of leaving his body to rot any longer than they absolutely had to. Another aspect of this could be that being followers of Jesus, they were afraid of being seen. We’re told the disciples all scattered and were hiding in fear. After all, their leader had just been executed, if they were spotted, maybe they’d be next.
I’m not sure how well their plan was thought out, however. Sure, they had collected and purchased all the spices they needed to complete the burial process. They had taken the time to prepare the spices so they could be applied upon their arrival to the tomb. But as the group was walking toward the tomb, they began to discuss that they didn’t know how they were going to move the stone away from the tomb’s entrance.
Ligonier Ministries describes on their website how difficult it would be to roll the stone away. First off, Matthew tells us it’s a great stone, it would be very heavy. Even if our entire men’s breakfast group were to show up, I believe we’d have a hard time rolling the stone away from the entrance of the tomb, it was that heavy. In addition, to prevent the stone moving from a tomb, they would dig a trench with a rut that would place the entrance at the bottom of a small valley. When it was time to put the stone in place, it was a short downhill push that would leave the stone pressing against the opening and having to be rolled uphill to be removed.
But that wasn’t enough for the Jewish leaders. They were worried the followers of Jesus might sneak in by cover of night, steal the body of Jesus, and then declare His resurrection, perpetrating what they thought would be a great lie. They convinced the Romans to use clay to seal the stone to the tomb and then place soldiers at the entrance to ensure no one would have the opportunity to steal the body.
Now, I picture this group of women reaching the crest of a hill discussing what could they possibly do when they look and see the tomb. The stone has already been rolled away from the tomb. (first set of lights were turned on at this point) How could this be? Had someone come before them and finished the preparations that were needed? Was the body of Jesus stolen or had the Roman or Jewish rulers decided they needed to move the body to ensure they’d have the body in case Jesus’ followers claimed that He was now alive? With a sense of panic, they enter the tomb, not sure what they were going to find, yet somehow still expecting to see the body of Jesus. IT’S NOT THERE!!!
Instead, they find a young man, we know him to be an angel, dressed in a white robe. He tells the women, “I know why you’re here- you’re seeking Jesus of Nazareth, but you’re looking in the wrong place. This is a tomb, a place to find the dead, but Jesus isn’t dead- He has risen! Look for yourself, there’s the place where they had laid the body. It’s no longer there because JESUS IS ALIVE!!! Now go, tell the disciples and Peter. Let them know that Jesus will meet them in Galilee.”
Wow, what amazing news! But they still don’t seem to get it. John pulls back a bit more of the curtain of what Mary Magdalene experienced that morning. We’re told that she found Peter and John (who refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loves- imagine being able to write a gospel for all of posterity and being able to point out that you are the disciple whom Jesus loves) and informed them that the tomb is empty. It doesn’t appear that she’s proclaiming that Jesus is alive just yet. Peter and John race to the tomb to see for themselves, find the tomb empty, and leave scratching their heads, trying to wrap their minds around what has happened. We’re told they still didn’t understand the Scripture, the things that had been prophesied, not even Jesus’ own words to them that He would rise from the dead.
Mary stays behind at the tomb, filled with her grief and continuing to mourn. Then this happens. (Read John 20:11-18) Mary looks into the tomb one more time. I imagine it’s like when you’re looking for that thing you’ve lost and you know you’ve already looked in that one place but just to be safe you look one more time and there it is. She still hasn’t come to grips with the idea that Jesus is alive and so she takes one more look into the tomb, maybe she had missed something and she’ll see the body there this time.
When she looks, she finds two angels in the tomb- one sitting where they had laid Jesus’ head and the other where His feet had once been. They look at her and ask, “Woman, why are you weeping?” See, they knew she’d been told that Jesus is alive, that she should be experiencing joy that His words had become true and yet, here she is mourning and crying, she still doesn’t get it. She doesn’t respond with, “Jesus is alive,” she tells them that someone must have taken her master’s body and she has no idea where it has gone. She is unable to do what she had set out to do that morning, prepare the body of Jesus for the proper burial He deserved.
Think about it, how often have you seen someone come back to life? Probably never. Sure, they’d seen Jesus raise others like Lazarus, but no one who was dead had ever brought themselves back to life. This just wasn’t possible. (turn on the second set of lights) Mary, in her grief and mourning, turns to walk away and there stands Jesus. She still doesn’t get it, doesn’t realize who it is. Her eyes were clouded by her tears, her grief was too great to let her see what was happening. She assumes this man is the gardener because who else, besides a group of women who wanted to prepare their leader for a proper burial would be found in a cemetery at this hour on a Sunday morning.
Jesus also asks why she’s weeping. After all, He knows that He is the person that she’s looking for. He knows that He has risen and is no longer dead. He knows that she is experiencing the wrong emotion for this occasion because she still hasn’t figured it out. Mary pleads with this man, “Sir, if you have taken away Jesus’ body, please tell me where you’ve laid Him. I’d like to take it and prepare His body for a proper burial. He was my lord, my master, I need to show Him my love one last time by preparing His body so He can be buried with the respect He deserves.”
Jesus responds with one, quiet, gentle, simple word, “Mary.” (Turn on the third set of lights) Mary immediately realizes who it is that she is speaking with, gets all excited, calls out “Rabboni”, and grabs Him up in a great big bear hug. I imagine it was like college buddies who hadn’t seen each other in like 20 years because life had taken them down different paths and now that they’ve been reunited, grab each other in a big squeeze. Eventually, Jesus had to tell Mary to let Him go so He could complete His mission. He was going on ahead to see their God and Father but would be visiting the disciples soon. He told Mary to go and tell the disciples what she had seen.
Mary, finally in joy, runs to find the disciples again and this time gets to proclaim, “Jesus is alive! I know it because I’ve seen Him with my very own eyes!”
This brings us to today. Many of us are here because we know that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ rose from the dead on Resurrection Sunday. We are here to celebrate because we know that God has sent His Son who willingly died on the cross to raise back to life three days later. We know we have salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus.
But some of you are here because you’re seeking. Where have you been looking for your salvation? For some, you’ve been looking to drugs or alcohol or sex or other addictions, hoping to find fulfillment or something that will make you feel better about yourself. You’re not going to find it in those things.
Some of you are looking for what good things you can be doing to earn your salvation. You’ve given financial donations to good causes, participated in needed service projects, or simply saw someone in need and helped meet that need. Why? Because you’re hoping that if you do enough good it will outweigh your bad deeds and God will have to allow you into heaven. Unfortunately, that’s not going to work either.
Some of you have been looking for the bells and whistles, the latest fad that will get you emotionally hyped up so you can make it from one Sunday to the next. Let me tell you, that’s not going to last.
None of these things are going to lead you to salvation- those graves are filled. It’s why we turned the lights and screens off at the beginning of the sermon- to remind us that our focus needs to be on Jesus. He is the sole source of salvation. Jesus is the way, truth, and life, no one comes to the Father except through Him.
Earlier in the service, we sang the song Heart of Worship as we prepared for our prayer time. Allow me to share the story behind the song. Matt Redman is the musician who wrote this song. He was attending a church where they were rapidly growing, in part because they had an amazing band and were doing some pretty cool things to draw people’s attention. But the preacher realized that people were focused on the band, the newest and coolest thing that was to come next, and had lost their focus on Jesus, that they needed to get their priorities straight. He shut it all down, the church went a capella for a few weeks. It was awkward at first, but as people regained their focus on Jesus, the praise band returned to lead in worship that pointed people to Jesus.
Matt Redman wrote this song about their experience to remind people that Jesus is our focus, the heart of our worship. The screens, the instruments, the lights and anything else we use are merely tools that are intended to point people to Jesus.
We’re going to sing the song again as our invitation. I hope that most of us will sing this song as a prayer, confessing our need to make Jesus our focus as we worship, to take our eyes off the distractions and look to Jesus. Some of you may not have made a commitment to Jesus yet. Now is the time for you to make that decision, to follow Jesus, be baptized, and we’ll walk with you in faith as we grow in our walk with Jesus.
Tomorrow is promised to no one, don’t put this decision off thinking you’ve got things to get in order first, there will always be something else. Make the decision now and allow Jesus to guide you through those things you know you need to get sorted.
We’re going to start by singing the chorus a capella, then the band will join in as we sing the verse and chorus again. (screens are restored at this point to provide lyrics) Let’s stand and sing.
