Rock n Roll
Mark 16:1-8
Mar 16:1-8 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. (2) Very early on the first day of the week, they *came to the tomb when the sun had risen. (3) They were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?" (4) Looking up, they *saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. (5) Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. (6) And he *said to them, "Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. (7) "But go, tell His disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.'" (8) They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
The resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ, is the singular most important event in all of human history. The reason I say this is because the resurrection of the Son of God verifies all that has gone before. From the very first prophecy of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind, the protoevangelium where Yahweh told the serpent Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." To Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that the time of Messiah’s arrival had come, Luk 1:31-33 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. (32) "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; (33) and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." the resurrection of Jesus Christ proved that what God had declared and the prophets had foretold was true, and that every claim of Jesus Christ was authentic and factual.
The resurrection of Jesus is the pivotal point in human history. All of the saints of God prior to His atoning death and justifying resurrection (Rom 4:25) looked forward in time to that event, and every saint of God after His resurrection to this very moment, looks back to that same event. The resurrection confirmed that mankind’s debt had been paid, the curse of death had been broken, and the promise of our own resurrection was sure. Friends, without Christ’s resurrection, there would be no Christian faith, mankind would still be dead in his sins and under bondage to the law, for 1Co 15:17 …if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.
Oh, my friends, without the resurrection, there is no hope. This is why the doctrine of the resurrection is the most attacked claim of the Bible and our faith. Intellectuals scoff at it, pagans deny it, and many more, even among those who claim to be Christians only give it lip service. But you know, none of this is surprising because even the Lord's disciples and others who followed Him closely throughout His ministry, didn’t believe it at first. In the gospels, we read several times where He clearly and plainly told His disciples that He would be arrested, killed, and buried—but three days later He would rise, and still Mar 9:32 …they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.
Those closest to Him didn’t get it, which is why we see on that first day of the week after His death and burial, the women walking to the tomb with more spices to anoint His body. I don’t know if they were aware that Nicodemus had brought 100 lbs of spices for that very purpose, when he and Joseph of Arimathea took the Lord’s body down and brought Him to his own brand new and unused tomb. But whether they knew or not, that Sunday morning after Passover, they got together and made their way to the tomb, all the while having one question on their minds. Mar 16:3 They were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?"
I. Rock n Roll
“Who will roll away the stone for us?” It was a valid question. Those stones that covered the entrances to tombs, not only were they large and heavy, but when they were rolled in front of the entrance, they rolled into a slot that had been dug out for the stone to hold it in place. It might have taken several men to move it away, so these three ladies wouldn’t have been able to even budge it. But their love for Christ was so great, the foremost thing on their minds was to properly anoint the Lord’s body, their last act of love toward the one who had shown them the true meaning of love. As they walked toward the place where they knew he had been laid, they didn’t think about the soldiers who were there to protect the body from theft. They weren’t worried about being arrested for being followers of Jesus. They weren’t wondering why Peter, and the others weren’t joining them. They weren’t concerned with how they might react to seeing the Lord’s body, beaten, bloodied, torn, marred, and scourged. No, all they worried about was “Who will roll away the stone for us?”
Mary Magdalene had a supreme devotion to Christ. He had cast seven demons out of her. When she and the other women went to the tomb that morning, it was an act of love, but amazingly, it was also an act of unbelief. You see, they went there to anoint a dead body, not to see if He was resurrected! They didn’t go to see if the Lord had defeated death. Rather, they went to add perfumes to mask the stink of death.
“Who will roll away the stone for us?” Their question is answered when they arrived at the tomb. The stone had already been rolled away. The great obstacle they would never have been able to handle on their own had been moved out of the way for them. Their path had been made clear! Mat 28:2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.
That stone being rolled away speaks to me about how God removes the obstacles in our life. There are all sorts of obstacles that would tempt us, or otherwise try to keep us from the Lord. The devil would like nothing more than to prevent us from living the life that Christ has called us to.
Do you have any stones, any obstacles that are hindering you from pursuing Christ? Do you have any challenges that are keeping you in your tomb, so to speak? What battle is it that paralyzes you with fear, traps you in doubt, stops you from living the new life in Christ that you are called to?
II. Terror and Comfort
Now, when the ladies arrived at the tomb Mar 16:5 Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. Luke tells us of two men, but also that the women weren’t simply “amazed” as Mark indicated but were “terrified.” Luk 24:3-5 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. (4) While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; (5) and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead?
My friends, when normal people come into contact with supernatural beings, terror is an appropriate reaction. Both of the words used by Mark and Luke have similar meanings, but Luke’s use of the Greek word “emphobos” implies a much stronger reaction. They were “terrified” or “thrown into fear.” Emphobos comes from the root word “phobos” where we get our English word, “phobia,” it’s the word that Matthew used of the disciples when they saw Jesus walking on the water and thought they were seeing a ghost; and when Luke records Zacharias reaction when he saw the angel who announced John’s birth in the temple; and the disciples fearful reaction on seeing the Lord in the upper room, when all of a sudden, He just appeared among them behind closed doors! Luk 24:37 But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit.
Now what’s sad is that it’s also the word John used when describing the common people’s fear of their own religious leaders. You know, I can easily imagine being greatly afraid of supernatural beings, but it’s truly sad when those same fears are of the very people who should be the shepherds and caregivers of the sheep.
The women are greatly afraid, and they bowed down, their faces to the ground, which is a sign of worshipful respect. But as are many times the case, when humanity comes into contact with the heavenly, the heavenly calms or comforts humanity. Throughout the Bible we hear heavenly beings tell humanity to “fear not.” The angel to Zacharias said “fear not,” because his prayers had been heard. Gabriel told Mary “Fear not,” you have found favor with God. Another angel told the shepherds who kept watch over their flocks by night “Fear not,” I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people; and when John received his Revelation of Jesus Christ, the Lord told him “Fear not,” I am the first and the last.
You know, this has always been this way with God. From the Garden of Eden when the eventual destruction of the serpent was announced, God has been saying, “Fear not! Don’t be amazed. I have a plan.” He called out His people, raised up kings and sent prophets, and finally, He sent His only begotten Son, and His message to us is, “Fear not. All is going just as it’s supposed to. I’ve got you in the palm of my hand.”
To the fearful women that Sunday morning, the angel said, Mar 16:6 …Be not affrighted: (or fear not) Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. The angel took the role of comforting and explaining. The same angel who had caused the soldiers guarding the tomb to be frozen in fear, would cause no harm to these women. He knew why they came, and he offered them comfort and assurance. All of the gospels record the presence of the angelic beings at the tomb, but only the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke record their words of comfort in one form or another, Mat 28:6 "He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.
This is the first announcement of the resurrection, and it was given to the women. The tomb was open, and the women were inside and could see for themselves that what the angel said was true. Jesus was no longer there. The stone shelf where His body was laid was empty of everything except the cloth wrappings that had been wrapped around his body and the cloth or napkin that had covered His face. John tells us that when Joh 20:6-7 …Simon Peter also *came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he *saw the linen wrappings lying there, (7) and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.
The phrasing of linen cloths lying there and folded together in a place by itself indicates the orderly arrangement of the burial wrappings. Prepared for burial, those strips of linen cloths would have been smeared with ointments, aloes, and spices, and then applied in several layers. The mixture of these spices would dry and harden the linen cloths, making something of a mummy or a cocoon. To remove these burial wrappings would require tearing and cutting.
What Peter and John saw was no normal removal of the burial wrappings. "Still in the folds" is the Greek phrase. Even the head cloths are separated from the rest of the garments. They were lying on that shelf as if the body of the Lord had simply evaporated and passed through, and then having no body inside any longer, they simply collapsed upon themselves.
We’re told that Peter “theorei” which means “to contemplate, observe, scrutinize”, he saw and wondered about the empty tomb and the burial cloths, but when John finally enters, he “eiden” meaning he “understood or perceived the significance of” what he saw, and he believed. The distinctive arrangement of the burial wrappings convinced him that Jesus had risen, just as he said. Peter lost the race to the tomb to the younger John, and he lost a second time when John understood what had happened, and believed while he was still only thinking about it.
And before I go on, I have to say something about that face cloth. Jewish tradition has it that when the master is at the table eating, if he has eaten his fill, he will wad up his napkin and place it on the table which is a sign to the servant that he is done and not returning. However, if he leaves with the intent of returning, he will fold his napkin and place it on the table, letting the servant know that he is coming back. Beloved, Jesus folded the napkin that was over His face and placed it on the table where He had laid. He is not yet finished—He is coming back!
III. Restoration and Mission
Mar 16:7 "But go, tell His disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.'" The women were fearful when they first encountered the angel, or angels according to Luke and John. The simple fact that there appears to be a discrepancy here is actually evidence of the truthfulness of the accounts, because if everyone said exactly the same thing, we’d think the story was “practiced.”
And something I really like about John’s recollection of the account of the two angels is the fact that they are in the tomb with one sitting at the head of shelf where the Lord had laid, and the other sitting at the foot. To me, it pictures the ark of the covenant and the two cherubim on each side facing each other with their wings covering the mercy seat. These two angelic creatures were on either side of that empty shelf where the Lord had laid, Him becoming our mercy seat. He gave His life for the redemption of mankind and became the source of the grace and mercy that is extended to us. To me this is a beautiful picture which I fear many fail to see or comprehend.
One of the angels turned to the women and said, “But go, tell His disciples and Peter…” The Lord wanted the women to inform the disciples of His resurrection, but He especially wanted Peter to know. Peter is singled out here—specifically mentioned. We’re told that in the garden, Mat 26:56b …all the disciples left Him and fled. He was deserted by all, but Peter denied Him not once or twice, but three times, and the third time he included cursing to emphasize and strengthen his denials. Then after the Lord turned and looked at him, Peter fled the scene, weeping as he ran.
Can you imagine the depth of sorrow Peter may have felt? Just prior to entering Jerusalem that Passover, he had vowed to the Lord that even if everyone else forsook Him, he never would. He would gladly give his life for Jesus, but now he has been revealed by his own words as a hypocrite, a phony, a braggart who had no substance. Anguish and sorrow filled him, and I doubt he would have ever really recovered from his failure had the Lord not singled him out for special attention.
The angel said, “But go, tell His disciples and Peter…” Go, and tell Peter. Peter especially needed to know. Elsewhere we read that Peter was one of the few who had received a special, personal encounter with the risen Lord. In the upper room, after Cleopas and his wife [for I believe that the other disciple that was with Cleopas on the road to Emmaus was his wife, Mary (Joh 19:25)], but after they returned to the upper room to tell everyone that they had walked, spoken, and eaten with Jesus, they were told by the eleven and the others that Luk 24:34 …"The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon." And then of course you remember the encounter at the sea of Galilee where Peter and six others were out fishing and catching nothing. The Lord appeared and told them to cast their nets on the other side, and when they did, they brought in such a large haul of fish that they came close to capsizing. Well, on the shore, the Lord had another special encounter with Peter and asked him three times, “Simon, lovest thou me?” Three times Peter had denied Him, and now three times he verified that he loved him.
Peter desperately needed to know that he still had a part in this thing that Christ had started—he needed restoration, and so did the other disciples. So did we all—so do we all! I believed in Jesus as a child but spent all of my teenage years running away and denying Christ. But the Lord visited me one day in a jail cell in Conroe, TX when I was so low that even looking up, all I saw was the bottom. He came to me in the form of my father who told me, “Terry, Jesus still loves you!” Those words were the beginning of my restoration. He rose from the dead on that Sunday long ago, and He rose again in my heart back in that jail cell.
Friends, Jesus would meet with you too. It doesn’t matter where you are, what you’ve done, how far you’ve fallen. Just as He met with people in different ways and various circumstances in the Bible, we also meet with Him in many different ways, in many different providences of life, but He is the same Lord. His promise is that if you will repent and turn to Him, He will save you, but not only that, He will also use you. He will restore you, and He will give you a mission.
The angel told the women, Mar 16:7 "But go, tell His disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.'" But now, the Lord tells all those who come to Him Mat 28:19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Oh friends, don’t let the cares of this world cause you to forget the hope for eternity. The Lord will roll the stones away that keep you from Him. He will raise you from your tomb. He will free you from whatever it is that is keeping you from Him. This is what the miracle of Easter offers to all of us.
So don’t be afraid. Trust in God. Believe in His Son. Rejoice in God’s love for you. Don’t worry about who will roll the stone away for you, whatever that stone may be, because *Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.
