Today we are looking at the last chapter of Mark, particularly the section of scripture in which he records the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The chapter begins early Sunday morning. We ended our message last Sunday speaking of the burial that happened after the crucifixion which was on Friday afternoon. You will remember that Joseph of Arimethea and Nicodemus were in a hurry to bury Jesus’s body because the Sabbath was quickly approaching. The Sabbath was counted by the Jews from sundown on Friday, to sundown on Saturday. We count our days from midnight to midnight. But without clocks, it was more feasible to count the day as ended at sundown and a new day continuing until sundown the next day.
During that time, on the Sabbath, Jesus’s body was in the tomb. If you were here last week, then you may remember that I attempted to describe what may have transpired while Jesus’s body was in the tomb. 1Peter 3:18 tells us “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison.”
Now I am not going to preach that message again. Once was painful enough, I suppose. I told my wife later that I thought last week’s message was probably the worst message I ever preached. And I said, “What did you think?” Hoping she might reassure me. But she said, “Oh, I’m not sure, there have been so many!”
The point though is that during this dark interval between the cross and the resurrection, though His body was in the tomb, yet Jesus was alive in the Spirit, and as the Apostle’s Creed declares, in His Spirit He descended into Hades. In some mysterious way, in every respect, Jesus paid in full for our sins through His death. Someone has well said, that the death of Jesus on the cross was the payment, but the resurrection was the receipt, showing that the payment was perfect in the sight of God the Father. The fact that Jesus was resurrected is proof that God considered the sacrifice of Jesus as fully acceptable and perfectly fulfilled for our justification.
Now I want to briefly make a few notes on the record of Christ’s resurrection as recorded by Mark. I don’t feel the need to try to fill in all the blanks in Mark’s account from the other gospels. I think it’s sufficient to note certain points that he wanted to make concerning the record of the resurrection. Then I would like to show the relevance of the resurrection. What does it mean for us? It must be more than just a historical record. And I believe that the relevance of the resurrection is central and crucial to biblical Christianity. Without it, there is no good news.
The resurrection is the cornerstone of gospel promise. It is the primary theme of worship and praise because the resurrection is the source of eternal life for believers; because He lives, we live also. Without the resurrection, the cross, the death of Christ, would be meaningless. Without the resurrection, the cross would be powerless. If Christ is not raised, according to 1 Cor.14, then your faith is in vain, the gospel is worthless and you are still in your sins...if Christ is not raised. So we need to understand the resurrection’s relevance.
And then, finally, I want to show our response to the resurrection. It’s not enough to simply believe or accept it in some superficial, historical way, but it demands a response. And that response involves an invitation and a proclamation.
So let’s begin first with the record of the resurrection. Mark’s account is the briefest of all the gospels. He begins with the same people he left off with at the end of chapter 15 on Friday evening. With the women who witnessed the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ. These women were those who had followed Him from Galilee. They had ministered to Him during His travels and ministry, perhaps with financial support, and caring for His needs during His preaching. They supported Him. And though all had forsaken Him, these women were faithful through the crucifixion, the burial, and now the first at the tomb early Sunday morning.
There is a principle that is taught in 2 Samuel during the time of David’s wars. Some of the men stayed behind with the baggage while the others went on to fight the battle. And after the victory, some mean spirited men wanted to keep the spoils from being shared with the ones who stayed behind. But David wisely made a tradition, established a principle, which said that the ones who stayed behind with the baggage should share as fully in the spoils as those who fought on the front lines. And that principle remains true for these women, who were in the background, serving the Lord, and who gave a great service to the Lord, even though it was unheralded. So much of the important work of the Kingdom is done by people who are out of the limelight, who support the ministry in the background. But in the consummation of the Kingdom, they will receive the same reward as those who were on the forefront of the battles.
The next item of note is that it was early on Sunday morning, what was called the first day of the week. You know, this message would seem to be better preached on Easter, when we formally celebrate the resurrection. But we also celebrate the resurrection every Sunday. We meet on Sunday because Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week. Sunday became known as the Lord’s Day. And since the earliest days of the church, Christians met on the Lord’s Day in worship. The Sabbath was the day of rest which God instituted for man during the Old Testament times looking forward to the rest from our labor that we would have in Jesus, but with the resurrection of Jesus Christ that was changed to the first day of the week, in celebration of the new life we have in Jesus Christ. We are no longer under the law of the Sabbath, as Paul said in Colossians 2:16, “no one is to act as your judge in regards to a Sabbath day.” So the fact that it was early on Sunday morning is important to our theology.
There is another item in the record which bears pointing out, and that is the extremely large stone that the women were aware was blocking their access to Jesus body. It was beyond their ability to move. And so, to a certain extent, they went to the tomb in faith that somehow they would be able to access the body. They probably were unaware that Pilate had commissioned a detachment of soldiers to guard the tomb, and that they had put a seal on it, so that it could not be opened. But the other gospel’s tell us that God had sent an earthquake and an angel to roll away the stone, so that the soldiers ran away afraid.
The point that needs to be made, is that Jesus did not need the stone rolled away in order to be able to get out of the tomb. In John 20, we see Jesus in His risen body walking into a locked and closed up room to visit the disciples. In His risen body doors and walls did not hinder Him. So He had already left the tomb before the stone was rolled away. The angel rolled the stone away so that the disciples could enter and witness that He wasn’t there.
But in that early morning darkness, the thought of the great stone across the door to the tomb must have been a great deterrent to the women’s desire to tend to body of Jesus. They could have given up before they ever even started out. And what a loss they would have if they had not ventured out in faith, in spite of the perceived obstacles.
There are a lot of perceived impediments even today in coming to Christ. There are all sorts of obstacles that we think hinder us from coming to faith in Christ. But the lesson here is that we come in faith, in spite of the darkness, in spite of our lack of understanding, but believing that God can remove those obstacles, that He can move those mountains that seem to be impeding us, and when we come in the little faith we have, we will find that God has already provided a way, and our little faith will give way to a greater faith. Psalm 36:9, “In thy light we see light.” As we walk in faith in the light we have been given, God grants greater light for the path ahead.
Notice also when they entered the tomb they saw an angel sitting at the right side of the tomb. Mark describes him as a young man in a white robe. The other gospels tell us it was an angel. I think Mark is also obviously describing an angel, but in appearance he resembles a young man, though in a glorified state. The women are amazed, frightened. Angels are a messenger of God. That is what the word means, messenger. Hebrews 1:14 tells us concerning angels, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? And God wants these women to know what has transpired, not to speculate, not to wonder what happened to Jesus. But to know, by the word of God, that Jesus of Nazareth was no longer in the tomb, but He had risen from the grave, and would go before them to meet them in Galilee.
So the angel declared that Jesus was risen. And that they would meet Him in Galilee. Some of them would in fact see Him later that very day. But the point is, that the death of Jesus was not the sad end of a tragic tale of a good man. The resurrection offered hope of a new life, a new relationship with Jesus who lived, to whom death had no power, and because He lived, we might live. Because He was resurrected, we too have the hope of resurrection.
You know, in a court of law, there is no greater evidence that can be given than that of eyewitness testimony. A person can be sentenced to death on the basis of two eyewitnesses testimony. The fact of Jesus’s resurrection is something Paul said was attested to by more than 500 eyewitnesses. So the credibility of the record of the resurrection stands as a historical fact. There are many other details of the events surrounding the resurrection that we could review. Some of those will be discussed next week as we look at the remaining 8 verses. But for now I would like to leave the record, and move on to the second point, which is the relevance of the resurrection. What is the meaning of the resurrection, and what significance does it have for me?
First, the resurrection means that Jesus was declared to be the Son of God. We read in Romans 1:4, (Jesus) “was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord.” If Jesus was not resurrected, then He was just a man with delusions of glory. But because He was resurrected, and ascended bodily into heaven, it is evidence that He was who He claimed to be, the Son of God. And only because He was the Son of God, was His sacrifice acceptable. Because Jesus bore all our sins in His death and because His sin-bearing satisfied God, God gave to us all His righteousness. Justification is God crediting the righteousness of Christ to us, imputing the righteousness of Christ to our account. Because God raised Him from the dead, God was affirming the completeness of His sacrifice for sinners.
Secondly, the resurrection means that we have assurance of our own resurrection: 1Thess. 4:14 says, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” That means that those who are asleep in Jesus, that have died in faith, will be raised from the dead, raised from Paradise to glorification with Christ. We will be given new bodies, to live in a new heaven and new earth, forever with the Lord. That’s the hope of the resurrection. Because He lives, we live.
Next, the resurrection teaches us that God has an eternal plan for our lives. The resurrection means that death no longer has any power over us. Jesus said, “he who believes in Me will never die.” This life is but a foretaste of what is in store for those who are in Christ. In the life to come, we will judge angels, we will rule and reign with Christ. There may be worlds upon worlds out there in the cosmos that God will give to us to reign over. I don’t know. Paul said “eye has not seen, and ear has not heard.” We can’t imagine the life that God has prepared for those who love Him.
In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul relates our bodies to a seed, which as it dies is put into the ground, and comes up in the resurrection as a new body. 1Cor. 15:42-44 “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.” Vs. 53 “For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
Fifth, the resurrection means that Jesus has a continuing ministry: Hebrews 7:25 says, “He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them.” We have a great high priest, positioned at the right hand of God, who ever lives to make intercession for us. We have an advocate in the heavens, a mediator between God and man. He who gave His life for us, how will He not freely give us all good things that we need? That’s the continuing ministry of Jesus Christ who ever lives.
6, The resurrection means that Christianity and our God are unique and completely different than other world religions. There is no other religion which claims that their God became man, who died for their sins and rose from the dead, so that He ever lives to help them and minister eternal life to them.
7, The resurrection proves that though the world considered Jesus as a common criminal, worthy of death, God considered Jesus as the righteous substitute who took our sins upon Himself, to bear the penalty of our sin. As I said earlier, the death of Jesus on the cross was the payment, but the resurrection was the receipt, showing that the payment was perfect and complete in the sight of God the Father.
Now let’s consider the last point I want to make in this sermon, and that is the response to the resurrection. It is not enough to hear the facts of the resurrection, to learn the doctrines of the resurrection, but it is also necessary to respond to the resurrection. It is the climatic conclusion to the gospel which demands a response from all who hear it. And so we see in the passage two aspects to the response, first an invitation, and then a proclamation on the part of those who have accepted the invitation.
First, let’s consider the invitation. As spoken through the angel, the women received a message from Jesus they had to deliver. He says, “Go and tell the disciples…” We might think of this message as an invitation, because through this message the disciples were invited to meet with Jesus. The angel says in vs7 "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.'"
This illustrates that the invitations of Jesus are invitations based on grace. The disciples had completely failed Jesus. He had every right to be done with them, but in grace He extended this kind invitation to them. None of us have an invitation from God based on our own worthiness, but on HIs worthiness. He is worthy of our devotion because He is faithful to love us to the end, to love us even when we desert Him, and to call us back to fellowship with Him. God wants complete fellowship with us. That is why we were created. The fall broke that fellowship. The resurrection restores that life with God that we were designed to have. But it is in the form of an invitation to come to Him, to believe in Him and trust Him with our very lives.
This invitation illustrates for us that the promises of Jesus are always fulfilled on His part. He said that He would meet them in Galilee and according to John 21:1 He did just that. And the Lord has given us many gracious promises as well. He says if we believe in Him, then one day we will see Him in glory, and having seen Him as He is, we will be like Him. Jesus not only prophesied concerning His own death, but He also promised His resurrection. “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” He fulfilled His promise, so that we might be certain that He will fulfill HIs promises to us.
Jesus’s invitation shows us that Jesus want’s to reveal Himself more fully to us. The angel said, “He is going before you into Galilee, there you shall see Him.” The main objective was to see Him, for Jesus to reveal Himself to His people. And the main goal of our faith is that one day we will see Him face to face. And as a result of that great experience of seeing our Lord in all of His glory, we will be changed to be like Him. I can’t imagine what that will look like. But we know that He keeps His promises. As we were made in His image, in HIs likeness in the first creation, then how much more so will we be like Him in the new creation, when He makes all things new.
When Jesus invites us He always remembers His promises. “As He said to you,” the angel added to the invitation. What Jesus says, He will do, and He can never fail in any promise. I would ask you today, have you ever accepted Jesus invitation? He has promised life, forgiveness, peace, joy, eternal life to those who believe in Him. But if you never accept the invitation, if you never act on it, then you will remain dead in your sins. Jesus has extended to you a personal invitation, to be saved, to be forgiven, to receive eternal life, based on repentance from sin, and faith in Him. Have you responded?
Then for those who have responded in faith, there is one more aspect to that response, and that is to go and tell, to proclaim the good news. Until He returns that is our job one, to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. People are perishing all over the world, without hope, and Jesus provides the antidote. But He wants us to be the ones to administer it.
Mark says “and they said nothing to anyone:” This does not mean that they made no report of the resurrection because we know plainly from the other gospel accounts that they did (Mark 16:11 and Luke 24:9). What he probably means is that as they left the scene of the empty tomb, they did not immediately do what they were told because of the fear and trembling that they felt. Maybe it means that they did not go home and tell their families or neighbors at first, because of the amazement that overwhelmed them. But we know eventually that they did tell the disciples. And gradually word spread about the resurrection of Jesus, so that as Paul reported, at one point more than 500 people gathered to see the risen Savior.
We too have been given a mandate to go and tell. But I’m afraid we too are often amazed and fearful and trembling. The sad thing is, that we aren’t afraid because we have seen an angel, we aren’t trembling because we have witnessed the power of God in resurrection. But we are afraid because of men, and what they might say about us, or think about us.
I pray that we might be more like David, who said in Psalm 56:11, “In God I have put my trust, I will not be afraid, what can man do to me?” If we really believe in the power of the resurrection, then we have no reason to fear man. If we really trust in the power of God to raise men from the dead, then we have no reason to be afraid. We can be bold because we know the truth that leads to salvation. We have the antidote that a dying world is in dire need of. I pray that we will not keep to ourselves what God has done for the benefit of the world. Let’s go forth with joy and confidence that we have the good news of salvation, and may the God who raised Jesus with power from the grave go before us.
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