The birth of Christ prophesied, Isaiah 7:14, 9:6

Well, since we finished the gospel of Mark, I thought it was appropriate to do a couple of messages for the next two Sundays on the subject of Christ’s birth before we get into our next series on Genesis.  And since we are studying Isaiah on Wednesday nights, I thought it would be appropriate to base our first message on Isaiah’s prophecies concerning the birth of Jesus Christ.  

What I want to do though is just focus on two passages of scripture in Isaiah which speak of the birth of Christ. There are other Messianic prophecies in Isaiah, but I just want to focus on two that particularly mention the birth of Christ.  The first is found in Isaiah 7:14. “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Now if you look at the context, it may have not been immediately evident that Isaiah was speaking of the birth of the Messiah.  In context, the king of Judea was Ahaz, and he was  a rebellious king against the Lord.  The king of Israel and the king of Syria had plotted an attack against Judah. They wanted to attack Jerusalem, defeat the capital of Judah, then depose Ahaz and set up their own king. But God had promised that Judah would not succumb to their attacks. Ahaz, however, didn’t believe God, but wanted to make an alliance with Assyria who he thought would protect them. So God told Ahaz to ask for a sign as divine confirmation that God would deliver them.

And so Ahaz says, rather self righteously, “I will not ask neither will I test the Lord.” But of course it is God who has asked him to accept the sign and so now God says, “All right, Ahaz. If you are not going to ask for a sign, I am going to give you a sign just the same.” “Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel.” Ahaz, that is your sign.

This is one of the most famous prophecies regarding the birth of Jesus the Messiah in the Bible. It also illustrates a principle of Biblical prophecy, that prophecy may have both a near fulfillment and a far fulfillment.  Theologians have found much to debate about concerning this prophecy. Many contemporary theologists want to find a way that this prophecy was fulfilled in the immediate sense.  Now I don’t want to get bogged down this morning about all the ways this may have been fulfilled.  Personally, I don’t think it was fulfilled until the Messiah was born which is about 700 years later.  I think the next verses speak of Isaiah’s son, and the fact that within 3 years or so, God will deliver Judah from the two kings who had conspired against them.

So without fully understanding why the Holy Spirit chose to interject this prophecy of something which will take place 700 years in the future in the middle of a prophecy that is more or less quickly fulfilled, I want instead to focus on the Messianic prophecy.  Because almost everyone agrees that this particular verse is a prophecy of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Note first of all that the sign given by God is a supernatural event, a divine intervention in the affairs of man, a miraculous sign that a virgin shall conceive and bear a son.  The miracle is that a virgin, a young woman who had never been with a man, should conceive. 

And we know that this prophecy was fulfilled at Jesus’s birth. Matthew writes in his gospel, in chapter 1 vs 20 “But while he (Joseph) thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.  Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,  Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

So you see Matthew quotes from this verse in Isaiah, showing that indeed Mary was a virgin, and she was conceived by the Holy Spirit.  This text is ultimately the basis of the Apostles’ Creed, which says Jesus was conceived of the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary.

What that reveals is a very important doctrine of Christology; that Christ was fully God and fully man.  Conceived of the Holy Spirit in a virgin who gave birth to a son.  And then Isaiah’s prophecy goes on to present even more specifics: they shall call His name Immanuel.  Immanuel means God with us.  John 1:14 says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” Previously in John 1:1 John said that the Word was in the beginning with God, and the Word was God.  So Jesus was God, in the beginning with God, and yet He added humanity to HIs nature by being born of a woman.

So Immanuel speaks of the dual nature of Christ.  God became man and thus God is with us. And that introduces us to the next major Messianic prophecy that we are looking at in Isaiah, which gives us more information concerning the birth of the Messiah, and who He is, and for what purpose He was born, and that prophecy is found in chapter 9 vs 6. “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of [His] government and peace [There will be] no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”

Many of you will recognize verse six as the basis for part of Handel’s Messiah, which was an oratorio written in 1742. Handel wrote this oratorio based on direct quotes from the King James Bible, and covers the life, death, resurrection and ascension of the Messiah.  It’s one of my favorite pieces of music, and it’s unfortunate that we don’t hear it played more often at Christmas.

But here in this text we have an unusual pair of verses in which the names of the Messiah are all grouped together and the result is that we have more names or titles of the Messiah crowded into one verse than we do anywhere else in all of the Bible. We read in the 6th verse: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor (that comma after Wonderful should not be there), The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” And when we think of the name Jesus which is given to the Lord in the New Testament, remember, by God Himself, it is a divinely chosen name, a divinely significant name. “Thou shall call His name Jesus for He shall save His people from their sins.”  The  name Jesus is probably the complete summary of all of these Old Testament names that are given to our Lord here in Isaiah. He is Jesus. He is Jehovah’s salvation.

Now for context  notice the 2nd verse, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.” Darkness was within Galilee at the time of Isaiah’s writing.. Darkness was upon Galilee for the Assyrian was coming down upon the land but God says that the light is to come. Once again we see predictive prophecy having both a near and far fulfillment.  But it is to the future fulfillment that we look today, at the promise of the coming of the Messiah who will provide the ultimate deliverance of God’s people. Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.

This passage is quoted in Matt. 4:12-17 “Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee;  and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.  [This was] to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:  "THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI, BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE GENTILES--  "THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED."  From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” So the gospel of Jesus Christ is the light of God shone upon people who were under the condemnation of death.

So continuing in our text in Isaiah 9, verses 6, it tells us that, “For unto us, a child is born, unto us a son is given.” The first thing I want you to notice is that in this verse it states, “The child is born, but the Son is given.” Now I do not believe that this is written accidentally. The child is born, the Son is given. You see the first expression, “The child is born” is an expression that looks at Jesus as a man in his relation to men. Just as we are born of flesh so He is born of flesh. Our Lord’s human nature comes into existence in the same way as our human nature comes into existence.

He was born as other men are born. So even in his birth he entered into the experiences of humanity. It is the child that is born, His relationship to men, His humanity. God becomes flesh and dwelt among us. But then the text states that the Son is given. This is his relationship to God the Father. He was the preexistent Eternal Son and he is given to men. As John 3:16 says, “God so loved the world that He GAVE His only begotten Son.” So a child is born, and a Son is given.

Now as child, He is called a descendant of David. But He is at the same time, the Son, who is the descendant of God. In fact, he is God’s only begotten Son. And so here, Jesus is the Son of God, that is, He is divine.

So, unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given. Then notice, the government shall be upon his shoulder. What is this government that shall be upon his shoulder?  I would say without question it is the government of the Kingdom of God.  He is the King of the Kingdom of God.  Back in Matthew 4:17 which we read a moment ago we read that from that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Jesus is the King of the government of God, or the kingdom of heaven. Both expressions speak of the same kingdom.

Notice vs7 “Of the increase of [His] government and peace [There will be] no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”  The government of the kingdom of heaven is an eternal government. It is a spiritual government. Jesus announced the spiritual aspects of it at His first appearing, and He will bring about the consummation of the physical aspects of His kingdom at His second coming, and it will then continue  for eternity. 

Rev 21:3 speaks of this consummation of the kingdom of God. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.’ And all aspects of the kingdom of God will be accomplished because of the zeal of the Lord of hosts.  That’s a reference to the Lord of angelic armies.   I’m reminded of John 2:17, after Jesus cleansed the temple, it says in vs 17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, “The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.”

Notice then the titles of the Messiah. The first one, Wonderful Counselor. When we think of the Lord as wonderful, that means marvelous, incomprehensible, miraculous. We then think of Him as wonderful in the past, wonderful in the present, wonderful in the future.  He is beyond the creation. He is beyond man. He is beyond all of the ministry and wisdom of men. He is the wonderful counselor. Wonderful in the past for He is the eternal one. He had no beginning.

He was wonderful in his birth, miraculous conception. He was wonderful in his ministry. He was wonderful above all in his death. And he was wonderful in His resurrection and he was wonderful in his ascension. All of these great events expressed the supernatural character of our Lord Jesus. You know this word which is used here, translated here “Wonderful” is the Hebrew word pele. Now, this word has a root that is used in several places in the Old Testament and often it is a word that refers to deity.

In Judges chapter 13 there is the story of Samson and the story of how Manoah, his father, had a visit from the angel of the Lord and in verse 17 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, "What [is] Your name, that when Your words come [to pass] we may honor You?"  And the Angel of the LORD said to him, "Why do you ask My name, seeing it [is] wonderful?" So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it upon the rock to the LORD. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on--  it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar--the Angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw [this], they fell on their faces to the ground. When the Angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew that He [was] the Angel of the LORD.  And Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely die, because we have seen God!"

So it was God who appeared to Manaoah.  It was Jesus in his pre-incarnate glory. It was what is called in theology a Theophany, a preincarnate appearance of God. Wonderful Counselor, the supernatural counselor.  Counselor means teacher, adviser, guide. Jesus is Wonderful Counselor.

Then the next tile is “The mighty God.” The word El in the Book of Isaiah never means anything but God. El can sometimes mean something other than God. But in the Book of Isaiah it never means anything other than God. Very clearly here the Messiah is identified as the God.  I think that the chief priests and scribes knew this to be true about the Messiah.  And they knew that Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, and thus claimed to be God.  That’s why they accused Him of blasphemy. That was the crime they accused Him of that they said was worthy of death. And yet they knew that the Messiah must be God. This baby who was born of a virgin was none other than the Almighty God in human flesh.

Phl. 2:5-11 says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,  who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,  but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, [and] coming in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to [the point of] death, even the death of the cross.  Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,  and [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  This baby in a manger was the Almighty God.

The next title is Everlasting Father, the Father of eternity, isn’t it interesting? The infinite is an infant. The infant is infinite. Unto us a child is born and He is the Father of Eternity. He is not saying that Jesus is the Father. He is talking about his relationship to us, not his relationship within the counsel of the Trinity. In the Godhead of the Trinity there is one God in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit,  but when he speaks of him as the Father of Eternity, he is speaking of Him in relationship to us. He is the life giver. He is the parent of Eternity. He is the one who made all things, and who gives eternal life to us and in that sense he is a father of that which is eternal.

And then the last title is the Prince of Peace. Jesus is the One who makes peace between God and man.  Because He was fully God and fully man, He was able to reconcile man to God.  To be the substitute for man who was condemned to die, and so He took our place and died for our sins so that we might have peace with God. A favorite Christmas hymn is “Hark the herald angels sing.” In that song there is the line, “Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King, peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.”  Christ has the authority and the power to rule over our peace with God.

So Isaiah says in vs 7 “Of the increase of [His] government and peace [There will be] no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this eternal salvation for His people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord. God is jealous to accomplish it. That is the meaning of the Hebrew text by the way, that the jealousy of the Lord of Hosts will perform this and all of his power and all of his authority and all of his wisdom is pledged to the Son, to the Child, Immanuel, God with us, who is our Wonderful Counselor, the Almighty God, our Father of eternity, and the Prince of our Peace.

I pray that you have received Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, that you might enter into that rest, and be born again as a child of God, a citizen of the kingdom of heaven.

The confirmation of the gospel, Mark 16:9-20

Today we will finish preaching through the book of Mark. Mark began this book by calling it a gospel, in ch.1 vs 1.  He now concludes it, in chapter 16, with the Lord Jesus sending His disciples out to preach this very gospel in vs 15.  And we stand before you today preaching this same gospel, as evidence of the power of the gospel, and the eternal purpose of the gospel. 

The gospel simply means the good news of Jesus Christ.  The good news is that Jesus is God, revealed in the flesh, who came to bear our sins, to be our substitute, that He was crucified, buried and rose again, and now lives to make intercession for us, and to indwell us in HIs Spirit, until He returns even as He was taken up, to claim His church as His bride.  That is the gospel, and those who have believed it, and accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord, have been born again to a new life in Him.

There is a large part of what is called Christianity today that no longer really preaches the gospel. They may sound like they still espouse faith in God, but they are teaching a new gospel, which Paul says is not really the gospel at all.  It’s not really the gospel because they eliminate all the thorny doctrines of the gospel like sin and righteousness and judgment, and only talk about love, which has been reduced to some kind of sentimental euphemism for embracing diversity.  I heard recently about a new kind of church that is becoming popular, replacing the traditional church service with coffee shops and craft beer infused get togethers to talk about social issues.  That’s not the gospel.  

The problem with most contemporary “Christian” music is that the only message that they have is love.  But it’s a self serving view of love. Listen, love means that God sent Jesus to be tortured and beaten and nailed to a cross to pay the penalty for your sins and mine.  In spite of the psycho babbling Christian preachers that say we need to love ourselves, the first and foremost commandment is that we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul,  mind and strength.  And the only way we can know how to do that, is if we preach His gospel faithfully, and obey His word.  Jesus said if you love Me, you will keep My commandments.  We will keep His word.

Now last week we looked at the first eight verses of chapter 16 concerning the resurrection.  And some of you might notice in your Bible version that the remainder of the chapter is set apart in some way, and there may be notes which say that the following verses are not found in the oldest known manuscripts.  Many Biblical scholars have debated for centuries as to whether or not these verses were actually penned by Mark, or were appended at a later date by various editors.  

I am not a Biblical scholar, nor a Greek language expert.  And there are men on both sides of this debate that I think highly of,  who take opposing views concerning these last eight verses.  However, I feel a certain reluctance to discount a passage of scripture on the basis of most modern criticisms.  I would tend to think that though there may be problems with this text from certain perspectives such as style or terms used, or older copies versus less older copies, yet my view is that God has intended these verses to be included in Mark as accurate and reliable.  

It is believed by a majority of modern textual scholars that the oldest copies of the Greek manuscripts that we know of do not contain these twelve verses, but it is also true that the overwhelming majority of the Greek manuscripts that we have today do contain these verses. And it is also true that two of the earliest church fathers, writing from the beginning of the second century, quote from this passage. So it is clear that, from the very beginning, the church has accepted these twelve verses as authentic, even though there is some dispute today that they may not have come from the hand of Mark.

My personal opinion is that it’s almost a certainty that Mark’s original letter continued after verse 8.  Ending at vs8 would be an odd way to end a book, and it would be at odds with the way the other gospel writers ended their books.  But there is a possibility that something happened to the end of the original manuscript, and the early church fathers wrote a summary of what Mark had written as a way to finish off the book.  It’s also a good possibility that these last 8 verses are original to Mark, but there were other verses that were interspersed in this passage which were lost for some reason or another.  And so what we have sounds a bit disjointed, and seems different stylistically, but it may be due to the fact that some connecting verses were lost. 

Irregardless, many very early Christian writers refer to this passage in their writings, such as Papias, AD100, Justin Martyr, AD 151, Irenaus, AD 180, Hippolytus, AD 190, Vincentius and Augustine also wrote concerning this passage in the around AD 200-250. This shows that the early Christians knew about this passage in the Gospel of Mark and accepted it as genuine.

So we are going to accept it as genuine, as something that the early church accepted as the gospel, and now let’s move on and consider what it says.  There are three divisions in this passage; the first verses, 9-14, deal with the basis of apostolic belief; verses 15 and 16 deal with the commission of apostolic preaching; and the final verses 16-20, deal with the confirmation of the apostolic witness.

Let’s look first at the basis of apostolic belief. In vs 11, Mark emphasizes that initially the apostles, when told of Mary Magdalene’s experience, did not believe that Jesus had risen from the dead.  You will remember at the beginning of the chapter how the women had come to the tomb early in the morning, at the first light of dawn, and found the stone rolled away and saw the angel. The angel told them that Jesus was not there, but He had risen.  But they did not see Jesus then. 

According to John's gospel, Mary Magdalene had gone ahead of the others and, seeing the empty tomb, she ran to tell Peter and John immediately. Evidently she did not hear the angel's explanation. Peter and John both ran to the tomb. Peter went inside and saw the grave clothes lying there still wrapped as though they were around a body, and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head was folded and placed aside. This convinced John that indeed Jesus was risen, but he still had not seen him.

Mary Magdalene returned more slowly to the tomb and as she stood weeping in the garden she saw what she thought was the gardener, and she asked him where they had laid the body of Jesus. Jesus spoke her name and she then recognized Jesus. This was the first appearance of the risen Lord to one of His followers. He came first to Mary Magdalene. She ran and told the disciples. But Mark tells us that when Mary told them that Jesus was alive and that she had actually seen him, they did not believe it.

In vs12, Jesus appears to two other disciples on the road to Emmaus. “After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country.” Notice that Mark says that Jesus appeared to them in a different form.  He either disguised Himself to them in some way, or His resurrected body was altered in some way that made Him unrecognizable.  Luke 24 tells that as they walked along with Him discussing the things that had recently happened concerning His crucifixion and resurrection,  He began with Moses and the prophets and showed them from the scriptures all the things that referred to Messiah. Later as they sat at table with him and saw his hands as He broke bread, they recognized their crucified Lord. Then He disappeared.

These two disciples came back to Jerusalem immediately and told the eleven what they had seen, but but they did not believe them either.  Then in Verse 14, Mark says “Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they sat at table; and he upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.”

It’s interesting that the disciples are having such a hard time believing that Jesus had risen from the dead.  They don’t really even want to believe other eyewitnesses.  And yet that is exactly what their own ministry would be founded on.  They were eyewitnesses to HIs majesty, to His miracles, and they would be eyewitnesses to His resurrection and ascension, and so it would be incumbent upon the hearers of the gospel to believe their eyewitness testimony.  Yet they themselves were slow to believe. 

Jesus expected the eleven to believe before they saw Him. He wanted and expected them to believe the reports of the eyewitnesses who had seen Him. They were trustworthy persons and were reporting what they themselves had actually seen, and that should have been enough to convince these disciples that Jesus was risen from the dead. So concerned is Jesus about this that He rebuked them. Even as He did in the days of His ministry, so now, as their living, risen Lord, He rebuked them for their unbelief. He takes them to task because they refused to believe those who had seen Him. You can see the importance Jesus attributes to this matter of believing eyewitnesses.

Because that is what one of the pillars our faith is to be founded upon; the testimony of credible witnesses. Paul wrote in 1 Co. 15:6  that 500 people saw the risen Jesus at one time, most of who were alive at the time of his letter.  So we have reliable testimony. The apostles were reliable witnesses, and we are required to believe their testimony.  When we have adequate, trustworthy witnesses who report to us what they have seen, we are expected to respond with belief. These men saw the risen Lord. They were granted a privilege that we are not granted; but nevertheless, our faith can rest upon a solid foundation. Even though we have not seen him, we can believe because of the eyewitness accounts recorded in the word. And as Jesus would tell doubting Thomas later who persisted in disbelief, those who do not see and believe will receive a greater blessing. In John 20:29 Jesus said to Thomas,  “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” So then the basis for apostolic belief is the eyewitness testimony of reliable witnesses.

Next, let’s look at the apostolic commission starting in vs15. And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”  Notice that there are two  main points in the  command which Jesus gives here.  “Go” and “preach.”   Just as the Savior seeks and saves those that are lost, so are the apostles to seek the lost.  To go into the highways and byways and invite the lost into the kingdom of God. To go into their neighborhoods, their communities and preach the gospel.  Then to go to the ends of the earth and preach the gospel.  Now we are not commissioned as apostles, but we are called to be ambassadors to a lost world, to tell them the good news of Jesus Christ. An apostle by the way was someone who had been a witness to the resurrection.

The good news is that the power of evil in your life and mine can be broken! Sin no longer controls us and ruins and robs us of life. The bondage of sin is broken by the power of the resurrection of Jesus. The Spirit of Christ lives within us and imparts to our life the power of Christ. This is the good news, and this is the gospel we are to preach. That is what Scripture calls being saved. That is why Jesus said, "He who believes  and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”

Notice the order there.  Belief comes first, baptism follows.  Believing is the means of justification, we are justified by faith, which is believing, trusting in the Lord to save.  Then baptism is the evidence of repentance, dying to the old man, being raised to new life in Christ. Belief and repentance that changes us and converts us is real saving faith, and the way that we demonstrate it is by being baptized.  In other words, belief is action, not just an intellectual exercise.  It changes your life, and as Jesus was raised to life, so we die to sin and are raised to new life in Him which results in righteousness. That is what baptism symbolizes, dying to sin, and being raised to new life in Christ.

Maybe some of you here today  have never liked the word “saved.”  But what it means is that we are hopeless and helpless, dead in our sins and the condemnation of that sin, and the good news is that Jesus Christ has come to rescue us, save us.   The late RC Sproul said, “God doesn’t just throw a life preserver to a drowning person.  He goes to the bottom of the sea, and pulls a corpse from the bottom, takes him up on the bank, breathes into him the breath of life and makes him alive.”  Being saved is being delivered from death, but also being changed from a life held captive to sin, to a new life through the power of Christ in us.

Knowing the unbelief that would face these apostles as they testified to the gospel, the Lord now goes on to give them certain signs which will accompany them in preaching the gospel and validate that they are speaking for God. Against a climate of unbelief is the setting in which Jesus promises these signs in verse 17, "And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; If they pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover." 

Now of all the verses in this passage that are reported to be problematic, from my perspective these are the most problematic.  And I think it really comes from a popular misunderstanding that what Jesus is promising is that all future believers will be able to perform these signs and wonders.  But I think that the context of the passage indicates that Jesus is saying the apostles will exhibit these signs, as a testimony to their witness.  These signs were testimony to the authenticity of the apostles’ message.  God would confirm their word by signs and wonders.  And Paul speaks of that in Second Corinthians 12:12: "The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.”  Hebrews says the same thing; Heb. 2:3-4 “how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard (he’s speaking of the apostles), God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.”

These then, are the signs of a true apostle. They were authenticating signs to accompany those who had seen the risen Lord, who had first been sent out with the gospel into an unbelieving and hostile world. Consequently, I believe that these apostolic sign gifts expired with the apostles.  The word of God which they have spoken has all the authentication that it needs.  It has stood the test of time.  It has stood the test of thousands of critics through the centuries.  But even more importantly, it has changed millions of lives.  It has proven to be powerful to save millions and millions of people through the centuries.  And furthermore, scripture authenticates scripture.  The scriptures authenticate themselves as you study it and read it.  You find it proves itself over and over.  There is no more need for signs and wonders to authenticate new revelation.  The revelation is complete, and it is in our hands as the Holy Scriptures, the word of God, which was given to us through the agency of the apostles.

So what were these signs of the apostles?  Well, Jesus said they would cast out demons.  We see evidence in the scripture that the apostles did this before the ascension of Christ, as well as after Pentecost. They will speak with new tongues. Unfortunately, the translators persist in translating this word as tongues rather than languages.  The word Glossa can refer to the physical tongue, or the natural language of a person. It doesn’t mean some spiritual language, but natural language.

This sign was fulfilled at Pentecost as everyone heard the gospel in their own dialect.  And it continued for a time as the apostles carried the gospel to the world.  Peter, preaching at Pentecost, says that the new tongues were a fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel 2:28,  "It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions.”  Peter says in Acts 2:15-16  "For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day;  but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel.”  So that was fulfilled at Pentecost and during the apostolic age.  It’s not something that is prophesied for the end of the age as is often taught.  It was one of the signs of an apostle.

Furthermore, the disciples would have power to survive physical attacks upon their lives. Bitten by a poisonous serpent, they would not die. If they accidentally drank poison, they would not die. They would have power to survive, that the gospel might go forth. This would be one of the authenticating signs given to them.  You remember that Paul was bit by a snake when shipwrecked on an island, and he did not die.  And consequently, he was able to share the gospel with the people there. He survived stoning, and also he survived being thrown to the lions. Peter was released from prison.  So God was able to providentially protect the apostles until their mission was finished here on earth.

The fourth sign is power to heal, to lay hands upon the sick, and they will recover.  Acts records many examples of the apostles being able to heal the sick and even raise the dead.  Again, this was to authenticate their message as being from God.

So God gave these authenticating signs to the apostles as His confirmation of the word that they were preaching.  And the last paragraph tells us that after the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven, the apostles confirmed the power of the gospel by going throughout the world preaching the gospel and God working through them in establishing not only the scriptures, but the universal church.  As Ephesians 2:19 says,  “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household,  having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord,  in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.” 

So Mark closes this gospel of his with the Lord ascending into heaven sitting at the right hand of God, yet living as Lord in the midst of his church, empowering His word, carrying it unto the farthest reaches of the world. And the apostles, scattered throughout the known world of that day, preached this good news, their witness being confirmed by these great signs. They thus laid the foundation of the great building that Paul calls the church, the body of Christ, that has grown through all the centuries since. 

Today the gospel has been preached to you, just as it was 2000 years ago.  As Isaiah the prophet spoke: “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?” You can receive the good news, believe the testimony of the apostles, believe in the saving power of Jesus Christ, and be saved, receive new life, abundant life.  The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is able to give you new life, and make you into a child of God, if you will just repent of your sins and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.  I trust that you will trust Him today, and call upon Him to save you.  The Lord is mighty to save all who come to Him in faith. 

The resurrection of Christ, Mark 16:1-8

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 immediately 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.  

So after they buried Jesus His body was in the tomb from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning.  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 sermon 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 is though 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 the penalty 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 complete in the judgment of God the Father.  The fact that Jesus was resurrected is proof that God considered the sacrifice of Jesus as fully acceptable and the complete atonement for our justification.

Now I want to briefly make a few notes on the record of Christ’s resurrection as noted by Mark.  I don’t think it’s necessary to try to fill in all the blanks in Mark’s account from the other gospels.  I think it’s sufficient to make note of the points that he wanted to make concerning 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 one of the pillars of the gospel. It is central to the gospel 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.15:14, 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.  Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, 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 witnesses 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 soldiers 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 not in the limelight, but who support the ministry in the background.  But at 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, which 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 the fact is that we 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 the Jews in the law of Moses which  looked forward to the rest from our labor that we would have in Jesus.  But with the resurrection of Jesus Christ Christians began to assemble and worship on 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, “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day-- things which are a [mere] shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ." So the fact that the resurrection 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.  

But 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.  The scriptures tell us that the gospel of Christ is a rock of offense.  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.  Vs6 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. 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.’"

So by this angelic announcement, the women’s faith was confirmed. The death of Jesus was not the sad end of a tragic tale of a good man.  The resurrection provided proof of Christ’s divinity, it offered hope of a new life, a new relationship with Jesus who lived, who had power over death, 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 veracity 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 atonement for sin satisfied God, God gave to us  His righteousness. 2 Cor. 5:21 “God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to become sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. 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, to be forever with the Lord. That’s the hope of the resurrection.

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. But we know that we will be with the Lord forever.  We will never die.

1Cor. 15:35-55 says, “But someone will say, "How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?"  You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies;  and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else.  But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own.  All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one [flesh] of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish.  There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the [glory] of the earthly is another.  There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.  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.]  So also it is written, "The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL." The last Adam [became] a life-giving spirit.  However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly.  Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.  Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.  Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,  in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.  But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?”

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. 

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 invitation of Jesus is an invitation based on grace. The disciples had completely failed Jesus. He had every right to be done with them, but in grace He extended this invitation to them.  None of us are given 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 also 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.  He said, “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 wants 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 for us to to look unto Him with the eyes of faith and then 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, by repentance from sin, and faith in Him.  Have you responded?  Isaiah 45:22  “Look unto Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other".

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 the women 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. 

The disciples were told to tell the good news, and Mark reports that they did.  Vs15 And [Jesus] said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. ... vs20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.

We too have been given a mandate to go and tell.  But I’m afraid we too are full of fear 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 in Christ.  Let’s go forth with joy and confidence that we have the good news of salvation, and may the Spirit of Christ work with us to bring men and women to see Jesus.