Immortality for Real

They were the priests.

They were the Pharisees.

They were the teachers of the law.

!

They were the priests of the law.

They were the priests of the law.

The more he exposed their hypocrisy and heartlessness and their lack of understanding.

And as the week goes on, we hear again and again how frustrated and angry they were getting with Jesus.

Mark 12, 12.

Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them.

But they were afraid of the crowd.

So they left him and went away.

Then again in Mark 14, a little later on.

Now the Passover and the festival of unleavened bread were only two days away.

And the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him.

But not during the festival, they said, where the people may riot.

One of the problems for the religious leaders in their scheming was how to get at Jesus without making a public spectacle.

Jesus seemed to so easily gain the favor and the amazement of the people as he taught in the temple courts each day.

And there were so many of his devout followers with him at all times.

And he wasn't even staying in Jerusalem in the evenings.

He would head out of the city to different places in the evenings.

So they needed a way to get their hands on Jesus when no one was looking.

Well, finally they found a way.

When Judas, one of the twelve disciples, decided to talk with them and find out what Jesus was worth.

An arrangement was made.

Judas would hand Jesus over to them in exchange for about four months' wages worth of silver.

Well, finally came the eve of the Passover celebration.

Jesus ate the Passover meal with his disciples.

As we just reflected on, Judas slipped away during that meal.

And then afterwards, Jesus and the eleven went out to an olive grove called Gethsemane.

And it was there Judas showed up with a crowd of armed men sent by the religious leaders.

They arrested Jesus and his disciples scattered.

They took Jesus to the high priest in the night where he was questioned.

Though the questioning was not to investigate or gain understanding, the verdict had already been decided.

Rather, they were pondering and scheming about what they could accuse Jesus of

and how to secure his death in a way that didn't appear to be murder.

Early in the morning, they called a meeting of the Sanhedrin, which is the Jewish ruling council.

And it was really more of the same.

It was a sham trial with numerous false testimonies brought against Jesus.

Some that didn't even agree with each other.

Jesus was silent and didn't answer any of their charges or accusations.

Finally, when asked point blank if he was the Messiah, the Son of God, he admitted,

I am.

And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One

and coming on the clouds of heaven.

They charged him right there with blasphemy.

They condemned him as worthy of death.

And they mocked him.

And they beat him.

Then they hauled Jesus off to Pilate, the Roman governor.

And they demanded that Pilate put him to death since he claimed to be a king.

Pilate examined Jesus himself.

And he realized that the religious leaders had brought Jesus to him out of self-interest.

And not because he had committed a crime.

Pilate tried to play the crowd against the religious leaders and against the council at first.

But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to demand Jesus be executed by crucifixion.

Pilate was reluctant to give in to their demands and condemn an innocent man.

But the crowd just kept shouting and shouting and shouting.

And eventually Pilate gave in and handed Jesus over to be crucified.

Jesus was mocked and beaten by the Roman soldiers.

And then he was made to carry the cross on which he would be crucified out to the place where he was to be put to death.

They stripped Jesus naked.

And then they nailed him to a wooden cross.

And hung him up to die.

A slow and agonizing death.

And even as he hung there, the leaders continued to mock him and insult him.

And insult him.

finally as we heard earlier

he breathed his last

after six long hours

on the cross

just before sunset

a member of the council

who believed in Jesus

a man named Joseph

went to Pilate

and got permission

to have Jesus' dead body

and he removed it

from the cross

wrapped it with strips of linen

and then laid it

in his own tomb

he rolled a stone

across the entrance

and the last thing

Mark mentions

that day

is how two women

who had been followers

of Jesus

saw where his body

had been laid

it was a dark

and ugly day

and as it came to a close

and the Sabbath day

began

we can only imagine

how the disciples

of Jesus felt

all those who had

believed in him

everything just

ground to a halt

for the Sabbath day

and there they were

left to sit

in such sorrow

probably having already

cried

every tear

that they could

numb

confused

confused

aching with grief

meanwhile others

were celebrating

and rejoicing

that they had

finally rid themselves

of Jesus of Nazareth

this is what led up

to that first day

of the week

three days later

Mark tells us

that when the Sabbath

was over

Mary Magdalene

Mary the mother

of James

and Salome

bought spices

so that they

might go

to anoint

Jesus' body

Mark says

they went

after the Sabbath

was over

so these women

were followers

of Jesus

probably they would

have done this

thing with the spices

immediately after

Jesus has died

as part of his

funeral

or his burial

but Jesus died

just three hours

before the Sabbath

began

and this was

a special

Sabbath

being the Passover

the sense we get

is that Joseph

did well

to get the body

and wrap it

and get it in the tomb

before nightfall

on the day

that Jesus died

and then on the

Passover

Sabbath

it was

the law

that no Jew

could be out

doing any kind

of work

or shops

and merchants

they would have

been closed

there had just

been no time

for the usual

funeral stuff

anointing the body

with fragrant spices

was something

typically done

to honor

the one

who had passed

away

and it kind

of made more

sense

it makes more

sense when

there's going

to be a public

funeral

people may see

the body

or be near

the body

the fragrant spices

would have helped

with the smell

not unlike

what the perfumes

and stuff

that the funeral

homes

do today

yet even though

there had been

no proper

funeral

these women

still had it

in their hearts

to do something

for Jesus

and so they

bought these spices

and they made

this plan

to go and

put them

on Jesus

body

verse 2

very early

on the first

day of the week

just after sunrise

they were on

their way

to the tomb

and they asked

each other

who will roll

the stone away

from the entrance

of the tomb

we don't know

exactly why

they went

so early

was it a matter

of urgency

to do what

was fitting

for the one

that they had

loved and

followed

was it fear

of the religious

leaders

and the opponents

of Jesus

perhaps both

but there they

were at dawn

getting things

ready and making

their way to the

tomb

and Mark

gives us just

one piece

of the conversation

on the way

there

who will

roll the stone

away from

the entrance

of the tomb

if we glance

up the page

to verse 47

of the previous

chapter

the women

had seen

Joseph

put Jesus

body

into the tomb

and then

roll the stone

over the opening

and so they knew

that this could

pose a problem

and if we look

down in 16

to verse 4

the stone

was very large

it was likely

large enough

and heavy enough

that the women

simply knew

it would be

impossible

even together

to get it

rolled away

from the opening

we don't know

this for sure

but it's possible

the tomb

was even

designed

in such a way

that it would

be easy

for the stone

to roll down

with the help

of gravity

to cover the

entrance

but then hard

to get it

open

in order to

make it

difficult

for people

to get in

and disturb

the remains

of loved ones

and so that

was the conversation

as they went

at the crack

of dawn

who will

roll the stone

away

from the

entrance

of the

tomb

we can't

do it

hopefully

some guys

will be there

who can help

us with this

but then

as they draw

near to the

tomb

that concern

completely

evaporates

and they're

met with

the unexpected

they look up

and they see

that the stone

has already

been

rolled away

and then

comes an

even bigger

surprise

as they

entered

the tomb

they saw

a young

man

dressed

in a

white

robe

sitting

on the

right

side

and they

were

alarmed

now let's

think about

the stone

for a minute

that it

had been

rolled away

when they

got there

was already

cause for

concern

imagine the

questions

and the

wonderings

they may

have had

in those

moments

why is it

rolled away

have others

come to

do what

we have

come to

do

or has

something

bad

happened

have the

leaders

done

something

to

disturb

or further

dishonor

the body

of Jesus

what's going

on here

so that was

already cause

for concern

but then

I imagine

their hearts

just went

straight to

pounding

as they

enter the

tomb

and the

first thing

they see

is this

young man

dressed in

white

we know

from the

other gospel

accounts

that this

young man

was an

angel

one of

two

actually

and we

know from

the other

gospels

as well

that their

clothes

gleamed

like lightning

and that

these women

really were

frightened

alarmed

maybe doesn't

quite capture

it in our

English rendering

here

they fell

to the

ground

in front

of them

we read

in another

gospel

Mark's

description

of this

angel

as a

young

man

seems to

highlight

the form

and perhaps

the face

he looked

like a

young man

Matthew

and Luke's

descriptions

highlight the

brightness

and the

radiance

of the

angel's

clothing

which was

utterly

spectacular

the women

see this

young man

and they

just hit

the deck

in panic

and then

the angel

speaks to

them

verse 6

don't be

alarmed

he said

you are

looking for

Jesus

the Nazarene

who was

crucified

he has

risen

he is

not here

see

the place

where they

laid him

but go

tell his

disciples

and Peter

he is

going ahead

of you

into

Galilee

there you

will see

him

just as

he

told you

try to

imagine

yourself

in that

moment

there with

the women

as this

is happening

I

imagine

myself

being

utterly

speechless

don't

be

alarmed

like

are you

kidding

my heart

is pounding

I have

no idea

what's

going on

right now

who are

you

why are

your clothes

shining so

brightly

where's

where's

Jesus

body

what on

earth is

happening

you are

looking for

Jesus

the Nazarene

who was

crucified

whoever this

guy is

he knows

why I'm

here

yes

we are

looking for

Jesus

the Nazarene

the one

who was

crucified

but then

come the

most shocking

words of

all

he is

risen

he is

not here

see

the place

where they

laid him

what do

you mean

he is

risen

I mean

those words

he is

risen

they feel

really familiar

to us

as Christians

today

because we

love to

talk about

the resurrection

and we

do

but those

words probably

didn't click

immediately

for the

women

back

then

rising

isn't

something

that

usually

happened

with

dead

people

just like

today

in fact

the word

mark uses

here is

quite

generic

risen

is a

good

translation

because

it's not

quite as

specific

as our

English

word

resurrected

this word

to rise

I mean

that was

the same

word

they used

to describe

people rising

from sleep

in the

morning

to hear

something

of what

they

may be

heard

we could

even

translate

this

in language

that we're

more familiar

with

the angel

basically

says to

them

he's

gotten

up

he's

not

here

it's the

same

word

that Jesus

used

when he

healed

some

different

people

that

couldn't

walk

get up

pick up

your mat

and go

home

and the

point here

is that

these

women

were

probably

quite

perplexed

at first

to hear

this

like

what do

you

mean

he's

gotten

up

that's

impossible

we saw

his body

laid

right there

and the

angel

just tries

to

you know

drive

the point

home

well

no

look

look

there

that's

where

you saw

him

his body

put

it's

not

there

anymore

and the

angel

goes on

verse 7

go

tell his

disciples

and Peter

he's

going ahead

of you

into

Galilee

there

you will

see him

just as

he told

you

so by

this

point

I mean

at least

to us

as we

read

this

it's

becoming

obvious

that

yeah

risen

meant

resurrection

Jesus

must

be

alive

he's

now

going

somewhere

he's

headed

up

north

to

Galilee

right

now

they're

in

Jerusalem

not

only

is

Jesus

on

the

move

but

tell

Peter

and

the

other

disciples

that

they

will

see

him

there

I

wonder

how

long

it

took

in

that

moment

for

them

to

just

understand

what

the

angel

was

saying

how

long

before

they

realized

that

Jesus

was

actually

alive

again

as in

resurrected

from

the

dead

the

next

thing

we

hear

from

Mark

is

the

immediate

response

of

the

women

to

all

of

this

trembling

and

bewildered

the

women

went

out

and

fled

from

the

tomb

they

said

nothing

to

anyone

because

they

were

afraid

so

this

really

tells us

a lot

about

what

the

women

were

thinking

and

feeling

they

were

physically

shaking

trembling

they

were

bewildered

this

was

utterly

confusing

think

about

this

there

was

the

unbelievable

grief

and anguish

of heart

that they

brought

with them

to the

tomb

after

witnessing

Jesus

death

death

then

there

was

the

shock

and

surprise

of

finding

the

tomb

not

as

they

expected

and

seeing

this

angel

there

and

the

adrenaline

you can

imagine

just

flowing

in their

bodies

their

hearts

pounding

the

fear

but

the

message

of

the

angel

is

cause

for

joy

it's

that

Jesus

is

no

longer

dead

that

he's

alive

again

all

of

this

at

once

and

so

no

wonder

they

were

deeply

confused

and

bewildered

Mark

ends

his

account

of

what

happened

at

the

tomb

with

how

they

said

nothing

to

anyone

because

they

were

afraid

so

with

Mark

we

get

sort

of

the

immediate

first

reaction

the

first

response

to

that

moment

that

they

discovered

Jesus

had

risen

from

the

dead

even

the

word

that

that's

used

to

describe

what

the

women

did

they

fled

it's

a word

that

usually

means

to

run

away

from

perceived

danger

or to

run

to

a

place

of

safety

this

was

the

first

response

of the

women

the

immediate

response

in that

moment

when they

discovered

that

Jesus

had

come

back

to

life

from

the

dead

and

their

response

was

raw

and

visceral

we're

not

even

sure

by

the

end

of

verse

eight

if

they

fully

believed

the

words

of

the

angel

we're

kind

of

left

by

Mark

wondering

about

how

the

story

would

continue

when

came

that

moment

in

the

story

where

each

of

them

sort

of

figured

it

out

how

did

they

all

come

to

realize

that

Jesus

really

had

come

back

to

life

from

the

dead

and

this

is

the

wonderful

thing

about

having

four

different

accounts

in

the

Bible

of

the

story

of

Jesus

the

gospels

the

other

ones

sort

of

fill

in

some

of

those

details

each

one

has

a

different

perspective

and a

little

different

emphasis

and

we

can

look

at

Matthew

and

Luke

and

John

and

we

can

read

about

some

of

those

face

to

face

encounters

with

the

women

and

Jesus

with

Mary

Magdalene

and

Jesus

with

Peter

and

the

disciples

and

Jesus

it's

a

wonderful

story

of

what

really

happened

2000

years

ago

one

thing

that

we

haven't

talked

about

yet

is

why

the

angels

you

ever

thought

about

that

why

why

the

angel

what's

the

significance

of

the

angel

who

spoke

at

the

tomb

I

mean

for

some

of

us

this

might

seem

obvious

but

others

of

us

just

sort

of

get

caught

up

in

the

excitement

of

it

what

are

the

angels

what

purpose

do

they

serve

I

don't

want

to

linger

too

long

on

this

but

the

Bible

tells

us

that

angels

at

least

the

ones

that

haven't

rebelled

against

God

are

the

servants

of

God

they

do

whatever

God

tells

them

to

do

and

one

of

the

key

ways

they

serve

God

is

as

messengers

in

fact

the

Greek

word

for

angel

also

means

messenger

and

so

thinking

along

those

lines

what

do

we

notice

about

when

angels

appear

to

people

often

throughout

the

Bible

they

come

to

bring

a

message

and

who's

the

author

of

that

message

well

it's

God

the

angels

don't

just

show

up

to

offer

their

own

two

senses

sort

of

these

other

created

beings

oh

yeah

that's

interesting

well

this

is

what's

happening

I

know

no

they

bring

the

very

words

of

God

their

message

is

God's

message

and

there

are

certain

moments

in

history

where

God

wanted

it

to

be

absolutely

clear

what

was

happening

he

didn't

want

it

to

be

left

up

to

human

interpretation

of

the

circumstances

and

so

we

see

the

angel

appear

to

Zachariah

at

the

temple

we

see

the

angel

appear

to

Mary

and

to

Joseph

and

to

the

shepherds

at

Jesus

birth

all

of

these

critical

moments

in

the

story

and

then

we

see

the

angel

appear

to

these

women

the

day

they

discover

an

empty

tomb

God

wanted

it

to

be

absolutely

!

in the

midst

of this

emotionally

confusing

time

that

yes

Jesus

his

son

really

had

come

back

to

life

from

the

dead

he

is

risen

is not

just

the

declaration

of

the

angel

it's

the

declaration

of

God

the

angel

is

just

the

messenger

and

so

as

these

women

ran

there

was

lots

to

think

about

this

is

just

some

of

what

took

place

early

in

the

morning

three

days

after

Jesus

died

on

the

first

day

of

the

week

now

why

does

this

all

matter

maybe

you're

sitting

here

wondering

so

what

that

happened

long

ago

so

what

this

is a

hard

question

to

answer

because

answering

it's

kind

of

like

opening

the

valve

on

a

fire

hydrant

the

resurrection

of

Jesus

matters

so

much

there

is

so

much

that's

affected

by

it

and

related

to

it

and

accomplished

through

it

that

it's

difficult

to

even

know

where

to

start

I

feel

like

even

beginning

to

open

that

valve

on

this

question

runs

the

risk

of

us

just

getting

blasted

in the

face

and

knocked

over

it

runs

the

risk

of

overwhelming

us

all

so

much

that

suddenly

we're

left

bewildered

wondering

at the

end

of

this

sermon

what

am

I

supposed

to

even

think

there's

so

much

there

but

we

have

to

try

to

grab

onto

something

don't

we

perhaps

a

start

to

why

it

matters

can

be

found

in

the

words

of

the

apostle

Paul

in

his

letter

to

the

Corinthians

chapter

15

verse

12

Paul

says

but if

it is

preached

that

Christ

has

been

raised

from

the

dead

how

can

some

of

you

say

there

is

no

resurrection

of

the

dead

if

there's

no

resurrection

of

the

dead

then

not

even

Christ

has

been

raised

and

if

Christ

has

not

been

raised

our

preaching

is

useless

and

so

is

your

faith

more

than

that

we

are

then

found

to

God

for

we

have

testified

about

God

that

he

raised

Christ

from

the

dead

but

he

did

not

raise

him

if

in

fact

the

dead

are

not

raised

for

if

the

dead

are

not

raised

then

Christ

has

not

been

raised

either

and

if

Christ

has

not

been

raised

your

faith

is

futile

you

are

still

in