The Empty Tomb | Mark 16:1-8 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Bible Study Series)

Welcome, Church. I invite you to mark chapter 16.

Mark 16 · chapter mention

I come before you today with a message of joy, message of

encouragement, a message of hope.

And. We're going to discover that

together here in these verses as we reflect on the resurrection

of Jesus Christ. An old, old preacher.

Numbered among the Puritans from the 1600s said the following

Christ's resurrection is the victory of the Church, the

purchase of their liberty, the cause of their justification,

the pledge for their own resurrection, and the

demonstration of the certainty of eternal life.

Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, there is no

Christianity. Without the resurrection of

Jesus Christ, there is no forgiveness, there is no

freedom, there is no salvation, there is no hope and death.

There is no everlasting life. There is no empowerment in this

life. All in.

All. Without the resurrection of the

Lord Jesus Christ, there is no true or lasting purpose in this

life or in the next. It is paramount.

It is the event of all events. It is the climax of the gospel.

It was the necessary miracle that made everything that Jesus

did and said legitimate and applicable to you and I, the

resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's what we're going to

reflect on today. And here's my prayer as we do

that, that your faith in the resurrection would increase

while your love for the resurrected Lord would enlarge

as you and I now behold his heart for you and me.

That's what we're going to see here.

We're not going to just merely look at a supernatural

occurrence. We're going to see the character

of the one who performed it. And so I hope none of these

things sound too familiar to you.

I pray that God would give us actually fresh eyes to see

familiar truths with a new touch, new enlightenment.

Can you believe that we're in Mark 16?

I'm not sure if you know, but there's nothing past Mark 16.

So over the past months, years actually, we have now arrived to

the final chapter of our study in the Gospel of Mark.

Isn't that wonderful? I think we've reached close to

100 sermons in the Gospel of Mark.

God has been good to us every single week.

And you know, after we finish this, I asked you to really pray

to see where the Lord would lead us next as a church because I

want to. Ultimately, I'm here to serve

you, I'm here to help you. I'm here to do whatever I can to

help you fall more in love with the Lord Jesus Christ through

His Word. But we're not there yet, so

let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Let's come to Mark 16. You're there with me, I'm sure.

And let's read there in verse one.

When the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother

of James and Salome, bought spices so that they might go and

anoint him. And very early on the first day

of the week. When the sun had risen, they

went to the tomb, and they were saying to one another, Who will

roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb.

And looking up they saw that the stone had been rolled back.

It was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw

a young man sitting on the right side dressed in a white robe.

And they were alarmed. And he said to them, do not be

alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who

was crucified. He has risen, He is not here.

See the place where they laid him, but go tell his disciples

and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee.

There you will see Him just as he told you.

And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and

astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone,

for they were afraid. Lord, it's, it's our sincere

prayer that we would not just study about your resurrection,

that we would experience it. Help us experience the

resurrected Lord, only you can make that possible.

And so we pray for it to be made known in this place on this

Sunday. We love you with every ounce of

who we are. Help us love you more as we

reflect on your love for us in Jesus name, Amen.

Amen. So a couple of weeks ago, you

and I touched on one of these verses concerning these women

who bought spices to go and anoint the body of the Lord

Jesus Christ. And we concluded that this act

was really a reflection of their unbelief because they should

have known that on this particular day, the same Jesus

that they were going to honor fled the grave, conquered the

grave, overcame death. So there is no need to buy these

herbs and spices. There is no need to try to

anoint his lifeless body. He's alive.

The anointed one said what he said he would do, accomplish

what he said he would do. And so for the for the fact that

these women are going and making their way to the tomb in this

way reveals a level of unbelief. But you also can't deny, you

cannot object to the reality that this is an act of pure

devotion as well. Why take the time to buy spices

and prepare them when you and I learned a couple weeks ago that

Joseph of Arimathea and his friend Nicodemus brought 75 lbs.

Worth of herbs and applied it to him.

You would think nothing else is necessary after that.

But you see these women were not satisfied.

They themselves long to lavish their love on Jesus Christ, and

for you and I that is really a reflection of true worship.

Listen, a worshipper doesn't just rejoice when they see that

their Lord is being honored, when they see others giving,

when they see others praising, when they see others serving,

when they see others blessing. A true worshipper says I must

glorify Him myself. I must contribute to the cause

of Christ. It's not enough for me to be a

part of something or to be with others who are advancing the

Kingdom. What do I need to do, Oh Lord,

to show you that I love you. And so you have these band of

women who are doing just that. Yes, they saw Jesus, his body

anointed, but they said we must do it for ourselves.

We must show our last act a final act of our love and

devotion to the Christ. And so they're making their way

to do that. And what makes these women even

more inspiring, if we overlook their unbelief, is that they

chose to seek and serve the lore in a very distressing time,

uneasy time. Matthew adds a detail about the

scene that makes it more suspenseful.

You don't have to turn there, but let me read it to you.

It's a very brief verse. In Matthew 27, verse 66, it

Matthew 27:66

says. So they went and made the tomb

secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard, speaking about

the Pharisees and the Romans. So not only was there a stone

covering the mouth of that tomb, there was surveillance,

aggressive, vicious soldiers. We're at the mouth of that tomb

as well. We don't know if the woman knew

this or not, but if we assume that they did know about it,

then it says something about the extent of the love for Christ

that they are willing to even go and honor Him with the presence

of danger. It didn't prevent them from

their worship. Now, that might not resonate

with you and I here in the West because I'm not prophetic, but

I'm sure that not one person in this place got in their cars and

worried that coming to church might be met with terrorists or

the police stopping you, right? Nobody.

Probably the greatest challenge is, OK, how am I going to get

parking? But if your devotion of mine

ever reaches the point where it does become costly to serve

Jesus Christ, and that can happen very quickly even in this

nation, that I want you to never forget the inspiration of these

women. They did not flinch when their

commitment to Christ was leading them into a hostile

circumstance. Christ is worthy to be served,

even if it gets dangerous to serve Him.

He's worthy of that kind of devotion.

And if you think it stops there, it doesn't because it wasn't

just danger that they are about to face.

There were obstacles. What was the obstacle?

Look at mark 16, three, I'll remind you.

And they were saying to one another, who will roll away the

stone for us from the entrance of the tomb.

So obviously the stone was large enough where even in their

collective efforts they wouldn't be able to move it.

And so now they're pondering and thinking, how, how are we going

to do this? And this was a roadblock, so to

speak. And it's no different for

servants of God today who sometimes will face obstacles in

their pursuit of wanting to honor and serve the Lord Jesus

Christ. Sometimes those challenges are

natural. Other times they are caused by

the enemies of the truth. Regardless, you know what you

can say about these women, even though they were aware that

there was a stone. Keeping them from doing what

they truly want to do from their heart.

It was not an excuse. It was not an excuse for them to

not go and lavish their love upon Christ.

It's not like they discovered it when they got there.

Remember we're told there in verse 47.

Look at Matthew, excuse me, Mark 15, Mary Magdalene and Mary the

mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.

They saw where Jesus was laid. They knew the exact.

Tomb and they saw a stone being rolled in front of it, so they

knew it. It's not like it was a surprise

to them, but it didn't matter because they were willing to

make their way to the burial site.

I believe with a level of faith that they were going to get in

there somehow, that something was going to be done.

And even if nothing was going to be done, they at least went for

it and they were going to try. Now, I have a feeling that I

would know how some modern Christians would have approached

this situation, so they have a chance to honor the Lord Jesus

in this way. And just imagine knowing about a

large stone that restricts you. Yeah.

You know, I don't think it's worth it.

It's it's going to be in vain. Let's save our time, save our

money. We wanted to do it.

And Mary over there reminded us that there's a stone, so let's

just forget about it. Move on.

That's not what these Christians, these followers of

Christ were like. They had it in their hearts and

it was going to take more than danger and inconvenience to keep

them from serving Jesus. I hope that the same can be said

about you. I hope it takes way more than

dangerous situations or minor, even major inconveniences to

keep you from giving the Lord what is His due.

Loving the Lord with all your heart and notice what happens

here, that as they are worried about what's going to happen to

the tomb, verse 4 tells us that it was solved.

And looking up they saw that the stone had been rolled back.

It was very large. Do you know what happens when

your heart is set to devoting yourself to the Lord?

With that level of determination, God will make a

way for you. Do you understand that God will

make listen, when you put God first, the things that you're

worried about, they're trying to get in the way of God being

first. God will take care of those

things. He promises us that.

And we see it by way of example here.

And we're going to elaborate this on this in a moment here.

But many people mistake in the idea of why the the stone was

rolled away from the tomb. They think that the stone was

rolled away so that Jesus can get out.

No, Jesus didn't need to get out in that way.

Do you know why? Because he was glorified.

And you've read the Gospels enough to know that Jesus wasn't

hindered in his glorified state by walls or locked doors, right?

He didn't. Need the stone to be moved.

He can walk right through the walls.

Lazarus on the other hand, in John 11, when Jesus was ready to

raise him from the dead, said take away the stone.

Why? So that Lazarus could wiggle his

way out. Because the Lazarus resurrection

was not a glorified resurrection.

That was Jesus resurrection. That's why his resurrection was

so unique. A transformation took place and

it's a prototype of what our resurrection is going to look

like. So that the the stone in Jesus

case being rolled away was not so that Christ could come out is

so that his disciples could go in and see with their own eyes

that he did in fact keep his promise that on the third day he

would rise. And so don't you find it

wonderful? That these women.

Who are trying to brainstorm how they're going to remove this

stone in their attempt to love the Lord and honor the Lord

discover that it was solved before they even arrived.

Many of the things that you and I are worried about and

wondering how it's going to happen, God already has taken

care of. You know why?

Because your God and mine has lived our tomorrow's.

I know that's hard to wrap your mind around, but he's already

lived your tomorrow's. He's not bound by time he sees

it all. He's at your birthday and your

funeral at the same time. Think about that might get a

headache. So he's already there and so

they're figuring out how's it going to happen and he already

dealt with it. It's no different for you and I

in our own lives. So they arrive and they realize

that the stone was rolled away. Now we touched on verse one and

verse 3 and 4, but we skipped over verse 2.

Let's look at it quickly and very early on the first day of

the week when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb very

early. I wonder if they even slept.

So you have to remember that the Sabbath, which is on a Saturday,

took place and they couldn't come and visit Jesus then

because they couldn't come in contact with a dead body on the

Sabbath. And so they waited until that

Saturday was complete. And very early on the first day

of the week, which is Sunday, they went to the tomb.

Now here's what's interesting here.

They went to the tomb on the first day of the week to do

what? In essence, to worship.

And what's amazing here is that the timing of the worship sets a

precedent for Christ's followers for all ages.

In what way you and I to gather on the first day of the week, do

we not? That's why we're here today.

But we don't do it for the same reason these women did.

Why? Because these women came on

Sunday to pay tribute to the lifeless body of Jesus Christ.

You and I come here every Sunday to remember His resurrection and

proclaim that He's alive. That's the difference.

That's why you and I gather on Sundays, if you didn't know.

To commemorate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we see scriptural proof, We see actually a pattern of how

this was established from the earliest days of the church.

I want you to see a progression of thought here in your Bibles.

You're going to have to flip to a few places though.

So look at Acts 20, verse seven. You're going to have some

people, I'm sure at some point ask you why do you worship on

Sunday as a Christian with the church?

Because you have some people who think you're not saved unless

you do it on the Sabbath, the Jewish Sabbath.

And it's good to just know why we do what we do as Christians

anyway, even if nobody asks you why you do it.

Look at Acts 20, verse 7. Luke writes on the first day of

Acts 20:7

the week when we were gathered together to break bread.

Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and

he prolonged his speech until midnight.

Read this very carefully. We're told that they met on the

first day of the week. Well, if you've ever read the

book of Acts, you notice that they met more than one day a

week, did they not? Plenty of days, actually.

Early on, they met every day. But here we're told that they

met on the first day of the week and not just meeting on the

first day. They broke bread.

They were recognizing one of the ordinances of the church

communion, the Lord's Supper. So they're doing that on a

particular day. Luke highlights that.

Then as you read through your New Testament, you discover

something in First Corinthians 16.

Look at it with me in verse. Two, I'll wait for you.

First Corinthians 16 verse two. Look what Paul says to these

believers. He says on the first day of

every week, each of you used to put something aside and store it

up as he may prosper so that there will be no collecting when

I come. So he's talking about a

fundraising effort for the church in Jerusalem, and he's

telling them, listen, before now and then I'm asking you as the

Corinthians that every first day of every week when you gather

that you put together based on what you're able to provide so

that a collection can be made. For this church in in need.

So we went from Acts 20 that says on the first day of the

week and then now Paul says on the first day of every week.

A tradition is being established here, a standard is being

raised. Then now the church seems it's

common knowledge to be met meeting at least once a week on

Sunday to worship, to collect, to serve.

And over the years now you come to the very last book of the

Bible and you read something interesting in Revelation

chapter one. Look at verse 10 of Revelation

Revelation 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1. John writes and testifies, I was

in the spirit on what day? On the Lord's Day.

And I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.

So as the years went on, the church no longer just recognized

the essential meeting time of the first day of the week.

It now became known as the Lord's Day.

And what's interesting is when you look at extra biblical

sources like early church writings, the Lord's Day is

recognized as Sunday, unmistakable.

The early Christians would refer to the Lord's Day as the first

day of the week. For what purpose?

Because that's when Christ raised.

That's when he rose from the dead.

Now, can I give you a word of caution, please?

It would be incorrect and it would be untrue to say that

Sunday is the Christian Sabbath. It's not.

It's not the Christian Sabbath. People have this understanding

that once Jesus came and inaugurated the new covenant,

the Sabbath. Under the Mosaic law, which was

honored on the 7th day, Saturday was transferred now to Sunday.

So we as Christians, our Sabbath is on Sunday.

That's not true. That's not how the Bible

actually describes the Sabbath. The Sabbath wasn't changed in

terms of the timing. It was fulfilled in the New

Covenant. And what are you talking about?

I'm telling you that the Sabbath, according to the New

Testament, was realized in the person of Jesus Christ.

Let me take some time to explain that.

Out of the 10 commandments, 9 are repeated in the New

Testament. Guess which one is left out?

Keep the Sabbath. Why is that the case?

Because when you read, you don't have to turn there.

But when you read Hebrews chapter 4, you learn that the

Hebrews 4 · chapter mention

Spirit is instructing that Jesus Christ is ultimately our

Sabbath, saying how does that work?

Well, the Sabbath in the Old Testament.

Represents rest. It was a time of the week where

you as a faithful follower, worshiper of God, would rest

from your works and you would take the time to meditate.

And it was an act of faith and recognizing that God is your

ultimate provider and sustainer. Now we come to the New

Testament. We realize that the Sabbath as

instrumental and as practical. As it was was a shadow, the

substance was realized in Jesus. The connection.

In the same way the Sabbath represented rest.

Now when we come into Jesus, we rest.

In what way do we rest? Well, in the Old Testament you

rested from your works. In the New Testament you rest.

In Jesus's works. In the Old Testament you would

rest one. Day a week as an act of trust.

In the New Testament, you rest every single day, trusting in

the finished work of Jesus Christ.

So our Sabbath is in a person now.

That's what we believe as Christians.

So when people come up to me and say you don't honor the Sabbath,

I say, actually I do. His name is Jesus and scratch

your heads, huh? He's my rest.

That's what he. He's the fulfillment of, He's

the fulfillment of many things, including that day.

So then what's Sunday all about? Well, the Bible commands us as

Christians to regularly gather so that we can edify one

another, receive the Word of God, equip, encourage, reprove,

rebuke, teach, all that takes place.

It's commanded that we do so consistently.

And through the leading of the Holy Spirit and the leading of

the apostles, Sunday became that standard day where we do that.

And that's why you read things like in Colossians 2 and Romans

14, where Paul is dealing with issues in the church, especially

with Jews who converted to Christianity who made such a big

deal about the Sabbath. And he goes, listen, if you want

to recognize a holy day, you're free to do that.

It's a matter of personal convenience.

If you want to even honor Saturday as as a Sabbath day,

you can do that. But don't make a binding on

other Christians. Don't judge those who don't

recognize the Sabbath, and those who don't recognize the Sabbath

don't judge those who do. It's a matter of conscience.

It's not a matter of law, even under the law of Christ.

So we come on the first day of the week.

We come on the Lord's Day because that is the pattern that

we see in the New Testament. We are commanded to meet here,

but this is not Sunday. Is not.

Christian Sabbath. Jesus is our Sabbath, and that's

Hebrews chapter 4. Just in case you don't believe

Hebrews 4 · chapter mention

me, you have to read another time though.

And so we see here that there is something being established

unknowing to these woman. But notice what happens in verse

5, Mark 16. And entering the tomb, they saw

a young man sitting on the right side dressed in a white robe,

and they were alarmed. So they walk into this tomb and

as I said earlier, it wasn't open so that Christ could leave.

It was so that they could go in. And when they came in, they saw

a young man. Now, other Gospel accounts tells

us that this was an Angel. I find it interesting that an

Angel is described as with human appearance, and that's a regular

thing. That's a consistent thing

throughout the Bible. When you look at Hebrews 13,

we're told to be hospitable because you might even be

entertaining angels unaware. So another Christian

misconception. I'm sorry.

To tell you this. Angels don't have giant wings.

I know you saw it on cartoons. I know, I know you saw it.

Maybe children's Bible stories. But they don't have wings that

they have human appearance. Are there other heavenly

creatures in heaven that do have such characteristics?

Yes. But more than anything else,

when it comes to angels, they have very similar traits as you

and I as humans. Now we talked about many weeks

ago why Mark chose the language of young men to describe this

Angel, right? You have to go back to the last

sermon in Mark 14, I believe to this rediscover that.

So we won't we won't delve into that here.

The point that I want to make is though they saw this young man

sitting at the right side of the slab where Jesus body was laid.

He was not alone. He wasn't alone.

Can I tell you who else was with him?

Go to John in chapter 20, John chapter 20, beginning in verse

John 20 · chapter mention

11. Now, if you're willing to go

from Scripture to Scripture with me at this point, it's going to

be rewarding. I'll tell you that in advance.

So let's start in John 20. Look at verse 11.

I want you to see that this Angel was not by himself.

John 2011. But Mary stood weeping outside

the tomb, and as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb.

And she saw 2 angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus

had lain. One at the head and one at the

feet. Contradiction.

No, The Bible does this over and over again.

It could be that the reason why Mark highlights one of them is

because he was a spokesperson. He was the one that was

communicating to these ladies while the other one silently was

there. So we see that there are

actually. 2 angels at the scene. And I what I want to draw to

your attention is where they were sitting.

What are we told by John? There was one who was sitting at

the head. There is one sitting at the.

Feet. Now, John, I believe, is

describing this in detail by the Spirit ultimately, because he

hopes that you and I will be familiar enough with the Old

Testament to realize that he is making a very striking parallel.

You're saying, have I ever seen anything where there are these

heavenly creatures positioned in a similar way?

Well, if this nothing's happening, come to Exodus 25

with me. We're going to make some

connections here, OK? God told the nation of Israel

when they came out of Egypt, going into the promised land, I

want you to build me a House of worship.

And he puts all these furnishings in place with all

these elaborate instructions of how to construct them.

The most prominent 1 was this thing called the Ark of the

Covenant. Do you remember it?

It looks like a chest piece, right?

It's, it's not too large, but we're given every measurement

the, the layering of the material and even the

inscriptions and the designs of it.

What's the purpose of this ark? You're going to find out in a

moment. But it really symbolized God's

throne on earth. And it would be tucked behind in

the deepest part of that Tabernacle, later the temple.

And it was where he would manifest his glory.

And it was really God's attempt to convince the people, yes,

though I inhabit heaven, I long to dwell with you.

And so I want you to make me this chess piece to symbolize

it. You can't come into contact it

freely, but I want you to at least know that my presence is

here. And there's going to be a few

things that I'm going to give you in terms of instruction how

to interact with my presence. And I want you to look at one

particular set of instructions concerning the ark in Exodus 25,

beginning in verse 17, we read You shall make a mercy seat of

pure gold. Pause.

He's talking about the Ark of the Covenant, the mercy seat.

Let me just tell you so you don't get lost here.

The mercy seat. Is the lid.

It's the lid. That's going to go on top of

this chest. So we're told here.

You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. 2 cubits and a half

shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breath.

You shall make 2 cherubim of gold.

Cherubim are heavenly creatures. You can make this claim that

they're in a category of angelic beings, and you shall make 2

cherubim of gold of hammered work.

Shall you make them on the 2 ends of the Mercy?

Seat. Make one cherub on the one end

and one cherub on the other end of one piece with the mercy

seat. Shall you make the cherubim on

its 2 ends? The cherubim shall spread out

their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings,

their faces one to another toward the mercy seat shall the

faces of the cherubim be. And you shall put the mercy seat

on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony

that I shall give you. So you have these two cherubim,

unique heavenly creatures, and they're to be infused on the

lid. And the way they would be

positioned is like this. They'd be facing one another and

their wings would be covering like this, and they would be

facing each other, but they would be looking down at the

mercy seat. Now, here's my question.

When I read this, I have many questions.

My main run was why call the lid?

Why don't you just call it lid? Why call the lid the mercy seat?

I'll tell you why, but you have to go to Leviticus.

Leviticus, Yes, Leviticus. And these are the instructions

that God gives to the priest on one particular day out of the

year called the Day of Atonement, where this would be

the ordinance observed to forgive and cover the sins of

the nation. And I want you to look at one

particular set of instructions of what they were to do as they

interacted with the Ark of the Covenant, which was in the Most

Holy Place. They can only enter into that

place once a year. And notice what we're told in

Leviticus 16, verse 14. Leviticus 16, verse 14 about the

Leviticus 16:14 Leviticus 16:14

high priest. He is told, and he shall take

some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger

on the front of the mercy seat on the east side.

And in front of the Mercy seat, he shall sprinkle some of the

blood with his fingers 7 times. Do you now know why it was

called the Mercy Seat? Because it represented the place

where God's mercy and atonement for sin were symbolically

administered, especially on the Day of Atonement.

Remember what we read in Exodus that yeah, we talked about the

lid, but we're also told what's to go inside the Ark.

One of the main instruments that are supposed to be in the Ark

was the testimony, the law. The 10 commandments were

supposed to be placed in the Ark of the covenant.

So look at this imagery. You have the law in the Ark

Question, did the Israelites faithfully observe the law or do

they continually break it? Break it all the time?

So you have the law in the ark, then you have the mercy seat on

top of it. And then once a year, the priest

would take the sacrifice and sprinkle the animal's blood on

the lid, blood covering our breaking of the law.

This is what it's symbolizing. So now you have this background

because you're faithfully reading your Old Testament right

now. You come to the New Testament

library and you're reading the Gospel of Mark, and you come to

where Jesus died, where he was placed in a tomb, where he was

raised. But you learned that at the

burial site, the place that was carved out where he would lay

his body, there's an Angel one at the head.

One at his feet. Why?

To make this connection, this imagery that Jesus Christ is the

new and greater mercy seat. That's why.

And you and I now in the new covenant, don't have to wait

once a year and hope that the high priest will be faithful and

careful to observe the complex and elaborate protocol to ensure

that we can endure another year. What Christ has done once and

for all is sufficient for all sinners of all time.

He is the new. And the greater mercy seat.

You see it right here. That's why I say it over and

over again. I'll never stop saying it.

You can't do anything about it then, unless you want to know

the depths of the New Testament. You have to have a grasp on the

old. You have to.

And so they see these two angels in John and Mark.

It's only one young man, and they have a message for these

women, verse 6 of Mark 16. And he said to them, do not be

alarmed, you seek Jesus of Nazareth.

So they're confirming you came to the right tomb.

Do not be alarmed, you seek Jesus of Nazareth who was

crucified. He has risen.

He is not here. See the place where they laid

him, but go tell his disciples and Peter that He is going

before you to Galilee. There you will see him just as

He told you. Don't you love that?

The first message of. These witnesses now yes we got

the imagery that you have two angels that make a connection to

the mercy seat, but the scriptures also tell us that

according to the law, you need 2 witnesses to establish a matter,

right? Deuteronomy 19.

So you have two angelic beings who are there to testify the

resurrection happened. Because as much as the

resurrection is found in every single gospel account, do you

know that we don't have the actual play by play of how the

resurrection happened? It's concealed to us.

We don't have that. But we have witnesses, angelic

beings who said he's risen Jesus of Nazareth.

Yeah, he's not here. And the first message of these

witnesses of the resurrection, you know what it.

Is do not be alarmed. Now, in context, we know that

they said this because they were bewildered.

They were just caught off guard. They can't believe what's taking

place. Here are these heavenly beings.

Jesus is not here. This tomb is vacant.

So we understand why they said do not be alarmed.

However, what they said to these women echoes throughout the

years, throughout the ages for all people of all time when they

understand the resurrection. The resurrection doesn't just

conquer death. The resurrection conquers our

fears, every fear. If you really understand the

implications of what Christ has done by raising from the grave,

then we understand that we have no reason to be afraid.

I have no reason to be afraid of judgement, eternal judgement.

Why? Because the resurrection is the

seal that I am no longer condemned.

The resurrection makes me fearless in the face of death.

Why? Because He's the prototype of my

resurrection and the way that He transitioned into glory, so will

I also enter into His presence in the same way, I have no

reason to fear anything in this life.

Why? Because the resurrected Lord not

only conquered death, not only ascended on a high, not only is

going to scoop me out of here at one time, but He walks with me

day by day by day. He's not just my Savior, He's my

shepherd. Living shepherd.

Not a theoretical 1, not a crutch to lean on, not a real

living being that relates to me, speaks to me, guides me

providentially, sometimes supernaturally.

Because He's alive, do not be alarmed, not just in this

moment, for the rest of your days, you have no reason to be

fearful. If he's alive and you belong to

him, do not be alarmed. But that's not the only message

that these first witnesses of the resurrection had to share.

Verse 70. I've referred to this verse many

times from this pulpit, but I never grow tired of explaining

it. I hope you never grow weary of

hearing it. They tell them, don't be

alarmed, but I have a mission for you now.

And speaking on behalf of the resurrected one, look at verse

seven. He says go tell his disciples

and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee.

Forgive me if you heard this before.

Again, I don't grow tired of hearing it and knowing it.

We believe as we studied Mark that Peter was the main

contributor to the data of Mark's account.

And it's funny because only in this Gospel account are we told

that Peter's name was explicitly said, highlighted and

underscored at this point of his life.

Go tell the disciples. Not just the disciples.

Go tell the disciples and Peter. Why?

Because if the ladies went back to the fearful disciples and

they said the Lord said to the disciples to go meet him in

Galilee, you know what Peter would have said to himself?

That's definitely not. Me, I'm not one of the

disciples. I committed that sin.

I heard my own with my own ears. This Jesus saying, if anybody

denies you before men, I'll deny you before my Father and his

angels. I did that not once, three

times. And now these ladies come in and

say the Lord is alive. He told me to tell you, the

disciples, to go meet him in Galilee.

What do you think Peter would have felt?

Have fun guys, not me. Jesus, knowing just how overcome

he was by his own failure, telling these angels,

dispatching them and making sure that they were crystal clear.

Highlight Peter's name. Make this invitation personal to

Peter. Make sure that Peter doesn't

miss the opportunity for me to be restored to him.

So you know what? One of the first messages in

connection to the resurrection is not just you have no reason

to fear, but grace. Grace the resurrected Lord is

ready to forgive, ready, eager, longing.

Even today, His Zealand wanting to forgive sinners, His fallen

servants, hasn't diminished one bit.

In fact, one of the main reasons why he hasn't come back yet is

so that all would reach repentance according to second

Peter. Make sure you tell the disciples

and Peter, you know what's so interesting?

God's grace in Christ is not just seen and how he deals and

treats Peter. It's with all the disciples

because the instruction in verse 7 is go and tell the disciples

and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee.

There he you will see him just as he told you.

So this is not the first time the command to go to Galilee

after the resurrection was given.

Can I show you where else it was given?

Go to Mark 14 and look at verse 28.

This is on the night that he was going to be betrayed.

And he gives these instructions in Mark 14.

Let's read it from verse 26, actually.

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of

Olives, and Jesus said to them, You will all fall away.

For it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will

be scattered. But after I am raised up, I will

go before you to Galilee. Now you would think that for.

Jesus to say I already set up a meeting place for you and I

after I defeat death, that that would that would be the thing

that catches your attention more than anything else, right?

But after I'm raised, I will go before you to Galilee.

Now, for him to say I will go before you to Galilee means I'm

expecting to meet you in Galilee.

I'll be there ahead of you. But I'm expecting you to be

there, right? So look, if I'm there, I'm

saying, whoa, whoa, I need to know more about this.

Wait. You're going to.

Raise and you're going to meet us somewhere after you defeat

death. I have a lot of questions.

Here's how Peter answers in verse 29.

Peter said to them, Even though they all fall away, I will.

Not. With all with all that Jesus

said he's he's caught up himself.

He missed it and not just him. We read later on in the same

place in verse 31 and they all said the same.

The only thing that they were concerned about was we're going

to be loyal to you. You totally missed how you're

supposed to meet him. If somebody tells you, hey, at a

certain time in a certain place, we're going to meet you're.

Going to want to know more details so that you can meet.

No right over the heads. And what do you see?

Jesus does conquer the grave. He sends angels to remind the

disciples what they forgot to grasp to begin with.

Go to Galilee. I already told you this.

Meet me there. So what do you see here?

I'm telling you, see the patience of Jesus Christ.

That's what you see here. This is Christ here reflecting

his long-suffering. Listen, He is incredibly loyal.

How many times have you heard something from the Word?

God trying to reveal something about himself?

God trying to instruct you about something that would please him

and honor him and. And what does the Lord do when

we fail to hear him? The perfect Savior, the perfect

King, what does he do? He's willing to revisit it and

instruct us again, patiently, gently, lovingly.

I told you to go to Galilee. And so they were going to hear

it again. And if you're not convinced, I

hope Matthew's additional notes will win your trust.

So the ladies hear this right. We read it early in the

beginning of the service in verse 8 of Mark 16.

They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and

astonishment had seized them. And they said nothing to anyone,

for they were afraid. But something happens when some

of these women make their way to the disciples that make this

event even more spectacular. So here's our final text in

Matthew 28, and look what happens here in verse 8.

It might be our final text, Matthew 28, verse 8.

Matthew 28:8

So they departed quickly from the tune with fear and great

joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

Very similar to Mark, right? And behold, Jesus met them and

said greetings, and they came up and took hold of his feet and

worshipped him. And Jesus said to them, do not

be afraid, Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and

there they will see me. So I want to end with three

thoughts from this final scene of Mark's depiction of the

resurrection. With Matthew's help, some of

these ladies, they make their way back.

As they're running, Jesus appears, and the way he appears

grips me because he appears. And what does he say?

Greetings. You know what greetings is.

It's the normal way you would say hi to somebody at this time.

Translation. Hello.

That's how he did it. I'm thinking you just defeated

death. The last time that these

followers of yours saw you, you were hanging on a cross,

bleeding, bruised according to Isaiah, unrecognizable, and one

of your first resurrection appearances.

The way you choose to do it is say hi.

I'm not trying to be facetious here.

This is what it's saying. Greetings according to the ESV.

But it's intentional. Why is it intentional?

Because we've seen how Christ reveals himself to others in his

resurrected form, right? Remember Saul of Tarsus ready to

go to Damascus to arrest some Christians?

How did Jesus reveal to him on the road to Damascus?

Not greetings. He showed up, and he was shining

brighter than the sun in such majesty and glory that Saul of

Tarsus couldn't even stay on his feet.

He crumbled to the ground. Why didn't he do that here?

It's a different audience, different group of people,

different heart posture, their heart posture.

At this point, they're fearful, they're bewildered, they're

astonished, They're trying to make sense of this as they're

running and trying to. Obey these instructions.

And so when the Lord reveals Himself, you know how He does

it. Delicately, informally, gently.

Greetings. And it was enough to bring them

to their faces, not like Saul of Tarsus, but to grab his feet and

to worship him. And again, we don't just see the

patience of Jesus with Peter or with the 10 other disciples.

We see it with these women. Why?

Because they were told by the angels.

Do not be alarmed. Fear is not God's will for us.

But we read that they ran back and they were still fearful.

And then Jesus appears and he personally says what we read it.

This is the second point in verse 10.

Then Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid.

So they didn't learn from the first time, but he instructs

them again. He guides them patiently, he

revisits something that they missed.

Just like the 10. Do not be afraid.

And lastly. He repeats the charge that He

gave through the angels, but notice that when He personally

addresses His disciples, how He does it?

Look at verse 10. Do not be afraid.

Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see

me. Not my servants, not my

apostles, not my slaves. Now my disciples, go tell my

brothers. Now this is not the first time

Jesus addressed his disciples as his brothers.

There was a time where Jesus was teaching and a messenger came in

where he was and said, Jesus, your mother and your brothers

have come to meet with you. And Jesus looked at him and

said, who are my mother and my brothers?

And it says there in Matthew 1249, and stretching out his

hand toward his disciples, he said, here are my mother and

what my brothers. And then he goes on to explain

that it is those who do the will of God who are my mother and my

brothers. But hold on.

When Jesus resurrects and he tells these sisters, go and tell

my brothers. Was their spiritual state

strong? Would you say that they are

completely honoring the will of God?

And yet he still calls them my brothers.

Why? Because he's loyal.

Why? Because the resurrection seals

our adoption in him, that's why. Go tell my brothers.

At the weakest point in their faith, He still calls them my

brothers. He still provides this term of

endearment and of one of the deepest bonds of relationship

that you can experience. That's the heart of the

resurrected Christ. And so amazing because in

Hebrews chapter 2, and this is where we will end, we're told

Hebrews 2 · chapter mention

something about Christ. I assure you, this is the last

place in chapter 2. Look what he says here by the

Spirit about Jesus, my brothers, How can it be verse 11 of

Hebrews 2 for he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified?

Pause. Who's that who are being

sanctified? I hope you are if you're in

Christ. So we're talking about he who

sanctifies. That's Christ and those who are

being sanctified. What happens?

All have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to

call them brothers. Jesus is not ashamed.

To call you his brother. You know what's convicting about

this verse as much as it's comforting who are the ones who

tend to be ashamed to be associated with Jesus Us.

But he's not ashamed. Why should?

We we should never be ashamed. Christ is never ashamed of you.

What do we have to be ashamed about concerning our Jesus?

Like what is it about the gospel and serving the Lord and

representing him that makes us hesitant and recoil and

reconsider what we say or why He's perfect.

I understand how he can be ashamed of me.

I get it, I understand it. But why would I?

Ever for a moment even entertain the idea.

He's perfect. He died for me, He's faithful.

Why should I gain from his reward?

I cannot give an answer. And so this is what we have to

understand here, that the love of Christ.

Is stronger than you can ever imagine.

Don't you doubt that? We're looking at the resurrected

Lord. This is Christ today.

This is Christ now. This is how Christ looks at you.

Yes, you, even you stumbling Christian, inconsistent follower

of Christ. Man, if you're truly born of the

Spirit, that's going to strengthen your holiness, not

weaken it. That's going to encourage you to

love it more. Does it not?

Does it not melt you? Does it make your knees weak?

Only the unregenerate can hear what I'm saying at the end of

this message and say, yeah, I can sin.

No, you need to get saved. But the one truly belongs.

Them though, they know their weaknesses.

No, they know what they're supposed to be doing.

But oh, they they fail. I want you to hear this loud and

clear. Go tell my brothers.

I want you to hear this loud and clear.

He's not ashamed of us. Oh, let that strengthen your

faith, that on that final day when you give your final breath,

if you belong to him, if you truly belong to Him, you have no

reason to fear to give that final.

Breath, you have no reason to cower.

I'm going to the one who is not ashamed of me.

I'm going to stand before the one who will defend me though.

Satan and all his hordes. Have things against you, things

that you even forgot about, things that you didn't even know

were wrong. He's not ashamed of you.

Why? Because he died.

And not only did he die, he resurrected the Father.

Amen. His sacrifice on your behalf.

That's what the resurrection is all about.

And that's why we come every week to celebrate as a church.

But every day we rest in Jesus being our Sabbath.

Let's. Pray.

I want to take this time and give this time to you to reflect

whenever it was that minister to your heart.

But I want you to also talk to the Lord and thank Him and

glorify Him in your own way before we collectively read

words off the screen. I want you in your own way to

take this time on this Lord's Day to say thank you.

Thank you that You love me enough to die and to resurrect.

Is it true, Lord, that you see me with such love?

I believe it because it's in your word.

I'll just marinate in that truth for a moment, and I'll join you

before we sing. And the praise team can even

come now to prepare us to sing. But I'll give you some time.

Yes. Lord, we ask that You receive

glory from our lips today. Thank You that Your yoke is easy

and Your burden is light. Thank You that we can rest in

You every day. We pray that the strength of

Your love would not just have been heard and learned,

experienced, and that the experience of Your love would

break shackles and liberate us and help us to come into the

fullness of the Christian life. Lord, only by Your Spirit can

you make these truths real and experiential to us.

We commit that into Your hands. Your word went forth, but we

pray that it would be applied and it would change us.

Receive the sacrifice of praise. Thank you for loving us.

Thank you for being so patient. Thank you for willing to teach

us over and over. Thank you that you call us each

by name. Help us never forget in Jesus

name, Amen. Let's stand church, and let's

exalt the resurrected Christ.