JESUS CHANGES EVERYTHING - Mark 16:1-8

Hey, if you have a Bible or an app, open

it up. We're going to be in the Gospel

of Mark, chapter 16 this morning, and

Mark 16 · chapter mention

we're going to be reading verses 1-8.

What that's going to do is that's going

to provide the foundation for where

we're going to go as we begin to unpack

the Easter story. Now, if you've grown

up in church or maybe you've attended

several Easter services over the course

of your life, you have undoubtedly come

to the understanding that the

resurrection is the very foundation of

our faith. It is the hinge, the lynch

pin. Without the resurrection,

everything that we believe, everything

that we sing, everything that we preach,

every Bible study that we're a part of,

it has and carries no substance.

But I'm here today to remind us of the

fact that Jesus Christ indeed is alive.

He's alive not just because we say it,

but because it has been testified over

the course of millennia. We have written

accounts of the living savior. We have

eyewitness testimonies of the living

savior in a time period where it could

have been easily refuted since people

would have been able to say no, he is

still in the tomb. But to this day, you

can actually go visit Jerusalem

and there are debated areas where Christ

was buried. but two that rise to the top

of that list. And you can go in, you can

observe, you can bear witness, and the

conclusion will always be the same. The

tomb is empty.

And so, as we dive into Matthew 16,

we're going to see that a group of women

arrive at the tomb of Jesus.

They're expecting to find the tomb

sealed. They're expecting to find a body

in the tomb, but what they discover is

that the seal is rolled away and the

tomb indeed is empty. And one of the

greatest announcements that you hear in

all of the scripture is the announcement

that Christ is not there because he has

risen.

And it's in that moment that everything

changes.

You know, we're no strangers to life

changing in an instant. And whether

that's a diagnosis given from a doctor,

a phone call in the middle of the night,

or a headline as we're scrolling across

social media, we know that in a moment,

life can change.

And I want to tell you this morning that

the greatest change, the greatest news

that we could ever receive is this, that

Jesus is alive.

Because you know just as well as I do

that in those lifechanging moments that

we have endured, specifically if it is a

moment of change that is a result of

dark circumstances,

hardship, trial or valley that what we

cling to or what we desire to cling to

in that moment is hope.

Because in hope there's power. In hope

there's strength. In hope we discover

deliverance. No matter how dark, no

matter how pain painful, and no matter

how difficult our circumstance is.

And church, that hope is found in a

living savior.

I was having a discussion this morning

that was talking about the very fact

that the Christian faith is the only

faith that is rooted in a living savior.

All other ideals, all other religious

beliefs, all other spiritual systems or

ideologies, they don't find their roots.

If they're not Christian, they don't

find their roots in a living savior.

Joseph Smith, he's dead. The Gandhi,

he's dead. Buddha is dead. All these

other Muhammad is dead. All these other

major religious figures are dead, buried

where they have decayed and rotted away.

But our faith, our trust, and our hope

is here in Christ. And so what I want to

challenge us with today is to take hold

of this truth that the resurrection is

not just for changing the moment. And

what a beautiful moment it was. We'll

read about it here in just a minute.

The resurrection's not just change in

the moment, but the resurrection is

about change in everything.

And so in Mark chapter 16,

Mark 16 · chapter mention

ladies are on their way to the tomb of

Jesus.

Now, I'm going to throw up on the screen

verses 1-8, but let me share with you

how Mark concludes chapter 15

because Mark is setting the stage for

the power that we're going to read in

these eight verses. So, beginning in

verse 44 of chapter 15, Mark writes

these words.

Pilate was surprised that he was already

dead. Now, who is Pilate talking about?

He's talking about Jesus. And Mark is

not just writing random words to fill a

page. Mark is making a point that Jesus

is actually dead at this point in the

story. There is no life in him. Now,

notice what happens further in verse 45.

when he found out from the centurion.

So Pilate, a man in charge, making sure

that Jesus indeed is dead, confirms it

with one of his soldiers. And what does

it tell us here? That after confirming

it, he gave the corpse to Joseph. So

Matthew again is further setting the

stage by not once but twice telling us

that Jesus is dead. Verse 46.

After he bought some linen cloth, Joseph

took him down and wrapped him in linen,

then he laid him in a tomb.

What goes in a tomb?

>> Death.

So again, do you see how Mark is setting

the stage here? Jesus wasn't knocked

out. He wasn't unconscious. Jesus indeed

was dead.

He's laid in the tomb cut out of the

rock and a ro and they rolled a stone

against the entrance of the tomb.

So, we're being told two things. Jesus

is dead and his death is being sealed.

Now, notice what happens as we go to

verse one in Mark 16.

When the Sabbath was over, Mary

Magdalene

really take in what is taking place Here

they're arriving at the tomb fully

expecting

to see the Messiah dead, fully expecting

to see the very one who for three and a

half years declared his resurrection,

demonstrated his power through miracles,

signs, and wonders. Now watch what

happens in verse four.

Looking

how the angel declares that there should

be no fear that you don't need to be

alarmed. I think many of us if we took

some self-inventory

we are arriving at a situation or we

find ourselves in a situation where we

we are expecting nothing but bad news

and then in a moment God shows up and

when God shows up he reminds us don't be

alarmed I'm here to move I'm here to

work I'm here to demonstrate my power

and glory in a way that will be told for

generations and centuries to come.

Don't be alarmed. He told them

because now we're seeing the stage.

We're seeing the curtain begin to be

pulled away and what has been staged by

Mark in the previous chapter begin to

unfold before the very eyes of this

group of women.

A place where they expected to see

nothing more but death has now given way

to life. But not only that,

they are told to go and tell. Now, did

you pick up on something that's key

here?

go tell his disciples and who?

>> Peter.

Why do you think Jesus

the angel

mentions Peter?

What just took place the day before?

Peter denying Jesus

not once, not twice, but three times.

And if you're familiar with the with the

denial story, that third time Peter

denies Jesus, he curses the group out.

That would have been equivalent to a

long Facebook post by some of us. He

comes raw and real at the moment. And we

know the rest of the story. Peter weeps

bitterly. He's ashamed. He feels the

weight of his guilt for denying the

Savior who gives his life for us. And

yet there's a call to mercy right here.

There's a call to not forget. Let me

just lay it out this way. God has not

forgotten you.

And you may be in a moment, a situation.

You may be enslaved and trapped by the

very sin you refuse to let go of. And

you are believing the lies of the devil

that are making you feel worthless as if

there's no value or purpose in your

life. But I'm here today to tell you

that God sees you and God remembers you.

And it's for the very sin that enslaves

you that he shed his blood on Calvar's

cross.

>> And so he continues, "He is going ahead

of you to Galilee. You will see him

there just as he told you. They went out

and ran from the tomb because because

trembling and astonishment overwhelmed

them and they said nothing to anyone

since they were afraid. And all God's

people said,

>> "Amen." Lord, would you bless your word?

Holy Spirit, would you stir our hearts

today?

There's a lot happening in the Easter

story.

And what's incredible about the Easter

story is its familiarity.

And I'm not just talking about the fact

that we've heard it over and over again.

Especially if you've been raised in

church, this story is almost second

nature to you. From vacation Bible

school to children's church to Sunday

school class to adult Bible studies, we

know the Easter story in and out.

Especially the power of the reality of

this moment. But did you know the reason

this story changes everything is because

it has been proclaimed from Old

Testament onward. Everything that we see

being revealed throughout the stories

and the books of the Old Testament

through the prophets, through the kings

and the priests have all been about the

lamb of God who would shed his blood for

the salvation of the world.

And there's a story in the Old Testament

in the book of Exodus

that really paints this beautiful

picture of what salvation means for the

people of God. And so what I want to do

with the rest of our time as we look at

the resurrection as a foundation by

which we build a greater understanding

of who Christ is and what his life,

death, and resurrection mean for us. Not

just as a corporate people, but what the

resurrection means for me, what the

resurrection means for Roland, what the

resurrection means for you. Fill in your

name.

It's not just deeply corporate. Praise

God that it is. And we are here in this

corporate setting gathered together to

experience a movement of God to press

and lean into what the Holy Spirit is

stirring in us,

but to understand that there's also a

call to personal accountability.

There's a call for me as an individual

to live out and in the power of the

Easter story.

Not just to agree or participate with

what a group of people do. Amen. but for

you to live it out in your sales call,

in the classroom, at the exchange with

the grocery clerk, and wherever it is

that God has you, you are to live out

this Easter story.

And so as we look at the book of Exodus

and we see how uninslaved people were

set free by God towards a land of

promise and we look at the gospel story

on how a slaved people are set free to a

land of promise. We can see that it's

not just a story of parallels though it

does include that but it's a fulfillment

of what has been proclaimed. So if

you're a visual person like me I have a

slide to kind of help us picture this.

So, the Easter story and the Exodus

story. In the Exodus story, you had an

enslaved people in the nation of Egypt

who cried out to God for over 400 years

for a deliverer to be set free from

bondage. They knew there was a greater

hope. They knew there was a greater

promise. It had been proclaimed to them

by their fathers before them. And they

cry out to God. And what does God do?

God raises up Moses to deliver his

people out of the clutches of Egypt,

Pharaoh, and their gods. And how does

God do that? Through the blood of the

lamb. We'll go to the story here in just

a moment. The death angel descends upon

the nation of Egypt, but those who were

covered by the blood were spared from

death.

Israel then makes their way out of

Egypt. They cross the Red Sea. They'll

wander for 40 years in the wilderness.

They'll eventually come to the land of

promise and they will inherit all that

God through his covenant with Abraham

had promised them as their inheritance.

And then we look at the Easter story.

And just like there was a people

enslaved,

did you know we are a people enslaved?

If you have never placed your hope,

faith, and trust in Jesus Christ as your

Lord, you are enslaved to sin. And maybe

you sit there and say, "Well, I'm not

hurting anyone, or my life is my life,

or it's just the way that I do things."

Without Jesus, we all remain stuck in

our sin. Which is why his mercy and his

grace makes the gospel story that much

powerful. Every one of us are an

enslaved people. And how are we set

free?

Through the blood of the lamb that was

shed on the cross of Calvary. And we

just sang it a minute ago. when the

stone is rolled away that sealed the

promise.

As Jesus hung on the cross breathing his

final breaths of life, do you remember

he said several phrases, seven in fact,

that we read in the scripture, but one

in particular that in my opinion stands

out among the rest. He says, "It is

finished."

The wrath of God satisfied in the shed

blood of the lamb. The lamb like the

Exodus story that covered God's people

to spare them from death

is made a reality and fulfilled in the

lamb who shed his blood on Calvar's

cross.

You know, if you're familiar with the

Old Testament laws, particularly the

purification, ritual, and ceremonial

laws,

you'll know these words.

There is no forgiveness of sin

without the shedding of blood.

There must be life for life.

And our sin and we are all guilty of it

again is rebellion before the Lord.

I think often the trap that we fall into

and we talked about this in our Habach

series.

We make the mistake of comparing our sin

to the sin of the person next to us when

what we really should be doing is

looking at our sin in light of the

holiness of God and his truth.

Because whether your sin is X, Y, or Z

and someone else's sin is X, Y, or Z, we

are all scoundrels

before the holiness of God. We are all

rebels against his righteousness.

And that puts us under condemnation and

judgment.

But what does the blood of the lamb do?

Covers us.

And so in Exodus, God brought his people

out of slavery. And in the resurrection,

he brings his people out of death. So

here's what I want to do with our

remaining time. I want us to go back to

some of our passage in Mark. And then

what I want to do is I want to point us

to moments in the Exodus that reveal a

biblical truth that we see fulfilled in

the resurrection and

juxtapose it. English teachers, I'm

saying that correctly. Juxapose it. Say

it 10 times real fast. Juxosition.

Juxosition. Juxapose it against the New

Testament reality of it. So if you're

taking notes, here's here's the first

thing I want to draw us to. Number one,

the blood covers you. We've made that

absolutely clear so far. Go with me to

verse 6 right here in Mark 16.

You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth

who was crucified.

He has risen. He is not here.

Roland, what does the resurrection have

to do with the blood? Well, Jesus rose

from the grave because Jesus was dead in

the grave. And Jesus was dead in the

grave because he shed his blood on

Calvar's cross for you and me to appease

the wrath of God.

And what the resurrection does,

it fulfills and completes what Jesus

said on the cross. It is finished.

This is why Paul in 1 Corinthians 15

makes the argument that if the

resurrection

did not happen, then you and I remain in

our sin.

The blood that was shed becomes

therefore meaningless because the one

who shed his blood remains dead.

But he's not dead. Indeed, he's risen

from the grave. And because of that, the

blood that was shed on Calvar's cross

has now been applied to anyone who calls

upon the name of Jesus. So just so like

we see in the Exodus story, the blood

covering the doorpost of God's people

and death passing over them. So we see

the blood of Jesus covering us to spare

us from death. So I'm going to read to

you from Exodus 12. We'll throw it up on

the screen.

And next to that, we'll see the New

Testament reality in John's gospel. So

verse 22 in Exodus 12, here's what we

read.

Take a cluster of hissup,

dip it in the blood that is in the

basin, and brush the lentil and the two

doorposts with some of the blood in the

basin.

None of you may go out of the door of

his house until morning. When the Lord

passes through to strike Egypt and sees

the blood on the lentil and the two

doorposts, he will pass over the door

and not let the destroyer enter the

house or strike you. That is powerful.

Do you see the power in the blood and

how the blood covers us, protects us,

and seals us

so that the devil, though he desires to

call you his, has no possession of you

because you belong to Jesus Christ. And

if he has no possession of you, then

don't believe his lies. Don't give into

temptation.

Don't let yourself be overtaken by the

vices that he tries to push our way. And

we see this

so prevalent in the culture today.

You know, some will say we're losing a

generation of kids to the world. You

know, that's not new. That's been

happening since biblical times.

Generation after generation, there will

be people who rise up to continue to

rebel against the Lord because that's

what human nature does. But here's what

I love. God is always reserving for

himself a remnant of people

to be proclaimers

of the gospel to be initiators of change

to be witnesses of the power of the

resurrection.

And I said this last week, what if what

if

the grove is at renment for this area

and we've been so covered by the blood

of Jesus

and understand the mission at hand,

which is to go and tell and invite

others and bear witness of the risen

savior

that things begin to change,

that families begin to change.

And I I said this often for the men in

the room. When a man changes, I need I I

need all the men to listen.

When a man changes, his family changes.

And when his family changes, communities

begin to change.

Because it's not just one family. How

many men in the room? We represent our

families.

And when men change, families change.

When our families change, communities

change.

And when communities change, you have

change all throughout different areas.

Why?

Because of the blood that covers us.

Now, notice what John also says here.

The next day, John saw Jesus coming

toward him and said, "Look, the lamb of

God who takes away the sin of the

world."

Now, that's not a random title, nor is

it a random phrase. When John saw Jesus

approaching and proclaimed those words,

the lamb of God, the children of Israel

would have immediately recognized the

symbolism and made the connection.

The lamb that protects and spares God's

people in the Old Testament through the

shedding of his blood is now seen in its

full reality in the person Jesus Christ.

And the thing is

we're spared,

we're protected, we're sealed not

because we're better,

not because we do the right things,

which yes and amen. Pursue a life of

obedience. pursue a life of godliness.

But we're not spared because of that.

We're spared because the blood covers

us.

The Passover lamb has been slain for us.

And the blood of the lamb

doesn't just mark the doorpost of your

home. He marks your soul. He covers your

heart. And he calls you his. So the

question is not whether you're good

enough. We're not good enough.

The point of the gospel is that Jesus is

good enough for us because he fulfills

the requirements of the law of

perfection and holiness and

righteousness.

So the question I want to challenge you

with is, are you covered by the blood of

Jesus?

Or is it just something that you lean

into when you need it, when it's

convenient,

but maybe

>> the rest of your life is not indicative

of someone who desires to live for

Jesus.

And so the good news of the Easter story

is that when the blood covers you,

death passes over you. That leads us to

the second truth that we see. Not only

does the blood cover you, but death

can't hold you.

Death has no power and has no authority

in the life of the believer. Now, let me

make one thing absolutely clear. We know

this. One day we will draw our last

breath

and that will be it for us.

But for the believer there's hope.

Death is not the end. It is a doorway to

all that Christ has prepared for us. And

the reason we can lean into that, the

reason we can trust in that and hope in

that is because Christ is not dead.

And what Christ does, what his

resurrection proves is that he brings

dead things to life. Which is why death

cannot hold us. Let me read from verse

two in Mark 16.

Very early in the morning on the first

day of the week, they went to the tomb

at sunrise. They were saying to one

another, "Who will roll away the stone

from the entrance to the tomb for us?"

What did they perceive? They perceived

an impossibility before them. The

stone's there. We can't by ourselves

roll it away. We need a team of men, of

soldiers, of strength to remove this

stone that weighs tons. We can't do it

on our own. Who's going to do it? And I

love this because what happens in verse

four, this practical concern gives way

to something far deeper.

Looking up, they noticed that the stone

and Mark, Mark's incredible, which was

very large if we have not already

understood that, had been rolled away.

Now, now, now here's where it gets

amazing.

God did what no human could do.

He rolled the stone away and he brought

the sun to life.

You may be in a situation where you are

perceiving an impossibility before you

and in your strength, in your power,

through your wealth, whatever avenue you

have tried to roll that stone away from

your life.

But only God can do what no human can't.

And you and I can't. Which is why we

need the Lord. And where this echoes in

the Exodus story is chapter 14.

Isaiah 14 · chapter mention

If you remember that part of the story,

Moses has led the Israelites out of

Egypt. They're on their way towards

freedom.

But then they encounter an obstacle.

Anybody ever encountered an obstacle in

life just when it was going well? This

is what Moses faces. He's he's on the

bank of the Red Sea and he sees large

waves crashing against rock and stone.

And the people of Israel see no way

forward.

Now, that wouldn't be that big of a

deal,

but Pharaoh and his army are approaching

them. And Pharaoh and his army have one

desire

to wipe out the Israelite people.

And so, what happens?

Exodus 14, let me read verse 13.

But Moses said to the people,

"Don't be afraid.

Stand firm and see the Lord's salvation

that he will accomplish for you today.

For the Egyptians you see today, you

will never see again. The Lord will

fight for you." How many of us believe

that this morning? That the Lord will

fight for you. Yes. an amen. And I think

we receive that. We embrace it. We want

more of that. But can I just challenge

us with something?

A lot of us, we don't finish the rest of

that verse.

The Lord will fight for you, and you

must what? Be quiet.

In other words, don't get in the way.

Don't try and do it yourself.

some of the greatest movements of God

and I'm speaking on I'm testifying to

what God has done in my own life. Some

of the greatest moments and movements of

God in my life have not been these grand

scale things. though God works in grand

ways. Yes and amen. But it have been in

moments when I've taken the time to just

be quiet, to get out of the way, to

drown out the noise of the world, and to

just sit and focus.

And often times when that happens, we

realize that God's been working all

along, that God's been fighting for us

all along. And this is precisely what

happens. Now, watch what Paul says in 1

Corinthians 15. Let's pull this reality

out in the New Testament. In verse 53,

he writes, "For this corruptible body,

that's that's this will be clothed with

incorruptibility.

This mortal body, that's this, will be

clothed with immortality.

When this corruptible body is clothed

with incorruptibility,

and this mortal body is clothed with

immortality, then the saying that is

written will take place." Well, what's

the saying? Paul says it here. Death has

been swallowed up in victory. Where

death is your victory. Where death is

your sting. The sting of death is sin.

The power of sin is the law. But thanks

be to God who gives us the victory

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

And so as the waters were split on the

Red Sea and the people of God crossed

over out of death and into life and the

waves came crashing down and swallowed

up death in the form of Pharaoh's army.

So the truth remains for us today. In

the resurrection, we see the greater

deliverance.

And what's beautiful is

Jesus doesn't avoid

death.

He willingly enters into it. He passes

through it. Do you remember the words of

Christ? He says, "No one, no one takes

my life from me. I give it. I lay my

life down and I do it for you." And the

resurrection reminds us that God is

always ahead. And the tomb is not just

empty. It has been conquered. And as the

ladies approach the tomb, expecting

the seal to still be there, they

discover that it's been rolled away.

Which leads us to the last thing that I

want to challenge us with. And it's

this. Jesus changes everything.

He's the game changer.

He is the one that calls us out of death

and into life. And I love this this

simple yet deeply personal message that

we find here in verse 7. We referenced

it earlier. The angel declares, "He has

risen. He is not here. But go tell his

disciples

and Peter."

That name carries weight because we know

what Peter is just coming out of. He's

coming out of denial.

feeling the weight of guilt.

And the resurrected Savior desires Peter

to come back in so that Peter would

recognize the weight that you feel. I

took it on the cross.

The darkness you feel, the sin that is

weighing you down, he took it on the

cross.

Jesus did that for you.

Let's look at Exodus chapter 6.

Exodus 6 · chapter mention

I am the Lord and I will bring you out

from the forced labor of the Egyptians

and rescue you from slavery to them. I

will redeem you with an outstretched arm

and great acts of judgment. I will take

you as my people and I will be what?

Your God.

God is claiming possession over you. And

watch this. If he has possession over

you, that mean that means who doesn't?

The devil.

God has possession over you. He calls

you his own. Now watch this. In Romans

Romans 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8,

therefore there is now, right now, at

this moment, no condemnation for those

in Christ Jesus. Let me throw you a

curveball this morning. This might make

us uncomfortable.

in your sin, there's no condemnation.

That doesn't mean you remain in your

sin.

You live a life of obedience. You pursue

righteousness. You are called to holy

living. And I would even caution us from

adopting the mindset, let me remain in

my sin because God loves me anyway,

would be indicative of Paul, what Paul

says that you're presuming on the grace

of God. And if you are presuming on the

grace of God, in other words, living a

life that says, "I'm just going to do it

my way because God loves me anyway," is

probably evidence that you don't know

Jesus at all.

Because the result of deep genuine faith

in Christ is a changed life. This is

what you see in the Bible. You don't see

it any other way. Faith and obedience

are not separate. We've made the mistake

in the Western church of separating

faith and obedience. In the Bible, faith

and obedience are one. They are united.

They are connected. So in the Bible, in

the early church, if you said you had

faith, it meant that you obeyed.

And in today, we've just not seen it

that way. So to bring clarification,

Paul is saying there's no condemnation

right now in your sin because Christ's

blood covers you. Therefore, death can't

hold you. And now Jesus changes

everything.

So live like it.

the law of the spirit of life in Christ

Jesus has set you free from the law of

sin and death. And what does the

resurrection prove? Exactly this, that

death has no sting. And let me close

with this, church. The resurrection is

not just something to believe. It's not

just something that we agree with. It's

not just something that we say yes and

amen to and then we'll post an

inspirational verse on our feed. It's

meant for us to step into it, to

participate in the resurrection story

that continues to move forward as it has

done for thousands of years and will

continue to move forward through you and

I as witnesses called by God to go and

tell people about the risen Savior. It's

not just something that we clap our

hands to and agree with. This is a

mission that we step into. And you don't

have to be a paid staff member of a

church. You don't have to have a certain

title. If you are a son of God, if you

are a daughter of God, that is all that

is required for you to fulfill this

mission.

And so, let's be a people that operate

in resurrection power because church,

the blood covers us and death can't hold

us and Jesus changes everything. Would

you pray with me? Lord, we thank you so

much for the opportunity to gather and

celebrate the power of the Easter story,

the beauty of the resurrection.

And so God, I pray that your hand would

continue to guide, to lead, to direct,

and to bring change and transformation

over us. And so Lord, in this place,

would you call people out of death and

into life? Would you resurrect them

out of pain,

out of suffering,

out of the circumstances that often

times

can be what we think identifies us? But

let us know that we know

that there is power in Christ. Lord,

today we lift up your name. And it's in

Christ Jesus name that we pray. All

God's people said,

>> amen. Hey, would you stand to your feet

with me? We're going to close our

service. We're going to sing together.

We're going to worship together. Our

altar will be open. This is a time of

response.

If God has been working in your life, if

the Holy Spirit has been tugging at your

heart, we'd love to pray with you. Eric,

myself will be available should you want

someone to pray with you. Or you can

just kind of have some one-on-one time

with the Lord here at the altar. This is

your opportunity to respond and be

obedient to how God is moving. I love

you, church.