The Good News of the Missing Messiah (Mark 16:1-8)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

And today we go to the New Testament book of

Mark. Mark is the second of the Gospels in the

New Testament. And we're going to go to the back

of the book because you always find the answers

in the back of the book. Mark chapter 16 and

Mark 16 · chapter mention

we'll look at verses one through eight. As you

do that, Just by way of introduction, as we go

through this text, we should think about the

evidences for the resurrection because there

are a myriad of evidences for this. One of the

evidences for the truthfulness of the resurrection

is this right here. What we are doing right here,

right now on the first day of the week, remembering

the resurrection of Jesus, evidence of it that

more than 2 ,000 years ago Jesus was raised and

from then on Christians have met on the first

day of the week for the Christian Sabbath. Friends

today as I begin to read I want you to ponder

a statement that I saw just this morning from

a pastor named Samuel Lewis Johnson who said

the resurrection is God's amen. To Christ, it

is finished. Let's see this from Mark 16, one

through eight. 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. This is God's word. Let us pray.

Father we give you thanks for your word, which

is truth That it's a light to our path father

and I pray that you would light the way through

it Lord, we need your help We need the spirit's

help and understanding what is here to see the

truth of the resurrection and to give you praise

And so would you guide us we pray in Christ's

name. Amen. I Think that most of you if not all

of you know the hymn, Amazing Grace. It's a special

hymn, and within that hymn, there's this special

line that says, I was lost, but now am found,

was blind, but now I see. Some of you are getting

ready to sing it. I'm sure this is evident as

well, that you know that there's a connection

with that song to the prodigal son of Luke chapter

Luke 15 · chapter mention

15. You remember the prodigal son? who demands

his inheritance and he leaves his father and

he goes to some distant land and he squanders

his inheritance and he's living poorly and then

he comes to his senses and says, you know, it

was better back home. And so he heads back home

and when he gets within viewing distance of his

father, his father does something extraordinary.

This dad runs to his son and he embraces him.

And the son's been thinking, I'll just plead

with my father that I can just be just a servant

in his house. But the father will have none of

that. Right. Why? Because he says, for this,

my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost,

but now he is found. That is a parable that is

taught by Jesus. But have you ever thought About

how that parable actually in a way Characterizes

Jesus in Between his death and his resurrection

most specifically on that first day when these

women they come to the tomb They come to find

Jesus, and he's not there It's the case of the

missing Messiah if you will And many of us have

heard this story this resurrection story over

and over and over again But today I want to invite

you to arrive at the tomb with the women. I want

you to put your feet into their sandals and think,

what would it have been like to get to the tomb

and for Jesus to not be there? Friends, the fact

that he is not there, this is the good news.

For if they arrive to find Jesus, Wrapped up

by Joseph of Arimathea, just like he was. If

they arrive to find Jesus laying there in the

tomb, heart not beating, lungs not moving air,

then this whole thing that we're doing right

here, right now is false. Without the resurrection,

this is all a lie. The apostle Paul said it like

this, if Jesus is still in the tomb, our preaching

and your faith is in vain. But no, friends, he

who is dead is now alive. And has there ever

been a better time to not find someone where

you thought they would be? No. This is, as some

have said, this is the fulcrum. the hinge of

redemptive history. It all hangs in the balance

on the resurrection. And that's what I want us

to see today mostly from verse six. We're gonna

hang out in verse six almost the whole time here

because the angel makes five statements within

this text to explain the resurrection to these

women. And so let's look at the first one there.

He said to them, do not be alarmed. Now, why

would they be alarmed? Havina, you had an angel

appear to you recently, right? They're alarmed

because there's an angel there instead of Jesus.

It's an unexpected sight for them. It's an unexpected

scene. You see, they were going there intent

on anointing the body of Jesus. The death, the

burial had happened too quickly. They didn't

have time. to get the spices applied to him.

And so the text says that they go there for this

very purpose. They really thought Jesus was going

to be in the tomb. It seems that Jesus' own words

had not fully sunk in for his disciples, even

though Jesus said in John 2, destroy this temple

and in three days I will raise it up. But we

even see this not just with the women, we see

this with the men as well. John and Peter, they

arrive at the tomb in John 20, and it says they

did not understand the scripture that Jesus must

rise from the dead. They didn't fully get it.

And yet, because the text says scripture there

in John 20, we might be asking ourselves, what

scripture? Is there an Old Testament text that

talks about the resurrection of Jesus? The points

ahead to that, absolutely there is. Resurrection

is not just a New Testament idea. The Old Testament

is looking forward to that. Consider Psalm 16,

Psalms 16:10

verse 10. It says, you will not abandon my soul

to Sheol or let your Holy One's seed decay. The

word Sheol there communicates the grave. It communicates

death. You will not leave me there, it says.

But then you might say, well, How do I know that

this is talking about the resurrection of Jesus?

You know, because if you read Acts chapter two,

you see that Peter uses it as a proof text within

his sermon to talk about the resurrection of

Jesus. Peter does that. Paul does that. We do

see this in the Old Testament, such that... We

may land where Job does. Job at one point asks

a question, if a man dies, will he rise again?

And the answer is obviously yes. The answer is

yes, Jesus has risen. And these women, they get

there and they're like, what's going on? Do not

be alarmed though, the angel says. There is an

element to fear here. Do not be alarmed. Do not

fear. We actually see this quite often with angels

appearing to people. It all happens throughout

scripture. It happens when Gabriel appears to

Mary. It happens when the angels appear to the

shepherds. It's a signal. This do not be alarmed

is a signal that something critically important

is happening, right? So what is happening? Let's

look at statement number two you seek Jesus of

Nazareth who was crucified It's been said by

many There is no Easter Sunday without Good Friday,

right? In order to get the resurrection we have

to go through the crucifixion and the crucifixion

is where we see God's love for us most vividly

consider Romans Five, eight. He shows his love

for us and that while we are yet sinners, Christ

died for us. The cross, since I've quoted from

Romans, from Paul, the cross is Paul's central

theme when he preaches and when he teaches. Paul

never gets too far away from the cross. And the

reason for that is because Scripture never gets

too far away from the cross, right? Just as we

see resurrection in the Old Testament, we do

see the crucifixion in the Old Testament. Dalton's

already quoted from Isaiah 53. He was pierced

for our transgressions. He was crushed for our

sins. The chastisement that brought us peace

was upon him and by his wounds. We are healed.

And so Paul and the other writers of Scripture,

Never get too far away from the cross, for the

cross is where we see the story of redemption

happening. It's there in Psalm 22, the very words

that Jesus quotes on the cross, my God, my God,

why have you forsaken me? It's Jesus telling

his disciples over and over again that he would

be crucified and that he would rise again on

the third day. And yet when we think about the

cross, it's difficult, isn't it? For on one hand,

it's the instrument that God uses to sacrifice

his one and only begotten son, and so we love

that, we appreciate that, but we also hate that

our Savior had to go to the cross. Our hearts

ache even thinking about that. But friends, as

Vance Havner says, a crossless Christ would mean

no more. than a Christless cross, it must go

through the cross in order to get this statement

number three. Still in verse six, he has risen.

The Greek word here is hegerthe. He has risen.

And you might look at this and you might look

at scripture and you say, how was he raised?

Who raised Jesus from the dead? Was it God, the

father? The answer to that is yes. Galatians

chapter one, verse one says God, the father who

raised him from the dead. So God did it. But

at other times, like in John 10, verse 18, we

John 10:18

see I have authority to lay it down and authority

to take it up again, which means it sounds like

Jesus can raise himself. But then there's also

the Spirit, not to be forgotten, Romans 8 verse

Romans 8:11

11, the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the

dead. And so who raised Jesus? Was it the Father?

Was it the Son? Was it the Holy Spirit? The answer

is clearly, yes. The entire Trinity is involved

in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is the Trinity's miracle. And isn't there

also then a parallel to our salvation? The entire

Trinity, the entire Godhead is involved in your

salvation. This is put too simply, but maybe

we can remember it. The Father elects, the Son

atones, and the Spirit regenerates. Yes, the

entire Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

all involved in saving you. And so Jesus is raised.

Look at statement number four. The angel says,

he is not here. He's not here. Why? Because tombs

are for the dead and Jesus is alive. Jesus has

no need for the tomb anymore. He's not going

back inside there. It's very much what like Luke

24, five says, why do you seek the living among

the dead? And it's at this point for these women

and it's this point as we see in other Gospels

for the disciples that the light bulb goes on.

And some of them remember what Jesus said, that

he must rise on the third day. It's like they've

forgotten what he taught. But friends, don't

ever forget the resurrection. Don't ever forget

the resurrection. It seems that we preach and

teach a lot on the cross, as we should. But how

many sermons do we hear on the resurrection?

The resurrection is not for one Sunday out of

the year. The resurrection is for every single

day. Don't ever forget the resurrection. He's

not here. It almost sounds like an answering

machine message to a landline. He's not here

right now. Please leave a message. But the problem

with that is Jesus isn't going to come back to

get the message because as I said, Jesus has

no use for the tomb anymore. And this is the

unique claim of the Christian faith. Val Grieve

in a wonderful book on the resurrection says,

Christianity is the only world religion based

on the resurrection of its founder. What that

means, if I can put it differently, Every other

world religion founder is dead. Not Jesus. Only

Jesus lives. And the very fact that body is not

there in the tomb, as I said, is evidence of

the resurrection. Let's consider for a minute

other evidences for the resurrection. People

like to discredit the resurrection. They don't

believe that it's true. But think about the church

for a minute. Would we have a church that is

going all across the globe if this were a lie?

Would these disciples have continued to carry

on the message of Jesus Christ if this were a

lie? I don't think so. And think about those

disciples. Not only do they carry on the message,

the gospel, they all suffer for it, right? Every...

One of the disciples suffers for the sake of

the gospel. They are martyred. John is exiled

to the island of Patmos. Would they have done

this for a lie? I think not. They would not have

died for something they knew was false, right?

And what scripture shows us is that there are

hundreds of witnesses to the resurrection of

Jesus, too. Additionally, it's often said, that

the very fact that the women are the ones who

communicate this, who are there at the tomb,

is evidence of the resurrection. For we know

this in ancient times about the testimony of

women, that it was usually discredited, right?

And so if you were going to make up a lie, would

you make up the lie from the mouths of women?

Of course not. But God's word is true. And the

women were the ones at the tomb. Friends, this

is not stuff you would make up. It sounds foolish,

but instead it is true. R. Kent Hughes says then,

if you ever meet somebody who says, I don't believe

in the resurrection, you should ask them, then

where in the world is the body of Jesus? I could

tell you where the body of Jesus is. He is alive,

he is risen, he was risen from the grave, he

ascended, and he is at the right hand of the

Father, promising to come back, interceding for

all of you in prayer. Yes, Jesus is with the

Father. And yes, Jesus is coming back. But I

don't want you to take my word for it. I want

you to see it for yourself. Look in statement

number five. The angel says, see the place where

they laid him. In effect, hey, see it for yourself.

Check it out. And we know that these women knew

where Jesus was laid because Mark 15 47 says

Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus saw

where he was laid. And now they see that it's

empty, that the body is gone. Well, a lot of

people here have said, well, clearly the body

of Jesus was stolen. That's not the testimony

of scripture. For Matthew chapter 27 verse 62

Matthew 27:62

and on says this, the next day, that is after

the day of preparation, the chief priests and

the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said,

sir, we remember how that imposter said while

he was still alive, after three days I will rise.

Therefore, order the tomb to be made secure until

the third day. Lest his disciples go and steal

him away and tell the people he has risen from

the dead. And the last fraud will be worse than

the first. Pilate said to them, you have a guard

of soldiers. Go make it as secure as you can.

So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing

the stone and setting a guard. And so you see.

They gave their whole effort to making that tomb

secure. Friends, this is not, this is not a theft.

This is a miracle. And what it does is it confirms

everything that scripture has told us. I wanna

take you to one more spot as I begin to wrap

up. It's 1 Corinthians chapter 15. If ever anybody

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

says to you, hey, where do I learn about the

resurrection? What's the resurrection chapter?

It's 1 Corinthians 15, beginning in verse 17

through 22. And it reads, and if Christ has not

been raised, your faith is futile, and you are

still in your sins, then those also, who have

fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in

Christ we have hope in this life only, we are

of all people the most to be pitied. But in fact,

Christ has been raised from the dead, the first

fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as

by a man came death, by a man has come also the

resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all

die, so also in Christ shall all be made. But

friends, that little prepositional phrase there

in Christ is of critical importance. Today, if

you are hearing this and you are not in Christ,

meaning you do not believe that Jesus is the

crucified and risen Son of God and Savior of

the world, if you are not united to him by faith,

then the benefits of his life And His death and

His resurrection are not yours. 1 Corinthians

15 clearly says, if you do not believe in Jesus,

you are still in your sin and you are unforgiven.

Just like Amazing Grace says, then, I once was

lost. If you are not in Christ today, you are

still lost. And friends, if I can, by way of

illustration, to hammer this home. Many of you

know that for many summers, I worked for a Christian

camp. I wasn't a counselor. I was mostly the

maintenance man. I cut the grass and cleaned

the toilets. One of the things that those who

were not counselors had to do was look out for

the safety of campers. And one of the things

we were very careful about was making sure that

campers were not lost. And so we would run drills

upon drills to make sure that there were no lost

campers. And the drill went like this, that somebody

would take a mallet and we had this huge bell

in the camp and we would hit the bell to signal

lost camper. In my time there, we never lost

a camper, but we ran many drills. Friends, this

is not a drill. This is not a drill. God's gospel.

is gracious and it's free to all who would believe

in him. And so what's the condition for salvation?

It's belief. If you don't know what to make of

Jesus, check it out for yourself. See the evidence

for yourself. Just like those women were invited,

see the place where he was laid. Look into the

scriptures. Ask good questions of Christians.

Pray to God and ask for the gift of faith. Do

not remain lost. Do not remain dead in your trespasses.

Friends, Jesus was raised. He's not in the tomb

any longer. He ascended to the Father, and by

God's grace, eternity with God is yours in Christ

Jesus. If I can, again, return to Amazing Grace,

that last verse. When we've been there 10 ,000

years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less

days to sing God's praise than when we'd first

begun. Christ said in John 14, I go to make a

place for you, an eternal home, a place free

from sin. And therefore our hope is not in this

life alone. Our hope is in eternal life in Christ

Jesus. and it's made possible by the resurrection.

Let us pray.