Printer Friendly Version(Read aloud Mark 16:1-8).
These three ladies--Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James,
and Salome--are making their way to the tomb with the intention of anointing
the dead, lifeless body of Jesus with spices. Under normal circumstances this
would have been a job done on the day following His death. However, because
that day was the Sabbath, Jewish law forbid them to touch a dead body until
the following day. So early Sunday morning, the morning after the Sabbath,
these ladies got up with the intention of anointing the dead body of Jesus.
That was their plan. That’s what they intended to do--nothing more,
nothing less.
They were not expecting a miracle. They were not expecting the
Resurrection. They were certainly not expecting Jesus to be alive. They were
not expecting anything of significance to happen. They were simply going to
the tomb for the gruesome, heart wrenching task of anointing the dead, lifeless
body of Jesus.
As they were walking down the road to get to the tomb, it dawns
on one of them, that they have a problem--a rather significant problem. A
big question arises. (Are you ready?) The women ask each other, “Who
will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” There you have
it. That’s the big problem. That’s the question: “Who will
roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
It’s a very good question. They can’t roll the stone
away themselves. How are three little women going to make that rock roll?
How in the world are they going to move that thing?
At my last house, my father-in-law brought me some boulders
for landscaping--really, big rocks to use as part of the landscape design
for the front of our house. One of them seemed really, really big, and because
of her tendency to change her mind once in a great while I told my wife Karla,
“you tell me exactly where you want this rock because once it’s
on the ground, it’s not moving. This huge boulder is not like the end
tables, couch and everything else that’s not nailed down in our house
that seems to be moved every other Saturday. Once this baby is in place--it’s
there until Jesus returns.”
My point is this: if a big burly guy like me (note to readers:
“Big and Burley” have never been words used to describe me) would
have trouble moving the rock how were those women going to move the rock in
front of the tomb? Forget about it. There’s no way. So they ask the
question, a good question: Who is going to move the rock from in front of
the tomb?
Now you understand it’s a perfectly good question . .
. if Jesus were still in the tomb. If Jesus were as dead as dead could be
then that would be a very good question to ask. If Jesus were as dead as Vladimir
Lenin lying in his tomb in Red Square, that would be a good question. If Jesus
were as dead as Ulysses S. Grant, lying in Grant’s tomb, it would have
been a good question. If Jesus were as dead as everyone else who had ever
died, it would have been a perfectly legitimate question.
“Who is going to remove the stone? It is a question that
I hear people asking even today. Not a lot has changed in 2,000 years. People
say:
“I have a huge obstacle to overcome. How can I be victorious?”
Good question . . . if Jesus were still in the tomb. Or they say, “My
marriage is a mess, how could it ever be made right? Good question . . . if
Jesus were still in the tomb. I hear people say, “I’m in such
bondage over a habit--drugs or alcohol or pornography or whatever--how can
I ever break free?” Good question . . . if Jesus were still in the tomb!
But people, it’s a brand new day! Jesus is not in that
old grave! He is not in the tomb. You won’t find a tombstone that reads:
“Here lies Jesus Christ. May He rest in peace.” No! Jesus is the
victor. Jesus has won the battle. And just as He conquered death and defeated
our ultimate foe He can defeat whatever, whatever, whatever burdens you this
day. There is no obstacle in your life that He can not handle!
Who’s gonna move that rock, ladies? Jesus has already
taken care of that problem! Who’s going to take care of obstacles in
your life? Friends, Jesus Christ is more than able--more than able the song
says--to handle anything that comes your way.
There is an even bigger question going on here than who is going
to move the rock. Look at Mark’s Gospel. In Mark’s account, the
ladies go to the tomb. They are met by the angels. “Jesus is alive!”
They are told. And what do the ladies do? Remember they were followers of
Jesus, believers this time, not soldiers and not Pharisees. These were people
who presumably would want to hear the news that Jesus was alive. This should
have been the greatest news they ever heard in their entire life, right? So
how do they respond?
Mark 16:8 says: “Trembling and bewildered, the women went
out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were
afraid.”
Wait a minute? Said nothing to anybody? What’s going on
here? That doesn’t sound like they just heard the greatest news ever.
And could they respond like that? Mark says they were “trembling
and bewildered.” You know this wasn’t just a rumor on the street.
It’s not like some kid ran up to them and told them he had heard from
a friend, who heard it from a friend, who heard it from a friend that Jesus
was alive. The good news came to them via an angel. Now maybe that angel was
homiletically challenged. Just how much preaching does an angel get to do?
Maybe he couldn’t preach at all. Still after delivering the good news,
the Great News, that Jesus is alive, you’d think the angel’s female
congregation would have left happy and excited. Maybe they would have left
joyous and thrilled; anything but trembling and bewildered. That’s not
exactly the ideal response. What happened?
Is this the way we should respond to good news? Fearful? Bewildered?
Wondering? Confused? What’s wrong with these people? Why aren’t
they singing, “Up from the Grave He arose?” Why aren’t they
out on the streets shouting, “He’s Alive”?! Why aren’t
they out there looking for Jesus? If I’d just been told my best friend
who was dead is now alive I’d want to find Him. But they were bewildered,
trembling, and confused. What’s going on?
I think I know the answer to these questions. Are you ready?
If you don’t hear anything else from this Easter morning message hear
this because this is the key idea. The main thought. It’s not enough
to hear the story; you must encounter the Savior. It’s not enough to
just know what happened—-you need to meet Jesus. You see, you can know
the Easter story, but the key to life is not simply knowing the Easter story.
The key to life is knowing the Savior.
The Point: Simply hearing the story of Easter is not enough:
you need to encounter the Savior. Simply knowing about Easter won’t
cut it. God must impact your life. To have Him really make a difference in
the situations of your life, you need to know the resurrected Lord for yourself.
It’s not good enough that your parents had met Jesus and had a relationship
with Him. It’s not good enough that your grandparents were Christians.
You need to know the Savior. You need to have an encounter with the resurrected
Lord for yourself. And until you do you’ll be a lot like those ladies
standing outside the tomb. You’ll see that the rock has been moved,
but you will still be fearful and frustrated. Until you encounter the resurrected
Savior, you’ll be a lot like Thomas: full of doubt. Until you encounter
the Savior, you’ll be a lot like those ladies at the tomb: bewildered
and confused. Jesus was alive—-the Resurrection had happened—-but
until those folks encountered Jesus for themselves it didn’t make much
of a difference in their lives. They were still fearful, trembling, and doubting.
Jesus is alive this morning, it’s a brand new day! But
my question is: is that fact making a difference for you? Listen, for Easter
to be Easter--for it to be more than just a day with colored eggs, ham dinners,
and family gatherings it must include encountering the Savior. For Easter
to be Easter--for it to be “a brand new day,” the missing component
is an encounter with the resurrected Lord!
Someone sent me an e-mail, a statement of faith. I don’t
know who wrote it despite trying to discover who made the statement. However,
I know this it was written by someone who has encountered the Savior, there
is no doubt about that. Listen to this declaration of faith:
“He is the First and Last, the Beginning, and the End!
He is the keeper of Creation and the Creator of all!
He is the Architect of the universe and the Manager of all times.
He always was, He always is, and He always will be . . .
Unmoved, Unchanged, Undefeated, and never Undone!
He was bruised and brought healing!
He was pierced and eased pain!
He was persecuted and brought freedom!
He was dead and brought life!
He is risen and brings power!
He reigns and brings Peace!
The world can't understand Him,
The armies can't defeat Him,
The schools can't explain Him, and
The leaders can't ignore Him.
Herod couldn't kill Him,
The Pharisees couldn't confuse Him, and
The people couldn't hold Him!
Nero couldn't crush Him,
Hitler couldn't silence Him,
The New Age can't replace Him, and
Donahue can't explain Him away!
He is light, love, longevity, and Lord.
He is goodness, kindness, gentleness, and God.
He is holy, righteous, mighty, powerful, and pure.
His ways are right,
His word is eternal,
His will is unchanging, and
His mind is on me.
He is my Redeemer,
He is my Savior,
He is my guide, and
He is my peace!
He is my Joy,
He is my comfort,
He is my Lord, and
He rules my life!
I serve Him because His bond is love,
His burden is light, and
His goal for me is abundant life.
I follow Him because He is the wisdom of the wise,
The power of the powerful,
The ancient of days, the ruler of rulers,
The leader of leaders, the overseer of the over comers, and
The sovereign Lord of all that was and is and is to come.
And if that seems impressive to you, try this for size.
His goal is a relationship with me!
He will never leave me,
Never forsake me,
Never mislead me,
Never forget me,
Never overlook me, and
Never cancel my appointment in His appointment book!
When I fall, He lifts me up!
When I fail, He forgives!
When I am weak, He is strong!
When I am lost, He is the way!
When I am afraid, He is my courage!
When I stumble, He steadies me!
When I am hurt, He heals me!
When I am broken, He mends me!
When I am blind, He leads me!
When I am hungry, He feeds me!
When I face trials, He is with me!
When I face persecution, He shields me!
When I face problems, He comforts me!
When I face loss, He provides for me!
When I face Death, He carries me Home!
He is everything for everybody, everywhere,
Every time, and every way.
He is God, He is faithful.
I am His, and He is mine!
My Father in heaven can whip the father of this world.
So, if you're wondering why I feel so secure, understand this . . .
He said it and that settles it.
God is in control, I am on His side, and that means all is well with my soul.”
Whoever wrote that had an encounter with the Savior.
That’s what an encounter with the resurrected Lord will
do for you. There is no confusion, no bewilderment in that statement.
There are so many people in our society who have never encountered
the resurrected Lord. They are searching, searching, searching and they don’t
even know what they are searching for sometimes.
Their search is like the I SPY books. Have you ever seen the
I SPY books? Our elementary school teachers here know these books. Ben and
Alex used to love those books. They are picture books usually of toys and
odds and ends, and the job of the reader was to locate a set of objects listed
in a poem on the bottom of the page.
According to the official I Spy website:
I SPY, created by Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick, is an award-winning
series of books, software, jigsaw puzzles, and games for children. I SPY combines
intriguing photographs of familiar object collections with rich rhyming riddles
to create visual brain-teasing puzzles that kids can’t resist. Each
time kids play I SPY, they discover clever object associations, word play,
and themes which help them build important learning skills including reading,
problem solving, and creativity.
Wow! From that description it sounds like if your kids find
all those objects, they’ll probably turn into an Einstein or something.
I got to tell you, I did not learn important learning skills. I never experienced
any of those things with I SPY. The only thing I acquired from the I SPY books
was frustration when I couldn’t find a bobby pin or a roll of tape.
I was searching, but often I didn’t find anything. It was right there
in front of me, but I couldn’t see it.
And you want to know the truth? I think that is exactly where
so many people are at in their life. They are searching and searching, and
God is right here.
They are trying, but God says you don’t have to try--just
believe.
They are working, but God says you don’t have to work--just believe.
If you are searching and confused, if life doesn’t seem
to make sense, the One who can ultimately bring to your heart and soul peace--is
right here.
Jesus is alive! The ladies heard the wonderful news, but until they encountered Him they were confused and bewildered. It will be the same for you. However, here is the Good News: you can encounter the resurrected Savior today! Today can be a brand new day for you! He is risen! He is risen indeed!
