[0:00] The Gospel of Mark, that's the second book of the New Testament.! Chapter 16, and I'll read from verses 1 through to verse 8.
[0:17] ! This is the Word of God. When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome brought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body.
[0:31] Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?
[0:41] But when they looked up, they saw the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side and they were alarmed.
[0:53] Don't be alarmed, he said. You are looking for Jesus, the Nazarene, who was crucified. He is risen. He is not here. See the place where they laid him.
[1:05] But go tell his disciples and Peter, He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you. Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb.
[1:17] They said nothing to anyone because they were afraid. I want to begin just by thanking you for your prayers for me while I was three weeks in Kenya, ministering to ministerial students, preaching in three different churches and just fellowshipping with God's people. The Lord is always faithful and he was faithful to hear your cries and to send me grace to help me in my time of need every day. And I want to thank you as I thank him for your prayers.
[1:54] I hope to give a full report in two weeks in the afternoon service after our luncheon. But let me just summarize by saying the Lord Jesus is alive and well in Kenya and he is building his church to his eternal praise.
[2:11] Now, it was over three years ago that we began our study in the gospel of our Lord Jesus, according to Mark. And today we come to the end of that study. The last time we saw our Lord's dead body hanging on a cross, taken down, put in the tomb, and the stone rolled in front of the tomb.
[2:35] But while suffering on the cross, Christ's enemies, both religious and political, had mocked his claims. He claimed to be the Savior who could save sinners from their sin.
[2:49] Ha, that's a joke. He can't even save himself. He claimed to be the Messiah, King of Israel. Well, then let him prove it. Come down now from the cross and we'll believe you.
[3:03] He claimed to be the Son of God. Well, let God rescue him then. That is, if he wants him. For he said, God is my Father.
[3:15] And so our Lord hung there and suffered such slander against him in silence. He answered not a word. And his silent trust in God is recorded in Isaiah 50 and verse 8, where he says, He who vindicates me is near.
[3:35] Jesus didn't need to vindicate himself as he hung on the cross. Why? Because he knew that his Father would vindicate him.
[3:46] And that vindication was near. It was three days away when the Father would vindicate every claim of our Savior.
[3:56] Proving for all time that he is indeed the Savior of sinners. And it is precisely by not coming down from the cross and not saving himself that he did and does save others.
[4:10] Indeed, a multitude of sinners that no man can number. Now, there was so much more going on at the cross than what the eye could see that day.
[4:24] The spectators saw what the Jews and the Romans were doing to Jesus. But that never saved any man. No, what saves sinners is their faith in what God the Father was doing to his own eternal Son.
[4:39] He was punishing his Son for sin. He was giving his Son what we would have gone through forever in hell. He was giving him that outer darkness, that forsakenness, that wrath that would have been ours.
[4:58] And he suffered it. And he suffered and drank that cup of wrath till it was empty. As his last loud words before he dies, It is finished, declared.
[5:11] And he committed his spirit into the Father's hand. But how do we know that it was finished? How do we know that he really satisfied the justice of God for our sins?
[5:27] To wipe out the offense of our sins? Well, we know it because three days later, God the Father raised his Son from the dead. Saying, death has no more claims on him.
[5:39] Yes, the wages of sin is death. But he has died the death under God's wrath. And has satisfied that justice. And so now God is able to both remain just and to be the justifier of those who believe in Jesus.
[5:55] He did not trade off his justice in order to have mercy on us. He gave his Son justice. And he gives us mercy. That is to everyone who repents and trusts in the Savior alone.
[6:10] Well, this is what frames our songs. And not only today, but every first day of the week. It was on the first day of the week that our Savior rose from the dead.
[6:23] And that's why we worship on the first day of the week. This is the Christian Sabbath. The one day in seven that we rest from our labors and gather together as the redeemed to praise our Redeemer.
[6:36] So we come then to the resurrection of Christ. And if there's one word that captures the reaction of his followers about the resurrection, it is the word unexpected.
[6:54] Unexpected. They were not expecting it. It took them by surprise. It took their breath away. Now, that might be easy to understand if our Lord had kept it a secret, right?
[7:10] As something unannounced. But that was far from the case as we've seen in our study of Mark's gospel. For our Lord had announced his death and resurrection over and over again.
[7:22] So that's where we're beginning this morning. The many announcements that Jesus made of his resurrection from the dead. We start back in Mark chapter 8 and verse 31 and 32.
[7:34] Remember, Jesus had asked the 12, who do men say that I am? And then he said, and who do you say that I am? And Peter answered for the 12, you are the Christ, the Messiah.
[7:48] He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, that he must be killed and after three days rise again.
[8:01] He spoke plainly about this, not in strange, veiled language. He spoke plainly, clearly about this. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
[8:14] This will never happen to you. Mark chapter 8. He takes Peter, James, and John up the mountain where he is transfigured before them.
[8:25] And his glory as God the Son shines out of his face like the sun. And through his clothes with a bright light, the veiled glory of Christ is now revealed to these three disciples.
[8:40] And then as they were coming down the mountain, verses 9 and 10, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.
[8:56] They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what rising from the dead meant. Guys, don't overthink it. Could it actually mean just what it sounds like?
[9:10] Coming back to life from the dead. Just like Usaini men saw Jairus' daughter brought back from the dead by Jesus Christ.
[9:21] Then in chapter 9, verse 31, Jesus said to his disciples, The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him and after three days he will rise. But they did not understand what he meant.
[9:34] And were afraid to ask him about it. Perhaps fearful that it just might mean exactly what it sounds like. And then in Mark 9, 45, he told them the Son of Man has not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
[9:57] To surrender his life so that others might live and be free from sin and death and hell. Mark chapter 10, verses 32 and following. They were on their way up to Jerusalem now with Jesus leading the way.
[10:11] And the disciples were astonished while those who followed were afraid. Again, he took the 12 aside and told them what was going to happen to him. We're going up to Jerusalem, he said.
[10:23] And the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They'll condemn him to death. We'll hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him.
[10:36] Three days later, he will rise. Could language be clear? Then Mark 14, 27 to 28. On the very night of his arrest, Jesus said to the 12, You will all fall away, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.
[10:58] But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee. Jesus' death and resurrection was not a well-kept secret.
[11:08] He announced it over and over. We've seen at least six times here recorded in Mark. But nobody seemed to believe it. And so they were surprised when he rose from the dead.
[11:24] It's interesting that even his enemies knew of this announced resurrection. Matthew records it in his gospel. You remember Jesus was crucified and buried on Friday.
[11:36] And the next day, the one after preparation day, Matthew 28, 62. The chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate.
[11:47] Sir, they said, we remember that while he was still alive, that deceiver said, After three days, I will rise again. Not that they believed that it would actually happen.
[11:58] For they went on to say to Pilate, give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he's been raised from the dead.
[12:12] And this last deception will be worse than the first. And so a guard was posted. Their concern was not a real resurrection from the dead on the third day, as he said.
[12:30] But rather that his disciples would steal his body and make it look like he rose from the dead, just as he said he would do on the third day. Again, we say, oh, enemies of Jesus, you're so nervous for nothing.
[12:45] Jesus' followers are in such shock over his death, they can't remember that he even promised to rise from the dead on the third day. Even the enemies of Jesus remembered what the friends of Jesus forgot.
[13:01] And they forgot it because they never really believed it. So, there's the many announcements. Let's look a bit closer at the sad unbelief of the followers of Jesus.
[13:15] When Christ spoke so often and so plainly about his literal resurrection, why could they not understand? Why were they not expecting, sitting on the edge of their seats on the third morning, this is the day?
[13:29] Because they could not bring themselves to believe that Messiah could actually die. And if he cannot die, then there can be no resurrection from the dead.
[13:43] And so, their preconceived ideas about Messiah would not let them believe, either that he would die or that he would rise. And yet, their Old Testament scriptures told them about Jesus' death and resurrection.
[14:03] It spoke about the Messiah in two categories. You could put the two things that were prophesied of the coming Messiah into two baskets of verses.
[14:15] There was revealed the glories of the Messiah and the sufferings of the Messiah. And so, the Old Testament scriptures revealed the glories of this coming Messiah, King and Savior, that he would be a great King from the line of David.
[14:30] 700 years earlier, Isaiah had said of him, of this child to be born, the son to be given, that the government would be on his shoulders. And of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end.
[14:44] He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever, Isaiah 9, 6, and 7.
[14:54] As the Almighty God, as the Prince of Peace, he would destroy all of his enemies and bring in an everlasting peace in a new heavens and a new earth with nothing to threaten, harm, or destroy.
[15:08] Isaiah 65 and 66. These passages go in the glory basket. Daniel 7, 14 says of this coming Son of Man that his dominion, his reign is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
[15:26] His glory passage. Zechariah 14, 9. The Lord will be king over the whole earth. Psalm 110. God had said of him, he will reign until all of his enemies are put under his feet.
[15:39] The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. You're a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. Not only a king forever, but a priest forever. Glory passages.
[15:51] One after another. Speaking of Messiah's glorious and eternal reign over the nations. But how can Jesus be this conquering Messiah if his enemies kill him?
[16:04] They had interpreted the scriptures in such a way that made Jesus' death impossible. They were only reading out of the glory passages. But their Old Testament scriptures also spoke of Messiah as the suffering and dying Savior.
[16:21] Psalm 72 that we're memorizing sounds like a reporter standing at the foot of the cross on Golgotha and reporting what happened. A thousand years before Jesus was crucified, the scriptures foretold his sufferings and death.
[16:37] Isaiah 53 spoke of his death and his resurrection. Psalm 16 that we had read and explained from Peter on the day of Pentecost.
[16:51] The son says to his father, you will not abandon me to the grave or let your holy one see decay. You'll make known to me the path of life. And though he would enter into the grave, he would not be abandoned to the grave.
[17:03] Though he would die, his body would not see decay. He would reenter the path of life. All of this was spoken of his suffering, his death before he was ever born.
[17:17] Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers in 1 Corinthians 15, 3 and 4, what I received, I passed on to you as of first importance, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried and was raised from the dead on the third day according to the scriptures.
[17:38] So their scriptures had these passages about the sufferings, the death of Messiah, and also the glories, his resurrection, and his everlasting reign.
[17:52] But first century Israelites, why did they murder their Messiah? It wasn't the kind of Messiah they were looking for. They were looking for the glory Messiah. And he came, not destroying the Romans, but praying, Father, forgive them.
[18:08] They don't know what they're doing. Now he's dying in weakness rather than conquering in strength. Crucify him. He's no king. He's no Messiah. And it wasn't only the first century Israelites that had that wrong view.
[18:27] Jesus' own disciples had bought into this problem. They had cherry-picked the scriptures. They clung to the glory passages while they rejected and ignored and neglected the suffering and death passages.
[18:45] So if you're only reading out of the glory, you have no room for a dying Savior. And if you don't have a dying Savior, you can't have a resurrected Savior from the dead on the third day.
[18:56] So you see the unbelief, the unbelief of the followers of Jesus. Whenever Jesus spoke, as he often did about his coming, suffering, death, and resurrection on the third day, they thought, he has to be speaking figuratively.
[19:13] I wonder what he means. What does this mystery mean? He certainly can't be speaking literally, or so they thought. And Jesus will have to rebuke them for clinging to their own preconceived ideas to the point of rejecting Old Testament passages, Jesus' own announcements, one after the other.
[19:36] Now a couple lessons for us in this. Every time you open this book, the Bible, the Word of God, you must let God be God.
[19:50] You must let God be God and every man a liar. You must let this book sit in judgment upon your preconceived ideas rather than you squeeze something out of this book that fits with your preconceived ideas.
[20:04] That was the problem of the followers of Jesus. So you come to the book and you let God tell you what God is like.
[20:17] Not God as I imagine him to be. God as I would like him to be. God as I think him to be. No, no. We put ourselves under God and say, teach us who you are.
[20:30] He's holy, righteous, just, merciful, all glorious. Infinite, eternal, unchangeable. And then we come to this book for him to tell us about ourselves.
[20:43] Well, we have preconceived ideas about ourselves. We're pretty good people, aren't we? We're not as bad as these and we certainly don't deserve to go to hell forever. No, no.
[20:53] We come to the book and we say, God, you teach us about ourselves. And he says, there's none righteous, not even one. We all together have become worthless, unprofitable.
[21:08] We're all condemned, children of wrath, deserving of hell. And then we must come to the book and let God teach us the one way of salvation. We have preconceived ideas.
[21:20] Well, as long as I try my best, I'll make it in. If I keep the golden rule, surely that'll be good enough. And God says, no.
[21:33] No one comes to the Father except through me, Jesus says. I am the way, the truth, and the life. You can't get to heaven and the Father except by faith in me.
[21:45] It's not by your works, but by faith in Jesus' works. What he did, his full obedience to the law, his suffering and dying, the death under God's wrath that we deserve.
[21:58] And so, anyone who would come after him, anyone who, yes, you're all welcome to come to me, Jesus said, but when you come to me, you must take my yoke upon you and learn from me.
[22:14] You must let me teach you about the Father, about yourself, and about the one way of salvation. So, that's the first lesson.
[22:26] We've got to let God be God when we read the Bible and not cling to our preconceived ideas, but let go of them when the light of Scripture would shatter them.
[22:37] And then secondly, we must not cherry pick the passages that suit our fancy. Our favorite texts that really agree with what we think and what we like and what we want as we brush over the harder sayings of Christ.
[22:53] Things that are hard to swallow, more demanding upon us, more unwelcome to our flesh, at odds with the world. And if you're cherry picking, you'll miss the truth for the thousand lies that the devil is speaking.
[23:12] We need to hear and believe and obey all that God has said to us. Not one word is wasted. So, the sin of unbelief, it's not hidden from us.
[23:24] It lies on the face of the resurrection accounts. Not only marks, as we're going to come to that now, but all the accounts. The resurrection of Jesus was not expected.
[23:37] Why? Because of the sin of unbelief. It's a common sin, but it's not a small sin. And that's a mistake we sometimes make. Well, everybody has the sin of unbelief.
[23:50] Let me ask you, dads, what if your wife looked you in the eye and said, I don't believe a word you're saying. I don't believe that you're telling the truth. Your kids said that to you. You'd be offended. It would cut you to the heart.
[24:02] Should God not be offended when we say of His clear commands or His clear doctrines, His clear principles, I don't believe that. It doesn't fit with my thought pattern, my desires.
[24:17] Oh, it's a wicked thing. And so we must come confessing our sin of unbelief and crying out to God, oh, for grace to trust you more. I do believe, but help my unbelief.
[24:31] We come then to our text in Mark 16 where we see the unexpected resurrection. Here are these women. They'd followed Jesus for three years as He traveled about and they met the needs of Him and His disciple band for three years.
[24:47] They were there at the cross when the disciples were AWOL. They were there when Jesus suffered and died. They saw Him taken down and they followed to see where He was buried.
[24:59] And then they went home and rested on the Sabbath day, which ended at six o'clock Saturday evening. In verse one of our text in Mark 16 says, when the Sabbath was over, that's Saturday six o'clock in the evening, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body.
[25:21] So they buy the spices on Saturday evening. Then verses two and three, very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, who will roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb.
[25:38] So here it is, the third day. The famous third day, the most famous third day ever on any calendar that Jesus had been speaking of. His disciples are not up early going to the tomb to meet their risen Lord.
[25:55] No, it's just a few women. They're up early and going to the tomb, but not to see their risen Savior. No, their intention is clear. They're coming to finish the process of burial, to anoint Jesus' dead body with spices and perfumes that they're bringing for Him.
[26:13] They had no expectation of Jesus' resurrection. In fact, their very conversation along the way betrays their unbelief as they ask each other, who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?
[26:27] Most likely, they had seen Joseph and Nicodemus roll that big stone across the entrance. And archaeologists tell us that that big stone rolled along in a rock trough that was probably at an incline, making it easy to shut the tomb as it rolled down the hill, making it terribly difficult to open the tomb and to get inside.
[26:57] So they're concerned. Who will roll it away? But they found their problem had already been solved. Verse 4, when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.
[27:12] Matthew tells us it was an angel that came down from heaven and rolled the stone away. Not to let Jesus out, but to let the women in.
[27:24] To witness the fact that the tomb was empty, that Jesus was risen, and then to go and to tell others. But the fact of the empty tomb, they entered and they see that the body's not there.
[27:44] The empty tomb is not self-interpreted. It requires more truth from God, more revelation from God to shine on what happened here.
[27:55] Not enough to know the tomb is empty. The angel immediately gives that revelation and calms their fears and announces the good news.
[28:08] Verse 6, don't be alarmed, he said. You're looking for Jesus the Nazarene who was crucified. He has risen. That's the explanation.
[28:19] That's why he is not here. Come and see the place where they laid him. So that's why the tomb is empty. Not because somebody stole the body. That might have been the reason for it.
[28:32] No, it's because of a miraculous, supernatural act of God. That's why he's not here. He's been raised from the dead. He's risen.
[28:44] You know, even the cross is not self-interpreted, as we said earlier. If you came to the cross and just had only what your eyes could see, you might think that he's just dying at the hands of the Romans and the Jews.
[28:57] You would miss the whole redemption story, that God was punishing his own son for sin. You see, we need the rest of Scripture to interpret Calvary, Golgotha, the cross, and we need it to explain what happened in the tomb and why it's empty.
[29:15] It's because of not grave robbers, which were common in the day, but rather because of the supernatural act of God. He raised his son from the dead.
[29:27] And the event that the women, this event of women being the first to receive this divine explanation of the empty tomb would never have been made up by the early church.
[29:39] People would say, well, these are just stories that the early church made up about the resurrection. They never would have had women as witnesses. They were not acceptable witnesses in a court of law.
[29:50] If they had been wanting to write a story for people coming after to believe, they would have had men as the first witnesses. But no, no, God chose these dear women who had served so faithful and made them the first witnesses.
[30:04] And the fact that that is in all four of the Gospels proves to us the truthfulness of the accounts that come down to us. They are the inspired. The inerrant account of what happened on the third day.
[30:21] Being assured that Jesus was alive, they're now given a mission from the Lord Jesus through this angel. Verse 7, but go, tell his disciples and Peter, he's going ahead of you into Galilee.
[30:34] Those words should ring a bell with you. on the night of his arrest. The Lord said he would strike the shepherd and the sheep would be scattered. But when I have risen, I will go ahead of you in Galilee.
[30:51] And now, this angel is reminding them. What words of grace to these sad disciples.
[31:02] They'd all forsaken their Lord and left him all alone. And yet, here, the message from him through this angel is he still wants to meet you in Galilee.
[31:15] He still owns you as his disciples. And notice, Peter gets special mention. Tell his disciples and Peter.
[31:26] Is that not a touch of the compassion of the Savior's heart for Peter? Without hearing his name, he could not believe that these words belong to him.
[31:40] Oh yes, he wants to meet you disciples, but not me. Not after what I had done. Denying three times that I ever knew him and calling down curses if I was lying.
[31:55] Jesus knows how sorry and sad Peter feels. At Jesus' trial, you remember, there was a moment where Peter and our Lord's eyes locked. Just when the rooster crowed and Peter went out and wept bitterly.
[32:16] Now Jesus stoops to reassure Peter of his abiding love, his forgiving mercy. What mercy that he's not rejected me. Though I disowned him, he still owns me as his disciple.
[32:31] He still wants to see me too in Galilee. Peter's threefold denial of Christ had been a denial of love. It had been a failure of love. He had not loved Jesus as he should have.
[32:43] And so there in Galilee, three times, Jesus would give Peter an opportunity to reaffirm his love for Jesus.
[32:54] Peter, do you love me? You know I love you. In Jesus' words, then feed my sheep. He's not on the shelf for the rest of his life. He's not second best for this.
[33:05] No, no. He's forgiven. He's restored. Now go feed my sheep as one who loves me. You love me? Love my sheep and feed them. Disciples of Jesus, your falls do not cause the risen Lord Jesus to reject and forsake you.
[33:26] No, he died for those very falls. That's why he was on the cross three days earlier. He was suffering all the punishment that you deserve for your falls.
[33:38] But now he invites you to come and confess your sin knowing that he is faithful and just to forgive you your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness.
[33:51] He pities you in your weakness. He welcomes you to come to him. And what happens when you do? You find like Peter that he delights in mercy. Not he's reluctant.
[34:02] Oh, I guess, I guess if you're gonna cry and do this and that, Peter, well, I guess. No, he delights in mercy. That's why he died on the cross for us. There were no surprises.
[34:13] He knew what he was getting when he suffered and died for us. And now he embraces Peter and disciples of Jesus come to him.
[34:25] He has mercy and grace to help you, to forgive you. He's able to save completely all who come unto God through him because he always lives to make intercession for us.
[34:39] What a privilege to know that I can come right out of my sin and cry out for mercy from Jesus and know he's alive. Dead men don't hear.
[34:51] But a living Savior ever lives to take our petition to the Father and to send us mercy and grace in our time of need. So these women were given this message of good news to take to these forlorn disciples of Jesus that he's alive and he's still wanting to meet with them in Galilee.
[35:10] It's Luke who tells us these women at the tomb were also asked by the angel why do you look for the living among the dead? He's not here. He has risen. Remember how he told you while he was still with you in Galilee?
[35:25] The Son of Man must be delivered into the hand of sinful men. Be crucified and on the third day raised again. Then they remembered his words.
[35:36] Luke 24 9 Oh yes, I remember now. He did say that. They needed to be reminded before they remembered.
[35:47] Does that remind you of anyone? I need to be reminded of many things before I remember. That's why Peter says about the return of Christ I'm going to keep repeating this to you.
[36:01] I know you already know it but I'm going to repeat it so that after I'm gone you'll remember it. Jesus through this angel reminds them and they remembered it for their joy and the joy of the disciples.
[36:16] Not only that God had raised his son from the dead but that was the plan all along and somehow we missed it. Praise God for his faithfulness. Mark concludes his gospel with verse 8 of our text.
[36:28] Trembling and bewildered the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone because they were afraid seized with fear. Now this was something they were not at all prepared for.
[36:40] They came to anoint a dead body and instead they're confronted with a supernatural act of God and it struck them with awe and fear.
[36:54] They were rendered speechless. They didn't stop along the way to talk to anyone. They hurried off to tell his disciples the good news that Christ is risen as he said.
[37:05] They were silenced in holy fear not knowing what to say. And that holy fear and speechless awe is the repeated action of man before the supernatural acts of God.
[37:18] We see it throughout the book of Mark as we've read when they were in the boat and it's sinking and Jesus just speaks to the wind and waves quiet be still and suddenly it's calm and now they're more terrified than they were of the storm and say who is this?
[37:36] They're speechless. We don't know what to say. Who is it? Even the wind and waves obey. Awe godly holy fear at the one who is in the boat with them.
[37:51] They've just seen it. Same thing happened one night when they were on the stormy sea and he walks out to them on the water. They're terrified. And he says take courage it's I. Don't be afraid.
[38:02] He gets into the boat and the wind died down. And the text says then they were completely amazed. To see an act of God supernaturally interrupting human life struck them with fear.
[38:24] It was the same response that the three had on the Mount of Transfiguration when confronted with the divine glory of Christ shining out of his face and clothing as he talked there with Elijah and Moses on the mountain Peter says to Jesus Rabbi it's good for us to be here.
[38:40] Let us put up three shelters one for you one for Moses one for Elijah. The next verse explains his stupid idea. It says he did not know what to say. They were so frightened.
[38:53] We've seen the glory of God revealed in Jesus Christ. And the women had the better part of wisdom when they were scared speechless they shut their mouths.
[39:04] Now Peter when he was scared he opened his mouth and he usually regretted what came out just as it was here. But it's the same reaction. God has acted here.
[39:14] God has acted here. This tomb that knew only the death the dead body of Jesus is now empty because God came with life and raised him from the dead.
[39:27] And they were struck with awe. I believe this is where the gospel of Mark ends as we'll see next week Lord willing but it forms a fitting conclusion for us to the whole story of the gospel because we too have now been confronted with the supernatural act of God.
[39:48] Not personally in the sense that he's done this act here or that we were at the tomb but eyewitnesses were there and heard it from the angel that God raised him from the dead.
[40:01] And now you have heard that from the scriptures the recorded eyewitness by the Holy Spirit you now have been confronted Jesus is alive from the dead.
[40:12] Do you believe it? Are you struck with awe at what Jesus has done in dying for your sins and rising for your justification?
[40:24] let's be amazed that he who lives to be our king once died to be our savior his resurrection is the father's vindication and proof that all he taught is true and will happen.
[40:44] You remember how he met two of his disciples on the road to Emmaus and they had long faces and were sad why? Because we had hope that he was the one who would redeem Israel. But now our hopes are buried with his body and Jesus rebukes them how slow stubborn and slow of heart you are to believe all that the scriptures have said.
[41:09] Did not the Christ have to suffer and then enter into his glory? And then when they realized it was Jesus their sadness turned to gladness.
[41:20] they had cherry picked the messianic passages to believe and ignored the suffering passages. Now the scriptures are open to them and they rejoice.
[41:32] This was the plan all along and we missed it. Jesus is alive. Later that same day all the eleven were there except Thomas.
[41:46] Jesus appears through the locked doors and he said to them this is what I told you when I was still with you. Everything must be fulfilled that's written about me in the law of Moses the prophets and the Psalms and he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures.
[42:02] He told them this is what is written that Christ will suffer and then rise from the dead on the third day. Later we read in John that Thomas was not there and the disciples told him we have seen the Lord but he said to them unless I see the nail marks in his hand and put my finger where the nails were and put my hand into his side I will not believe it.
[42:27] Thomas would rather believe that his fellow disciples were liars than to believe that what Jesus said would happen really did happen. A week later his disciples were in the house again on the Lord's day and Thomas was with them this time.
[42:42] The doors were locked and Jesus came and stood among them and said peace be with you. And then he said Thomas come and put your finger here in the marks and your hands here.
[42:55] I heard what you said. I saw your unbelief. Stop doubting and believe. And Thomas said my Lord and my God and then Jesus told him because you've seen me you have believed and he pronounces a benediction blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
[43:20] That's in John's gospel and John concludes his record of the gospel saying to all readers you and me Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name.
[43:44] There's been enough miraculous signs and it's capped off by the resurrection from the dead. There's enough here in this book eyewitness accounts for you to believe and blessed are you if you've not seen and still believe.
[44:03] Have you believed on this Savior? He's coming back. And that will be the next unexpected thing. It's the next event on the calendar of heaven. Jesus has come, his birth, his perfect life, his atoning death, his resurrection, his ascension into heaven, his present reign at the Father's right hand.
[44:23] The next thing on the calendar of heaven is his return. He's risen, he's reigning, and he's returning. And it will be the next most unexpected event.
[44:35] Perhaps even more unexpected than his resurrection. Though Jesus preached more about his return than he did his resurrection. But our poor world has no clue that one day things are not going to go on as they have.
[44:50] Oh, we're concerned about this health problem, this war here, our financial situation. We're all caught up in our own problems, and somehow way out of memory is this promise that Jesus gave us.
[45:04] He's coming back to judge the world in righteousness. When he does, you must be in Christ or you'll be damned.
[45:20] Paul said it to those in Athens, in the past God overlooked your ignorance and worshiping of idols, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, and he's going to enforce that command.
[45:31] You must repent of your sin, you must repent of your ways, you must quit your religion, you must come and receive Jesus as your savior and king. For he has, he has set a day, God has set a day, when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed.
[45:50] He's given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead. When will this happen? We don't know, but the day is set, it's fixed, it's determined, it's on the calendar in heaven, and it will not be changed.
[46:02] He's coming back to judge. Who will judge? Who will be judged? Everyone who's ever lived, the world, the whole world. How will he judge? With justice, no bribes, no excuses, no higher court to appeal to, no one getting away with anything.
[46:19] Judge by who? The man the Father has appointed. We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Jesus had warned of the coming judgment.
[46:31] How many of his parables were saying, be prepared for the coming judgment. And all authority has been given to me from the Father to judge. People didn't like that message, so they silenced the message by killing the messenger, and they thought they had put him away for good.
[46:49] But the very lips that announced his coming will one day pronounce one of two words over everyone that's ever lived. He'll say to those on his right, come you who have been blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
[47:07] He'll say to those on his left, depart from me, I never knew you, you worker of iniquity, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Oh, he's coming.
[47:20] Don't let it be an unexpected event, as it was when he was raised. Be watching, be ready, don't be caught as a thief catches the householder unawares.
[47:33] What a Savior, he's come, he's fulfilled all of his promises and do you think he's going to somehow let that one slip through? No, he's coming again. Be sure to be found in Christ this day.
[47:48] Let's pray. Our Father, we're thankful for the accounts of the scripture that tell us not only what Jesus said, but also how everything that he said was fulfilled just according as he said it.
[48:07] And he's told us not only that he was going to die and be raised the third day for the salvation of all who repent and believe on him, but he's also said he's coming back.
[48:19] And we pray that we would be ready, not unbelieving, and not neglecting, but ever watching. Too often we're like the disciples, we're sad because we've forgotten the promises of God.
[48:33] Oh, help us then to be anticipating your coming, even as they should have been those three short days. Lord, that we might be an honor to you taking your word at face value and believing it, and that others might see in us that we have a mighty Savior who died for us and was raised again and is now coming in judgment.
[48:58] We ask for your blessing upon your word in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Our Lord's words to John on the island of Patmos. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.
[49:12] Then he placed his right hand on me and said, Do not be afraid. I'm the first and the last. I'm the living one. I was dead. And behold, I am alive forever and ever.
[49:24] And I hold the keys of death and Hades. Amen.