Mark 16:1-9 The Resurrection: "That Great Getting Up Morning"!
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. 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?" But when they looked up, they saw that 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. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 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. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
I. Introduction: The Gospel Account from All 4 Perspectives
In the Bible, all four Gospel writers gave their own account on what happened that early Sunday morning. None of them were actual witness, and there were no human eyes ever on recorded history that could testify to seeing it. For this reason, God sent the Holy Ghost to commission these four gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) to write 4 different perspectives of this great getting up morning‘s account as he moved on each of them by the Holy Ghost. Matthew wrote about the resurrection from its prophetic and royal perspective , and the fact that his chosen people the Jews as a nation (not all individuals) believed the lie perpetrated by the religious leaders and refused to accept their true King Jesus even after his resurrection . Mark writes about the resurrection from a servant’s perspective and shows us how that great getting up morning affected mood of the disciples and should have a cataclysmic effect on you and me. This is why he wrote more on what was done to Jesus that what was done by him while hanging up on the cross. Luke, from a humanitarian perspective wrote about the resurrection from the perspective of how Jesus being raised from the dead bought new vistas of hope to the Christian movement in as it was thought to begin to die at the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus. John wrote about the resurrection from the perspective that the scriptures might be (was) fulfilled that the Son of God must be crucified, buried and rise from the grave, that the resurrection did take place and the faith of those appointed disciples now apostle would increase and they in turn would share the good news that Jesus Christ is both the Son of God and the Promised Messiah.
II. Mary Magdalene, Mary (Mother of James and John) and Others
By the time Mary Magdalene, Mary, mother of James and John and the rest of the women got to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus, the stone had already been rolled away, the tomb was empty, an angel was there to make a grand resurrection announcement, and the body of Jesus was nowhere in sight
It was early in the morning. That’s somewhere between the darkest hour in the night and right before that pitch darkness gives way to the flowing rays of the dawning day. It was early. Before the lesser light of a Harvest moon could go completely dim and fade into nothing as the greater light of the morning sun starts to yawn, and stretch out the arms of its cosmic bright rays and rise from the east, pushing away the darkness night brings and start forth writing its signature on the dawn of a new day…it was early that Sunday morning, one week after Palm Sunday,that Jesus rose. It was a great getting up morning because on this morning, Jesus fulfilled the prophecy concerning his death, burial and rsessurection.
III. Strange Phenomenas surrounding the Crucifixion and Resurrection
A. Surrounding the Resurrection:
Mark says there was an earthquake, an angelic descent, security guards on post but not on guard. The great stone that blocked the entrance to the tomb has now been rolled away and culminating into that great getting up that morning when Jesus rose from the dead.
B. Surrounding the Crucifixion:
1. "A Great Coronation"
On Palm Sunday, there was a great Coronation. On that day, this same Jesus was touted and celebrated and hailed as the King Of the Jews as he rode a borrowed donkey down the main street that led into Jerusalem to the jubilant cry of a joyous crowd. As the people showed him the homage fit for a king, coats and palm branches lined the way, Jubilation was in the air. The people were ecstatic and shouting for joy because their "Shiloh had come"!. Jesus brought joy for their sorrows. He gave them hope for their tomorrows. He fed their hungers. He watered their thirsts. He healed their broken hearts and showed them the way of salvation. Can’t you hear them in their jubilation? Hosanna, Hosanna, Blessed are thou, the son of David! Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord!
2. "A Great Crucifixion"
Now fast forward 5 days later and now you witness a great Crucifixion! Many in that same crowd that once cried Hosanna 5 days ago with great joy now have become part of an angry and evil lynch mob full of ignorant, misguided unbelievers led by jealous, arrogant Pharisees and Scribes. This crowd’s shouting: crying crucify Him, crucify Him!
What a strange turn of events, because Jesus had given his people miracles, but now, they are giving him over murder. Jesus had given them hope, but now they are giving him unholy havoc. Spitting on and spitting out their venomous words at the very one who loved them with an everlasting love; and was about to die for them that we all could have the hope of heaven and a right to the tree of life. I said that it was a strange turn of events: Now you got "the finite" passing judgment on" the Infinite". You got "the false", lying on and judging "the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE". You got "humanity" trying to decide the fate of "DIVINITY" with future HISTORY (HIS STORY) hanging in the balance. Look at this: the nerve of "momentary organized, dignified FORMED dust" poised and ready to crucify" the VERY ONE" who spoke this" formed dust" into existence; WHO made man from "formed dust", breathed "soul life" into "the nostrils of formed dust", and" formed dust" became "a man" and "man" became "a living soul"!
IV. Scenes of 3"s" at the Crucifixion
Now, add to this the scene at that great crucifixion… the great scenes of the number 3 present at thie crucifixion.
A. "3 men on 3 crosses", a dying thief, a repentant thief and Jesus our seeking Savior…
B. 3 hours of darkness that ran from the 6th hour to the 9th hour from high (12 noon to 3 in the afternoon),
C. The charge against Jesus written in 3 different languages above his head : Hebrew; the voice of revelation ...Greek; the voice of art and philosophy and Latin; the voice of power and Law …Not only that …Jesus experienced
D. a "3-fold mockery" from all 3 "segments of society" with 1 unified slander : an "unrepentant thief, The Scribes and Pharisees and the public at large:
"He saved others but himself he could not save: If you are the Son of God save yourself..and come down so we will believe"…
E. Jesus experienced pain from all "3 perspectives" of life:
1. "Chronic physical pain":
Jesus felt pain of Isaiah 53:5:from being "wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities …pain because the chastisement of our peace was upon him, but, by the pain of his stripes, our pains can be healed"!
My brothers and sisters, as bad as rheumatoid arthritis can be and as painful as it actually is, nothing was more painful than the sin that Adam and Eve heaped on all of mankind that awful day in the garden because they disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden. As a result you don’t always have to sin to experience pain, but because of sin, we all have to deal with pain.
2. "Emotional pain":
Jesus felt the pain from the anguish and agony of bearing all of man’s sin. He felt our angers and murders. He felt our lying and cheating. He felt our adulteries and fornications. He felt out blasphemies and unbelief, even our slanders and our slights.Isaiah said in Isaiah 53:3-4 “He is despised and rejected by men; a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted".
3. Pain of "Spiritual separation":
At some point, while on the cross Jesus could not feel heaven’s connection. He couldn’t feel the presence of God the Father because bearing all of the sins of man and being made sin for us and not a sinner for us coupled with the fact that God hates sin, Jesus being made sin broke the com-link between holiness and humanity on the cross. That ought to tell every one of us that sin is a "circuit breaker" that "shuts off "our connection to a "Holy God". I personally believe that "the worst feeling" you can have as a child of God is to call on the Lord and He refuses to answer, but even worse, you can’t even feel his holy presence anymore! One songwriter raised the powerful question: How can I live in SIN and fell my Savior's love?
V. The Cross: What was at stake?
You see, they didn’t understand what was really at stake on Jesus’ cross Now… just to show you how "dense" they all were …let me show you something! None of them knew the difference between a "divine cannot" and a human "could not"! It wasn’t that Jesus humanly "could not" come down from the cross…Jesus could have come down anytime he wanted to , but because he had a charge to keep and "God the Father" to glorify, He simply "would not" come down. As a matter of fact, in heaven, Jesus had legions of angels waiting on standby and "battle ready" ready to come to his rescue. All he had to do was speak the word and there wouldn't be any more crucifixions of anybody! But when Jesus said in the "Garden of Gethsemane": "Not as I will but thy will be done", God told them all STAND DOWN! because JESUS made up in his mind that he WOULD NOT !.and..CANNOT! come down from the cross…The Mississippi Mass Chior sung a song that put the cross in perspective: It wasn't the nails that held HIM to the cross. HE could have come down , but my soul would still be lost. the ransom was so high only HE could bear the cost. It wasn't the nails that held HIM to the cross ...That's whyJesus in prayed to the Father: Father, forgive them for they know not what they do!….I'm so glad that HE would not come down from the cross just to save himself…HE DECIDED TO DIE SO THAT YOU AND I JUST COULD LIVE.!
Not only that, Another strange thing happened On the Cross at Calvary, Jesus didn't have much to say. except for 1 forgiveness prayer, 1 cry of anguish, 2 behold statements merging His mother with her new son , 1 cry of thirst, 1 statement of finality, 1 declaration of a thief’s salvation and 1 statement of submission of his spirit, Jesus said nothing else! Nobody died like Jesus died.
VI. What happened when Jesus Died?
A. The S u n went on strike and refused to shine.
B. The moon had a massive hemorrhage and dripped away in blood.
C. Many things experienced the power of UP:
a. the veil in the temple was "torn UP" from top to bottom…that meant that God tore down the wall of petition that separated the Holy place from the Holy of Holies so you and I can go to the Rock of our salvation.
b. the graves of the dead saints "opened UP"…
c. the dead saints themselves came to life and they all "got Up" from the open graves and had a victory celebration marching n the streets of Jerusalem, They became the "first fruits of Salvation" and left from Paradise in Hades "UP" to Glory…
VII. The wisdom of Our" Almighty Jehovah God" "The Plan of Salvation"
Satan made a mistake and thought that if Jesus was crucified that salvation for all of men would be lost. But he forgot that "one promise" that Jesus made. When the Roman soldiers nailed Jesus to the rugged cross ….they nailed nails in his hands and nailed him in his feet….they placed a crown of thorns upon is head. After they nailed jusus to the cross then, they took that cross and dropped it down in a study hole putting it in an upright position..and when they did that…. it lifted Jesus UP from the earth! And I heard Jesus said:… if I be lifted UP from the earth…I’ll draw all men unto me!!
They buried him in that borrowed tomb but early, early, early that great getting UP Sunday morning…Jesus rose… yes he did…HE got UP from the grave and said ALL POWER is in my hand…
VIII. "The Importance of the Resurrection" What that "Great Getting Up Morning means to Us?
You and I can experience 2 greeat getting UP mornings…
A. At Conversion:
Romans 10:8-13
But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,"that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Explanation: 10. " For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved". As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile — the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,
Verse of reassurance: 13. for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (NIV)
B. At Jesus Christ's "Second Coming"
The bible said that one day Jesus Christ will come back out of heaven to this earth with a shout …
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
"Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him". "According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words".
Where will you be on that Great Getting Up Morning?
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. 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?" But when they looked up, they saw that 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. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 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. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
I. Introduction: The Gospel Account from All 4 Perspectives
In the Bible, all four Gospel writers gave their own account on what happened that early Sunday morning. None of them were actual witness, and there were no human eyes ever on recorded history that could testify to seeing it. For this reason, God sent the Holy Ghost to commission these four gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) to write 4 different perspectives of this great getting up morning‘s account as he moved on each of them by the Holy Ghost. Matthew wrote about the resurrection from its prophetic and royal perspective , and the fact that his chosen people the Jews as a nation (not all individuals) believed the lie perpetrated by the religious leaders and refused to accept their true King Jesus even after his resurrection . Mark writes about the resurrection from a servant’s perspective and shows us how that great getting up morning affected mood of the disciples and should have a cataclysmic effect on you and me. This is why he wrote more on what was done to Jesus that what was done by him while hanging up on the cross. Luke, from a humanitarian perspective wrote about the resurrection from the perspective of how Jesus being raised from the dead bought new vistas of hope to the Christian movement in as it was thought to begin to die at the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus. John wrote about the resurrection from the perspective that the scriptures might be (was) fulfilled that the Son of God must be crucified, buried and rise from the grave, that the resurrection did take place and the faith of those appointed disciples now apostle would increase and they in turn would share the good news that Jesus Christ is both the Son of God and the Promised Messiah.
II. Mary Magdalene, Mary (Mother of James and John) and Others
By the time Mary Magdalene, Mary, mother of James and John and the rest of the women got to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus, the stone had already been rolled away, the tomb was empty, an angel was there to make a grand resurrection announcement, and the body of Jesus was nowhere in sight
It was early in the morning. That’s somewhere between the darkest hour in the night and right before that pitch darkness gives way to the flowing rays of the dawning day. It was early. Before the lesser light of a Harvest moon could go completely dim and fade into nothing as the greater light of the morning sun starts to yawn, and stretch out the arms of its cosmic bright rays and rise from the east, pushing away the darkness night brings and start forth writing its signature on the dawn of a new day…it was early that Sunday morning, one week after Palm Sunday,that Jesus rose. It was a great getting up morning because on this morning, Jesus fulfilled the prophecy concerning his death, burial and rsessurection.
III. Strange Phenomenas surrounding the Crucifixion and Resurrection
A. Surrounding the Resurrection:
Mark says there was an earthquake, an angelic descent, security guards on post but not on guard. The great stone that blocked the entrance to the tomb has now been rolled away and culminating into that great getting up that morning when Jesus rose from the dead.
B. Surrounding the Crucifixion:
1. "A Great Coronation"
On Palm Sunday, there was a great Coronation. On that day, this same Jesus was touted and celebrated and hailed as the King Of the Jews as he rode a borrowed donkey down the main street that led into Jerusalem to the jubilant cry of a joyous crowd. As the people showed him the homage fit for a king, coats and palm branches lined the way, Jubilation was in the air. The people were ecstatic and shouting for joy because their "Shiloh had come"!. Jesus brought joy for their sorrows. He gave them hope for their tomorrows. He fed their hungers. He watered their thirsts. He healed their broken hearts and showed them the way of salvation. Can’t you hear them in their jubilation? Hosanna, Hosanna, Blessed are thou, the son of David! Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord!
2. "A Great Crucifixion"
Now fast forward 5 days later and now you witness a great Crucifixion! Many in that same crowd that once cried Hosanna 5 days ago with great joy now have become part of an angry and evil lynch mob full of ignorant, misguided unbelievers led by jealous, arrogant Pharisees and Scribes. This crowd’s shouting: crying crucify Him, crucify Him!
What a strange turn of events, because Jesus had given his people miracles, but now, they are giving him over murder. Jesus had given them hope, but now they are giving him unholy havoc. Spitting on and spitting out their venomous words at the very one who loved them with an everlasting love; and was about to die for them that we all could have the hope of heaven and a right to the tree of life. I said that it was a strange turn of events: Now you got "the finite" passing judgment on" the Infinite". You got "the false", lying on and judging "the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE". You got "humanity" trying to decide the fate of "DIVINITY" with future HISTORY (HIS STORY) hanging in the balance. Look at this: the nerve of "momentary organized, dignified FORMED dust" poised and ready to crucify" the VERY ONE" who spoke this" formed dust" into existence; WHO made man from "formed dust", breathed "soul life" into "the nostrils of formed dust", and" formed dust" became "a man" and "man" became "a living soul"!
IV. Scenes of 3"s" at the Crucifixion
Now, add to this the scene at that great crucifixion… the great scenes of the number 3 present at thie crucifixion.
A. "3 men on 3 crosses", a dying thief, a repentant thief and Jesus our seeking Savior…
B. 3 hours of darkness that ran from the 6th hour to the 9th hour from high (12 noon to 3 in the afternoon),
C. The charge against Jesus written in 3 different languages above his head : Hebrew; the voice of revelation ...Greek; the voice of art and philosophy and Latin; the voice of power and Law …Not only that …Jesus experienced
D. a "3-fold mockery" from all 3 "segments of society" with 1 unified slander : an "unrepentant thief, The Scribes and Pharisees and the public at large:
"He saved others but himself he could not save: If you are the Son of God save yourself..and come down so we will believe"…
E. Jesus experienced pain from all "3 perspectives" of life:
1. "Chronic physical pain":
Jesus felt pain of Isaiah 53:5:from being "wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities …pain because the chastisement of our peace was upon him, but, by the pain of his stripes, our pains can be healed"!
My brothers and sisters, as bad as rheumatoid arthritis can be and as painful as it actually is, nothing was more painful than the sin that Adam and Eve heaped on all of mankind that awful day in the garden because they disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden. As a result you don’t always have to sin to experience pain, but because of sin, we all have to deal with pain.
2. "Emotional pain":
Jesus felt the pain from the anguish and agony of bearing all of man’s sin. He felt our angers and murders. He felt our lying and cheating. He felt our adulteries and fornications. He felt out blasphemies and unbelief, even our slanders and our slights.Isaiah said in Isaiah 53:3-4 “He is despised and rejected by men; a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted".
3. Pain of "Spiritual separation":
At some point, while on the cross Jesus could not feel heaven’s connection. He couldn’t feel the presence of God the Father because bearing all of the sins of man and being made sin for us and not a sinner for us coupled with the fact that God hates sin, Jesus being made sin broke the com-link between holiness and humanity on the cross. That ought to tell every one of us that sin is a "circuit breaker" that "shuts off "our connection to a "Holy God". I personally believe that "the worst feeling" you can have as a child of God is to call on the Lord and He refuses to answer, but even worse, you can’t even feel his holy presence anymore! One songwriter raised the powerful question: How can I live in SIN and fell my Savior's love?
V. The Cross: What was at stake?
You see, they didn’t understand what was really at stake on Jesus’ cross Now… just to show you how "dense" they all were …let me show you something! None of them knew the difference between a "divine cannot" and a human "could not"! It wasn’t that Jesus humanly "could not" come down from the cross…Jesus could have come down anytime he wanted to , but because he had a charge to keep and "God the Father" to glorify, He simply "would not" come down. As a matter of fact, in heaven, Jesus had legions of angels waiting on standby and "battle ready" ready to come to his rescue. All he had to do was speak the word and there wouldn't be any more crucifixions of anybody! But when Jesus said in the "Garden of Gethsemane": "Not as I will but thy will be done", God told them all STAND DOWN! because JESUS made up in his mind that he WOULD NOT !.and..CANNOT! come down from the cross…The Mississippi Mass Chior sung a song that put the cross in perspective: It wasn't the nails that held HIM to the cross. HE could have come down , but my soul would still be lost. the ransom was so high only HE could bear the cost. It wasn't the nails that held HIM to the cross ...That's whyJesus in prayed to the Father: Father, forgive them for they know not what they do!….I'm so glad that HE would not come down from the cross just to save himself…HE DECIDED TO DIE SO THAT YOU AND I JUST COULD LIVE.!
Not only that, Another strange thing happened On the Cross at Calvary, Jesus didn't have much to say. except for 1 forgiveness prayer, 1 cry of anguish, 2 behold statements merging His mother with her new son , 1 cry of thirst, 1 statement of finality, 1 declaration of a thief’s salvation and 1 statement of submission of his spirit, Jesus said nothing else! Nobody died like Jesus died.
VI. What happened when Jesus Died?
A. The S u n went on strike and refused to shine.
B. The moon had a massive hemorrhage and dripped away in blood.
C. Many things experienced the power of UP:
a. the veil in the temple was "torn UP" from top to bottom…that meant that God tore down the wall of petition that separated the Holy place from the Holy of Holies so you and I can go to the Rock of our salvation.
b. the graves of the dead saints "opened UP"…
c. the dead saints themselves came to life and they all "got Up" from the open graves and had a victory celebration marching n the streets of Jerusalem, They became the "first fruits of Salvation" and left from Paradise in Hades "UP" to Glory…
VII. The wisdom of Our" Almighty Jehovah God" "The Plan of Salvation"
Satan made a mistake and thought that if Jesus was crucified that salvation for all of men would be lost. But he forgot that "one promise" that Jesus made. When the Roman soldiers nailed Jesus to the rugged cross ….they nailed nails in his hands and nailed him in his feet….they placed a crown of thorns upon is head. After they nailed jusus to the cross then, they took that cross and dropped it down in a study hole putting it in an upright position..and when they did that…. it lifted Jesus UP from the earth! And I heard Jesus said:… if I be lifted UP from the earth…I’ll draw all men unto me!!
They buried him in that borrowed tomb but early, early, early that great getting UP Sunday morning…Jesus rose… yes he did…HE got UP from the grave and said ALL POWER is in my hand…
VIII. "The Importance of the Resurrection" What that "Great Getting Up Morning means to Us?
You and I can experience 2 greeat getting UP mornings…
A. At Conversion:
Romans 10:8-13
But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,"that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Explanation: 10. " For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved". As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile — the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,
Verse of reassurance: 13. for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (NIV)
B. At Jesus Christ's "Second Coming"
The bible said that one day Jesus Christ will come back out of heaven to this earth with a shout …
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
"Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him". "According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words".
Where will you be on that Great Getting Up Morning?
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