the truth that your Redeemer lives. If you have your Bibles this morning please turn to the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Mark and chapter 15. If you're just joining us this morning we have been making our way verse by verse and chapter by chapter through the Gospel of Mark over the course of a couple of years and we are up to the events surrounding the crucifixion and the burial and resurrection of Christ which is wonderful for this Easter season. And on Easter Friday we looked at the great event of the crucifixion and we talked, didn't we, how the death, the burial and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ brings us to the very heart and soul of the Bible's message, brings us right to the very heart and soul of why Christ came. The gospel is, according to 1 Corinthians 15, that Christ died for our sins, that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. And as I mentioned on Friday, as we studied the account of Christ's crucifixion, it was important for us to have fixed very firmly in our hearts and in our minds that phrase, Christ died for our sins. That was the purpose of it all. That was why he went through what he went through on the cross. Well this morning I want you to keep in mind those great words that he grows again the third day according to the scriptures and so we're going to turn to our Bibles this morning Mark chapter 15 and I'm going to read from verse 37 of Mark 15 down to verse 14 of Mark chapter 16. Okay, so Mark chapter 15 reading from verse 37, And when the centurion which stood over against him saw that he so cried out and gave up the ghost, he said, truly, this man was the son of God. There were also women looking on afar off, among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, the less, and Joseph, and Salome, who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him and ministered unto him. Many other women which came up with him under Jerusalem. And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came and went in boldly unto Pilate and craved the body of Jesus. And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead. And calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. When he knew of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. He bought fine linen and took him down and wrapped him in the linen and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock and rolled a stone under the door of the sepulchre. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph beheld where he was laid. Chapter 16, and when the Sabbath was passed, that Saturday, Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Salome, had brought sweet spices that they might come and anoint him. Very early in the morning, the first day of the week, that Sunday, they came under the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away, for it was very great. Entering into the sepulchre they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment, and they were affrighted. "'Ye sayeth unto them, Be not afraid, ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified. "'He is risen, he is not here. "'Behold the place where they laid him. "'But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter, "'that he goeth before you into Galilee, "'there shall you see him as he said unto you.' "'They went out quickly and fled from the sepulcher, "'for they trembled and were amazed. "'Neither said they anything to any man, for they were afraid. Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. She went and told them that had been with him as they mourned and wept. They, when they had heard that he was alive and had seen of her, believed not. and had been seen of her, believed not. After that, he appeared in another form under two of them as they walked and went into the country, and they went and told it under the residue, neither believed they them. Afterward, he appeared under the eleven as they sat at meat and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. We'll read verse 15 as well. And he said under them, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every The simple title of the message this morning is Christ Jesus Lives. Let's pray. Lord, we ask for your help now as we look into the Word of God. Lord, I pray for the very needed help of the Holy Spirit now to empower the Word of God to every heart, Lord, to guide the preacher, Lord, that words would not be said from behind this pulpit that are not necessary or not in accordance with your will for this hour. but Lord that what comes forth this morning in the preaching would be truly orchestrated by you and so Lord to that end I surrender myself spirit soul body into your hands to be your vessel this morning asking that you would help me Lord to proclaim your truth and with your help we pray so Lord be with us now and we look to you and we trust you for this message in Jesus name Amen. We're going to have just a very simple outline this morning. We're going to look at number one, the burial, the death, pardon me, of Christ. We're going to recap a little bit what we looked at on Friday, just briefly. Then we're going to consider his burial, and that will set the scene for the glorious resurrection we just read about in chapter 16. And so that'll be our simple outline this morning, very simple to follow, following those three main points of the gospel from 1 Corinthians 15. So firstly, this morning, let us consider, for a moment, Christ's death. Christ's death. Back up in verse 37, the Bible says in chapter 15 there of Mark, and Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave up the ghost. Several points we need to consider here about the death of Christ. Firstly, the will causing his death. Christ's death was no ordinary death, was it? Okay, we understand as human beings that death is something we must all face. The Bible says in Hebrews 9, 27, But Christ's death was unlike our death. We do not determine the day of our death. We cannot determine the day of our death, but the Lord Jesus Christ did not have his life snatched from him, but he laid it down willingly, didn't he? In John's Gospel chapter 10 and verse 17 and 18, Jesus said this, therefore doth my father love me because I laid down my life that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. And so our Lord Jesus was not the victim of his circumstances. He was not in the wrong place at the wrong time, as some would maybe suggest. that he was misguided. No, the Lord Jesus Christ could have defended himself, could have prevented death, but we know that he laid his life down willingly and the reason he did that was for you and for me. He laid down his life as an offering and as a sacrifice for our sin and he died a real death. When he had cried with a loud voice, he gave up the ghost. The word ghost there meaning spirit. And so our Lord Jesus died a real death for sin. You must understand that this morning. There are some who say, well, Jesus didn't really die. He just appeared to have died. Well, if you take away the death of Christ, you have lost the payment for the wages of sin. Okay, remember what the Bible says in Romans 3.23, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And then Romans 6.23 tells us, for the wages of sin is what? Death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And so the death of Christ is absolutely vital and important because the wages of sin is death, separation from God for all eternity. And that is what we deserve, don't we? We are all sinners, not only by practice, but by nature. We're sinners by nature and by practice. We have broken God's laws and we have sinned against him. And those sins bring a wage. They bring a penalty the Bible calls death. There are two deaths in the Bible. The first death is when the body dies as it is appointed unto men, Hebrews 9.27, once to die but after this the judgment. But there is something the Bible calls the second death described in Revelation chapter 20 where it tells us that death and hell were cast into the lake of fire This is the second death and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. So if I die in my sin without Christ, I experience the first death, which is physical death, but I do not cease to exist. You and I are spiritual beings. We will live for eternity in either heaven or hell. And the Bible talks about something which is called the second death, where if I die unrepentant and in my sin, I am separated from God, for all eternity in a place the Bible calls hell. That's the wages of sin. Death means separation from God and that is what I deserve and that is what you deserve because of sin. But don't you see the wonderful gospel message that the Lord Jesus Christ died in my place and died in your place. Christ died for us. We deserve death. We deserve to be eternally separated from God. But aren't you thankful that our Lord Jesus Christ went through the essence of that when he was on the cross and when he cried, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He experienced what it was to be separated from God the Father. He went through the agonies of that separation so that you and I could be saved. And so Christ's death. Notice also the wonders accompanying his death. If you look at verse 38, there was an amazing miracle that took place there, and the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. In fact, there were several miracles that took place at the death of Christ. powerful thing. As Christ bowed his head and gave up the ghost when he died, there were three miracles that are recorded in the Gospels that took place. Firstly, there was the rending of the temple veil. We have that described here in Mark chapter 15 and verse 38. and this was the veil in the temple, the Jewish temple, a very thick veil, one that could not be torn very easily at all, and it was torn from the top to the bottom, not from the bottom to the top, from the top to the bottom, indicating that this was an act of God from above, okay, the hand of God tore that curtain. Now, what was the significance of that? Well, up until this point, no one could enter into the inner sanctum of the temple. No one could enter into what was called the Holy of Holies, except the high priest in Israel once every year. He would come in there and offer the blood of the sacrifice on the altar. But don't you see the picture this morning? Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb, shed his blood and he secured our eternal salvation so that now as guilty sinners we can enter into the very presence of God by the blood of Jesus Christ. That's the picture in the rent veil. So there was the renting of the temple veil. There was also the shaking of the earth described in Matthew 27 verse 51 and behold the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom and the earth did quake and the rocks rent. This was an amazing miracle that took place. It's like the whole, it's like creation trembled at the death of its maker. It's like the creation trembled in sorrow at the death of Christ. This was no ordinary death. Can you imagine the scene there? As our Lord Jesus Christ says those final words, Father into thy hands, I commend my spirit. And as he bows his head and gives up the ghost, all of a sudden there is a shaking around the cross and a shaking so great that even the rocks were rent. This is a significant earthquake. This was a significant shaking at the death of Christ. Then there was also the rising of the saints, Matthew 27, 52 and 53 says, and the graves were opened and many bodies of the saints which slept arose and came out of the graves after his resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared unto many. And it's like God is trying to show through these miracles that this is no ordinary death. This was the death of the Messiah. This was the death that was foreordained of God. This was the death that was prophesied down through hundreds of years there, that one would come, the Messiah, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who would come and give his life as an offering for sin. So, then we also notice the witnesses viewing his death. Look at verse 39. We're just going to move fairly quickly through some of these verses here and get to the resurrection, but we want to paint the scene as we get to that. So we have some witnesses viewing the death of Christ as it took place. We have firstly, in verse 39 there, the centurion. Now a centurion was a commander of approximately 100 soldiers and his job was to oversee the crucifixion to make sure things were conducted properly. This man was no stranger to death. This man had no doubt seen many crucifixions in his time And yet there was something about the death of Christ and the earthquake and what was taking place. Remember there had been three hours of darkness, another supernatural phenomenon, where right in the middle of the day when the sun was at its peak at 12 o'clock at lunchtime, the whole land went pitch black. until about three o'clock in the afternoon when our Lord Jesus died. And so he's standing there, the Bible says that he stood over against him, meaning that he's standing opposite Christ in full view of what is happening, and he confesses this, he says, truly this man was the Son of God. Now we don't know if this man went on to become a true follower and a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, but certainly we can agree with the statement, can't we? That Jesus not only was, but he is the Son of God. And this hardened soldier had to come to terms with that truth. As he stood there and as he viewed Christ, as he heard the cries from the cross, he came to this conclusion, whether it brought him to saving faith or not, we do not know, but he could not escape this conclusion that Jesus Christ was who he said he was, the Son of God. Now do you know that every one of you at some point in your life will have to come to terms with that truth? You can either come to terms with the reality that Jesus is the Son of God now and accept him as saviour, or one day, whether you receive him or not, you will face this truth. Jesus is the Son of the Living God. So, we have the centurion. Then we have some women also witnessing the death of Christ. These were loyal women, loyal ladies, who loved the Lord Jesus Christ and were devoted to him. Verse 40, there were also women looking on afar off, among whom was Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joseph and Salome. who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him and ministered unto him, and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem. Can you see this little band of ladies standing there? And they're faithful to the Lord Jesus to the end. They're standing afar off, but they're still watching what is taking place. We have several people who are named specifically. We have Mary Magdalene. She was there. I don't believe what the movies and Hollywood try and portray her to be in relation to Christ. It's wrong. The Da Vinci Code and some of these blasphemous concepts have nothing to do with the true Mary Magdalene and her relationship to Christ. Her relationship to Jesus Christ was absolutely pure. and wholesome as he was and is the Son of God. And what was so special about Christ to Mary? Well, before she came to meet Jesus Christ, the Bible reveals that she was possessed of seven devils. Can you imagine this poor lady? who is possessed not only by one demon, but by seven demons. Now you can understand her loyalty to Christ, can't you? She's standing there as one who has experienced the life-transforming power of Jesus Christ. Isn't that the truth this morning? That when lives truly come into contact with Jesus Christ, lives are transformed. This was a life-transforming experience for Mary Magdalene when she came in touch with Christ. When you've been truly saved out of a life of sin and of a life of wretchedness, don't you have a special love for Christ? Particularly if you've been saved out of the depths of sin like this woman. What an appreciation we should have for the Lord Jesus. So Mary Magdalene was there. Also another Mary as well. We know less about her except the Bible tells us that she was the mother of James the Less and of Joseph. Obviously these people were known to the New Testament audience, at least in Mark's audience. Then we have Salome, we're familiar with her. She's the wife of Zebedee and the mother of James and John, who were the disciples of Christ. But here they stand as loyal women before the cross. And it's amazing that it'll be these same three women, along with a few others, who would be the first to see the empty tomb. Isn't that amazing? You know, if you go all the way back to the beginning of time in the book of Genesis, a woman was the first to sin. Now, the Bible doesn't allay the primary responsibility for sin upon the woman, but on the man, because he made a conscious decision, okay? So men, if you think that lets you off, no, the Bible says in Romans 5, verse 12, So Adam took responsibility before God for leading the human race into sin, because he was not deceived, whereas Eve was. But it is significant, isn't it? We have at the beginning of time, back in the book of Genesis, the first person to sin was our first mother, Eve. But we also see that it was women that were first to see the evidence of Christ's resurrection. In fact, Christ appeared on resurrection morning first to a woman, Mary Magdalene. And so this is a special thing, there's something is in there about the loyalty and the love of a woman. And there they are standing for their Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Bible doesn't tell us a huge amount about them, but we do get an interesting insight into these ladies in verse 41. It tells us who also, when he, that is Jesus, was in Galilee, followed him and ministered unto him. So as we think about these women, we could say that we notice two truths about them. They were saved followers of Jesus Christ, they knew him, but they were also serving followers. Not much is known about them, not much is mentioned about them, but the Bible makes it clear that these women were a key part of Jesus Christ's ministry team. And when he was there ministering in the great Galilean ministry, these women were behind the scenes ministering unto him, says Luke 8 verse 3, of their substance. Isn't there a great need for that today? For not just women, but men and women of God who are happy to be behind the scenes helpers of the work of God. I don't think that because you are a lady that you don't have a special place in God's plan in the support of the work of Christ. Absolutely, some people accuse Christianity of being demeaning to women, but in actual fact, it actually elevates the status of women. We find that women are elevated to where they should be in the Gospels and we have here these women who are mentioned as being a key part of supporting the ministry team of the Lord Jesus. Those who are there to minister to the practical needs of the Gospel ministry. What a need there is for that today. And so we have Christ's death. Secondly, this morning now, Christ's burial. The burial of Christ, verse 42 to 47. And now when the evening was come, because it was the preparation, that is the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, an honourable councillor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came and went in boldly under Pilate and craved the body of Jesus. Now, I'm just going to give you four truths we see in these verses about the burial of Christ. Now the burial is important. What's the gospel? Christ died for our sins and that he was? buried and that he rose again. The burial is important because it testifies to the truth of the death of Christ. Christ had to die a real physical death for sin and he did. So let's notice some truths about the burial here. Firstly, the period of the burial or when it took place. It tells us in verse 42 that this took place when the even was come. So we have the hour of the burial there. Now you have to understand that the Jews, as they reckoned time, they had two evenings. The first evening was from mid-afternoon to sunset, and that is what is in view here. So we're talking about the hours of somewhere between, say, four o'clock and six o'clock in the early evening. And it was probably around this time, around four o'clock or thereabouts, that Joseph of Arimathea approaches Pilate and requests that he be given the privilege of removing and burying the body of Christ. Now what day did Christ die and what day was he buried? The verse is very specific here. Notice there it says, verse 42, now when the even was come, because it was the, what's that word? Preparation, and if you don't know what that means, Mark explains it for you. That is, he says, the day before the Sabbath. Okay, so Good Friday was not invented by the Catholics, it's there in the Bible. Christ did die on a Friday. What's the day before the Sabbath? What day is the Sabbath? Saturday, and if Christ is being buried the day of preparation, which is the day right before the Sabbath, what day is that? That's a Friday. Okay, just put that out there and some get all hung up on that and say that we shouldn't as Christians ever have a good Friday service because after all Jesus didn't die on a Friday. Sorry, he did. He did. It's right here in verse 42 that the burial of Christ took place on the day before the Sabbath. You say, well, hang on, how does that work? Because I thought there's supposed to be three days and three nights involved in the burial and the days that Christ was in the tomb. Well, it has to do with the way the Jews reckon their days. And I'm not going to go into a lengthy academic explanation of that, but there is plenty of data there I can refer you to if you want more information. But basically the Jews would reckon, even if you had a part day with the Jews, they would count that as a whole day in the formula. So it is not a pagan idea, Easter Friday, nor is the word Easter of pagan origins either. Okay, just pop your bubble on that if you think that. It is not a pagan word, it is an Old English word that we owe to Tyndale, the Bible translator, he was nowhere near a pagan, and it's simply an Old English word for Passover. Okay? So, there's a great article on this, if you're interested in reading more, by Jonathan Safati, okay, on Creation Ministries' website, and he explains very very clearly how the Jews reckon their days and nights and why a Friday death and burial fits with that. And there's no contradiction, therefore, with the three days, three nights. It has to do with the way the Jews reckon their days. Let me just read you a little quote from that. He says, in Jewish communal life, Part of a day is at times reckoned as one day. E.g. the day of the funeral, even when the latter takes place late in the afternoon, is counted as the first of the seven days of mourning. A short time in the mourning of the seventh day is counted as the seventh day. Circumcision takes place on the eighth day, even though of the first day, only a few minutes remained after birth of the child, these being counted as one day. So boy, now I'm really confused. Okay, good. Not good, but just... Never mind, the Bible says here that the death of Christ and the burial of Christ took place the day of preparation, which was a technical name for the day before the Sabbath. Why was it called the day of preparation? Well, because on the Sabbath day, the Jews were not allowed to do any work. Therefore, Friday was their day to prepare for the Sabbath. Okay, so we have a double designation here. We have two descriptors that very clearly point to the day. It's called the day of preparation. Okay, and then Mark clearly explains that for his Gentile readers as being the day before the Sabbath. So just put that out there for those who go crazy and say that we're following some sort of paganism by having a service on Good Friday. Now, whether you want to buy chocolate eggs or not, that's up to you. If you want to get some cheap chocolate, though, go after Easter. It's a good way of stocking up the chocolate cabinet there to help deal with that Monday depression as it comes round. Very simply, it happened on the Friday, and the contradiction is due to, we're looking at the timeframe from a Western standpoint, not a Jewish standpoint. When you understand the way the Jews reckon their days and nights, it all makes sense and fits together. Here's a little plug for Easter, okay? The period of the burial, you say, this is really weird, why so? Because some Christians really make a big deal out of that. Oh, you can't celebrate Easter, it's a pagan festival. Ishtar, Ishtar's got nothing to do with Easter. Okay, that's also been disproven, and we're getting distracted, but I'll send you some more information if you want to read about it. All right, secondly, the person organizing the burial. So we have the period of the burial, when it took place. Now we have focus upon the person who organized it or who oversaw it. And his name is called Joseph of Arimathea. Now we don't have time to delve too much into who this man was, except for the fact the Bible teaches us some things about his character. He's described as an honorable man. He's also a spiritual man, he's waiting for the kingdom of God. And John's gospel, verse 38 of chapter 19, reveals that he was a disciple of Jesus Christ, but secretly for fear of the Jews. Okay, so he was a disciple, but he was timid, he was afraid. And if you had lived at that time, you would have plenty of reasons to be afraid. To be a follower of Christ could have you in a lot of trouble. We also find out in Luke's gospel, chapter 23, that Joseph of Arimathea was a member of the Sanhedrin. But he had not consented to the counsel and deed of them. So he was not a party to the decision to crucify Christ. Now, I want to draw your attention to an interesting little word in relation to Joseph in verse 43. It says that he waited for the kingdom of God. He came and went in, what's that word? boldly. Now that's interesting isn't it? The Bible's telling us something about this man. Up to this point he had been a secret disciple out of fear. Have you ever been in that position? Maybe that's not sort of the pattern of your life but have you ever chosen to say nothing as a Christian because you're afraid of a work colleague? Have you ever failed to be a witness because you feel afraid of what someone might think of you if you tell them that you're a Christian? How many of you have ever been there in your life? You know, we can all can take encouragement from Joseph that God is able to make the timid bold. God is able to make those who fear to be a witness for Christ courageous. So if you're a timid believer this morning, a secret disciple, you keep it to yourself because you're afraid of what your family will think or your friends will think. It doesn't automatically mean you're not a Christian. You've got to be careful about that. Some people say, oh, if you never tell anyone about Christ and if you never witness, you can't be saved. No, Joseph of Arimathea, he was a saved man. He loved Christ. He was a disciple of Christ, but he was crippled by fear. Fear cripples us, doesn't it, in our witness. but the encouragement here is we now see this man who was timid, a man who was shy about the things of Christ, now going in boldly to Pilate and begging that he release to him the body of Christ. John's Gospel also brings out that Nicodemus was involved in this, helping along as well, John 19 verse 39 and he was also a member of the Sanhedrin. So Pilate reacts to this in verse 44, and Pilate marveled if he, that is Jesus, were already dead. And calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. When he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. And so when Pilate heard that Christ was dead, he was surprised by that. Now, why was he surprised? Well, because crucifixion was usually a very painful and slow ordeal, very painful and slow death. We have records from history that indicate that people could be alive on the cross for two or three days and would sometimes die of starvation, not of their wounds in the final analysis of it all. So he was shocked to hear that Christ was already dead and so he calls in the centurion, that same man who had overseen the death of Christ and gets the word straight from him and verifies the death of Christ. This is another important piece of evidence that reveals that Christ actually died. We have the Roman authorities, as it were, signing the death certificate, not literally, but confirming the death of Christ. And a centurion who was experienced in the art of putting men to death, well, they knew. They knew a dead man when they saw one. So we have Joseph of Arimathea tenderly caring for the body of Christ after the death of Christ. Now, this is also significant from a prophetic viewpoint, okay, from Bible prophecy, because Isaiah 53 and verse 9 predicted Old Testament prophecy that the Messiah would make his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death. Now, Joseph of Arimathea was, in fact, a rich man. Matthew 27, 57 tells us that specifically. He was a man of means. And so our Lord Jesus, the prophecy in Isaiah 53 was that Christ would not be buried in any grave. not a commoners grave, which would have been the usual practice for a condemned criminal to be thrown into some sort of common grave, but he would be buried in a rich man's tomb. It's amazing, isn't it? We saw some of this on Friday. As you go through the account of the death and the burial and the resurrection of Christ, we see prophecy after prophecy fulfilled. You can trust the Bible. You can trust the truth of God's word that Jesus is who he said he was. These things were prophesied and foretold. And so then we have the place of burial. Look at verse 46. The place of burial. Christ was buried in this tomb, which is hewn out of a rock. This was a common form of grave, a common grave in the time of Christ, reserved usually for those who are well-to-do. And so what we have, let me just give you a description here. It was a tomb that had been cut out horizontally into the side of a rock cliff, says Bible commentator Edmund Herbert. Such carefully hewn tombs were common around Jerusalem and generally belonged to well-to-do families. Okay, so Christ is brought into this tomb that is carved into the side of the rock. and then they roll a stone across the face of that tomb. So this would have been a large circular flat stone with some sort of track that sloped down towards the mouth of the cave, as it were, so it could be rolled down into place, very difficult to remove, would require a group of strong men to be able to remove it. Now John's gospel also reveals something interesting about the location of the tomb. It tells us that the sepulchre, or the tomb of Christ, was actually very close to the site of the crucifixion. It says in John chapter 19 verse 41 and 42, Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new sepulchre wherein was never man yet laid. So here we have a garden tomb. Not too far from the place where Christ was crucified. A garden tomb. There's a few significant gardens in the Bible, aren't there? You remember all the way back in the beginning, the Garden of Eden, that's where man failed, didn't he? That's where man sinned. And then we come a little bit closer to the crucifixion and we have the garden of Gethsemane where Christ wrestled with the cross that was the shadow of the cross as it were that was coming across his life and praise God he submitted to the Father's will. Now we have this other very significant garden in the New Testament which was the garden not only of the burial of Christ but the garden of resurrection where Christ would be raised from the dead. don't you see the picture there, the first Adam failed God back in the Garden of Eden but aren't you thankful that one came whose name is Jesus Christ, the second Adam, who defeated in a garden sin and death and Satan. And so the stage was set for the resurrection. Not only do we find that this great stone was rolled across the mouth of this tomb. But if you turn over to Matthew chapter 27, we find that there were some other measures taken to secure the tomb which would actually end up serving to magnify the truth of the resurrection further. Sinful men thought that they were going to stop the resurrection or at least prevent some sort of dishonesty from happening, but in actual fact they were making the truth of the resurrection more secure. Matthew 27 and verse 62, now the next day that followed the day of preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together under Pilate saying, sir, we remember that that deceiver said, notice they call Christ a deceiver, well if he's a deceiver, why are you worried about the third day? If Christ is a deceiver, then you don't need to worry about day three, do you? While he was yet alive, after three days I will rise again. Now who was that? Actually, the religious leaders were some of the most deceitful scoundrels alive at that time. It's interesting, isn't it? How the people who are deceitful tend to assume that others will be deceitful just like them. Now, what was happening in the providence of God was that this would actually contribute to making the truth of the resurrection more watertight. If there had been no guard watching the tomb, then people would have a lot more of an opportunity to say, well, no one was there watching, the disciples came and stole the body, and that story would have perhaps gained more traction. But here we have them making the sepulchre sure, so they're making sure there's no cracks or anything there, it's properly sealed. Then they put a seal on it, which is kind of like an ancient way of cordoning off an area. Sometimes you go down the road and you might see a car by the side of the road with police tape around it. In other words, this area is sealed off, don't touch it. So a seal was a wax seal that was placed across this stone so that if anyone tried to tamper with that stone, the seal would be broken and immediately the authorities would know something untoward had taken place. So they make the sepulchre sure, they seal the stone and they set a watch. So we're setting the scene for the drama of the resurrection. We have this great stone rolled into place. Christ inside a rock vault, okay, a cave-like vault. We have soldiers standing watching, watching guard over the tomb to make sure there is no interference. There is a seal across the stone to indicate if there has been any tampering with the tomb. And so man did everything he could to make sure the tomb was safe. That brings us now to the resurrection of Christ, chapter 16. verse 1 down to 14. Now in this section of Mark we have the account of the women arriving at the tomb and being witnesses to the empty tomb and then we we have in summary form three of Christ's post-resurrection appearances okay so we have Christ appearing after his resurrection So I want us to observe three truths about the resurrection in these verses before us. Firstly, we notice in verse 1 to 5 the arrival of the women at the sepulchre, the arrival of the women. And when the Sabbath was passed, okay that's Saturday, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome had brought sweet spices that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning, the first day of the week, what day is that? Sunday, that's why you're here this morning. They came under the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? When they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away, for it was very what? Great, so we're talking about a big stone here. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment, and they were affrighted. So let's look at three truths about the resurrection here. Firstly, the arrival of the women. We find they come early in the morning. The Bible tells us just after the rising of the sun. These women were very passionate about Christ and they wanted to come as an act of loyalty and devotion to anoint Christ's body. Now this doesn't mean that they were going to go through another process of embalming Christ, that had already been done by Nicodemus and by Joseph. But they were coming to, as an act of devotion, it appears, anoint, sprinkle some sort of sweet spices upon the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, or the outside of the linen cloths. Now clearly these dear ladies, we commend them for their love for Christ and for their devotion to Christ, but clearly they had forgotten Christ's promise concerning the resurrection that morning. In fact Luke's account of this reminds us of that because the angels say to the women, remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee concerning his resurrection, he is risen. He's not here, but He's risen. Remember how He's spoken to you when He was yet in Galilee. So these dear ladies, they were coming, but they were fully expecting to find the tomb closed, and they were fully expecting to find the body of Christ still in that tomb. And they come with precious spices. Again, they're ministering to him of their substance. They had bought those, the word means to purchase. They had purchased these spices to come and to sprinkle on the body of Christ, but those spices would never be needed. And when they came to the tomb, as they were on their way, a major point of discussion among them was how they were going to roll the stone back. They hadn't thought that through. But now they arrive at the tomb and the Bible says they looked and they saw that the stone was rolled away. And Matthew's gospel explains to us how that stone was removed. Matthew 28, one through four, in the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher. Behold, there was a great earthquake. See there's a second earthquake. There was an earthquake when Christ bowed his head and died on the cross. Now we have a second earthquake at the resurrection of Christ. As somebody put it, the earth shook and trembled. The earth that shook and trembled when Christ died, trembled with joy at his resurrection. We have the earth shaking, as it were, with sorrow as Christ dies. Then we have that same creation, as it were, shaking in anticipation of what is taking place, shaking with joy at the resurrection of Christ. It says, and behold, there was a great earthquake for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him, the keepers did shake and became as dead men. Maybe like me as a child, you thought that the angel came to roll back the stone in order to let Christ out of the tomb. No friends this morning, the angel came not to roll the stone back to let Christ out. He came to roll the stone back simply to reveal that he was already gone. Aren't you thankful this morning that the stone was rolled away? From man's perspective, that stone meant the end of Christ's ministry. From man's perspective, that stone meant the end of the Messiah. From man's perspective, that stone meant that this one called Jesus was confined forever to that tomb. But this morning, we're here to tell you the truth of the fact that the stone was rolled away, that Jesus Christ lives. the arrival of the women, the announcement of the angel. Look at this announcement that the angel gives to them. And he saith unto them, be not affrighted. Ye see Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified, he is what? Risen. He is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. Oh, there's victory in those words, isn't there? He is not here. is risen. You know the truth of the resurrection this morning is arguably the most important doctrine in the New Testament, the most important doctrine of the Christian faith. You say, why is that? Because if the resurrection did not happen, we are wasting our time here this morning. If the resurrection did not take place, this book cannot be trusted. We should throw it in the bin. We should close the doors of this church and all go home. It's an absolute farce for Christian ministers out there today sometimes to say, well, we don't believe in a literal bodily resurrection of Christ, but we can have a resurrection in our hearts and come to church and keep giving your money to support my retirement package. absolutely wicked and sinful, Paul makes it absolutely clear, if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, and here's the most tragic point, ye are yet in your sins. You say this morning, how on earth, how do we know, pastor, that the truth of Christianity is real? How do we know that the Bible's promise of forgiveness of sins is real? How do we know that the Bible's account of the Genesis creation is real? How do we know that the truth of the bodily resurrection of the believer How do we know that the truth of forgiveness of sins is real? How do we know that it is the truth that one day there will be a millennial reign of Christ? It doesn't matter which doctrine you take. Every doctrine in this book, in the Bible, is validated by the resurrection. And the reason we know that there is salvation from sin is because Jesus Christ is alive. The reason why we know that the blood of Christ does wash us our sins away is because Jesus Christ lives this morning. The reason why we know that the Bible is without a doubt the Word of God is because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. You can trust this book. Every doctrine in the Word of God is validated by the resurrection. No resurrection, no truth in this book. But because of the resurrection, we know that it is the truth. We have the declaration of the angel in verse 6. Then we have the instruction of the angel, verse 7, What was the instruction of the angel to these ladies? Essentially it was to go and tell And that's still our mission today, isn't it? It is still our mission today. You read the book of Acts and you see that the apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Listen, we do not need to be ashamed of this message. We do not need to be ashamed of the gospel. You have no reason to be ashamed of the gospel. It is absolute truth. Why? Because Jesus rose. Paul could say in Romans chapter 1 verse 16 for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God and the salvation to everyone that believeth to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The announcement of the angel. Then we have the appearances of the Lord in verse 19 to 14 and we don't have time to delve into these in great detail but we have Christ appearing after his resurrection. And Acts 1 verse 3 says this, to whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them 40 days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. We have his appearance first to Mary Magdalene, verse 9 to 11. Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. And she went and told them that had been with him as they mourned and wept. And they, when they had heard that he was alive and had been seen of her, believed what? Not. What was man's first heart response to the truth of the resurrection? Faith or unbelief? Unbelief. Now thankfully for the disciples, they were genuine disciples of Christ and they got over their period of doubt and unbelief and came to be believers in the resurrected Christ and went on to powerfully proclaim the truth of the resurrection. But unbelief was the first heart response, sadly, of the disciples to the testimony of Mary that Jesus had risen. And that's still the natural tendency of the human heart, isn't it? even to this day. What? You believe that Jesus rose again from the dead? That's the heart response, isn't it, of man, sadly, to the truth of the resurrection. But the difference with the disciples was that this was not a settled state of unbelief or a settled hardness of a heart of unregenerate individuals, but it was a season of doubt for them that they got over. but unbelief, entrenched unbelief against the risen Christ. It's not primarily an intellectual problem, it is a heart problem. It's a sin problem. And if you do not believe, this is the reality this morning, if you do not believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, you cannot be saved. You cannot go to heaven, you cannot be saved, you cannot receive the gift of salvation unless you believe in the resurrection. Because the Bible says in Romans chapter 10, verse 9 and 10, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in thine heart that God hath what? Raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. With the heart man believeth under righteousness and with confession, and confession is made under salvation. And so it is absolutely essential that you not only believe that Christ died on the cross for sins, but that you also believe that he rose again from the dead. And that belief, that faith, has to come from a repentant heart when you believe in your heart, turning from sin, and you believe in your heart that Christ died for your sins, was buried and rose again, your life will be transformed. But you know this morning that the message of the death, the burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ has the ability to change your life forever, to make you a new person, to make you a new creature. Do you have any understanding of that this morning? And so the resurrection is essential for salvation. Unbelief in the resurrection will result in damnation. Turn over just a moment here to 1 Corinthians 15. We don't have time to go through these verses in detail, but I want you just to see how the Apostle Paul faces the implications of no resurrection head on in this passage. Here's the great passage that speaks of the gospel. Verse 3, Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. Verse 4, and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. Look at verse 5, and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the Twelve. Be good for you to underline the word seen as we go through. After that, he was seen of above 500 brethren at once. That's a lot of eyewitnesses, isn't it? If you've got 500 people in one place all saying, we saw Christ, that's very powerful witness. Now, I'm sorry, you can't argue the hallucination idea that maybe the disciples, a few of them just hallucinated because after all, they were full of sorrow and sometimes people see things after people die and they thought they saw Jesus Christ, but they didn't. Listen, if you're gonna believe that, you're gonna tell me that 500 people, rational people in one place all hallucinated at the same time. That's a bigger miracle than the resurrection. Of whom the greater part remains, says Paul, under this present. That means that at the time Paul was writing, the greater part, most of those 500 were still alive. That means you could literally go to any one of those 500 people, or most of them were still alive. You could go to any one of them and say, did you see Jesus Christ rise from the, did you see the risen Christ? And they would say, yes. but some had fallen asleep, some had died. After that, he was seen of James, then of all the apostles. And last of all, he was, what's that word? Seen of me. Do you see the eyewitness accounts here? That's a very powerful form of evidence in a court of law, isn't it? The eyewitness account. I saw what happened. Now, drop down to verse 12. Now, if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? That's a good question, isn't it? Now, notice how he faces now, head on, he says, okay, let's explore that idea. If Christ isn't raised, here's what that means. But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen? Verse 13, that means if there's no resurrection, then Christ is still dead. That's a serious thing, isn't it? And if Christ be not risen, verse 14, then is our preaching vain and your faith is vain. So no resurrection means that the apostolic preaching is empty. That means all our preaching about the gospel and forgiveness of sins and home in heaven and the gift of eternal life, if Christ didn't rise, all of that is vain, it's empty. We have to face that this morning. If Christ was not raised from the dead, all our preaching concerning the gospel, forgiveness of sins, a home in heaven is empty. Think of that this morning. If you believe Or if you assert that Jesus Christ did not rise again from the dead, that means that every one of us in here are still in our sins. There's been no change. If Christ did not rise from the dead, you are still in your sins. Is there more ghastly a thought than that? Further, verse 18, no resurrection means that departed Christians have perished. Verse 18, then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. So that's another thing we have to face. If Christ did not rise from the dead, all your hopes for your loved ones to be in heaven, they're all vain too. They have perished. How many of you here have Christian relatives that you trust are in heaven? Hands up. The Bible's saying here, Paul's saying, if you say there's no resurrection of Christ, that hope's not even there. Those people that you hope to see again one day, they've perished. Verse 19. No resurrection means a life of misery and hopelessness. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. I don't understand these apostate bishops that can get up there and tear down the truth of the resurrection but say they still believe in Christianity. And so Paul forces us to stare the dreadful idea in the face in this passage, that we might see it in all its blackness, but I love how he bursts forth in verse 20, it's like he gets almost exasperated and says, but now is Christ risen from the dead. Aren't you thankful for that this morning? Here's what it means. If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain. Our preaching is vain. We're liars. But now Christ is risen from the dead. It is true. And because Christ rose from the dead, that means that the apostles' preaching was true. And that means that our preaching of the gospel is not in vain. That means that we do not have an empty faith. That means that we are not in our sins anymore, that we have been forgiven. Can you see that the truth of the resurrection validates all those precious doctrines we hold dear? If you're saved this morning, you can know it for sure. You can know your sins are forgiven because He rose. Back to Mark 15, we need to, 16, we'll wrap it up. So we have Christ's appearance to Mary Magdalene, Christ's appearance to the two disciples, verse 12 and 13. We note that there, sadly, when they reported that to the disciples, they believed not. Interesting isn't it? Because the Apostles would go on to preach and people would have to accept their verbal testimony of the Resurrection. be saved. It's like the Lord tested the Apostles, are you going to accept an eyewitness account before you become an eyewitness yourself? And so our Lord rebukes these disciples for not believing the eyewitness accounts. That tells me that from God's perspective and the eyewitness accounts of the resurrection are enough for us to lay hold of. True? If Christ expected even his own apostles, before they saw any evidence of the resurrection, to accept the initial eyewitness accounts, then that is what God expects from you if you would be saved. Listen to me, we have many infallible proofs to back up the truth of the resurrection. Your job and my job is to fall on our knees and to accept what Jesus Christ has done for us. So are you saved this morning? Do you know Christ as your Saviour? Can you see that He did it all for you? You can't earn salvation, there's nothing you can do, but all you can do is come to Him in simple faith, turning from your sin and receiving as a gift, the free gift of eternal life. Maybe you're here this morning and you say, I'm already saved. Well, you should be encouraged, shouldn't you, this morning, because Christ lives. you can face tomorrow. Because Christ lives, that trial you're going through is not the end of the story. Because Christ lives, you can be a witness for him of the gospel and so many other wonderful things. Everything we hold dear as Christians, as revealed in this book, is all true and we know it because of the resurrection of Christ. So, Some of you look a bit tired this morning but you can be happy today because Christ is risen, amen? Let's bow for prayer. As every head is bowed and every eye closed let me just close with a short word of invitation. Jesus Christ paid the full price for your sin, he did it all. That's the Gospel, Christ died for our sins, was buried rose again. I want to ask you this morning, are you saved? By that I mean if you were to die today, do you know for sure that you would go to heaven? Or is there any doubt in your mind about that? You're not sure that there's ever been a time in your life where you have truly turned from your sin and trusted in Jesus Christ to save you? Here's your opportunity this morning. be anyone, while every head is bowed and every eye closed, I'm not going to call you out or embarrass you, but would there be anyone who would just raise their hand and say, Pastor, I've heard the message this morning, I'm not sure I'm saved, I'm not sure that I have received the gift of eternal life yet in my life and I would like to be sure of that. Would you just raise your hand, I'd like to pray for you as I close and then after the service I'd be glad to take the Bible and show you, not my opinion, but show you from God's Word how you can know for sure your sins are forgiven and that you have received the gift of eternal life. Would there be anyone at all this morning? Would you just raise your hand? So, Pastor Simeon, please pray for me as you close. Just raise your hand briefly and put it back down. I'm not sure that I'm saved. If I was to die today, I don't have complete assurance that I would go to heaven. I'm not 100% sure that I've received Christ as my Saviour. But I don't want to leave today without making sure of that. I've heard the message. Christ died for my sins, was buried, rose again, and the challenge. Please pray for me as you close. Would there be anyone at all? This is your opportunity. Raise your hand now. Please pray for me, Pastor, as you close. And I want to know more. I want to be saved. Lord, we thank you again for the message this morning and for the truth that you are alive. We pray that our hearts would be encouraged and strengthened in this great truth, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.