The following sermon was preached at Grace Predatorian Church, a mission work of the Orthodox Predatorian Church and Covenant Predatorian Church in Mansfield, Ohio. For more information about Grace Predatorian Church and when we meet for worship and Bible study, log on to graceop.org or email us at graceopchurch at gmail.com. But we want to look at this, as it's called, the final theme, really, of the gospel story that Mark presents to us. The facts are presented in the storyline, if you were paying attention, that builds to the only human reaction really possible. It's kind of hard for us to imagine, because we've heard this story so many times, it seems familiar to us. But if you could put yourself in the place of those women on that first morning, no one rises from the dead. And the astonishment, the alarm, the overwhelming sense of the very presence of the messenger of God speaking to you would be enough to startle you indeed. It reminds me that is the story, the outcome, not so much the reaction in a sense of fear, but the amazement, the astonishment. It reminds me, if I can put it in a very much less degree, but it reminds me of the statement that the character Spock makes in the Star Trek movies. And it's appropriate because this is how the world is afraid to actually think logic here. But Spock, as you know, is the logical mind of that whole movie series and everything. He's always the fellow that works things out logically. And he states, when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. And that applies to this. this open tomb, the presence of an angel. When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable it seems that someone could rise from the dead, it must be the truth. And that's the point that we're faced with when we come to the end of the gospel. The facts about Jesus after his death defy human explanation in categories that are available to us in human experience. We don't understand it, but we just look at the facts. You see an empty tomb, you see the angelic presence, and you're like, I don't know what this means. Because the improbability of what it says to you is beyond your comprehension. But as we hear those words, it must be the truth. And that really is the point of Mark's Gospel. More than bare facts are needed. Understanding, and faith really, is based on facts and divine revelation. That's the point that he's saying, that this is an issue of faith, not a faith that is just a leap in the dark. but is based on facts, but also has with it divine revelation to it. And that is the basis of faith, and Mark calls us to that faith in the end of his gospel, as we see the good news of the resurrection of Christ. So let's take a look at this text as we break it into pieces a little bit. First of all, the facts. We're told here of time and place. It was the Sabbath was passed, Mary and Salome would bring spices that they might go to annoying him very early on the first day of the week when the sun had risen. His resurrection account here in chapter 16 is no different in tone. than the account that we find of the crucifixion. If we're willing to admit that the crucifixion is a historical fact, and there is evidence to back that up, not only in the Gospels, but other places, certainly what Mark 16 presents to us is the same tone, the same kind of factual story evidence, as you would put it in that way. The account of the women visiting the tomb is tied, in time and place, to the preceding events. There's no some sort of trance they go into, or some delay of any kind in that sense. It tied immediately to those events. The women came at the end of the Sabbath, very early in the morning, near sunrise. You remember that, again, the Jewish day begins at sunset. And so, when the Sabbath was started, obviously, at sunset, the preceding time when they got there, but of course it was nighttime, and so they waited until the very early morning hours. As the sun was arising, and they went to visit the two. We find in our account, to us, certainly that this place was known to them. Because, again, it's tied to chapter 15, verse 47, where Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid. So they know where to go. It's tied in terms of timing and situation. Those, the time and place of the factual story. There are, for us, three credible witnesses. And these are the same women, again, that were present at the crucifixion and the death of Jesus. They witnessed him die. They saw all that was done. They saw how Joseph of Arimathea had came, with probably Nicodemus and others helping him, who placed the body of Jesus, washed it, and put it in the linen cloth, and placed it in the tomb. They were witnesses to all these things. They had been with Jesus. They were known by the disciples and others. So these were people who were in the mix and aware of the situation, which is why when the angel says to them, you know, go and tell the disciples, and Peter is going before you in Galilee, and there you will see him just as he told you in that group. It was plural. So they were also apparently those who had heard the sayings of Jesus. They were in that same group of people. And being devoted to Jesus, they apparently come with an expressed intent of further anointing his body. Remember, we had talked about how the body, if it was placed in the linen cloth, was washed and prepared according to Jewish custom, but was hurriedly done, and they were seeking to finish up, as it were, and also as a sense of devotion to this one whom they had loved and served through his ministry. And so these are the facts that are given before us, the time and the place, the credible witnesses, and then we have the particular facts of the occasions of time, the details, specifically, first of all, the stone was removed. They're motivated by this devotion to Christ. They've decided and they're planning to go in and anoint the body, and then, like any of us, the thought occurs to them along the way, uh-oh, One thing about the stove, you're thinking about all the things you've got to get done and there's this one obstacle that you've miscalculated about. Kind of reminds me this morning, I'm terrible with stoves and in the kitchen. It's just not my thing. I'm just dangerous. I clean it up, but I'm very bad. But I still cook my own breakfast often times. So I have this terrible habit, is that the skillet is in the back burner, but I turn the front burner on. I just, because I'm thinking about something else. I'm thinking about the sermon, or whatever. My mind's not on the stove. My wife's case is telling me, look at what you're doing. You know, I'm dyslexic. I don't, the little pictures on the dials make no sense to me. I'm going, what? So I just flip that thing on. So this morning, thinking about, I've got to get the eggs ready, and I put my hand, as I go over the stove, I feel heat. Now being really stupid, I put my hand on the burner to see if it's on. Well, it was on. That really hurt. So I go running down the hallway looking for the aloe vera. You know, I got a splatter or something on this hand, and it's stinging like hell. Now, my point is that, you know, we're thinking about things we've got to do, but we don't always think about the thing immediately, which in this case for me was the burner that was on right in front of me that I managed to put my hand on. My wife says, why don't you just put your hand over it? You know, you might feel the heat that way. It would be an intelligent thing to do, but not me, I've got to just put my hand on it. Well, the woman, you see, they were perplexed about this problem, they'd forgotten about it. And we're told this, and I think he does it on purpose, because it emphasizes the dramatic fact that's before them. And that is, it's almost as if the words leave their mouths as they're talking together, approaching the tomb, and what do we find? In looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back. astonishingly developed. They hadn't planned on this obstacle, and now they remember it, but all of a sudden, as soon as they think about it, it's removed. It would be like almost as if someone had turned the burner off before they put their hand on it, but it wasn't to be for me. They had seen the stone roll into place, but now it's removed already, which obviously makes them very curious, and in that curiosity they step into the tomb. Now they find the tomb empty except for a visitor who is described in our text, as Mark would use the word here, as a young man. A young man, because that's how he appears, dressed in a white robe. That's not what they expect. But here we have incredible witnesses who have seen all these events, and they're like, okay, so now we just walked in the tomb that does not have Jesus in it, and it has somebody else in it. And then the detail through Mark's description is that this person has a presence of an angel. This young man, as we might describe the Greek term that's used here, is a strong youth in appearance and shining white. It is the biblical theme of heavenly presence. Jesus' garments in Mark chapter 9 transform to a heavenly shining white when he was transfigured on that mountain. And so this man's garments have that same appearance. It's not just white like a white blouse, but the Greek word again talks about white in the sense of shining white. And then he gives them an interpretation of the missing body, an explanation of why he's there, in a sense, because the body of Christ is gone, which is not discernible in human understanding. All they can see of the facts are that it's gone. What does that mean? How do we understand what that is supposed to mean? The fact that the open tomb presented to them a heavenly messenger, not the expected corpse, And so, just at the basis of the facts, you're trying to figure this out, and of course, if beyond your sense of probability, or even possibility, is that someone could have come out of the tomb, even if he had somehow awakened from death, how would he get out? There was a need for, obviously, the interpretation. And of course, it is interesting too, in the description of this individual, this angel, it is not unlike the appearance of the angel of Gabriel, to Mary, in Luke chapter 2, nor is their response unlike Mary's. You may remember that the first thing that Gabriel says to Mary is, do not be afraid. We take it gently, too lightly, the presence of an angel. We don't understand the presence of holiness. These angels are beings who are in the presence of God, thus the shining whiteness, and to enter into our presence It is something that we recoil from, because it is beyond our comprehension and understanding. It's not just that they're suddenly there, it's the presence of holiness and righteousness, and we are undone. You may think of, for instance, when it was so long ago that the prophet Isaiah beholds the throne of God, and he sees the heavenly beings, and what does he say? I am undone! I'm a man of sinful lips! And he senses his own sin. That's the fear. It might be akin, again, to an illustration that I can try to give you. It's so hard for us, I think, to get this. When I was in seminary, it was known, where I worked, that that's what I was. I was a student in seminary. And so I was working at the hospital. I was an orderly on call, and they would call me to do certain things. And they'd always say father, because they thought most people in that particular hospital were Roman Catholic. It was in the Roman Catholic area, so it was father, even though it wasn't what it was. But nonetheless, I always found it interesting, the behavior change, as soon as I walked into the presence of people. Oh, I'm sorry. They'd always apologize to me because the out-colored joke or this other thing that they said, or whatever, or there's a deference given to me. Now, you know, somehow, you know, I'm too innocent to hear such things. I've heard a whole lot worse, let me tell you. And I always say, you need to apologize to me. It's God you've got to apologize to. If you're saying those things, that's the problem. But my point was that when I would walk into the room, because I was their representative, they understood that. As a seminary student, one seeking to go into the full-time ministry, well, they became aware of their sin. And they were uncomfortable. And I found that most of my life. There's no greater, shall I say, conversation killer in the public world than for me to say, I'm a minister. As soon as I say that, it's over. Oh, well last night, they're out the door. People don't have a problem with that, because again, I think it's the idea that, oh, not that I can't stand their jokes, because there's a sense of righteousness in their presence, and they become aware of their own sin. Now, I think it's misplaced, because we're always in the face of God, but that is an illustration that at least kind of helps us to see the real thing. The very messenger of God, one who is in the presence of God, enters into our presence. We have become very aware of our sin, me included. You see. So we have the facts, the time and the place, the witnesses, and the particular details of the stone removed, the tomb empty, and the presence of this particular person who arrests their attention. There is then, in verses 6 and 7, right here, as Mark builds us in the story, the revelation. We have the facts, but how do we understand those facts? We have a response to those things, but how do we understand them? And so what we have, first of all, again, is the content, or the interpretation. The angel addressed their reaction to him directly, because he understands that his presence causes them concern. And so again, you note here, and he says to them, do not be afraid, or do not be alarmed. The angel announced them the explanation of the facts. that they could not come to understand on their own. We have here a divine explanation or interpretation of the facts that are before the woman and also before us in the story. And so he explains it. You seek Jesus. How did he know that? Well, he's not here. See the place where they laid. He is risen. They couldn't get there. It wasn't, I mean, we would think the body's been stolen, something else has happened, that point of resurrection was not in the category of understanding for human beings at the time, because he just didn't do that. We all know what happens when people die. Folks, this is not unlike the facts of creation. creation, or the origin of all things, lies outside our categories of understanding. It's a one-time event. It lies outside of our experience, it lies beyond human science. It's what we call metaphysics. It's beyond what we can look at with the scientific method. We can't repeat it, we can't put it in the laboratory, okay? It cannot be observed. So the scriptures give us the interpretation. In Genesis 1, in Genesis 2, and again in Hebrews 11-3. Think about this. By faith we understand that the world were framed by the word of God. So the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. It's a faith statement. I don't care how you comment. Whenever we talk about origins, it will ultimately be a faith statement. That faith will either come from yourself, or it will come based on the Word of God. If you believe in evolution, it's a faith statement. Because evolution is not proven. It's a theory, it's only a way of trying to put things together that doesn't add up very well if you re-look at all the facts, in my opinion. But we're all entitled to our opinions. But what God has given to us, you see this revelation, we know the facts! You walk outside, everything exists, it's there. How do you understand that? That's the question. And so it was on that day when they walked to the tomb, and it was there. There it was. The tomb, the rope itself was removed, the tomb was empty, there was an angel in the presence. How do we understand that? The question is, what does it mean? What I'm suggesting to you is that faith is built on facts and revelation. And you need both. In one sense, it's all of God, because who made the world? Well, God did. Who made the tomb? Where did all this stuff come from? God made it all. So we can put it in the categories of general revelation, and the things that God has made, and special revelation, where He speaks to us. But that's what Mark is showing us here, is that the revelation is what is needed to put it together. Isn't it interesting? Don't you find it interesting that people want to know why things are? Does your dog care why? Does your cat even care? The cat just does what it wants. Animals don't care. But we always want to know why. We want to know the meaning of these things. That's that divinely placed need in us to hear the revelation of God. We are made to hear that voice. And Paul reminds us that sinners, what they're doing, are visibly suppressing that voice. and righteousness. They don't want to hear it, but at the same time they want to hear it. And so they go other places to look. But my point here is that the interpretation comes from God himself through the angel. And again, it is the basis of the presence that we saw earlier. God sends the angel to impress the truth and the reality of that interpretation. He didn't give a vision. He didn't put the woman into some kind of a trance or a dream, but he speaks directly through a messenger, to convey the interpretation of the facts, to better preserve the truth, and to mitigate the natural reaction to it. The point was, we need to put ourselves in that perspective. If we would have walked into that tomb, we would have been like they were. Astounded! Speechless! What can I say at this? That's the point of the text before us. And that leads us into the third point of this reaction. Mark then uses a term here before us that means to be overwhelmed with wonder and amazement in verses 5 and 6. Mark emphasizes the amazement of the women and fear using it multiple times in verse 8. And so the women's reaction to this divine revelation is the cause for the resting end of this gospel story. Mark brings the story to an end on that note of fear and amazement and overwhelming sense of amazement. The revelation should shake us awake. It should challenge our understanding of reality. Jesus' resurrection is counter to human experience, human wisdom, and human understanding. That's what he's saying. Something significant. If I can even put it in these words, the eschaton has come. The last age has dawned. What was the prior to this not understood has now been made manifest. The resurrection from the dead. What was done in pictures and signs in the old covenant to the temple and all the sacrifices is now made openly clear that the power of death has been broken. It was only promised in the Old Testament. Now it's a reality. And you see, what this is all about is to get us to understand, to have this reaction, that it must be by faith. Mark's account of the reaction of the deity of Christ is, interestingly enough, throughout his story is in the same line. The account of amazement of the women agrees with Mark's other accounts of the people's reaction to divinity. It is the same word, that word that we find there in verses 5 and 6 when it says that they were alarmed or overwhelmed. It's the same word that's used in Mark chapter 9 after Jesus' transfiguration when the people come to Him and they see Him and they're alarmed and they're overwhelmed. Fear is the dominant response to the glory and the power of Christ throughout Mark's Gospel. In chapter 9, verses 6 and 32, the disciples' reaction to His transfiguration when He is revealed in His glory is one of fear, like these words used in this text. In chapter 6, verse 50, the disciples' reaction to Jesus walking in the water was one of fear. And in chapter 5, 15, and 33 and 36, the people's reaction to Jesus healing the demon possessed man. The woman's response to being found out in her healing of internal bleeding. The synagogue ruler's response to the reported death of his daughter. All that was my fear. And in chapter 4, 41, the disciples' reaction to Jesus causing the storm. Again, fear. In other words, Mark was building us up to this point. The reaction to the righteousness of Christ and His divinity was one of fear, fear, fear, because in the end, the great proof of His divinity, which the apostles will use in their preaching in the book of Acts, is His resurrection. And it causes that sense of awe, awe-struck, fear, overwhelming power. Who has the power of death? The breaking into time and a human experience is divine. You see, He causes fear. That's the point. That's why Mark's gospel ends this way. God has broken into time and in space and acted redemptively. Jesus' resurrection is the breaking into human experience, the ultimate divine proof of Jesus' divinity, His power, and the focus of the good news, which is the resurrection. Folks, when we take to the Lord's Supper and we think of our sins, what we're supposed to be doing is leaving our sins at the cross and being amazed at the power of the risen Christ. That our confidence should not be in our righteousness or our acts of obedience, but in the power of the blood. The power of the blood to overcome sin, to make us alive as truly and really as food makes our bodies alive and nourishes us. Jesus Christ makes you alive. That's the gospel. And I warn you, as I warn all people, as God has made me the witness, that without Christ you will die. There is no hope without Him. And no matter what you may think of death, it is the end of all that you hold dear, all that you enjoy, all the comforts in this life that you take for granted and assume are yours. But life in Him means more than all the things you hold dear, all the comforts of this life. Not just an extension, but an expansion. It means a blessedness beyond what we've even started to understand now. You see, the reaction should be that we should be amazed at the truth of the resurrection. We need the divine interpretation. Faith is informed by those two things, facts and revelation. Revelation is needful because it interprets the facts that we cannot rightly interpret ourselves. It's not just our inability because we're human beings, our fallibility, it's because of sin. Remember again Romans 1. Paul tells us in that book, in that first chapter, That the evidence of God and the things He has made are so clear that men are without excuse. And yet they deny it. So what has God done? I am amazed at this. Because I have been in the position as a father when I've told my sons, don't do this, or I've explained it, and they've either ignored me or whatever, and have not followed out the command. And I want to go, well you see what I did, I pulled my hair out. It's gone. But what has God do? After he's explained it all in his creed, it's abundantly clear. Did he give up on us? He gave us his word and wrote it out that we might know, that we might have found foundation for that faith. We have a fact, and we have revelation. Every religion Every religion is based on some kind of revelation. The question is, where does it come from? Does it come from the imagination and heart of man? Or does it come from God? And what are the proofs of that? You have it in the scriptures. You have divine imprint. You see, Jesus has broken into our history. He has broken into our history and experience. He has brought freedom from death. This is the good news. Death is defeated by God Himself through His Son. That you and I might have life. And that's what the sacrament is a picture of for us. That is by that means that the work of Christ, pictured there, not these things, but pictured there, that we have life in Him. May we live as those who are alive. There's lots of talk in the blogosphere about the zombies. Well, the world is full of zombies. The walking dead. They're spiritually dead. They don't even know they're alive, and many people are heading headlong into death, living for self, and the ends that it results in. We are called to awaken the dead, not by our power, but by the gospel. May we be alive in Christ. May we be His witnesses, faithful. May we understand what God has done for us. May we stand in utter amazement. If you were to stand with me on an evening, some August evening, shore or lake area, and watch one of those glorious sunsets that are often the case, the resurrection of Christ would eclipse that. Eclipses that, hands down. That's the power. If we can be jaw-dropped at such a beautiful sight, ought we not to be jaw-dropped at the resurrection? May God give us hope and courage. May He empower us by the resurrected Christ. May we be His witnesses. May we plead with God that He would apply the resurrection power to neighbor's friends Queen's is all around us, throughout this land. Let's pray together. Oh God in heaven, how we thank you for your divine revelation that informs of us these facts and interprets them that we would understand them. Oh God, we confess that we are so slow to believe, that we are dull of mind and heart, to believe in all of these things and the work of the gospel and of Christ, but also the promises you've made. O Lord God, we pray that you would write into our hearts and our minds these things have so convinced us that we would be faithful witnesses. And we thank you for preserving the truth of the gospel down through the ages, giving us manifold witnesses to it. We ask, O God, that you would work in us for your glory. We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen.