study your word today that we would build our lives on your truth. That it would affect us and change us. That you would help us to see how to apply this scripture to our lives that we study today. That we would have the right understanding and give you the glory that you deserve for the truth that you have revealed. We praise in Jesus name. Amen. We left off last week in our study of the Gospel of Mark, at the end of chapter 15, where Jesus was dead. He had died on the cross. His body had been released to Joseph of Arimathea, who we found was a member of the Sanhedrin, surprisingly, and a secret disciple of Jesus. We pulled in from the Gospel of John that Nicodemus, another member of the Sanhedrin, another secret disciple of Jesus, came to help Joseph of Arimathea. Jesus' body was wrapped in cloth. Spices were placed between the layers of the cloth. He was laid in a tomb that was owned by Joseph, but had never been used. We saw that Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph were nearby. They were watching everything that was happening. They saw where the body of Jesus was laid and a large stone was rolled against the entrance of the tomb. And by that time, it would have been nearly sundown. which would mean it was almost time for the start of the Sabbath, which began Friday night at sundown. And so through this account in Mark, a little bit in John, We've read about Joseph. We've read about, heard about Nicodemus. From Mark, we saw a couple of women named Mary who were there. One thing we have not seen is the disciples. They were gone. By this time, even John, who had been there for some of the crucifixion part of the day on Friday, he's gone. They're all gone. They've scattered in fear that they might be next. Jesus was dead. The one who they had left everything for. The one they had trusted in. The one they had all their hopes in for their future. He's dead. And could you imagine what that Saturday must have been like for those disciples and for those women who had also followed Jesus? What would that Saturday have been? I would assume lots of sleeplessness. Some of those disciples dozed off Thursday night while Jesus was praying in the garden. But other than that, they've been awake. Probably lots of thoughts going through their sleepy minds. Probably none of those thoughts really made sense. None of this is what they thought was supposed to happen. It was all complete surprise to them. They had no idea what they were going to do next. It would have been an awful Saturday for those 11 disciples and those women because Jesus was dead. About the only thing that we know of that happened that Saturday is recorded in Matthew chapter 27. If you want to turn there, Matthew 27, verses 62 through 66. Matthew 27, beginning verse 62. It says, now on the next day, the day after the preparation, preparation day was Friday, the next day, Saturday, the Sabbath day, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate and said, Sir, we remember that when he was still alive, that deceiver said, after three days I am to rise again. Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal him away and say to the people, he has risen from the dead. And the last deception will be worse than the first. Pilate said to them, you have a guard, go make it as secure as you know how. And they went and made the grave secure. And along with the guard, they set a seal on the stone. Now it always amazes me when I read those verses that apparently the only people in the world who were thinking about what Jesus said about rising from the dead in three days was the chief priests and the Pharisees. Now they in no way believed that it was going to happen. but they were at least paying attention and remembered what Jesus had said, that he was going to rise again on the third day. Now, it doesn't seem like the disciples or the women who had followed Jesus were thinking about a resurrection at all. It wasn't even on their minds. But that Saturday, the religious leaders of Israel did everything they could do to make sure Jesus's body was in that grave and it was going to stay there. It was guarded by Roman soldiers. It was sealed by an official Roman seal. And that's how the grave of Jesus stayed all day Saturday, all through Saturday night. Meanwhile, we pick up back in Mark chapter 16 and verse 1. Mark 16 verse 1 says, when the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices so that they might come and anoint him. The Sabbath was over at sunset on Saturday evening. And there was a small window of time after sunset, but before it was completely dark, there was still just enough light that the shops in Jerusalem would open for just a little while, until it was too dark to do business. And it must have been in that little window of time, that Saturday night, that Mary and Mary bought the spices to anoint Jesus' body the next morning. Now we remember that we saw last time these ladies had seen Joseph and Nicodemus do this on Friday evening. They brought 100 pounds of spices and put these in the wrappings before they buried Jesus. The women saw Joseph and Nicodemus do it, but they didn't get to do it. These ladies had loved Jesus. They had served Jesus with their lives. And they wanted to do whatever little they could, whatever they could do to honor Jesus at his death. And so this was something, wasn't much, but it was something they thought they could do for Jesus. It was their plan, it was their expectation to be able to do this for Jesus. As soon as it was light enough on Sunday morning, they were gonna do this for Jesus. As I said last time, the purpose of these spices was to give just a little bit of dignity to the body of a loved one. To mask, at least in a small way, some of the indignities of death. I don't know how much those spices would have cost. I'm guessing they weren't cheap. But I hope Mary or Mary saved their receipt. Because they could return them. They weren't going to need him. They were going to find out. But notice that it was their expectation. That they would find Jesus still in that grave the next morning. It was their expectation that the body of Jesus was going to go through all of those indignities of death And so they expected to be able to use those spices, not thinking about a resurrection at all. Verse two, very, very early on, very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. Mark gives us a time stamp here. This is the reason that sometimes have sunrise services on Easter, Resurrection Sunday morning. We have a sunrise-ish service here. Very early, first day of the week. But John says that they went to the tomb while it was still dark. So if you follow John's time schedule, you'd have to have an even earlier service on Easter Sunday while it's still dark. But this is one of those things that skeptics will point out to try to prove that there are errors in the Bible, there are contradictions, you can't trust the Bible. But when you come across these skeptics who point these things out, or maybe you come across some of these differences, know that there is always an explanation. Often, it's an easy explanation. Sometimes an unbeliever will come across these supposed differences, contradictions, and they will think, I am the first person that has ever discovered this. I have just debunked the whole Bible and the Christian religion. I've got to let everybody know about this, and it's over. The church is over. You can all go home, and Christianity is going to be no more. Little do they know. There's almost always an easy explanation. Sometimes it's a little more difficult of an explanation. Sometimes we may not know what the explanation is, but we should know there is always an explanation. The Bible is never wrong. The Bible never contradicts itself. Here, there is an easy explanation, and it could be that it may have been still mostly dark when they started out from wherever they were staying to go to the tomb. By the time they got there, the sun had risen. It doesn't take very long for that to happen, to go from dark to the sun just being up. So that's very possible. It's also true that different gospel accounts mention a different combination of women. They don't all name the exact same one, so it's possible they didn't all start for the tomb or arrive at the tomb at the same time. For some, it may have been pretty dark. For others, the sun was just up. But there is an explanation. That's not a contradiction. It's not a problem. Now, some honest lawyers, and there are some out there, They have looked at these accounts of the death, the burial, the resurrection of Jesus. They've compared the four Gospels, and they have said that these differences you see in the Gospels, in these details, they actually support the truthfulness of the eyewitness accounts. Because everyone who was there saw all of these things from a little different perspective. And so they would remember some different details. They would explain things a little bit differently. And these honest lawyers who have endeavored to study these things to see if these things are verifiable, if they're provable, or if the gospel message and the gospels can be debunked, they have come to the conclusion and seen that if they were to say the exact same things, If their stories were all exactly the same, the same exact details, that's when it looks more like somebody made it up. And they're all trying hard to keep their story straight. So a little bit of differences in the details should be expected if it's true. Different perspectives, different people describing it from their perspectives. There are no opposing facts here, just details remembered from eyewitnesses from different perspectives. Verse 3 gives a little more detail about their walk to the tomb. They were saying to one another, who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb? I think something that has consistently happened just about every time that we have gone camping, as we are driving, right around the time when we get too far to turn around and come back, we start to remember the things that we forgot to bring. This last time, there were several things we realized we forgot to bring. It usually hasn't been anything real significant, But this was kind of like that for these ladies. They're on their way to the tomb. And as they're going, they suddenly remember, oh yeah, there was a stone in front of that tomb. Pretty significant detail that they hadn't thought of to bring a lot of extra people with them if they were gonna get in that tomb. While they're on their way, pops into their mind, oh yeah, what about that stone? These same two ladies that Mark mentions, they were there the evening when Jesus was put in that tomb. They saw the stone that was put in place. We're told in the next verse that the stone was extremely large. People who have studied and seen graves around Jerusalem, There is one grave in particular that some people feel pretty strongly is the one that Jesus had been buried in. It might be, I don't know if we know for sure, but some people are pretty sure about it. But they have noted that the stones used to cover these entrances are rolled down into a groove. Because they want them to be hard to move. They don't want grave robbers. to come in there. They don't want people messing with the remains of their loved ones. This was done to keep people and animals out of that tomb. It took a lot of effort and several strong people to move a stone from the entrance of a tomb. Now these ladies hadn't thought about that until they were already part way there. But there was another problem that they didn't know about yet. They didn't know about the soldiers who had been stationed at the tomb. They didn't know that that tomb had been sealed with an official Roman seal. When you put all of these things together, by the time they got there to the tomb, it would have been a very big problem. They probably could not have gotten into the tomb. It was a problem to be able to do what they planned to do until it wasn't. it wasn't a problem by the time they got there. Because there was something else that happened really early that Sunday morning that they were not yet aware of. Matthew, if you wanna turn back to Matthew again, chapter 28, he records this, Matthew 28, verses two through four. Matthew 28, verse two. And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred. For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. Of this, along with what we looked at just a little bit ago in Matthew, shows us that the chief priests and the Pharisees, what they intended to provide certainty that all this Jesus talk would be done in the providence of God, these soldiers were actually witnesses. of what actually happened at the tomb and worked exactly the opposite of how the chief priests and Pharisees wanted it to work. Now, these ladies on their way to the tomb, they didn't know that this had happened yet. But verse four, looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. Now, because those soldiers were there and saw what happened, we know for certain that no one stole the body of Jesus. Now, that would be the chief priest and Pharisee's explanation. If anybody brings this up, you just say, well, his disciples came and stole the body while we were sleeping. But they actually made sure that that would be impossible. Of all the possible things that could have happened there that day, that was the least possible. That the disciples could have come and stolen the body of Jesus. You picture these disciples, what we know of them. Could you imagine them overpowering Roman soldiers? Or even sneaking in and moving that huge stone while they were sleeping, not waking any of them up. And then steal the body of Jesus, Pretend that He rose from the dead. And stand by that story to the death. It's impossible. Those disciples were nowhere around because they were afraid. They had no expectations. They had no thoughts about a resurrection of Jesus. Just like these ladies. They went to the tomb that Sunday morning fully expecting Jesus' body to be there. they were not thinking of a resurrection. Those soldiers make it impossible that the disciples stole Jesus' body. That is not a possible explanation. Now these expectations that these ladies had of finding Jesus finally changed, beginning in verse 5. Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right wearing a white robe, and they were amazed. Mark doesn't say, he just says it was a young man. Matthew tells us, and I think we would all probably guess it even if we didn't know from Matthew, this was an angel. They went into a tomb and an angel was sitting there, probably the same angel that moved the stone. Luke tells us there were two of them there. Mark maybe only mentions one of them because only one of them did the talking possibly. But these women were amazed. They go into this tomb having these expectations. Jesus will be there. His body will be there. He's dead. They go in. He's not there. There's an angel there. They were amazed to see a young man, this shiny white robe sitting there. They were amazed. Jesus wasn't there. Verse six, he said to them, do not be amazed. You are looking for Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He is risen. He is not here. Behold, here is the place where they laid him. This is such an interesting point to ponder here, that these ladies really should not have been amazed about anything that happened that early Sunday morning. they should have expected this to happen. Because Jesus told them this would happen. Several times Jesus told them this would happen. As amazing as this is, you think about what happened that Sunday morning. This event is the top, it is the pinnacle event of all history in all of creation. Nothing more important than this has ever happened or ever will happen than Jesus rising from the dead. But as amazing as it is, these women should not have been amazed that an angel instead of Jesus's body was in that tomb. They should have expected it because Jesus told them. They should have expected, they should have been prepared for and waiting for huge things to happen that Sunday morning. Instead of losing sleep because of grief, they should have lost sleep for their excitement because Jesus told them exactly what was going to happen on that Sunday morning. That's the message from the angel as Matthew records it. He gives this detail of the angel's words. He is not here, for he has risen just as he said. Some things should start clicking. You remember what he said. He told you this was going to happen. Luke gives another detail of the angel's message. The angel says, why do you seek the living one among the dead? In other words, if you're looking for Jesus, why would you come to a tomb and bring spices? You're not going to find him here. It's ridiculous. Why would you come here? Jesus isn't dead. Even though they saw Jesus die, They saw his dead body laid in that very tomb. They shouldn't have expected to find Jesus in the tomb because he told them he was going to rise from the dead. They shouldn't have been amazed by that. It's kind of a similar idea came to mind that when we pray, God answers our prayer, we shouldn't be amazed by that. It's what he does. He answers our prayers. Not always the way we want them to be. God answers prayer. He has the power and the ability to do that. We shouldn't be amazed. We should expect it. And as quickly, there are some, some of those skeptics who tried to get around the resurrection of Jesus by claiming, well, these ladies probably went to the wrong tomb. That's why Jesus' body wasn't there. It was the wrong tomb. Is that at all possible? Well, if they did, so did the angel. The angel got his directions mixed up and went to the wrong tomb also. So did the soldiers. Everybody throughout that Sunday then that kept going to and from the tomb, they all got the wrong tomb. And if that was the wrong tomb and there was a right one that had the body of Jesus in it, all the chief priests and Pharisees would have had to do to stop the resurrection talk was show the body. If Jesus was dead and still in the grave, to show the body and it would stop. They never did because they couldn't, because that was the right tomb. Jesus wasn't there because he's alive. It's hard to imagine that Sunday morning, the swing emotions that these ladies were experiencing. From the devastation of being witnesses to the worst day ever on that Friday afternoon and evening. The worst sin ever committed by those who crucified the Messiah. Spending two nights, a full day, thinking that all hope is lost. To now, what they're hearing that Sunday morning, very unexpectedly from an angel, that Jesus is not here because He's alive. Could you imagine the swing that would be? What would come next after something so huge? The news that Jesus is alive, what comes next? Verse 7. But go tell. That's what comes next. This is a story. This is news that's got to be spread. Go tell his disciples and Peter. He is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see him just as he told you. Now why do you suppose the angel said to deliver this message to his disciples and Peter? It was because it had just been early the Friday morning before. that Peter had sworn with oaths that he was not one of Jesus' disciples. And he knew, Jesus knew what he had said. And so now, even at the hearing of this amazing news, the best news that could ever be reported, Peter's mind would go back to that Friday morning. I denied him. It would be easy for Peter to assume. If this message was for Jesus's disciples. Well, Jesus heard him resign. Jesus knew that he had denied him not just once, but three times denied being one of his disciples. So it would be easy for Peter to assume that Jesus would not want to see Peter. He's not one of his disciples. He resigned. But this message is grace. Go tell his disciples and Peter. None of the disciples, none of these women had really listened to or obeyed Jesus. None of them were expectantly waiting for the resurrection of Jesus. They all thought all hope was lost. Graciously, Jesus wanted to see all of them and Peter. It's a message of grace. Go and tell. The disciples, even though they're all scattered, you're going to have to go find them. And Peter. He wanted to see them in Galilee. That's where Peter would be restored, you remember, toward the end of the Gospel of John. Peter, do you love me? Simon, do you love me? Yes, Lord. You know that I love you. Tend my lambs. Peter would be commissioned, recommissioned in Galilee. The next phase of their ministries would begin and would be given to them at Galilee. Big things are going to be happening when they meet Jesus in Galilee. There's going to be some other big things that would happen near Jerusalem first because some of these disciples need some convincing. Even after all that Jesus had said, even after hearing it from these ladies, they're gonna need some convincing that Jesus was alive. We'll hopefully talk some more about that next time. But here's how Mark ends this account, verse eight. They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. trembling and astonishment. Matthew says it was fear and great joy, fear and great joy that these ladies left the tomb with. They were trembling and they were amazed. They were confused and they were excited. There's so many emotions from such a big and unexpected event. Now Mark saying that they said nothing to anyone doesn't mean that they failed to deliver the message they were sent with. It just means they didn't stop to tell anyone else first. They went directly to find the disciples to pass this on to them. So this was big. This is the biggest thing that had ever happened. These ladies are the first human messengers to get to share this big news that Jesus was dead. He had been buried. But he is now alive. There are so many directions we could go from here. Of what it means that Jesus is alive. I'd like to spend a little time. Yet this morning to give some thought to just how big. How important of an event was the resurrection of Jesus? According to Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, it's of first importance. 1 Corinthians 15, Paul says, for I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. So Paul says to the Corinthians, when I came and I met you, The number one most important thing I could have told you is not investment advice on how to get rich. It's not the scores of yesterday's games. The most important thing I could tell you is not a new recipe of some dish that will blow your mind. The most important thing I could have said to you was that according to the scriptures, Jesus died, he was buried, and he rose again. There is nothing more important than that. A few years ago, we took an Easter Sunday to do a survey through the book of Acts. And we looked at, it was either every gospel message that's preached in Acts or most of them. And we found that every one of them has the resurrection of Jesus as a main part of the message. When the church proclaimed Christ, they proclaimed his resurrection. When the gospel is preached, the resurrection of Jesus is a very important part of that gospel. Because without it, there is no gospel. As Paul makes very plain through the rest of 1 Corinthians 15. Here's an example, verses 17 through 19 of 1 Corinthians 15. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless. you are still in your sins, then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. Everything about Christianity, everything about your faith stands or falls on the resurrection. If Jesus rose from the dead, then everything he said, all the promises he made, are all validated. And you can depend on them completely. If he didn't rise from the dead, it's all worthless. Everybody go home, don't waste your time being here. Find whatever you can find to make you as happy as you can be because this life's all you get. The sovereignty and power of God, even His power over life and death, are proven through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. His resurrection is proof and solid motivation to trust God completely. Our lives are in His hands. And that is the best place our lives could be because He is the only one with absolute power over life and death. He has proven to us that He is absolutely worthy of our complete trust. Once again, in 1 Corinthians 15, verses 51 through 57, Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. Oh death, where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin. The power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Victory over sin, victory over the curse that comes through the law, victory and the certainty of our future with Christ, because he won the victory over death, only and all because he rose from the dead. That certainty, because of his resurrection, should determine how we live. Every day of our lives should be based on knowing our Savior is alive. He defeated death. Paul concludes chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians, verse 58, Therefore, because Jesus is alive, because of all this truth about Jesus being alive, therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. Jesus is alive. And that changes everything about life and death. This was the best day ever. And continues to be as we continue to celebrate every Sunday. And all throughout the rest of our lives, the rest of eternity. That Jesus is alive. Best day ever for all who put their trust in Jesus Christ alone. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for for the fact for the details. For the proofs. But tell us that Jesus is alive. that he conquered death, that he paid the price, and the payment he made was accepted and proven through him rising from the dead. We pray, Father, that you would help us to recognize what that means for us today and tomorrow, for the rest of our lives on this earth, for the rest of eternity. Jesus being alive makes a big difference. It changes everything. We pray that you would help us to look at this life from that perspective, to know Jesus is alive. We pray that we would live lives with a desire to live toward you and live before your face and live pleasing to you in every way that we can because Jesus is alive. He's come and he's conquered. Everything he said is true. Every promise he's made is confirmed. We pray that we would live lives of faith. Trusting you completely. with our lives, with our deaths, because you alone have power over life and death. We pray, Father, that today the resurrection of Jesus would change us, that we would honor and glorify you as we become more like Christ through knowing what he has accomplished through the cross, through rising from the dead. We thank you, we praise in Jesus' name, amen. You're dismissed. Okay.