Title: The Affirmation of the Resurrection

Text: Mk 16:1-6

Date: 04-08-07.am

Introduction:

Mk 16:1-6

And when the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3 And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?" 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. 6 And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. NASB

Today is Easter a day we have set aside to celebrate the resurrection. The truth is, for the Christian, every Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection. The resurrection alongside the cross stands as the center of the Christian faith.

When we talk about the cross and resurrection it’s not just any cross or any resurrection we celebrate. We know from history that many people were crucified on crosses. Josephus records as many as 6000 at one time were crucified by the Romans. The Bible tells us two thieves crucified the same day as Jesus.

The cross of Jesus of Nazareth is different. He wasn’t guilty of any crime, He had no sin, He wasn’t a revolutionary in the sense of raising an army to overthrow the Roman government. He even said render unto Caesar that which is Caesars. But, His crucifixion was God’s plan for the reconciliation and restoration for all things. The cross of Christ was necessary to atone for sin and all of it’s consequences once for all time. His cross and His alone was necessary for our salvation.

Col 1:19-20

9 For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. NASB

Dr Adrian Rodgers said: At the cross, wickedness was not appeased. Wickedness was confronted. At the cross, sin was not overlooked. At the cross, sin was atoned and paid for. God's greatest righteousness confronted man's greatest wickedness, and righteousness won”

The Bible tells us there were numerous people resurrected from the dead. Jesus Himself raised Lazarus after he had been dead four days. On the day Jesus was crucified the Bible tells us in Mt 27:52-53 ". . . the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many." NASB

Just as His cross was necessary the resurrection of Christ was also necessary. They are equal parts of the same event. The cross is incomplete without the resurrection. The resurrection is inseparable from the cross. When you talk about one you talk about the other.

If Jesus did not rise from the dead, Paul wrote, we are still in our sins. (1 Cor 15:17) If the resurrection did not occur we have no foundation for a living Savior, a Savior Scripture says is seated at the right hand of God the Father and who “lives” to continually make intercession for us. Grace depends on the resurrection of Christ. If grace is to be manifested, then the one who is authorized to bestow grace must be alive. And the Angel said to the women on that Sunday morning, He has risen. He is alive!

What does the resurrection Affirm? Affirm means to state emphatically or publicly.

It Affirms. I want to mention three things the resurrection affirms:

I. The Deity of Christ-

I know we have talked about this on a number times over the last few weeks, but it is so important for us to understand who Jesus really was and who He is. There is no doubt Jesus was a good man, He was a prophet, a teacher, a preacher, a philosopher, a great religious thinker, He was a martyr – a person killed because of religious beliefs. He was all of that, but He was more. He was a victim of jealous self-righteous Pharisees of Pilate a weak Roman official and cruel Roman soldiers and a misguided blood thirsty mob. But, He was so much more than a victim. Jesus said in John 10:18, "No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. . .”

As we have seen over the last few weeks Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ. He was God in the flesh. He was innocent. He who knew no sin became sin for us. I have authority to lay it down,” Jesus said. “and I have authority to take it up again. . ." NASB

Mortal men and women have the authority and power to lay down their own lives. We can sacrifice ourselves for our country or our family, to become martyrs for our faith. But none of us has the power to take it up again. Only God has that kind of prerogative and choice. The resurrection affirms in the strongest way Jesus was God in the Flesh. He has risen!

II. The Defeat of the Devil

Satan's doom is foretold in the early chapters of Genesis, Ge 3:15

He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.

NASB

Hebrews 2:14 declares: "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil."

"Destroy" means: To render inoperative, to make ineffective, It indicates the annulment of his power over those whom Christ redeems. Make no mistake, the devil is still a mighty foe. He is still active in this world, He is still the Prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2). He rules an army of demons (Matt 12:24-26) He is a deceiver and the father of lies (Jn 8:44). He is the god of this world (2 Cor 2:2). He is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour and destroy (1 Pet 5:8). While the battle rages, He is a defeated enemy. He is not here the angel said, He is risen! The devils days are numbered the grave could not hold Him. Jesus is Alive.

III The resurrection is the ultimate Affirmation of HOPE

When Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus came and took Jesus body off that cross (Jn 19:38) Jesus was dead. His body was battered and lifeless when they laid Him in that borrowed tomb.

Max Lucado says it this way:

“Death has claimed its greatest trophy. He is not asleep in the tomb or resting in the tomb or comatose in the tomb; he is dead in the tomb. No air in his lungs. No thoughts in his brain. No feeling in his limbs. His body is as lifeless as the stone slab upon which he has been laid.” (Max Lucado)

The disciples fled. John alone stayed at the cross with Mary. But as far as John and the other disciples knew the master they loved and served was gone. The man they placed their hope and faith in was dead. They had heard Jesus say, “destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up” (Jn 2:19). Did any of them understand He was talking about His own resurrection. No They didn’t understand it anymore than the Scribes and the Pharisees. They were a discouraged and defeated group.

Then Sunday morning rolled around. Those faithful women went to finish what Joseph and Nicodemus had started preparation of a dead body. They expected His body to be there. If we try and piece together a time line for the events of that morning we find Mary Magdalene may have arrived at tomb before the other women while it was still dark and found the tomb empty then the others arrived just after her at daylight. Instead of the body of Jesus in the tomb they encounter an angel who tells them the good news, that Jesus is risen and they are afraid and they flee (Matt 28:9-10). The women go to the disciples and Mary Magdalene as spokesperson for the women tells them and they didn’t believe them. John says Mary Magdalene told Peter and the disciple Jesus loved, which was John himself, and the two of them ran to the tomb. John says they believed, they believed the body was gone, but according to Jn 20:9 they still didn’t understand he was resurrected. So Peter and John went home. As they are leaving the grave site Mary Magdalene encounters the risen Christ (Jn 20:11-18) then the other women, (Matt 28:8-10). That’s followed by His appearance to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, then Peter by himself, followed by his the other disciples without Thomas then to them when Thomas is there and other appearances throughout the next forty days. But they begin to understand and remember the things Jesus said and taught not only about the resurrection but about the kingdom of God and Life.

They had seen the cross as an ending of their dreams and hope and their future. But something changed all of that. Something that turned fear in fearlessness, something so great that those who ran away and hid behind locked doors were transformed from a frightened group of confused, bewildered frustrated and hopeless followers Jesus of Nazareth to a dynamic organism called His church that changed the world. By the power of God through the resurrection of Christ Jesus, these men and women came to realize hope did not die on the cross. True hope, hope that is certain and sure, hope that is everlasting sprang forth from an empty tomb.

Peter says this hope is a living hope. It is a hope affirmed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

1 Pe 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, NASB

Heb 6:19 says this hope is an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast. A hope that endures in good times as well as in hard times a hope that will never fail because He has risen and He is alive and lives forever more.

Jesus said because I live you shall live also (Jn 14:19). Do you know that hope in your life this morning? Because He lives you can live and know true life abundant and eternal. Come to the cross, where Jesus shed His blood for you, come lay your sin at His feet because He died on that cross for those sins. But remember He is not dead on that cross, He is not dead in that tomb. Praise Almighty God He is Risen from the dead, He is Alive! And He calls you to come to Him and trust Him; trust Him for salvation and trust Him for life. Will you come this morning and trust Him?