Easter Sunday
Mark 16
1 And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. 3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 5 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.
6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. 7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.
8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.
These women got up before the sun had risen for they arrived at the grave as the sun arose. Little had they known that the Eternal Son had indeed risen. He arose as the Eternal One with Eternal Life in His hand. He broke the chains of death, the gates of hell and the locks of the grave.
In the previous sermons we looked at His supreme sacrifice and humiliation. Today we look at Him in His exaltation, the victor over hell, death, sin and Satan. He rules supreme and holds the keys of death and hell (Rev 1:18).
He wrestled against Satan in the Garden of Gethsemane and against sin on the cross, and he conquered. He even descended to hell and wrestled against the powers of hell and secured our Salvation. He removed the handwriting that was against us, and condemned us (Col 2). He did it all for you and me.
Words fail to express the great Salvation He wrought for us!
But let us consider two points of how Jesus comforts His children in their weakness.
1) The women came to the tomb early in the morning on the first day of the week to embalm His body. They were full of fear because of everything that had taken place. But when they arrived the tombstone (estimated by some to be over 3 tons) was rolled away and an angel comforted them with the words of Jesus’ resurrection. The tombstone was not removed so that Jesus could get out after His resurrection, but He considered the disciples who would like to enter and witness the empty grave.
As the women approached the tomb they were anxious about many things – even the huge tombstone that must be removed. People tend to worry and be anxious about many things in life. But Jesus had said in Matt 6:25, “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them“.
The people of the world constantly worry about what they will eat and drink, what clothes they will wear, what car they will drive, and who will pay the bills. But Christians do not worry about those things neither speak like that, for the risen Lord cares for them and removes all fears.
2) Through His death and resurrection, Jesus removed the veil of separation between us and Heaven, so that we can freely come to the Throne of Mercy and have fellowship with God (2Cor 3:7-18).
It is wonderful to be in harmony with Heaven. There is rejoicing in Heaven over one sinner which repents. We read in Hebrews 1:14 that God’s angels are “ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation.”
When Elisha and his servant were surrounded by the enemy, Elisha saw the messengers of God encamped about them so that the enemy could not touch them. Only after Elisha prayed could his servant see them too (2Kings 6:17). So God continually protects and guards His children, and opens their eyes to the things of Heaven.
We have only touched on two points of blessings. There are still so many others to consider.
- He arose from the dead so that we will not see death but only sleep and pass on to be with Him.
- He grants us to receive an immortal body as He has.
- He prepares a place in Heaven for us and receive us to be with Him.
May each of us not consider our lives dear to ourselves but give Him all of our lives, as He did not spare Himself but gave us His all. Jesus will not accept you partially. Jesus will have all or nothing.