He is Risen!
Rev E Stegen
When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 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 back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. Mark 16:1-8
In English we know this day as Easter, in German 'Ostern'. In the Zulu that German word means 'the rising of the sun'. The three women got up that day before the sun rose because when they were at the grave, the sun rose. They did not know that the Sun had risen, the eternal Son. That is why the theme of Easter is He has risen! The sun has come up and it chases away all darkness. The sun in our world is not the same as the sun in Jesus Christ. He is the sun which dawns and has risen eternally.
In our text we find the story of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. It is a marvellous story. We see that He has risen with the glory of the Eternal One, with eternal life, life everlasting, with the power of life. The chains of death, the gates of hell, and the locks on graves were broken, cut asunder. We see Jesus Who was on the lowest possible level, more despised than any person on earth – utterly despised and humiliated. But today we see Him in the height of His power and glory, as the King of kings, the Omnipotent God, to Whom all power has been given on heaven and on earth. He rules – no one else. He alone holds all the keys of death and life and hell.
He wrestled against satan and sin in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the Cross. His battle didn't end there, but He went down to the depths of hell. It wasn't just on the Cross, but down below there was a cosmic battle as He wrestled against the powers of darkness.
8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. Ephesians 4:8
What does his death mean?
9 (Now this, He ascended, what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He that descended is the same also that ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) Ephesians 4:9,10
He assailed the gates of hell with a mighty battle. He attacked hell and death. He removed the weapons of the rulers and powers according to Colossians 2:15 15having despoiled the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Jesus descended into hell and broke the power of death and hell so that death, hell and satan no longer have any power over us. He went down in weakness, He was despised - the Bible says, no one was as despised as He was. As hell rejoiced over the victory of Jesus’ death, Jesus arose with the power and glory, as the one who is Omnipotent, the Victor. No language can explain His majesty and what He did for us. He descended to the place of the dead.
The three women wanted to embalm Him with spices according to the tradition of the Jews. It was a great act of devotion. They had forgotten that the most holy One will not see decay. They missed the fact that the Son of man must die and rise again. His disciples and the women had forgotten His words, but His enemies had not. The religious leaders went to the highest authorities to request for soldiers to guard the tomb lest He should arise. They asked for a Roman seal on the stone that was rolled over the opening of the grave, the seal of the highest authority on earth so that nobody dared touch the stone and anyone who did so was to be killed.
The tomb was a hole in a hill which was closed with a huge stone of 3-5 tons in weight. Jesus’ tomb was a sepulchre of a rich man. No one else had lain in the grave before. When He arose, there was an earthquake, there was awesome and mighty power. The stone was not removed for Jesus to come out, but for the sake of the weak women to come in.
Jesus arose with His glorified body and He could walk through a wall. He needed no door or window to enter, He could walk into the room where the disciples were hidden. I do not have time to ponder upon these truths, take the scripture and study it yourself. Jesus bore our sins on the cross. He removed them for us, His resurrection was like the receipt – the payment has been made so that we can be forgiven totally. He conquered sin and hell and authorities.
Consider the three women. Firstly, Jesus removes all our worries, fears and anxiety. He came down for us, little things, and removed our sins and anxieties. What are we but worms and the eternal One cares for us and removes our fears. If you own a business and someone asks for your help. You tell them you are busy, but you ask him what the problem is. He then tells you that he has a thorn in his toe. You may respond but what is that? The things I am doing are so important, how can you come to me with a thorn in your toe or tell me that you lost just a rand? That is so insignificant, I am too busy for that. It is marvellous to think that Jesus, the sovereign and eternal One came down to our level. It must be a great love.
Think of a parent’s love. Who rules, even in the homes of kings? A little baby rules supreme in a palace. The child is so insignificant. It is very small. But if the child wails all night the mother will be there. God loves us who are so insignificant. We are nothing. Never be proud and arrogant. Strange that those who are nothing are the proudest. What are we? One day, we will be eaten by maggots, even if we think we are strong and healthy. Yet Jesus cares for us.
As they were on the way to the tomb, the three women asked one another who would move away the stone for them. It seems as if they were not aware of the option that there was a seal and Roman soldiers – they would not be able to get in. They had not even given it a thought. If it were us, we would have been worried about the fact that the Roman soldiers would beat us up; there was a seal. The women went to anoint the body of Jesus and He cared for them. When they arrived, they were upset and afraid, but the stone was removed and was a distance from the tomb.
If you want to do something for Jesus, do not be worried - because Jesus will take care of you and prepare the way. We are troubled by the stress factor and high blood pressure. The anxiety of the three women grew as they approached the tomb and shared their problems. They burdened each other with their comments. We are like this too, we burden one another with more burdens – ‘we will be jailed, we will be arrested, we will be fined’ and a person runs away. But when they arrived, the stone was already gone - for Jesus had risen. Through His resurrection He removed their stress and anxieties.
All fear and cowardice are brushed away for Jesus is alive and with us. Some people worry about what they will eat, wear and who will pay the bills, but Jesus said that that is the mind of a pagan, that is the heathen mind. Those who worship the ancestral spirits and who visit witchdoctors go to inquire about their future, but they are told more lies. The blessing of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus is that our fears come to an end. Jesus said that we should not be worried about what we will wear and eat and be covered with, He said we should look at the birds and see how they live. Not that you are worried about what it will be like when you die, that you do not have money to buy a coffin and that your children are orphans. You may be here, and Jesus has been speaking to you, but you are thinking about tomorrow, your home, your enemies, the home situation, however, if you meet the resurrected One, He has stripped them of their weapons. You may be anxious at night, you are so afraid that you cannot sleep, ghosts trouble you (but let them do so until you repent), you cannot eat properly, but Jesus has taken those cares of yours upon Himself. Some people become ill because of their anxiety; they must visit the doctor because they are so stressed. Their Jesus is dead. They are afraid to go home because of certain people. There are different types of worries - who will roll the stone away for us?
Edmund and Judy lost their son, Neil, this morning. The Lord chose a wonderful day to take Neil to be with Him - the day of His resurrection from the dead. In these days, I don’t think there has been a day when I did not have contact with him. He continuously cleansed his garments and removed anything that might be offensive to the Lord. We prayed, ‘Lord, if it is possible we would be happy if he was healed.’ God arranged things differently and who are we to argue with God? We can only submit to His will. We can only bow and submit to His will We are happy that he was here the last few weeks. His brother said how he said, ‘It is wonderful to be here!’ repeatedly. One day he was in great pain in his back, he said, "It is painful, but it is wonderful to be here!" One sensed that he was in another world. Once he said that he saw boards with verses around him. Through Jesus who rose from the dead, we confidently speak in this manner.
People may say, now a mother with a small child is left behind and feel sorry for them. This is how people talk who do not have a resurrected Lord. One might bewail the wife, but we have the One who is the risen Lord, and she has Him. The women could have had many questions - what about the soldiers at the grave? What will become of our spices? We have wasted money on the things we have bought. Jesus cares for us and removes all the cares and anxieties that stress His people. Jesus is the omnipotent one who has captured the weapons of the rulers and powers that might be. If you are busy with things that happen at home that are wrong, you exclude the power of Him who has power over the earth and under the earth. Jesus has risen and you must keep your eyes fixed on Him. He said He will be with us until the end of the age.
Jesus broke down the barrier between people and heaven. Now we can have communion with the saints. (This does not mean contact with the dead - that is the occult.) Jesus once said, ‘You will see the angels ascending and descending…’ which means that we have contact with heaven because that barrier has been broken. When you repent there is joy in heaven. They are touched and moved in heaven. God has His invisible angels and if our eyes were opened, we would see much more. The angels of those who guard the little ones behold the face of God every day. God can send protecting angels. Remember Elisha and his servant. He saw the massive enemy buildup and he was frightened. Elisha asked God to open his eyes to see that those who were with them were more than those who were against them. God opened his eyes and he saw the hosts of heaven that encircled them. If you turn away from God, do not expect the angels to look after you. They will turn their backs on you until you repent. If you leave the way, the angels will say to God that they cannot be with you. You cannot expect protection from God’s angels when you steal, lie and visit prostitutes - that is insanity. Can the angels look graciously on you if you enter a bathroom and do evil things?
When they saw the stone was gone, they entered the tomb and saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting there. They angel spoke graciously to them. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” An angel from heaven gave them information and told them what to do. It is wonderful to be in tune with heaven and listen to those who have been sent by God – not the devil’s messengers.
Recently, there was an incident of the Lord touching a woman, however, when she got home, she wanted to use fetishes again but she conquered in the name of Jesus. Satan will try every trick in the trade to tempt you, but Jesus will never allow it because He is omnipotent. When Paul suffered, a messenger was sent to encourage him to be courageous in the next step of his life. It is wonderful to be in harmony with heaven. You will be troubled and haunted by the power of evil.
There are many blessings that result from Jesus’ resurrection. He is the eternal son. One of those blessings is, that just as He rose from the dead, we will also rise. Just as He put on immortality and had a new body, we will have immortal bodies on that day, and we will rise. When Jesus was in the tomb, His body remained there but His spirit went into the depths of hell. It returned to the body and it changed into an immortal body and it was resurrected. It is a mystery. It is not explained. We do not know all the places He went to. Jesus told the criminal that he would be with Him in paradise that day. One day we will learn about what He actually did. That which Jesus wants us to know, He will make known to us. He is all wise and He knows what we can handle.
What we do know is that the dead in Christ will rise when Jesus comes, and their bodies will be immortal. Jesus said that Lazarus slept - he was not dead. Jesus said that the daughter of Jairus slept – she was not dead. Christians who have been washed with the blood do not die, we only sleep. When a child sleeps, the mother does not worry about the child. In the same way when a Christian dies, his body stays but his spirit has gone to be with Jesus. His body rests from the work on earth. Death is gain to the Christian. In 1973 when Lydia Dube died and came back, she told us what she had experienced. Afterwards when we had a funeral, she said, ‘Baba Mfundisi, I must confess, I was jealous of that person at that funeral. I wish that it was me. I have seen the glory and joy of the other side.’ Our bodies die but they are just falling asleep. I remember telling Neil when he was hospital, ‘I have prayed that you will be healed but if it is not God’s will, it is a thousand times greater for a man to leave the earth and enter heaven.’ It is worth it. Neil prepared and cleansed his life. That is the greatest miracle that can happen to you, that you leave this world and enter heaven. It is worth it to spend all your energy doing that so that you can partake of that glory and meet Him in heaven. When Neil passed away, one of my children asked whether Neil had seen their mother, but I said I did not know. I was once in hospital and very ill. I dreamed that I entered heaven. I cannot describe what a beautiful place it is. It is inexpressibly beautiful. It is beautiful to move from here to heaven. ‘It is better for me that I go, for death is gain to me,’ said Paul, ‘but for your sakes, I must stay.’
Someone once asked me what will happen to the work when I die. I said, ‘KwaSizabantu will continue with great power when I am no longer here, because those who are with me and those who come after me, will run faster than I did, and they should continue in a better way because I have taught them. If they adhere to that which I have instilled in them, they will run the race in an amazing way. Therefore, I don’t doubt that it will continue even more so.’
But if I am in heaven and see that it is not like that, I will be very disappointed and will say, “Where were you? Were you fast asleep when I preached to you and taught you?”
I was astonished in times past when some people went off the rails, people whom I have taught. They went wrong, they went off the track, so that I said, ‘Don’t people hear?’ I had thought that once I am dead, they might lose the way, but they go off the rails while I am still alive and still preach the same Gospel. But today they are in the forest, some are dead and others fall pregnant in the hills. What fools they are. They are blind, they cannot see that a person has left the road.
Remember that there is a time when your body will exit the grave. The saints will hear the triumphant shout of Jesus as He returns. Those in the graves will receive immortal bodies and ascend. Those who do not belong to the Lord, will rise in judgement and the Lamb of God which they rejected will stand in judgement against them. Their resurrection will be in fear of the Lamb’s anger. They will shout for the hills to fall on them and hide them from the anger of the Lamb. Lambs do not get angry but on that day He will. Unbelievers will stand before God in judgement - with their sins sticking to them like ticks. If you decorated yourself because of pride and haughtiness, you will stand before God with all of that. All your sins will shout against you. If in pride you dressed to lure others to lust, it will be before you because you will stand before the One whose eyes blaze with fire. If you dressed like Jezebel and decorated yourself, you will stand before Jesus with all of that. All your sins, and the secret sins that you are ashamed of, will remain with you. What will it be like if that day of judgement comes and you have not repented? One day will be as a thousand years of judgement. You will sweat on that day because you had discussions about the sins of this world and not about the resurrected Christ. A person once experienced hell and he saw people whose sins stuck to them. The cigarettes clung to their fingers. Even the lies which you successfully got away - all that is hidden - will be exposed. Courts are houses of lies. But the real house of lies is the church where people lie and hide things from the pastor. You may have lied when singing choruses – you say that you will follow Jesus, but you follow your lover and not Jesus. You will have scarcely got home, and you will have sinned. All that will be revealed and it will be on display. You will smell hell even before you get there. Hypocrisy will end on that day. If these sermons have not touched you, that final day will touch you, but it will be too late. Here is Jesus the resurrected one who has been to hell for you. He has vanquished the enemy and death for you. If you do not accept what He has done for you then hell will be yours forever. Even if unbelievers go to hell there will be the great final day when hell and death will be thrown into the eternal fire.
Jesus is not satisfied with part of you. He rejects a partial giving of yourself. He wants all of you. It is all or nothing. Jesus has risen. He is the resurrected One. He shines forever as the eternal Sun. Do you want to live with Him every day, experiencing what the Bible says that we will shine like stars and the sun. You need to become like the Son during this life and not like the devil. I wish that the resurrection of Jesus will bring life, health and relief to you. May His resurrection be to you the fragrance of life and not the stench of death and hell.