Mark 16:1-14, The Resurrection of Jesus
Introduction:
In our last lesson we noticed the burial preparations for the body of Jesus. These preparations were so important because of what would take place three days later. There was no doubt that Jesus was dead. Both the enemies and disciples of Jesus knew and believed Jesus to be dead. If there had been any doubt, Pilate and the Jews would not have allowed the release of the body. In our last lesson we also saw that the body of Jesus was wrapped according to traditional Jewish burial customs. Further, the women as well as the Jews saw where the body of Jesus was laid. The Jews also went to great lengths to ensure that the body could not be stolen by the disciples. Once the large stone was placed in front of the tomb, the tomb was sealed and a guard of soldiers was set in front of the tomb. The security was very high for the body of Jesus. These important points set us up for one of the greatest events to take place.
The Resurrection (Mark 16:1-8)
The empty tomb
It does not take much imagination for us to consider the heartache that the disciples of Jesus are feeling as these three days have passed by. The disciples had not understood that Jesus would rise from the dead three days later. Though Jesus had said these very words, John 2:22 tells us that the disciples did not comprehend these things until Jesus had raised from the dead. John 20:9 tells us again, “they did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.” How disheartening it must have been to know that the one whom they have been following for more than three years has been killed.
Once the Sabbath was completed, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome begin to walk to the tomb, bringing spices to anoint Jesus. We see the love and loyalty of these women to return to the tomb to finish the anointing process of their Savior and Messiah. We must understand the trauma that all these disciples have endured in the last three or four days. The apostles are locked in the house for fear of Jews (John 20:19). It is not a safe time to be a follower of Christ. There is good reason to believe the same outcome of Jesus would happen to His followers. That is why Mark notes the courage of Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin, to go ask for the body of Jesus from Pilate. So we see Mary, Mary, and Salome walking to the tomb. There are so many things these women could be talking about along the way. One thing that may be part of their discussion is the violent earthquake that has occurred earlier that day. Perhaps they are talking about what happened three days earlier to Jesus. Maybe there is simply silence as they make their way to the tomb. We do know one thing that they did discuss along the way: who would roll the stone away from the tomb. A large stone is in front of the tomb of Jesus for the security of the body. Who are these women going to get to roll that stone away? No one is likely to help them. Why would the Romans care? Why would the Jews help?
However, once the women arrive at the tomb, they find the very large stone rolled away. This would be very upsetting. Who has rolled the stone away? What has happened to the body of Jesus? Where has the body been taken? But once the women enter the tomb, they see an angel in a long white robe sitting on the right side. The angel tells them that Jesus who was crucified has been resurrected. See, here is the place where they laid Him, but He is not here. Go tell His disciples and Peter that He is going ahead of them to Galilee . What wonderful words--that probably did not sink in right away. Jesus is not here; He is risen! What could one think at that point! In verse 8 we see the women leaving the tomb trembling and astonished.
Peter and John
The angel was very specific about who to tell. The angel said to go tell the disciples and Peter. Have you ever thought about why the angel also mentions Peter? It is worthy of some thought. At the very least, if you can imagine being in the shoes of Peter after denying the Lord three times during the arrest and Jewish trial of Jesus, Peter feels he has let the Lord down and is not worthy to be a disciple. Perhaps some of the other disciples cannot believe that Peter would have done such a thing. But one can imagine the guilt that would have been resting upon Peter so heavily. Then Mary comes running into the house, telling the disciples that the tomb is empty. I would imagine that Mary’s words are running a mile a minute as she is trying to explain what has happened and what they have seen. After telling the disciples what has happened, most of the disciples do not believe what the women are saying (Luke 24:11). The women are just speaking nonsense. However, Peter and John get up and run to the tomb. John outruns Peter and gets to the tomb first. John stops and stands in awe as he looks inside and sees the strips of linen lying there. Peter goes into the tomb past John and sees the same thing. Peter and John go away in awe, wondering what has happened.
The conspiracy (Matthew 28:11-15)
Meanwhile, the soldiers have gone to the chief priests and reported to them everything that happened. The soldiers tell the Jewish leaders about the earthquake as the stone was rolled away. They tell them about the empty tomb. Jesus is gone. The chief priests and the elders all gather and devise a plan to pay off the soldiers if they will say that they were asleep. If this report were to get back to Pilate, the chief priests would cover for the soldiers so they would not be punished. Therefore, the soldiers took the money and the story was circulated that the soldiers fell asleep and, by implication, the body was stolen. This is the same story that is circulated today. But that is an unbelievable story. As much as the resurrection is an unbelievable miracle, the fabricated miracle is a great stretch of faith. The soldiers slept though they were trained to keep watch under the threat of death. The disciples stole a body that they expected to remain in the tomb, not even thinking about Jesus’ resurrection claims. The disciples were too afraid to leave the house. No, the tomb was secure and theft was not possible. The only answer is a resurrected Jesus.
The Resurrection Appearances (Mark 16:9-14)
But the evidence for a resurrected Jesus is not merely in the fact of an empty tomb. It is also based upon the appearances the resurrected Jesus made to various people. Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene. Jesus then appeared to two travelers who were on the road to Emmaus. Paul tells us that Jesus then appeared to Peter. Jesus then appeared to the disciples while Thomas was not present. A week later Jesus appeared to the disciples again, this time while Thomas was present. Jesus then appeared to over 500 disciples at the same time. Jesus also appeared to James and then to Paul on the road to Damascus .
This is tremendous evidence and reason to believe that Jesus did rise from the dead. There is nothing more important in a trial than having eyewitness accounts of the events that took place. We base all of our history upon such accounts. We have not met or known George Washington to know he lived. But we know he lived and was President because there were eyewitnesses of his life who wrote down the things they saw. The same facts apply to the risen Jesus. If you cannot believe in the risen Jesus, then you cannot believe in any of the presidents that ever are recorded as having lived and being elected in this country unless you saw them yourself. Eyewitness testimony is credible and is the basis for all our history. The eyewitnesses of a risen Jesus are staggering, proving that Jesus lived, died, and now lives again.
The Importance of the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15)
No reason for faith (1 Corinthians 15:14)
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul spends his time talking about the resurrection of Jesus. We would be remiss if we did not spend some time considering what he says about the importance and meaning of the resurrection. The first argument for our consideration is that if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then there is no reason for our faith. We are wasting our time here if Jesus did not rise from the dead. That is why so many have tried so hard to disprove the resurrection of Jesus. Yet this effort has gained for disciples because when one tries to disprove, they find out that it cannot be disproved. The evidences are compelling and give no cause for debate. Our faith in the resurrection is not blind, but is built upon the facts, evidences, and eyewitness testimonies.
The apostles are liars and died for it (1 Corinthians 15:15)
If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then the apostles are liars. Everything they said was merely fable and fabrication. But if this is true, then they died for their lies. I do not know people who are willing to die for a made up story. Yet apostle after apostle died because they taught that they saw Jesus rise from the dead. Who would die for a lie? It was not a lie. It must have been the truth for these men to devote themselves to a life of teaching about the resurrection of Jesus. Why would anyone do this unless they had seen a miracle? But they saw a miracle and therefore would preach to the world about the risen Jesus.
We are still in our sins (1 Corinthians 15:17)
We place a great emphasis on the need for Jesus to die for sins, and rightly so. If Jesus did not die, then we would have no forgiveness and no new covenant to live under. The death of Jesus is very important. But there is more to all of this. If Jesus does not resurrect, but remains dead in the tomb, then our sins are still not forgiven. If Jesus simply dies, what has been gained? Satan will have won the victory over Jesus. The prophecy is that Satan would bruise the heel of the Messiah, but the Messiah would crush Satan’s head. If this does not happen, then sin and death continue to reign. We need Jesus to rise from the dead for us to have forgiveness of sins.
Those who have already died have perished (1 Corinthians 15:18)
If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then there is no resurrection. There is no reason to believe that there is life after death. If God cannot conquer death, then neither will we conquer death. Therefore, without the resurrection, when we die, that is the end. There is nothing more to look forward to, and there is no hope for those who have already died. Christ opened the doorway so that all people could be resurrected from the dead in the final day. Just as He was dead and resurrected, our hope lies in this, such that when we die, we will be resurrected to immortality.
God is not ruling (1 Corinthians 15:24 -25)
If there is no resurrection, Paul argues that Jesus is not ruling and does not have all authority and power that He claimed to have. There is no reason to believe that all things have been subjected to Him. Without a resurrection, God is to be considered powerless and we have no one to look to but ourselves. Of course, this is the attitude of many in the world today, anyway. But the resurrection proves that there is power greater than us, who rules over us. We are in subjection to Him as all things are in subjection to Him. The resurrection proves the authority and power of Christ.
Baptism is pointless (1 Corinthians 15:29)
As we noted in the last lesson, baptism symbolizes a burial of the old self and a rising of the new person to walk in newness of life. Baptism symbolizes that there is a resurrection to hope and life when we are raised up out of the water. If there is no resurrection, what would be the point of baptism? This is the point Paul is making in this controversial text. Why baptize those who are dead and lost if there is no hope for any person to be raised from the dead? That is the point and symbolism in the baptism, that we are being raised to life in Christ Jesus. This is only possible if Christ resurrected. If He did not, baptism has no meaning or value.
Live for the moment (1 Corinthians 15:32 -34)
If there is no resurrection, then we have no purpose in life and there is nothing for us to be living for. Paul says that if there is no resurrection, then let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die. Life then consists of nothing more than food and drink if there is no resurrection. Instead, the resurrection gives each of us hope for the future. The resurrection lets us know that God is greater than the thing humans fear most: death. God can overcome it. Therefore, what we do in this life has a meaning and will bring about an outcome for us in the end.
The Meaning of the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15)
We will be resurrected (1 Corinthians 15:23)
We have touched on this earlier, but Paul makes this point rather clear for us now. Christ was the firstfruits of the resurrection. If, in the likeness of Adam, we all die because of the choice of sin, then, in the likeness of Jesus, we all will be made alive because of the power of God. But there is more meaning and significance to the resurrection besides this.
All enemies will be destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:25)
Not only will we be made alive, but it also means that all the enemies of Jesus will be destroyed. All enemies have been subject to Jesus, and Jesus will destroy those who stand against Him. This is the confidence that we have that justice will be served in the end. We look around and are not satisfied with the justice that ought to be taking place in our society. The resurrection proves that justice will come, for Jesus has taken His rightful place ruling over all those who are on the earth. Judgment will come against God’s enemies.
The righteous will be given heavenly, immortal bodies (1 Corinthians 15:38)
What a terrific and beautiful thought that the limitations of this physical body will one day be finally stripped away from us. This tent, or shell, that houses our spiritual bodies will finally be destroyed and we will be given a spiritual body that does not suffer the things of the flesh. It is the flesh that is weak and that leads us into temptation. It will be removed. It is the flesh that prevents us from serving God like we desire. It will be destroyed. It is the flesh that causes our suffering and pain. But all these things will be taken away. Everlasting life is not about duration so much as it is about a change in the quality of our lives. All the problems of the flesh will be taken away, being given bodies that will not corrupt nor fade away.
Death has no power (1 Corinthians 15:54 -56)
The power of death has been taken away. Death is something that every person must face. In fact, we have a saying that everyone must pay taxes and die. These are the certainties of life. Yet death has been overcome. Death has no power, for it has been conquered by the resurrection of Christ. The stranglehold of death was demolished when Christ rose from the dead. “Where, O death, is your sting?” Paul tells us that the sting of death is sin, but that also has been overcome by the resurrection of Jesus. As Christians, there is nothing to fear. Nothing can overcome us and nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. We can stare anything in the face knowing that it does not affect our eternal outcome. Death will not separate us from God. Physical death is now a transition to our eternal home. Spiritual death we will not taste for we have followed in the footsteps of Jesus.
We have the victory! (1 Corinthians 15:57)
Finally, the victory has been given to us. Our Lord Jesus Christ has given us the victory over all things in this world. The scene that is presented to us is amazing. The outcome of the battle between Satan and Christ has already been won. When Christ rose from the dead, Satan was bound and cast into the abyss, not allowed to deceive the nations again. The power of Satan was shattered. The war is over. The victory has been given to us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The question that we must answer for ourselves is this: Which side of the battle are we on? Have we drawn up sides with the loser or with the winner? Paul made his final admonition of this chapter like this, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58). We know the outcome, and we know our works are profitable. We must, therefore, make our stand for the Lord and receive the victory He has offered.
