Message

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HE HAS RISEN

Mark 16:1-20

Key Verse:16:6 “ Don’t be afraid,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.”

  Mark 16 is the story about the glorious resurrection of Christ. This passage teaches us how Jesus rose again from the dead and how his disciples became the powerful witnesses of the Risen Christ. At the end of this chapter, Jesus gave his disciples a world mission command. While studying this passage, may the Risen Jesus come to us and strengthen us with resurrection faith. Amen.

First, the beautiful but sorrowful women.(1-5) It was the first day of the week after Jesus had been crucified and died on the cross. According to the Jewish calendar, it was Sunday morning.  Very early in the morning several women were on their way to the tomb.(2) Who were they? They were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. (1) Women in Jewish society would not go out early in the morning. It was dangerous. Roman soldiers were still guarding and patrolling the area where Jesus was executed. Why were these women on their way to Jesus’ tomb early in the morning? According to verse 1 they were on their way to anoint Jesus’ body with spices. Hadn’t they already anointed Jesus’ body with their tears when he was crucified? Yes. However, they still wanted to anoint Jesus’ body with spices. Here the spices are known as sweet perfume. Jesus was crucified and died on the cross. Nevertheless, they loved him more. Their love for Jesus is as sweet as perfume and as beautiful as the Mona Lisa.

  Among them, Mary Magdalene received special love and grace from Jesus. According to verse 9, she had been possessed by seven demons. We don’t know what kinds of demons she had had, but she must have suffered much from the power of demons. Jesus had compassion on her and drove out all the demons and healed her. For the first time in her life, she experienced true freedom from the power of sin. For the first time, she tasted real love and joy in Jesus. Since then, Jesus became everything to her. He became her meaning in life. She followed Jesus and served his company with all her heart and with all her soul and with all her might. Not only Mary Magdalene, but all the other women also received grace and love from Jesus. By anointing Jesus’ body with spices, they wanted to express their abiding love for Jesus.

  Still, their steps moving toward the tomb were as heavy as stone. Look at verse 3. “and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”  Tombs in Jerusalem were rock-cut caves. The Roman soldiers put the body of Jesus into a cave and blocked the entrance with a huge stone, which weighed about a ton. The stone was so heavy that even two Roman soldiers barely could roll it. So to these women, it was impossible to roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb. The huge stone which blocked the entrance of the tomb made their hearts darker and darker and their steps toward the tomb heavier and heavier.

  These women’s love for Jesus is very beautiful, isn’t it? But, when they did not meet the Risen Jesus they were sorrowful women. They were sorrowful because of the death of Jesus. They were sorrowful because of the huge stone which blocked their way to Jesus. They were sorrowful because they had no direction in life without Jesus. Their hearts became as heavy as stone and as dark as night. Like these women the life of those who have no resurrection faith looks beautiful and sorrowful.

Second, he has risen! (5,6) What happened when they arrived the tomb? Look at verse 4. “But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. They must have been shocked. How come? With fear and amazement, they entered the tomb. On entering the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side of the tomb. And they were alarmed.(5) According to Matthew’s gospel, the young man dressed in a white robe was the angel of the Lord. His appearance was like lightening, and his clothes were white as snow. (Mt 28:3)

While the women were wondering and being terrified, the angel of the Lord spoke to the women. Let us read verse 6. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.” The women were looking for the dead Jesus. They came to the tomb in order to anoint the body of Jesus with spices. Jesus of Nazareth was a good shepherd for them. He healed the sick and served all kinds of sinners. He taught them about the kingdom of heaven. This sinless and good shepherd Jesus was taken away and crucified before their very eyes. But they did not know why Jesus had to die on the cross. They were just helpless under the power of death.

To these sorrowful and helpless women, the angel gave the most glorious and victorious message about the resurrection of Jesus. The angels said, “He has risen! He is not here…” The angel’s message is the gospel, which is the good news of great joy for all people. What is better news on earth than that of resurrection to those who lose their loved ones? The resurrection of Jesus is good news not only for these women but also for all people on earth who are under the power of death.

  Among all problems in human life, death is the most powerful and significant problem. No matter how great heroes and heroines of the world are, they kneel down before the power of death. Napoleon Bonaparte, the French Emperor, was great. He built the magnificent gate of triumph in Paris called, “Arc De Triomphe” in order to display the glory of France and his military achievement. But before the gate was completed, he died. Only his coffin passed through the gate. It is not only death itself but also the elements of death that influence our lives such as fear, sorrow, despair, anger, hatred, lust, and so on. Liivar Leppik in France UBF suffered from fear of abandonment since his father abandoned him when he was two years old. Because of fear of abandonment he could not trust anyone. He was always anxious of being rejected and abandoned. There was a promising tennis player in Bulgaria. He had learned how to control the tennis ball since he was young. But he did not know how to control his temper. So he broke many expensive tennis racquets out of anger. If anyone feels a sense of failure and easily give up, he is under the power of death. If anyone hates his brothers and sisters, he or she is under the power of death and live in darkness of sin.

  The angel’s message, “He has risen! He is not here,” is the good news of great joy for all people. It is because Jesus destroyed the power of death through his resurrection. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Then, he rose again from the dead by the power of God. Therefore, in the Risen Jesus death has no more mastery over us. There is no more power of sin and death for those who have resurrection faith in Jesus Christ. Not only does the resurrection of Jesus give us eternal life but also it rescues us from the slavery of sin and death. Amen. In the past, the power of sin and death overwhelmed the life of the Apostle Paul. However, after he met the Risen Christ, all his sins were forgiven and the power of death had no more mastery over him. So Paul said, “For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.” (Ro 6:9) I earnestly pray that we all may hear the angel’s message of Jesus’ resurrection so that we may triumph over the powers of death such as despair and doubt. Let us believe the angel’s message and accept it into our deep hearts so that we may receive the power and spirit of the Risen Christ. Amen.

Third, Go and preach the good news (7-20) While the women were trembling and wondering, what did the angel tell them to do? Look at verse 7. “But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” The angel told the women to deliver the good news of Jesus’ resurrection to his disciples. The angel commanded the women to be witnesses of the Risen Christ. The angel helped the women to remember what Jesus had said about his resurrection beforehand. (Mk 8:31,32, 9:9,31,10:34, Jn 2:19) Look at verse 8. “Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.” According to Luke 9:9 when they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. The women obeyed the angel’s message and preached the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. Their testimony about the resurrection of Christ did not seem to be significant and important. However, their testimony laid foundation for world mission. Later Jesus’ disciples believed the women’s testimony and became witnesses of the Risen Christ. The good news of the resurrection of Christ soon spread to all Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Ac 1:8)

  Last week I saw the hope of God for Europe through 2009 European Summer Bible Conference. During the conference several young men and women in Europe testified to the grace of Jesus and determined to preach the good news of Jesus to those who are under the power of death in Europe. From a human point of view, they are like five small barley loaves and two fish. But, when they go out and preach the good news as the women did in this passage, it will only be a matter of time before Europe will change into a kingdom of priests and holy nation. Our one to one Bible study seems to be small and insignificant. However, God will use it as five loaves and two fish to change America into a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Amen.

Mary Magdalene, who had been possessed by seven demons, was the first witness of the Risen Jesus. She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. (10) What was their response to her message? When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.(11)

  Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country.(12) They were the two disciples who were going to a village called Emmaus in Luke’s Gospel. (Lk 24:13) After recognizing that he was the Risen Jesus, the two returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them, either.(13, Lk 24:35) Why then did the disciples not believe the resurrection of Jesus Christ even though they heard the good news again and again? First of all, they did not believe the resurrection of Jesus because of their fixed ideas. Their ideas were that no one could come back to life after death. Indeed, they had never seen anyone who rose again from the dead. Often our fixed ideas limit the power of God. Those who have a sense of failure think that everything is impossible for them. Their fixed ideas come from unbelief and they can be overcome only when they believe in the Risen Jesus. When we believe, we will experience the power of God every day and see one miracle after another in our lives.

  How did Jesus help these unbelieving disciples? According to verse 14 later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. Jesus rebuked their unbelief. The best encouragement for those who don’t believe is not human sympathy, but rebuke. Jesus’ rebuking worked well.

  What did Jesus do after he rebuked his disciples’ unbelief? He gave them a world mission command. Look at verse 15,16. “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” What a challenging command to these weak and doubtful disciples! At that time the disciples never thought about going into the world. They had no money to buy even a boat ticket. Above all, they had no faith to go out to preach the good news of Jesus. Nevertheless, Jesus commanded them to obey his world mission command. This is because world mission is the most urgent and important task which his disciples should obey. The disciples must believe in the absolute power and authority of the gospel for salvation. Jesus said that whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. To believe in Jesus is not optional, but imperative. When we go out to preach the word, we also must believe in the absolute power and authority of the gospel for salvation.

What did Jesus promise to those who believe and obey world mission command?  First, Jesus promised to give them power. Look at verses 17. “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues.” Those who believe will receive power to drive out demons. They will also speak many languages by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Ac 2:6) There is no language problem for those who have resurrection faith. Second, the Risen Jesus promised to protect them. Let us read verse 18. “they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” The life of mission is a spiritual battle. In the middle of spiritual battle we often become wounded and sick. We sometimes fall into danger. But Jesus promised that he would protect us from all danger and harm while we carry out the world mission command. Missionary Dr. Samuel Yoo in Uganda Africa was pricked by needles while he was caring for AIDS patients. So he had to have safety check-ups each time. However, God protected his life and made him stronger and healthier.

Today we heard the angel’s message, “He has risen! He is not here.” Those who were sorrowful and fearful were changed and became joyful and powerful witnesses of the Risen Christ. The resurrection of Jesus destroyed the power of sin and death. The resurrection of Jesus opened the way for us to enter the kingdom of God. The resurrection of Jesus enables us to carry out the world mission command. May the Risen Christ grant us the power of resurrection so that we may overcome our own problems and become powerful witnesses of the Risen Christ. Amen.

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• pamk16m-2009.doc