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Mark 16:1-8 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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Please take out your copy of God's Word.
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Turn to the Gospel according to Mark chapter 16.
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!
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We have been for quite some time in our verse-by-verse exposition of Mark's Gospel account in the Passion Week,
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this final week of Jesus' life.
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In fact, since the beginning of chapter 11, Mark is accounting this,
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which Clay started out for us on September 7th of last year.
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We've been working our way through it.
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We've seen the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem on Monday.
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Yes, you heard me correctly.
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Palm Monday.
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The cleansing of the temple on Tuesday.
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The teaching and confrontations with Jesus on Wednesday.
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The prophecy and Last Supper on Thursday.
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And then the betrayal, arrest, the six various trials,
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the suffering, the crucifixion, and burial on Friday.
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And we haven't talked about it at all because it wasn't in our text,
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but there is also the silence of Saturday.
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There is a rather famous motto of the Protestant Reformation,
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which is in Latin, of course,
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which is post tenebrous lux,
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which means after darkness, light.
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And they meant it in various ways.
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They were coming out of what would have been called the Dark Ages,
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separating from, reforming Catholicism.
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But they also meant it for what Christ has done in the world.
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The darkness of sin being pierced by His sacrifice on the cross.
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And certainly today, we have much to celebrate in that.
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After the darkness of Christ's suffering, crucifixion, and burial,
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we have the light of the resurrection.
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And today we get to look at that.
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What a glorious thing to do in chapter 16, verses 1-8.
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This is likely the end of Mark's narrative.
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Some of your translations may not include a verse 9-20,
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although most do, but we'll put it in brackets
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and give some explanation to the fact that
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very few of the early manuscripts contain verses 9-20.
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Most scholars agree that verses 9-20 were not in the original text.
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And there's much contention about whether or not
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our ending, verse 8, is in fact Mark's intended ending or not.
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We have to use verses 9-20 with a great deal of caution.
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Certainly, denominational practice should not be formed on those verses.
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And I will say to you today, I'm thankful that this is my closing of Mark's gospel account.
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But we are going to look at verses 9-20,
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and Clay is going to pick up that gauntlet and tackle that for us next week.
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Likely mostly to talk about bibliography and how it is we arrive at
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what is the scripture and what isn't the scripture.
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So, for our kind of study proper,
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this will be the closing of Mark's gospel account.
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For fun, I looked back.
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We began our sermon series through Mark's gospel account
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on September 22nd of 2013.
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That's 81 Sundays ago.
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I can't say with certainty that we've done anywhere near that many sermons.
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I know we've taken a couple of breaks, at least four for sure, this past February.
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But we've been at this for quite some time.
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And what a wonderful, glorious way to end it now with the resurrection.
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I'm so very thankful for this text of Scripture, Mark's gospel account.
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And so very thankful for the opportunity to preach it to you over this past year and a half.
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Because in so many ways, my heart has been rent in two as we've studied Mark together.
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It has been pierced and divided.
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It has been impressed upon me the high cost of discipleship
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and the subsequent glories thereof.
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The beautiful nature of following Christ,
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that it's going to mean suffering in this world, but glory beyond.
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Mark's purpose for writing of this narrative has been so carefully applied to my being
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by the transforming work of the Spirit of God.
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And I hope that this has been true for you as well.
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If you're a guest with us, I know you haven't heard all of this.
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But for those of you who have been here regularly,
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I really hope that Mark's gospel account has worked in you in the way that it's worked in me.
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And if you are a guest with us this morning, I hope this closing will do the same.
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So let's read together.
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Mark 16, verses 1-8.
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When the Sabbath was passed,
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Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Siloam brought spices,
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so they might go and anoint Him.
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And very early on the first day of the week,
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when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.
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And they were saying to one another,
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Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?
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And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back.
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It was very large.
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And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side,
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dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed.
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And he said to them,
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Do not be alarmed.
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You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.
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He has risen.
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He is not here.
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See the place where they laid Him?
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But go tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee.
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There you will see Him, just as He told you.
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And they went out and fled from the tomb,
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for trembling and astonishment had seized them.
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And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
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This is God's Word to us.
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It was written for His glory and our good.
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We would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises
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and obey its commands.
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Now, this morning, I do not wish to play the apologist
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compounding for you the facts concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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Although there are many,
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and I would encourage you, if you are a skeptic to any degree,
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to take a good look at them.
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This morning, by faith,
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I and I hope you accept the reality of such an event,
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this resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
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So much hangs on the historic veracity as we will soon see.
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But for the skeptic this morning,
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let me read just a short quote from Charles Spurgeon,
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the Prince of Preachers, who said,
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the resurrection is a fact better attested
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than any event recorded in any history,
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whether ancient or modern.
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And I hope for the skeptic in you that may allow your mind to rest enough,
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give some assumption to the reality of this event
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to see what it is that has been made possible by it.
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Let's notice together a few things before we get into the doctrine of the resurrection.
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Let's notice a few things about Mark's telling of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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If you look at the synoptics as well as John,
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there's a lot of variance in the tellings.
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And so, let's look at Mark's account,
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and I'll pull together some of the others for you as well.
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And we notice first,
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the women that go when the Sabbath was passed.
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To begin with,
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we need to be clearly thinking about the amount of days that have passed
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since Jesus was crucified.
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And for some, this becomes problematic
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because He was crucified on Friday,
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and He was resurrected on Sunday,
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which from our estimation is only two days.
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But He has predicted over and over again
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that after three days, He would rise.
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So just as a note to you,
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you must know that the Jews would have counted as a part of a day,
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a full day.
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So Friday would have been day number one
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when He was laid in the tomb.
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Saturday day number two.
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The end of Saturday would have been sundown on Saturday.
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Sunday begins,
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and it's on this day that He's resurrected.
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And so three days,
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and He is risen.
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So it's when the Sabbath has passed.
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Saturday, the day of rest.
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It would seem that the women were unable to properly adorn His body,
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able to take the spices that would have been given.
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Not that He would have been embalmed the way
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the pharaohs of old would have been embalmed in Egypt,
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but it was a process they went through,
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a way of preserving the body a little bit longer,
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mostly to show honor to the one who was being buried.
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There was a great deal of rush
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about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ,
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making sure that He was dead and put in the tomb
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before sundown on Friday when the Sabbath began
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and the Jews could do no work at that time.
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And so it would seem that He wasn't properly embalmed at that time.
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And so when the Sabbath is over,
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they have gone,
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they have bought these spices,
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and now they're coming to anoint Him.
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Very early, verse 2 says,
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on the first day of the week.
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And Mark, as he's so glossary sometimes,
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includes very few details,
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in this case wants us to be sure to know
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that it's when the sun had risen.
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It's early, early morning on Sunday.
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And they go to the tomb,
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and they're not very prepared,
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I'll have you note,
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when they go to the tomb,
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because on their way to the tomb,
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they're wondering how in the world
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they're going to even access the body of Christ.
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This very large stone, Mark tells us,
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has been rolled in front of the tomb.
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And they say,
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who will roll away the stone for us?
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But when they get there, verse 4,
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they see that the stone has already been rolled back.
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Mark doesn't give us much else.
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It leaves a lot to be assumed on our part.
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But Matthew records in 28, verse 2 of his Gospel account,
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And behold, there was a great earthquake,
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for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven
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and came and rolled back the stone.
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And sat on it.
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So God Himself sent a messenger
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to roll away the stone
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to prepare for them to come and see
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that their Savior was, in fact, risen.
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It's very significant that it's women that go,
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and they're the first ones to see this,
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and that all of the accounts record
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that this is the case.
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For two reasons.
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First, they were witnesses to His life.
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You can see that in chapter 15, verse 41 of Mark.
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To His death.
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Chapter 15, verse 40.
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To His burial.
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Chapter 15, verse 47.
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And now, His resurrection.
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These women have been given privy
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to see all of these events together.
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It's as if it taps it all off.
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That their testimony might be able to carry across
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all of the major events of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.
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His life, death, burial, and now His resurrection.
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Secondly, they're women.
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Significant.
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The significance of the women is that they are women.
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And to us, this isn't very telling,
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but certainly, in this day, it would have been.
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Let me read you a little bit from Sinclair Ferguson's commentary on Mark.
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He writes,
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Mark tells us that it was the women
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who first discovered the empty tomb
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and who heard the first announcement of the resurrection.
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To our 20th century Western minds,
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that may seem unremarkable.
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But in the context of first century Palestine,
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it was highly significant.
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For women were often treated as second-class citizens.
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Their testimony would be inadmissible in a court of law.
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As witnesses, they had no standing.
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No one who wanted to fabricate a convincing account
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of the resurrection in first century Palestine
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would have dreamed of doing it in this way.
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These were not the witnesses for this day.
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They did not carry with them the credibility
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to speak to this.
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So if someone were simply making this up,
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they would not have included this detail about the women.
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Later, we see in John's account
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that John and Peter go and see the empty tomb.
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This is where they would have begun
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if they weren't committed
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to sharing the whole story with their readers.
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There's a great deal of beauty in the Gospel
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and this extension of God to women of this day
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that they might be the first witnesses
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of such an event.
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To just kind of cap that off for you,
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Josephus, who's a Jewish historian,
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in his book entitled Antiquities of the Jews said,
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But let not the testimony of women be admitted
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on account of the levity and boldness of their sex.
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And ladies, I don't know if that's offensive to you or not,
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but there certainly is a degree of both things
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which we love about you.
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And we see that they enter the tomb in verse 5.
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I'm trying to backpedal off that, but I can't.
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So we will move on.
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In verse 5, we see that they enter the tomb.
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They see a young man sitting on the right side.
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Very little detail again from Mark.
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A young man seated on the right,
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dressed in a white robe,
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and they are alarmed.
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Who is this man?
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Why should they be alarmed?
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Again, Matthew's account gives us a bit more detail
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in chapter 28, verses 3 and 4.
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Matthew writes,
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His appearance was like lightning
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and his clothing white as snow.
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And for fear of him,
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the guards trembled and became like dead men.
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They passed out is what that means.
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This is a phrasing that would have been used in this day.
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So presumably, the women,
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when they show up to the tomb,
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they're not alone.
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There's this man sitting there
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who's like lightning,
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but also the guards are passed out on the ground
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because he was such a fearful sight.
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And he says to them,
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as so many angelic appearances start in this way,
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do not be alarmed.
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Do not be alarmed.
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You seek Jesus of Nazareth
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who was crucified.
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And then this most wonderful,
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most emphatic statement,
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He has risen.
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He is not here.
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Listen to the same telling from Luke 24,
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verses 6 and 7.
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Luke records,
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He is not here,
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but has risen.
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Remember how He told you
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while He was still in Galilee
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that the Son of Man
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must be delivered in the hands of sinful men
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and be crucified
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and on the third day rise.
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So in Luke's account,
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this angel gives to them
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a remembrance of the things that Jesus said.
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And they're saying to them,
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the things that Jesus has said
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would come to pass,
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have.
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Do not be alarmed.
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He told you this would happen.
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And He does it a number of times
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in Mark's account.
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Mark 8, 31,
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9, 31,
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and 10,
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33-34.
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If you've been here,
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we've gone through those
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and repeated them a number of times.
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Let me read to you
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just Mark 9, 31,
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where Jesus says,
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the Son of Man
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is going to be delivered
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into the hands of men
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and they will kill Him.
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And when He is killed,
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after three days,
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He will rise.
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So,
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the previous prophecy
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has already come to pass.
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Jesus has been delivered
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into the hands of men
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and they have killed Him.
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And now,
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it's fulfilled
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that after three days,
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He has risen.
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And the angel gives a command to them,
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but go.
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Do not be alarmed.
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This thing has happened
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that's supposed to come to happen.
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Verse 7,
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but go.
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Tell His disciples and Peter
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that He is going before you
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to Galilee.
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There you see Him
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just as He told you.
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But just as He told you
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is found in Mark 14, 28.
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It's a little detail
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that's easy to miss,
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but Jesus says,
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but after I am raised up,
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I will go before you
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to Galilee.
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We'll go back
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to the place of preparation,
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the place in which
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He gathered up the disciples,
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the place where most
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of His ministry took place.
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Kind of the home turf
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is where they would gather together
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once again
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before Jesus finally ascends
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and sends them on their mission
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to establish the church
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and to change the world.
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But they leave.
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Mark's record is very brief
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at this point.
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They leave the tomb.
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They flee from it.
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And for trembling and astonishment,
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they say nothing to anyone,
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for they were afraid.
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We have noted on a number of occasions
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Mark's particular way
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in which he records the failures
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of those who were close to Jesus,
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pressing at us all through
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his Gospel account
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to be disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ,
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but showing all along
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how very difficult
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and challenging
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this is.
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We know of Mark's life
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that he deserted
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Paul and Barnabas.
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Paul wanted nothing
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to do with him after that.
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In fact,
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that was the conflict
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that called Paul and Barnabas
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to part ways.
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And Barnabas wanted
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to take his cousin,
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John Mark,
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along with him
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on this next stage
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of their journey.
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And Paul wanted nothing
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to do with the deserter.
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But we get to see later on
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in multiple texts
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that now this Mark
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is now serving alongside
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and likely imprisoned
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with Paul
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in a number of places.
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He himself
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has been this
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restored deserter.
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We see it to be true
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of Peter
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and the way in which
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he tells Peter's story.
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And we know that
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Peter is restored.
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And he seems to do it again here.
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He seems to hang the ladies out
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that they didn't do
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what they were asked to do
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by the angel of the Lord,
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at least not
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in his telling.
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In other tellings,
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we see that they do go
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and they do share
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with the disciples.
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But at this moment in time,
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they say nothing
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because they are so
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very afraid.
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And it would seem
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that this is the way
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that Mark concludes
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his Gospel account
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of the life, death,
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and resurrection
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of Jesus Christ.
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So we should take some time.
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We would do well
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to reflect upon
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the doctrine
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of the resurrection
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or the things
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that are possible
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because of
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the resurrection
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of Jesus Christ.
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So,
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you had your exegesis
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now for your doctrine.
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Firstly,
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Jesus' resurrection
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is the guarantee
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of our regeneration.
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Now, regeneration
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is an act of God
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in which we are given
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new spiritual life.
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to borrow the language
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of John 3,
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to be born again.
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In John 3,
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Jesus says
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that we must
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be born again
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to see
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the kingdom of God.
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That our
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image-bearing
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capacity
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has been spoiled
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by sin.
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By very nature,
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we are not acceptable
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to God.
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And so we must be
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born again.
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We must be
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made new
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to be found acceptable
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and to be part
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of His kingdom.
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We're once not
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a people,
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but we need to be
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made a people.
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We're not citizens.
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We need to be
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citizens
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of the kingdom of God.
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And this requires
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regeneration.
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Ezekiel 36,
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26 and 27,
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the Lord says this,
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and I will give you
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a new heart
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and a new spirit
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I will put within you
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and I will remove
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the heart of stone
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from your flesh
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and give you
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a heart of flesh.
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And I will put
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My Spirit within you
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and cause you
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to walk in My statutes
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and be careful
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to obey My rules.
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This is regeneration.
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And what He's doing
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in such beautiful language
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is saying that our hearts
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apart from Christ,
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apart from His intervening work
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in our lives,
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are hearts of stone,
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cold,
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hard,
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against the things
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of God.
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But He will take that
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out of us
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and He will put in us
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a heart of flesh,
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a heart that beats
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for Him.
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He will make us new.
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He will give us
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His Spirit
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and cause us,
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move us
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to keep His statutes
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and to obey
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all of His rules.
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And the text there
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gives us a clue.
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How is it that God
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works this change in us?
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What is the means
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by which He accomplishes
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this work?
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John 3.8 says
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that regeneration
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is a work
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of the Holy Spirit.
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It's one of the great works
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that God accomplishes
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by that part of the Trinity
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known as
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the Holy Spirit.
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John 3.8 says
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the wind blows
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where it wishes
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and you hear it sound,
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but you do not know
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where it comes from
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or where it goes.
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So it is with everyone
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who is born
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of the Spirit.
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So Jesus' resurrection
22:23
is incredibly important to us
22:25
because He made a promise
22:26
to the apostles
22:27
to send the Spirit
22:29
to them.
22:30
He needed to be alive.
22:32
He had said all these things
22:34
to them.
22:34
What a sad, sad day
22:35
for them
22:36
from their perspective,
22:37
from their side of the cross.
22:38
His death was
22:39
because all of the things
22:40
He had said
22:40
would come to pass
22:41
had yet to.
22:43
How is it possible
22:44
that He would do the things
22:45
He said He was going to do
22:46
if He's dead
22:47
and buried
22:48
and in a tomb?
22:51
John 16.7 says,
22:52
Nevertheless,
22:53
I tell you the truth.
22:54
It is to your advantage
22:56
that I go away.
22:58
For if I do not go away,
23:00
the Helper,
23:01
He's referring to the Holy Spirit
23:03
there,
23:03
will not come to you.
23:05
But if I go,
23:07
I will send Him to you.
23:10
Jesus is telling His disciples
23:11
before His death
23:12
that His death, burial,
23:13
resurrection,
23:14
and ascension
23:14
is necessary
23:16
that the Spirit of God
23:17
would come.
23:19
I have at many points
23:20
in my life
23:21
wished that Jesus
23:22
would be here now
23:23
with us.
23:24
Of course,
23:24
I long for His second coming
23:26
when He'll finish His work.
23:28
But in the meantime,
23:30
wishing that He
23:30
would be here with us.
23:33
But He says
23:33
it's to our advantage
23:35
that He goes away.
23:36
We have a better thing.
23:39
It's better to be a Christian now,
23:41
to have new hearts
23:43
and the Spirit of God
23:43
working within us,
23:45
than to have walked with Him
23:46
in those days.
23:48
That's hard for me
23:48
to get my mind around.
23:50
It's something to certainly
23:51
meditate upon.
23:53
It's a better thing
23:55
to have the resurrected
23:57
and ascended Jesus Christ
23:59
and been granted
24:00
the promised Holy Spirit.
24:03
1 Peter 1.3
24:05
helps tie this thought together.
24:08
Peter writes,
24:09
Blessed be the God and Father
24:11
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24:13
According to His great mercy,
24:15
He has caused us
24:17
to be born again
24:17
to a living hope
24:19
through the resurrection
24:20
of Jesus Christ
24:22
from the dead.
24:23
Now, Peter sees
24:24
that this was a necessary thing.
24:26
The resurrection of Jesus Christ
24:28
must have taken place
24:29
in order to guarantee
24:31
our regeneration.
24:34
So that was firstly.
24:35
Jesus' resurrection
24:35
is the guarantee
24:36
of our regeneration.
24:38
Secondly,
24:40
Jesus' resurrection
24:40
is the guarantee
24:41
of our justification.
24:45
Now, justification
24:46
justification is
24:47
the right legal standing
24:48
before God.
24:50
Justification is
24:51
the opposite
24:52
of condemnation.
24:55
To state it in the negative,
24:57
to be justified
24:58
before God
25:00
is to not be guilty
25:02
of the sins
25:04
that are ours,
25:05
that ultimately belong to us,
25:07
that we own,
25:08
is to have those dismissed,
25:10
stricken from the record.
25:11
That's to state it in
25:12
the negative.
25:13
And I don't mean
25:15
in a bad way.
25:17
Right?
25:18
Stated in the positive,
25:20
to be justified
25:21
is to be declared
25:23
righteous.
25:25
righteous.
25:26
In the perfect life
25:29
and death,
25:30
suffering,
25:32
death,
25:33
and resurrection
25:34
of Jesus Christ,
25:35
we have given to us
25:37
both
25:38
the effect of Jesus'
25:41
passive
25:42
and His active obedience.
25:44
His passive obedience
25:45
being the suffering
25:45
of His life
25:46
and His death.
25:47
His active obedience
25:48
being all of the righteousness
25:50
that He exhibited
25:51
before
25:53
in His living.
25:54
Right?
25:54
That we're not just found
25:55
neutral before God,
25:57
having our sins dismissed,
25:59
but that we're found
26:00
righteous before God
26:01
because we have
26:02
Christ's righteousness.
26:05
Christ's propitiation says,
26:06
thank you,
26:06
He appeased God's wrath
26:08
with His death.
26:09
Right?
26:10
Christ's propitiation says
26:10
He appeased God's wrath
26:12
when His death,
26:13
the wrath that was due us,
26:15
we have failed
26:16
in every way
26:17
to keep God's moral law.
26:18
If you're not found
26:19
in Christ today,
26:20
please know that
26:21
this is true of you.
26:22
It's true of all of us.
26:24
The great meta-narrative
26:25
of humanity
26:25
is that we all have sinned
26:27
and we all fall short
26:29
of the glory of God.
26:30
There is none righteous.
26:32
No, not one.
26:33
We have all failed
26:34
to meet His standard.
26:37
It's impossible to do so
26:39
because of our sin nature.
26:41
So there is infinite wrath
26:43
due to us.
26:45
But because of Christ's sacrifice,
26:46
because Christ took the wrath
26:48
of God on our behalf,
26:49
we have been given
26:51
a dismissal note for that.
26:54
1 John 2.2 says,
26:55
He is the propitiation
26:56
for our sins
26:58
and not for ours only,
26:59
but also for the sins
27:00
of the whole world.
27:02
So Christ's propitiation,
27:03
He appeased God's wrath
27:03
with His death.
27:04
Christ's imputation,
27:06
we are granted
27:07
His righteousness.
27:09
Romans 10.4,
27:10
For Christ is the end
27:12
of the law for righteousness
27:13
to everyone who believes.
27:17
It doesn't mean
27:17
that there's not a standard
27:18
we are still to live to.
27:20
This is not cheap grace.
27:23
Grace is costly
27:24
in that it requires your life.
27:26
That we are meant
27:27
to pursue God
27:28
with all that we have.
27:30
We are still meant
27:30
to fulfill the moral law of God,
27:33
but when we fail
27:34
and we will,
27:36
we still have His righteousness.
27:39
We get to wear it.
27:41
I get to put it on
27:41
as a cloak.
27:43
And as I endeavor
27:44
by God's grace
27:45
to live to His righteous standard,
27:47
my failures are covered
27:48
by His goodness to me
27:50
in Christ.
27:53
Romans 4.22-25,
27:56
after a rather lengthy discourse
27:58
about Abraham's faith
27:59
in God's promise,
28:01
says this,
28:03
That is why his faith
28:05
was counted to him
28:06
as righteousness.
28:08
We're talking about Abraham.
28:09
But the words
28:10
that was counted to him
28:11
were not written
28:11
for his sake alone,
28:13
but for ours also.
28:15
It will be counted to us
28:18
who believe in Him
28:19
who raised from the dead
28:20
Jesus our Lord,
28:22
who was delivered up
28:23
for our trespasses
28:24
and raised
28:25
for our justification.
28:26
You see Paul
28:27
wrapping those ideas together.
28:29
Us being given
28:30
our justification.
28:32
Our sins dismissed.
28:34
Us taking on
28:35
the righteousness of Christ
28:36
because of the One
28:38
who raised Jesus
28:39
from the dead.
28:40
So Jesus' resurrection
28:42
is the guarantee
28:43
of our regeneration.
28:46
Jesus' resurrection
28:46
is the guarantee
28:47
of our justification.
28:50
And thirdly,
28:51
Jesus' resurrection
28:52
is the guarantee
28:53
of our resurrection bodies.
28:57
This is a bit briefer point,
29:00
but an equally glorious one.
29:04
Jesus was the first recipient
29:05
of a new body.
29:08
This transformed state.
29:13
You know,
29:13
there are other men
29:14
who had been resurrected.
29:16
Take Nicodemus
29:16
as the example for that.
29:19
But 1 Corinthians 15.20
29:21
says,
29:22
but in fact,
29:23
Christ has been raised
29:24
from the dead.
29:25
The first fruits
29:26
of those
29:28
who have fallen asleep.
29:30
So He's the beginning
29:32
of something.
29:35
The first fruits.
29:37
He's the beginning
29:38
of this new type
29:39
of transformed body.
29:43
And we will be recipients
29:44
of the same type of body
29:47
which will have
29:48
no more disease,
29:50
sickness,
29:52
suffering,
29:53
death.
29:54
There's much conjecture
29:55
about exactly what this
29:56
will look like.
29:57
I have absolutely no idea.
30:00
I'm going to guess
30:02
maybe my 18-year-old self.
30:04
I'm going to go back
30:05
to that
30:06
because life hurt
30:08
a lot less
30:09
in those days.
30:12
Take my 18-year-old self
30:13
and take out type 1 diabetes
30:14
and that I think
30:15
might be my resurrected state.
30:18
We don't really know,
30:19
but we know that we will have
30:20
transformed bodies,
30:22
that they will be without
30:23
all the suffering
30:24
and the disease
30:24
and the sickness of the world
30:25
and that they will not die.
30:28
So to say that Jesus' resurrection
30:30
is the guarantee
30:30
of our resurrection bodies
30:32
is to say that we will live
30:33
with Him forever.
30:37
Praise God.
30:39
1 Corinthians 15.42
30:40
Paul says,
30:42
So it is with the resurrection
30:43
of the dead.
30:44
What is sown
30:45
is perishable.
30:47
He's using this analogy
30:48
of the way that seeds
30:50
bring forth something else.
30:52
The way a seed goes
30:53
into the ground
30:53
and it dies,
30:54
but then it brings forth
30:55
a different type
30:57
of vegetable or fruit.
31:00
What is sown
31:00
is perishable.
31:01
What is raised
31:03
is imperishable.
31:06
So Jesus' resurrection
31:07
is the guarantee
31:08
of our regeneration,
31:09
our justification,
31:10
and our resurrection bodies.
31:14
We have been changed by God,
31:15
made righteous in His sight,
31:17
and will live with Him forever
31:19
because Jesus lived
31:21
the perfect life.
31:22
He died to bear our sin,
31:25
and He was raised
31:26
to glory.
31:35
So what?
31:36
What do we do
31:36
with these types of doctrines?
31:39
I hope firstly,
31:40
not as a point of application,
31:42
but I hope firstly
31:43
that those kinds of truths
31:44
just warm your heart.
31:46
That you're just given
31:47
cause to celebrate
31:49
who God is to us
31:51
in the personal work
31:52
of Jesus Christ.
31:53
That you want to exalt His name
31:55
because of what He's done
31:56
on your behalf.
31:57
It really should be enough.
32:01
But all the same,
32:03
Jesus' resurrection,
32:05
as I mentioned before,
32:06
supplies to us
32:08
the Holy Spirit.
32:09
Let me read to you again
32:10
John 16, 7.
32:11
Nevertheless,
32:12
I tell you the truth,
32:13
it is to your advantage
32:13
that I go away.
32:14
For if I do not go away,
32:15
the Helper will not come to you.
32:17
But if I go,
32:17
I will send Him to you.
32:19
All of us
32:20
who have placed our faith
32:21
in Jesus Christ
32:22
are given the gift
32:23
of the Holy Spirit.
32:25
We have Him.
32:26
He abides within us.
32:28
And I know that's trippy
32:29
to think about.
32:31
But He does.
32:33
All the same.
32:34
We are given Him
32:34
as a seal
32:35
and as a helper.
32:39
So firstly,
32:41
Jesus' resurrection
32:41
supplies by the Holy Spirit
32:44
the surety
32:45
of your salvation.
32:47
the sure knowledge
32:50
of your justification
32:51
before God
32:53
and your eternal state
32:55
of your future
32:57
resurrection body.
33:00
I think it would be good
33:01
if you turned with me
33:02
to 1 Corinthians 15.
33:04
The classic resurrection chapter.
33:06
Some people might try
33:16
to not preach a sermon
33:17
on Easter Sunday
33:18
using 1 Corinthians 15.
33:20
It's rather difficult to do.
33:25
It would seem that a number
33:26
of the Corinthian believers
33:29
or otherwise
33:29
those that were part
33:30
of the church
33:31
believe that it is not possible
33:34
that a person
33:34
could be raised
33:35
from the dead.
33:35
And Paul is addressing that
33:37
here in chapter 15
33:39
in such a wonderful way.
33:41
Let's begin
33:41
at verse 1 and 2.
33:43
Now I'd remind you,
33:44
brothers,
33:44
of the gospel
33:45
I preach to you
33:46
which you received
33:48
in which you stand
33:49
and by which you are being saved
33:51
if you hold fast
33:53
to the word
33:53
I preach to you
33:54
unless you believed
33:55
in vain.
33:56
So let's just note
33:57
he's saying,
33:58
now it reminds you
33:58
of the gospel I preach
34:00
by which you are being saved.
34:02
And then he goes on
34:02
to elaborate
34:03
in the rest of the chapter
34:04
about this gospel
34:05
he preached.
34:06
What is it that he had come
34:07
and preached to them?
34:10
Earlier on
34:11
in the book of 1 Corinthians
34:12
he said,
34:12
I came and I knew
34:13
nothing among you
34:14
except Jesus Christ
34:15
and Him crucified.
34:18
Which includes
34:19
the resurrection.
34:20
He elaborates on that
34:21
later on in that chapter.
34:23
So 1 Corinthians 15.12-19.
34:26
Now if Christ is proclaimed
34:28
as raised from the dead,
34:29
how can some of you say
34:30
that there is no resurrection
34:32
of the dead?
34:33
But if there is no resurrection
34:35
of the dead,
34:35
then not even Christ
34:37
has been raised.
34:38
And if Christ has not been raised,
34:40
then our preaching is in vain
34:41
and your faith is in vain.
34:43
We are even found
34:44
to be misrepresenting God
34:46
because we testified
34:47
about God
34:47
that He raised Christ
34:49
whom He did not raise
34:51
if it is true
34:51
that the dead are not raised.
34:53
Are you tracking his logic
34:54
through that?
34:55
For if the dead are not raised,
34:57
not even Christ
34:58
has been raised.
34:59
And if Christ has not been raised,
35:01
your faith is futile
35:03
and you are still
35:04
in your sins.
35:07
Then those also
35:07
who have fallen asleep
35:08
in Christ have perished.
35:10
If in Christ we have hope
35:11
in this life only,
35:13
we are of all people
35:14
most to be pitied.
35:17
So the resurrection
35:18
of Jesus Christ
35:19
by the Spirit
35:20
gives us this surety
35:21
of our salvation.
35:23
If it didn't happen,
35:25
we are fools.
35:27
We are absolute fools.
35:30
What are you doing
35:30
with this mourning
35:31
if Jesus Christ
35:32
has not been raised
35:33
from the dead?
35:33
Go do something else
35:35
because this is a waste
35:36
of your time.
35:37
That's stated in the negative.
35:38
We are fools
35:39
if Christ has not been raised.
35:42
Don't leave.
35:42
I'm thankful
35:43
that He has been.
35:44
Stated in the positive,
35:46
we have not believed
35:49
in vain
35:49
because He,
35:51
in fact,
35:52
has been raised.
35:53
We are not fools.
35:55
We are wise
35:56
for having believed
35:57
this thing.
35:59
2 Corinthians 1.22 says,
36:01
God has also put
36:02
His seal on us
36:03
and given us
36:04
His Spirit
36:05
in our hearts
36:06
as a guarantee
36:07
of these sure realities
36:09
that we may be found in Him.
36:12
So Jesus' resurrection
36:12
supplies by the Holy Spirit
36:14
the surety of our salvation
36:15
and secondly,
36:17
the power
36:18
for your sanctification.
36:20
The power
36:21
for your sanctification.
36:22
Let me draw your mind
36:24
back to the doctrine
36:25
that the resurrection
36:28
guarantees
36:29
your regeneration.
36:31
The power for that
36:33
comes from the resurrection.
36:34
Your regeneration.
36:35
That you have been changed.
36:37
That you have been made
36:37
a new creation.
36:41
The term sanctification
36:41
has two elements to it.
36:44
One is that
36:45
once we are found
36:46
in Christ,
36:46
we have been set apart.
36:48
We have been
36:49
sanctified.
36:50
We have been
36:50
separated in status.
36:53
We are a new type
36:54
of individual.
36:56
But it also carries with it
36:57
this element
36:58
that we are still
36:59
in the process
36:59
of being made
37:00
into those people
37:02
for the glory of God.
37:03
That all throughout
37:04
our lives
37:04
we will be made
37:05
in greater and greater degree
37:07
more like Christ.
37:10
So this is the type
37:11
I'm talking about.
37:12
That power
37:13
for our sanctification.
37:14
We have been made new.
37:15
Therefore,
37:16
we have the ability
37:17
to proceed
37:19
to strive
37:20
after righteousness.
37:23
After all,
37:24
Paul says in Philippians 1.6
37:25
and I'm sure of this,
37:27
that he who began
37:27
a good work in you
37:28
will bring it to completion
37:29
at the day
37:30
of Jesus Christ.
37:32
God has saved us
37:34
and God will
37:35
perfect us.
37:38
Romans 8.11
37:39
Paul writes,
37:40
that the Spirit of Him
37:41
who raised Jesus
37:41
from the dead
37:42
dwells in you.
37:43
He who raised Christ Jesus
37:45
from the dead
37:45
will also give life
37:46
to your mortal bodies
37:48
through His Spirit
37:49
who dwells in you.
37:51
We have been given
37:52
the Spirit of God
37:54
that we might live
37:55
to God.
37:58
And there are far too many
37:59
people today
38:00
who profess
38:01
the name of Christ
38:02
and there's zero
38:03
evidence of it
38:05
in their life.
38:06
None whatsoever.
38:08
What does Jesus say
38:08
about vines
38:10
that don't bear fruit?
38:11
They'll be trimmed away
38:13
and thrown
38:13
into the fire.
38:15
A good tree
38:16
bears good fruit.
38:19
It is necessary
38:20
that having been saved,
38:23
the evidence of this
38:24
is that we live
38:26
for God.
38:27
And the Spirit
38:27
gives us the power
38:29
to do so.
38:30
It gives us the power
38:31
to resist sin.
38:35
Beloved,
38:36
we do not have
38:38
to sin
38:38
any longer.
38:40
We've been set free
38:40
from it.
38:41
We're no longer
38:41
slaves to it.
38:43
Romans 6, 9-11.
38:46
We know that Christ
38:48
being raised
38:49
from the dead
38:50
will never die again.
38:52
Death no longer
38:53
has dominion
38:54
over Him.
38:56
For the death
38:57
He died,
38:57
He died to sin
38:59
once for all.
39:00
But the life
39:01
He lives,
39:02
He lives
39:03
to God.
39:04
You see this?
39:06
He died a death
39:07
to sin.
39:08
Now,
39:08
being raised,
39:09
He lives to God.
39:10
Verse 11,
39:11
so you also
39:13
must consider
39:14
yourselves
39:14
dead to sin
39:16
and alive to God
39:17
in Christ Jesus.
39:20
You have been given
39:21
the ability
39:22
to keep God's standard
39:24
now.
39:25
Will you?
39:27
It's not likely.
39:28
It's not likely.
39:30
But you can
39:31
and you should.
39:34
We've also been given
39:35
the power by the Spirit
39:36
to be obedient.
39:37
to not only do
39:39
the things
39:39
that we're not
39:40
supposed to do,
39:41
but to do the things
39:41
that we are
39:42
supposed to do.
39:45
Paul again,
39:46
Colossians 3,
39:47
1 and 2.
39:48
If then
39:49
you have been
39:50
raised with Christ,
39:52
seek the things
39:52
that are above
39:54
where Christ is,
39:56
seated at the right
39:56
hand of God.
39:58
Set your minds
39:58
on things that are above,
40:00
not on things
40:01
that are on earth.
40:03
We have been given
40:04
the ability
40:04
in Christ
40:05
by His Spirit
40:06
because of
40:08
the resurrection
40:09
to live
40:10
in this way.
40:13
Beloved,
40:14
there is such a
40:14
great mission
40:16
set before us
40:17
as the people of God.
40:19
The exaltation of God,
40:21
declaring the supremacy
40:21
of Christ
40:22
in all things
40:23
to all peoples.
40:26
We've been given
40:26
the power to do this,
40:27
to resist sin,
40:28
to be obedient to this.
40:30
To be the disciples
40:31
that Mark is calling us
40:33
to be all
40:33
throughout the text.
40:35
To give up
40:36
all things
40:37
for the sake
40:38
of Jesus Christ
40:39
and the gospel
40:40
of the kingdom
40:41
of God.
40:44
I'll repeat to you
40:45
the motto
40:47
of the Reformers
40:49
post-Tenebrous Lux.
40:53
They meant it
40:53
certainly for their
40:54
reform from Catholicism
40:56
coming out of
40:57
the dark ages,
40:58
the wonderful
40:59
translations of
41:00
Bibles that were
41:01
taking place.
41:02
So much light
41:03
in that sense.
41:05
They meant it
41:06
also in terms
41:07
of the way
41:07
in which a dark
41:09
heart is turned
41:10
to God
41:11
that the light
41:11
of the gospel
41:12
would penetrate it.
41:14
And I would say
41:15
to you this morning
41:15
that this very same
41:17
motto should be
41:18
true of us
41:19
today.
41:21
That those ways
41:22
in which we have
41:23
not pursued God
41:25
in light
41:25
of the glorious
41:27
truth of the
41:28
resurrection
41:28
of Jesus Christ,
41:30
we should allow
41:31
the light of the
41:32
gospel to penetrate
41:34
those dark places
41:35
in our hearts
41:36
as well.
41:38
If you don't
41:38
know Christ,
41:41
your fate is
41:42
eternal damnation.
41:44
And you need to
41:45
hear that.
41:45
You need to be
41:46
warned of the
41:47
judgment that is
41:48
to come.
41:49
God is a good,
41:51
loving God.
41:53
He's also a just,
41:55
condemning God.
41:56
He has a standard
41:57
that none of us
41:59
have held
41:59
and we must
42:00
have Christ's
42:02
righteousness
42:02
on the day
42:03
of judgment.
42:05
So please,
42:06
I plead with you,
42:08
if you have not
42:08
placed your faith
42:09
in Christ,
42:10
allow the light
42:10
of the gospel
42:11
to dawn in your
42:12
hearts for the
42:13
first time
42:14
this day.
42:15
The call of the
42:15
gospel is not
42:17
to walk an aisle
42:17
and repeat after me.
42:19
The call of the
42:20
gospel is to
42:21
repent,
42:22
turn from your
42:22
sin,
42:23
and believe
42:24
in the person
42:25
and work.
42:26
His life,
42:27
death,
42:28
burial,
42:28
resurrection,
42:29
ascension of
42:31
Jesus Christ.
42:32
Let's pray together.
42:33
Amen.