The Resurrection: A Matter of Life and Death
- As we go through these passages, my prayer is that we would understand the importance of the resurrection, to the believer.
Mark 15.44
Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died.
45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so,he gave the body to Joseph.
46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body,wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone againstthe entrance of the tomb.
47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where hewas laid.
- Because typically, crucifixion was a long, agonizing death – yet Jesus died in a matter of hours.
- However, we can be sure that He was dead because the death was confirmedby careful examination of eyewitnesses recorded in the Book of John.
John 19
31 It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was Passover week). So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down.
32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus.
33 But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs.
Mark 16
Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body.
2 Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb.
3 On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?”
4 But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.
Mark 9:30-32
They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not wantanyone to know where they were,
31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said tothem, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.”
32 But they did not understand what he meantand were afraid to ask him about it.
- How often do we find ourselves more concerned with the giant stones in our lives? - We allow them to overshadow the promises of Jesus and find ourselves forgetting what He has promised us in His Word.
1 Corinthians 15:57
Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
John 16:33
I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.
- When we are troubled by the immovable stones in our life, we need to fix our eyes on Jesus– the one who can move mountains and remove all obstacles that hinder us from coming to Him for help.
Mark 16
4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.
5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
- Matthew 27:65-66 reminds us that there was a guard set round the tomb.
- All this shows that the stone could not have been rolled away by the women (they were not strong enough) or by the disciples (even if they were brave enough, they could not overcome the armed guards).
- We also understand that no one else wanted to roll away the stone.
- Matthew 28:2 tells us that it was an angel who rolled it away.
- The stone was not rolled away to let Jesus out.
- John 20:19 tells us that Jesus, in His resurrection body, could pass through material barriers.
- It was rolled away so that others could see into the tomb and be persuaded that Jesus Christ was risen from the dead.
Mark 16
6 “Don’t be alarmed,” 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. 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.’”
8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
- The death and resurrection of Jesus are essential pillars of truths that we hold to as Christians.
John 3:16-17
For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
1 Corinthians 15:12
But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead?
13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either.
14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.
15 And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead.
16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised.
17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins.
18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost!
19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.
20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.
- What Paul is saying is, we must hold to the truth of the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus.
- Because He is our only Hope in this world.
Romans 8:11
The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.
