When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3 They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. 5 Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. 7 But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’” —Mark 16:1-7
Sermon Outline
1. Jesus Rose for the
2. Jesus Rose for the
3. Jesus Rose for the
Weekly Study Guide
As we have been journeying with Jesus through the final week leading up to the cross, we have seen so many beautiful and instructive pictures highlighting all of what Passover represents. God established the sacrificial system in the Old Testament for His people Israel, to teach them the consequences of sin and to prepare them for the provision of the ultimate sin sacrifice He would send in the person of His own Son. In the Passover commemoration, the power and message of salvation itself is laid bare before us.
To review a bit of what we have already seen: the Jews were commanded to select a lamb without spot or blemish, kill it, and sprinkle its blood on the lintel and doorposts of their home. Because of the blood of the lamb, they would escape the judgment of death. This lamb was to be selected and set aside for examination on the 10th of Nisan, as was Jesus on “Lamb selection day” (what we know as the Triumphal Entry). Not a bone of the lamb was to be broken. This sacrifice was to be made in each home on the evening of Passover, in anticipation of the sacrificial lamb being slaughtered for the nation the following morning. As each member of the family participated in the eating of the lamb, along with the unleavened bread and the wine, they were participating in the body and blood of the sacrifice. In 1 Cor 10:16-17 we see that in our observance of the Lord’s Supper, we are participating in the body and blood of Jesus. We also see that the bread of the Passover Seder must be unleavened, striped, and pierced. This vividly pictures some of the horrors our sinless savior endured on the cross.
The drama that unfolded during the Passion week was not a random set of circumstances that simply “happened” to occur. That singular week consisted of divinely orchestrated appointments planned and carried out by our sovereign God to accomplish very specific ends. The stage for this drama was set back in the garden when mankind rebelled against our creator, separating us from being in relationship with Him. In response, the plan put into effect by God is previewed in Genesis 3:15, where God fires the first warning shot across Satan’s bow, revealing that one day, the offspring of the woman would be his demise.
The next act of the drama revealed that God chose one man through whom He would raise up a family—which would become a nation—through whom He would send a deliverer. While our natural inclination is to see a deliverer merely in terms of physical or earthly oppression, this deliverer would do so much more than that. Before He could deliver us physically, He first needed to deliver us spiritually. This deliverance by Messiah would save us from the ravages of sin and the rebellious hearts we all possess, and reconnect us to the source of life—our creator God.
One of the most important lessons we see God teach in scripture is that sin has consequences. These consequences were vividly and unmistakably displayed in the next act of the drama, revealed in the very life and history of Israel. Sin brings death—and to help them understand what that really looked like, God’s people were given an inescapable, unrelenting object lesson. They had to endure hundreds of years of slaughtering innocent little lambs and pouring their blood on the base of the altar. This wanton slaughter of helpless animals forced people to grapple with the ramifications of their rebellion against God. Day after day, month after month, year after year, these unending bloody sacrifices would have indelibly engraved the message upon the hearts of God’s people. We might naïvely see the temple as a serene place of worship. But for the people of Israel, it was a slaughterhouse. There were literal rivers of blood flowing out of the temple daily.
But intertwined with that message of the price of sinful rebellion was the promise that one day the sacrifices would end. The blood of bulls and goats only temporarily covered over the sins of the people. God’s promise was that Messiah would come, and His sacrifice would completely take away sins once and for all. What the people did not understand was that it would need to be Messiah Himself who would be that final sacrificial lamb. The sacrifice needed to be a man in order for it to apply to mankind. But the sacrifice also needed to be God to be of sufficient worth to cover the sins of the whole world. Thus, the final paschal lamb must be the God-Man. This climax of the drama that began with the rebellion in the Garden is what we encounter in the Passion week. What was accomplished on the cross at this pinnacle Passover, is what John the Baptist foretold in John 1:29. The lamb of God has taken away the sin of the world.
With the clarity afforded us through the benefit of hindsight, it is difficult for us to understand, when reading Isaiah chapter 53, how the purpose of the death of Messiah was not apparent to the people of Israel. Yet that is how hindsight works. The vivid description of what Jesus endured for us perfectly captures the full meaning of Passover. We began this study with an encouragement to read through this powerful passage several times, in preparation for our journey. It seems appropriate to close this journey meditating on these same vivid truths.
Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, my Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.
One of the Hebrew names for the feast of Passover is Aman Cheruteinu, which means “season of our emancipation,” or “time of our freedom.” The result of the Passover in Egypt was freedom from physical slavery for Israel. The ultimate result of Jesus offering Himself as our Passover lamb is freedom from the spiritual slavery to sin for us all. Let us come away from this journey understanding not only that Passover is much more than merely an interesting Old Testament story, but that it directly impacts our walk with Jesus. Romans 15:4 points out that “…whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Let this exploration of Passover drive us to our knees in worship for what our God has done for us.
Discussion questions:
- The women in today’s passage were told to go tell the disciples that Jesus had risen. Who did God send you to tell you that Jesus had risen? Did you have trouble believing that message? Were you more of a quick believer, or a slow doubter?
- What two messages are the women given by the angel (Luke 24:5; Mark 16:6-7)? This is the second time Jesus has told the disciples to go down to Galilee (Mark 14:28). Why do you think the angel singled out Peter in his instruction? What might this indicate about God’s plans for Peter? What else did Jesus have in mind for Peter in his restoration?
- What do you think was going through the minds of the Apostles following the death of Jesus? They had spent three years seeing the miraculous as well as confirmation after confirmation that Jesus was indeed their long-awaited Messiah. Then their world came crashing down as they witnessed Jesus actually die. Try to put yourselves in their shoes. What would they be thinking and feeling at this point? What does it say about these women that, although the disciples had scattered, they were the ones who came to care for the body of Jesus? Even though their devotion was strong, what details do we see in Mark 16:1-3 that lead us to believe they, too, did not believe Jesus would rise from the dead?
- In your experience, how do people typically react when the idea of Jesus rising from the dead comes up? How have you responded to these reactions? What kinds of evidence is there for the resurrection of Jesus (both biblical and extra-biblical)?
- How do you think you would have responded if you were in that situation, with the women and with the disciples? Would you have stuck around, or fled? What was at stake for these followers of Jesus? What danger were they in? What is your response today to the call of Christ to “go tell others” that Jesus has risen from the dead? How active are you in this calling? What holds you back from doing even more? What can you do this week to take a step toward obedience to the call of Christ to both “be and make disciples”?
Going deeper:
- In light of the monumental significance of the death of Jesus, it is easy sometimes to underestimate the importance of His resurrection. Read Rom 5:10, 6:1-14, 8:11; 1 Cor 6:14, 15:20-23. What do you see in these passages about the ramifications of the resurrection of Messiah? How has the resurrection of Jesus changed all of human history? How has it changed your life?
- Why was it necessary for Christ to be raised from the dead? Read John 1:4 and 5:26. What is it about His nature that makes this necessary? Read 1 Chron 17:14 and Psalm 89:29. Why else must Jesus have been resurrected? Read 1 John 5:11-12; Eph 1:19-20; and 1 Cor 15:12-19. What is Jesus the source of, now that He is resurrected?