‘Didn’t See That One Coming
Mark 16:1-8
Jesus Christ is alive!!!
-and we can’t say He didn’t warn
us
Last week I read some of Jesus’ predictions of His own death, but I
intentionally left out one key
element...listen
-Read Mark 9:30-32
-Read Mark 10:33-34
This morning as we finish The
Gospel According to Mark, we’ll
explore some of the different
reactions to the resurrection
-let me tell you up
front: they will sound familiar—not only
because
you’ve heard them from the
biblical record, but also because they
are still so common, even
after 2000 years
Read Mark 16:1-3
Make no mistake about it—we often take this simple act for granted
-no doubt, it is an act of genuine devotion
and compassion
-it’s also an act of immense courage when you
take into account
that the Jewish religious
leaders were a little psychotic about
making sure no one messed with
the body of the crucified Christ
--add to that the fact that
there are Roman soldiers posted at the
tomb as guards—you can only imagine how
grumpy they are
going to be after
spending a night of security detail for a corpse
But as admirable as all that is...and as beautiful of a picture it
paints...
-the truth is that the women had
gone to worship a dead Jesus!
--they are concerned about the
guards, the spices, the rock, the
official Roman seal that
had been placed over the tomb
-they don't go expecting to find
Jesus alive, much less find Him as a
risen, conquering, Savior and
Lord
-they might tell you they have
hope for a future resurrection at the
end of time, but the reality is that they
expect to find Him just as
as they'd left Him on Friday
afternoon
--in other words, badly
beaten and bruised and bleeding,
powerless, helpless...and
quite dead
-we almost chuckle at their
dense, pitiful lack of faith
Now turn the page to 2006
-around the world today,
millions are streaming to a church, shrine,
or cathedral to celebrate the
Resurrection of Jesus Christ (which
is why we worship on Sunday)
--but has anything really changed?
-I know what we say we believe...I
know what our doctrinal
statements say, what the
ancient creeds say
--I know what we sing and read and
proclaim
---but the question still remains...
----are we guilty of worshipping a
dead Jesus?
Does our faith...do our lives point to a risen Lord?
-or do others look at us,
convinced that we follow a Jesus was
ultimately only a good guy
who helped the poor and sick
--do we live like He has no
real relevance, no real break-through,
life-changing stuff?
-we believe in Jesus teaching people how live
their best life now
--but do we reject the Jesus
who died on the cross for your sins?
-does the way we live and grieve and die reveal
that we don’t really
believe in a real risen-from-the-dead
Jesus?
For some people, church is more like a trip to the cemetery
-they go with friends and family...usually
only on special occasions
--they drop a couple of
dollars in the donation box
--they leave some flowers to
make the grave more beautiful
---but the reality is that they are still
just decorating a place for
old bones
--they spend a few quiet moments with memories
and feel a little
better about
themselves...there’s always something good about
fulfilling your
obligation
--but once they’ve done your time there, they
quickly return to
their car...to their
home...their job...back to their life and its
myriad of
insurmountable problems
---and when all is
said and done—nothing of any actual
consequence has
changed
A woman entered a jewelry store in
the counter that she was interested
in a gold cross necklace
-"Which kind," the
clerk asked, "a plain one? Or one
with a little
man on it?"
Is Jesus just a relic—seriously?
Is He just a little man on a necklace?
Are we worshipping a dead Jesus?
Think about that for a moment...because if it is true, then we
might as well follow Confucius
or the Dalai Lama
-a dead Jesus has no more
power to save us from our sin, to
deliver us from hell, and
to give us eternal life than Buddha does
--in fact, when you get
right down to it, Larry Johnson or Albert
Pujols is just as
good of a savior as a dead Jesus
Here’s a riddle that’s not funny at all
Q. What you get when you have a group of people
following a dead
Jesus?
A. Dead disciples filling dead churches
We see that in John 20:18-19 [Read]
They've been told that Jesus has conquered the grave and death...
He's defeated Satan, sin,
Listen to the description of the place again...the doors were shut
where the disciples were for
fear of the Jews
Do you see what's going on?
-that’s like the Chiefs being
afraid to play against a YMCA team
Doors are shut
because of fear
-that’s far too many churches in
--in fact, as a whole, the
Church in
spending time, energy,
and money protecting our rights rather
than proclaiming our
risen Redeemer
-we do consumer research so we
can market ourselves to the world
so they'll buy what we're
selling...rather than living in the world and
ministering to their needs
-we are more concerned with
being socially acceptable than being
acceptable in the sight of
God
-or we become so fearful of the
world that we retreat into our brick
and mortar monasteries and
hope evil will go away and leave us
alone...instead of
confronting evil with the truth and grace
How did we become this way?
-well, when you worship a dead
Jesus you pretty much rob Him of
His power...His power to
forgive sin...His power to transform
lives...His power to give
genuine hope
--after all, a dead guy
can’t do any of those things
In the film, Beau Geste...the fort
had been defeated, in fact, there
were only 4 soldiers alive...but
they held off the advancing enemy
for a moment by propping up the
dead soldiers to give the
appearance there was still some
life inside
-beau geste is French for a gesture that noble in form, but is
meaningless in substance
How many churches are beau geste?
Are we?
-we show everybody on the outside
that we're OK
--we have all the right
programs...our weekly schedule is just as
busy as Highview’s or
-but all we're really doing is
running around propping up dead people
--and that’s all we’ll be doing if we keep the doors
closed because
we’re afraid and because we’re
worshiping a dead Jesus
-if we worship a dead Savior we
can’t be anything but dead disciples
--1 Corinthians 15:17-19 à If
Christ has not been raised, your
faith is futile; you are still in your
sins. Then those who have
fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope
in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all
men.
-tragically, that describes way
too many churches today...so on any
given
Sunday, the pews are filled with those whose faith is futile,
who are still in their sins, who
sing meaningless songs, who hear
sermons of coping and not of
power and life, and who are the most
pitiful people on earth
--listen to this
carefully...don’t even think that
“life” is necessarily
associated with loud,
cutting-edge music
---I know
“contemporary” churches that are as dead as our
neighbors to the
north
--don’t think that all “old,
mainline” churches are dead
-this has nothing to do with a
church’s denomination, their so-called
worship “style,” or their
median age
--this has everything to do with their reaction to
and their
relationship with
Jesus Christ
And it’s no surprise that is inseparably linked to another reaction at
the tomb that Resurrection
morning
-Read Mark 16:4-7
For me personally, seeing an angel wouldn’t scare me because I see
one every morning when I wake
up(!)
-but say I’m going to visit my
grandparents’ graves and when I get
there the ground has opened
up and a dude in a white robe
sitting on the tombstone who says,
“Chill. You’re looking for
Go tell your family and
meet them at their old house in
just like they had told you
(but you thought they were senile and
so you didn’t believe
them).”
Be honest—that would unnerve you—so I can understand their fear
-what's difficult to handle,
however, is what happens next
--Read Mark 16:8
Trembling and bewildered...they flee...and they say nothing to anyone
because they are afraid
-afraid of what?
—the angel?
--are they afraid it’s all
their imagination?
--are they afraid no one
will believe them?
--are they afraid everyone
will laugh at them?
--are they afraid it might
be too good to be true?
--or were they afraid of
Jesus...who has taken their preconceived
notions of who the
Messiah is and blown it to smithereens?
Whatever the reason for their fear, the result was the same
-because they are afraid, they say
nothing
--think about it—at this point they are the
only ones in the world
who know the greatest,
most earth-shattering, life-changing
news...ever...but they choose
not to tell anyone
-how foolish, how crazy is that?
and...how...just...like...us
Are you afraid—so afraid that you say nothing...that you live your
entire life in fear?
-fear of the future, fear of
the unknown, fear of death?
--if you are, there are really only a couple of
explanations
*You might reject
the truth or the historicity of the Resurrection
-your thinking sounds something
like this: the Resurrection of
Christ cannot be
scientifically proven; therefore, it must be false
--that sounds great, sounds
so modern, sounds so intellectual
-and your basic premise is correct: the Resurrection cannot be
scientifically proven
--can't go back in time and have a control
tomb and an
experimental tomb...and
see if one produces a living Messiah
-so your premise is logical,
but your conclusion is flawed
--let me give you an
example: Who was the twelfth president
of
the
--y'all know it was Zachary Taylor, but how do you know that?
---you can’t
scientifically prove it!
--you believe it and accept it because of
historical testimony
---yet that's precisely what the four Gospel
accounts are—four
historical records, documenting numerous eyewitnesses
----Read
1 Corinthians 15:3-8
-sure, you can reject the
historicity of the resurrection, but to be
logically consistent, you
would have to deny the fact that Charles
Lindbergh flew solo across
the
World War I ever
happened...you couldn’t even accept the attacks
on September 11, 2001...and you’d
even have to toss out the
memorable presidency of Zachary Taylor
--some scholars have noted
that there is more historical
evidence for the
Resurrection of Jesus than there is for the
existence of William
Shakespeare...but I bet you can’t find a
single Shakespeare
agnostic
*I’m convinced that
the problem for most people isn’t the lack of
“historical proof”...the real problem is that many people—even
so-
called Christians—reject the significance
of the Resurrection
-I believe a lot of
people—even church people—think: OK, so it
happened...but what's the
big deal?
-the Resurrection proves Jesus'
claims of being the Son of God
-the Resurrection proves God
accepted Jesus sacrifice on cross
-the Resurrection proves God
will accept us who trust in Christ
-the Resurrection proves He can
still minister to us today
-the Resurrection proves He conquered
death and the grave
-the Resurrection proves we no
longer need to fear death
-the Resurrection proves we have
NOTHING to fear now
So...what is your reaction to the Resurrection?
Are you worshipping a dead Jesus?
-have you essentially made Him to be of no
consequence in your life
--you'll wear Him on a necklace, but it's
not like He's changed your
life or anything
-know this: Jesus is not on the cross!
--Jesus is not in the grave!
--Jesus is alive and He wants you to be
alive for Him
---today, surrender your life to following the real Jesus
Are you a dead disciple?
-do others see the love of Jesus
in your actions, words, attitudes?
-are you a soldier in Beau Geste
and this church is your fort?
-have you been putting on a good
show on the outside, but on the
inside you are simply dying?
-has fear kept you from telling
the good news?
Rededicate your life to Jesus Christ...renew your commitment to
allow Him to transform you from
the inside out
-make a
commitment to build relationships and share your faith
-confess your fear for what it
is—sin—and accept God’s peace
John 14:27 à Peace I leave with you; my peace I give
you. I do not
give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled
and do not be afraid.
John 16:33 à I have told you these things, so that in Me
you may
have peace.
In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I
have overcome the world.
John 10:10 à The
thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I
have come that they may have life, and have
it to the full.
John 10:28 à I give
them eternal life, and they shall never perish;
no one can snatch them out of My hand.
John 11:25-26 à I am
the resurrection and the life. He who
believes in Me will live, even though he
dies; and whoever lives
and believes in Me will never die.
John 14:1-4, 6 à Do not
let your hearts be troubled. Trust in
God;
trust also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it
were
not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place
for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back
and take you to be with Me that you also may
be where I am. You
know the way to the place where I am
going. I am the way and the
truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
John 15:11 à I have
told you this so that My joy may be in you and
that your joy may be complete.
John 16:20-22 à I tell
you the truth, you will weep and mourn while
the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to
joy. A
woman giving birth to a child has pain
because her time has come;
but when her baby is born she forgets the
anguish because of her
joy that a child is born into the world. So with you:
Now is your time
of grief, but I will see you again and you
will rejoice, and no one will
take away your joy.