 Here in the gospel of Mark chapter 16. I want to begin reading to you at verse 1 I'll read verses 1 through 8 and we'll get into our study this Easter morning Mark Chapter 16 beginning at verse 1 reading to verse 8 Now when the Sabbath was passed Mary Magdalene Mary the mother of James and Salomey bought spices That they might come and anoint him Very early in the morning on the first day of the week they came to the tomb when the sun had risen and They said among themselves Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us? But when they looked up they saw that the stone had been rolled away for it was very large and entering the tomb They saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sit in on the right side and they were alarmed But he said to them do not be alarmed You seek Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified? He's risen. He's not here See the place where they laid him But go tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you Into Galilee There you will see him as he said to you So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb for they trembled and were amazed and they said nothing to anyone For they were afraid It's only been three days Might a while have been three years And for the disciples it was hard for them to believe that it had all come down to this Just a week before Jesus had ridden on the fall of a donkey into the city of Jerusalem and what we call Palm Sunday He had been surrounded by a multitude of people all shouting welcoming him in Many had spread their clothes palm branches on the road before him as he entered Mark in chapter 11 told us in verses 9 and in 10 Those who went before and those who followed cried out saying Hosanna Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord who's on in the highest The atmosphere was electric. It was charged with jubilation and filled with excitement This was the beginning of a very momentous week in the life of Jesus and and his men and the week was filled with activity When you look at your bible and you read what took place during that last week We read that on Monday he returned to the city of Jerusalem as he came in he cursed a barren fig tree Went to the temple and cleansed it on Tuesday. He gave what is called the Mount of Olives discourse He was teaching there in Matthew chapter 24 and 25 and he spoke to them Concerning the last days and the second coming and spoke to them of judgment The bible doesn't say what he did on wednesday, but on thursday he celebrated pass over He washed the feet of his disciples On that night he instituted the Lord supper He used bread and wine as symbols of the life that he was yielding on their behalf And he taught his men something very simple. He said remember me He then went to a garden It was there that his former follower a man by the name of Judas betrayed him His disciples all foresook him and fled And he was led away to be tried And after this sham of a trial Jesus was sentenced to death And he was crucified on friday At this point we need to consider what Jesus's disciples would have been going through They went through the incredible loss The trauma that would be produced when Jesus was taken and crucified This miracle working man Was taken and was killed This man that they had seen walk on water A man that they had seen feed thousands He could command a storm and the storm would be quiet He made blind men see crippled men walk. He cleansed lepers. He even raised the dead He was undefeated in debates with religious experts. He would silence them And he was love in human flesh. He welcomed and transformed outcasts and sinners Even in Gethsemane when he was arrested his men knew who was in charge When the officers and soldiers entered the garden to take him They didn't approach him. He's the one who approached them In john 18 verses three through nine John writes a Judas having received a detachment of troops and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees Came there with lanterns torches and weapons Jesus therefore knowing all things that would come upon him went forward and said to them, whom are you seeking? They answered him Jesus of Nazareth Jesus said to them, I am he And Judas who betrayed him also stood with them Now when he said to them, I am he they drew back and fell to the ground And he asked them again, whom are you seeking? And they said Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus answered I've told you that I am he Therefore if you seek me let these go their way that the saying might be fulfilled Which he spoke of those whom you gave me I have lost none This man was invincible Yet he was taken he was crucified And he died And his followers were confused They were afraid When Jesus had been taken They forsook him They fled Some had gone into hiding in fear that they would be pursued hunted down and killed And this had happened on friday But now it's sunday The bible says in verse one When the Sabbath was passed Mary Magdalene Mary the mother of james and salami Bought spices that they might come and anoint him These women had come to the tomb bringing spices that they might anoint his body Mary Magdalene Mary the mother of james the last who was an apostle He's the son of alpheus a woman by the name of salami Who was a mother of james and john as well as joanna And other women were there as it says they came to finish the burial of jesus christ Two of his disciples a man by the name of joseph Another by the name of nicodemus secured his body for burial They had followed them these women had followed them in order to know Where jesus had been buried In luke 23 verses 55 and 56 it says the women who had come with him from galilee followed after They observed the tomb and how his body was laid They returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils They rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment You see joseph and nicodemus had hastily prepared jesus's body for burial So these women had come that they might finish The procedure they wanted to anoint the body of jesus because the jews didn't didn't balm dead bodies They anointed them That was to offset the smell of decay It was an act of love and an act of honor for jesus Again three days before he'd been crucified. They witnessed his death They came early to finish Burying him and that's what is meant when mark says that they might come and anoint him Now this provides proof by the way that the death and burial of jesus wasn't a hoax There are those who believe and say that jesus only appeared to die and that is a hoax or rather a a Statement that was made very early in his ministry even see it in the gospel Where it states that that they were afraid that jesus would be stolen His body would be stolen by his disciples and that's what they had said a guard Around the tomb because very early people had believed that jesus's body had actually been stolen From the tomb and there have even been books written over the centuries concerning that So they say well jesus christ only appeared to die or they came and stole his body I don't know if you know this but islam teaches that jesus did not die on the cross In their quran in chapter 4 verse 157 it reads because of their saying We slew the messiah jesus son of mary allah's messenger. They slew him not Nor crucified him, but it appeared so unto them And lo those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof They have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture. They slew him not for certain And so this is something that's been going on for years where people have denied that jesus died was buried and was resurrected He did not fake his own death in order to deceive people into believing that he had risen They're coming to the tomb prepared to finish his burial speaks loudly to this And he didn't faint he didn't pretend to be dead and then roll away the stone the bible makes it very clear He died And jesus died at three in the afternoon Bodies were not to remain on a cross on the Sabbath So a special request had been made for the body of christ In order that it might be removed and be buried mark 1543 says that joseph took courage And went into the governor and asked for the body in requesting his body He was confessing to be a believer something he hadn't done before So joseph and nicodemus took jesus's body. They gave him a king's burial It may be that they felt they didn't give him honor The kind of honor he deserved was still alive And so in verse two it says very early in the morning on the first day of the week They came to the tomb when the sun had risen The women arrived early sunday morning. It was dawn. It was still dark And that's a demonstration that they hadn't listened closely to him as he had taught them Remember that jesus had prepared his disciples for this very important day He knew that they'd be overwhelmed with what they were about to go through Matthew tells us in chapter 17 verses 22 and 23 While they were staying in galilee jesus said to them the son of man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men They will kill him and the third day he will be raised up They were exceedingly sorrowful on many occasions jesus had taught them from the very beginning It's recorded in john chapter 2 and several times through the gospels He was preparing them, but they still weren't ready even the night before Jesus had once again attempted to prepare them John 16 tells us in verse 20 that jesus said most assuredly i say to you that you will weep and lament But the world will rejoice you will be sorrowful But your sorrow will be turned to joy Which was a picture of the fact that they were going to have joy at his resurrection He had taught them that he would die. He had taught them He would be resurrected and he wanted them to know and believe that death would not have the final victory He would definitely die, but he would be raised from the dead But that message was too deep for them to understand You see The reason part of the reason is is because in all human experience death is absolutely final In the book of jobe in chapter 14 verses 1 and 2 We read man who is born of woman is of a few days and full of trouble He comes forth like a flower fades away He flees like a shadow and does not continue Death is finality There are a few things that speak with the authority and the finality of a funeral There's something about attending a funeral that actually sobers you up Funerals cause us to consider the brevity of life the Inevitability of death in ecclesiasties chapter 7 verse 2 It says better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting for that is the end of all men The living will take it to heart You go to a funeral and it makes you sober minded you go to a party and you don't learn anything And so the writer of ecclesiasties says that it's it's better to mourn than to be always laughing because you get a sobriety and you understand finality You see in the midst of the pain you go through we might even forget. We've been what we've been taught about resurrection When you're there viewing the body of someone you love deeply it has an impact. That's immeasurable And the grief is sobering It's like time suddenly stops as you view this and experience this pain And during that time we might even forget what we've been taught In our christian teachings about resurrection Viewing that body Is just an immeasurable moment for us the reality of death Can cause us to forget all that we would claim we believed Like in the case of martha and jesus After martha's brother lazarus had died When lazarus died martha began to speak to jesus. It's recorded in john chapter 11 verses 21 and 22 John says that martha said to jesus lord if you'd have been here my brother would not have died But even now i know that whatever you ask of god god will give you And so jesus responded jesus said to her your brother will rise again martha said to him i know that he'll rise again in the resurrection at the last day jesus said to her i am the resurrection in the life he who believes in me though he may die he shall live Whoever lives and believes in me shall never die and then he asked that question that he'd ask us today He asked her do you believe this? Though jesus had prepared them for this day it was beyond belief As understandable as it is in reality their actions were built on doubt and not on faith in god They'd been instructed to have joy through all they were going through Death wasn't going to have final victory. They should rejoice at its defeat In john 14 28 jesus said you've heard me say to you i'm going away and coming back to you If you loved me you would rejoice because i said i'm going to the father for my father's greater than i But there they are at the tomb And they have a question that needs to be answered Verse three says they said among themselves who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb For us who will roll away the stone from the door The stone was in the shape of a wheel it was on an incline It would roll into a groove cut out of rock and it would seal the tomb It weighed a ton and a half to two tons It was impossible for these women to roll back the stone up that incline their unbelief provokes them to create an imaginary need that was impossible to meet And as they're speaking amongst themselves who's going to roll away this the stone verse four says when they looked up They saw that the stone had been rolled away. It was very large Their concerns had been answered They needed no one to roll away the stone Matthew 28 2 says an angel of the lord descended from heaven came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it There are things that you go through That you're going to be saying who could roll away this stone Well, the problem is is you can't do it in your own strength. You can't do it with your own power You cannot do it with your own will you cannot do it with your own intellect the stones in your life can't be removed in that way I discovered a long time ago and many of you have too that the one who does the impossible who rolls away the stone is god himself God has a way of taking the impossible that we have the situation in front of us that we cannot answer and we cannot We cannot find a solution to god has a way of saying i could roll away that stone And some of us have to understand that today There are things in your life that are like stones that are blocking you and god is saying listen I have the ability to roll that away so you can find life You see that stone was rolled away not to let jesus out but that the world might enter in to see that he's alive He isn't dead. He is no longer in that grave. He's alive and he still rolls away stones in our life It says in verse five entering the tomb They saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side and they were alarmed But he said to them do not be alarmed. You seek jesus of nathreth who was crucified. He's risen He's not here see the place where they laid him So they enter in and there's an angel matthew mentioned him And very often in the bible angels appear in human form and he speaks to them He says don't be alarmed in other words fear not Calm down, but they were startled and tells them in verse six. He's risen. He's not here See the place where they laid him You have come to the right tomb But jesus is no longer here Now this provides them with visible proof The place he had been laid to rest Is now empty In john 20 verses six and seven it says simon peter came Following john following him and went into the tomb And he saw the linen cloths lying there and the handkerchief that had been around his head not lying with the linen cloths But folded together in a place by itself and evidence of jesus being gone And so they see this and it says in verse seven, but go tell his disciples and peter That he's going before you into galilee There you will see him as he said to you Even though they had fled that night in the garden There's still a place for them Remember that jesus had given a parable of a lost sheep How that the shepherd left the other sheep and went looking for the one that was lost Like that sheep Jesus was calling his disciples home But peter especially needed comfort Because it was the apostle peter That had claimed that he would never deny the lord Just recently As they were there at the Passover supper remember how Jesus was speaking And he was sharing with them what was about to take place And as he was speaking the apostle peter Had said though all were to deny you Though all were to forsake you He said i never would I never will He said i would even die for you And remember how jesus looked at him and said will you I tell you this night you will deny me three times And he was more vehement. He was so upset. How could you say that i would deny you? This is peter this is the one who so many times had been the center of our attention in the gospels He's the one who when others stayed in a boat He's the one who climbed out of that boat and and walked towards jesus christ He was a brave man He was the man that that when when jesus was in the garden just later on How he was the one who who when the soldiers came the detachment of soldiers and and officers came to take jesus It was the apostle peter who took out his sword and and went after the first person that he could hit a man by the name of Melchus and we Remember the story of how he hit him on the side of the head cut off his ear And and jesus told him put your your sword away and and healed melchus and and peter had demonstrated even that night That if i have to be taken down i'll be taken down i will give up my life for you I told you i love you i love you more than these i will do that i love you that deeply But it was the apostle peter who later on Went into a garden And he was there with john And he saw jesus jesus looked at him and Peter remembered what jesus had told him because he had been there by a fire and He had denied knowing the lord three times and he hears the rooster as it crows and jesus looks at him and And he went out luke tells us and he He wept bitterly. This is the one who failed him miserably. This is the one who said i would die for you I wonder how many in this room have ever said to the lord You had i'm your man. I'm your woman. You might say and Whatever you want me to do lord i'm there i'm there for you You know the people that i knew when i first got saved they've they've walked away from you lord But not me i'm gonna remain faithful to you i'm gonna follow you to the end And then you find yourself slipping away Step by step listen back sliding isn't an instantaneous thing It's a series of small decisions that leads you to a place that you never thought you could come back to It doesn't happen instantly guys. Some of you know what i'm saying It starts with a single decision that moves you into a place that has actually taken you back You just don't realize so no i'm gonna go with my friends to this party and i'm gonna hang with them But i'm gonna be there to be a witness to them. It starts out sometimes with noble Things noble causes noble reasons i'm gonna do this. Yeah, i'll go back to this But only because i want to witness to those guys at the bar or i'm gonna go off of the weekend We're gonna go to this place and do these things. They'll do it. I won't they're gonna drink their beer I'm gonna drink my water. It's gonna be fine I'll tell them about jesus you had a good heart and you started to slip away And now you wake up and you wonder how did i get here? What happened? And there are a lot of people like that A lot of people who started well, but didn't finish well a lot of people who began Who made claims god? I love you who wept during worship who went forward at an invitation who said god I'm your person. I will do what you call me to do Then you meet an unbeliever and you hook up and before you know You got a baby and and what happened where did go and you may be thinking I said i would never let you go But lord seems that i have and that's why jesus is speaking because peter had said i would die for you He was broken hearted. He was in terrible pain because he the man who said i love you more than these is the one Who had fled with the others he had forsaken him and so what does jesus do here? Jesus reaches out in verse 7 it says tell his disciples and peter Let peter know i still love him listen I want to tell the back slider today something that you need to hear you really do jesus still loves you jesus still loves you He hasn't stopped loving you He still cares for you He died for you And he loves you with all of his heart And he's willing to receive you back You simply need to say god God i'm a miserable sinner forgive me for walking away God help me The lord has a word for your ear today. It's to you. He's speaking right now And he's saying you need to hear this He died for the sin of the whole world which includes yours He knew what you would do with the gospel when he gave it to you and you received it He knew what you would do and he still loved you and he still gave you that gospel Why because his love is forever jesus christ forgives all sin all manner of sin no matter how much sin He has the ability to do that and he will do that you need to understand it the blood of jesus christ His son cleanses us from all sin not just some sin or past sin years ago He forgives us for all sin and when we say god be merciful to me a sinner He doesn't say no. You've already filled up your cup of ugly. I don't need that. I'm not going to forgive you No, he says I will forgive you and if you come to me tomorrow I'll forgive you again. And if you come to me next week, I'll forgive you again Go and tell peter. I'm alive go and tell him. He's broken hearted And that's what happens. He needed comfort. He boasted. I'll never deny him And so these words are intended to communicate grace to a broken hearted man Peter you failed miserably Jesus would be saying but my love and my grace is sufficient For your recovery And so they went out Verses says they went out quickly. They fled from the tomb. They trembled. They were amazed Said at first they said nothing to anyone They were afraid they went out quickly at first. They didn't dare to speak They were that afraid But they did go and they did tell the apostles And by their writings the apostles told us What did they tell us? Well, they tell us this the apostles in the writings tell us sin is terrible Sin separates us from god And it results in eternal condemnation Sin affects every element of being everything about us And every person is a sinner There's none righteous. Romans 3 10 tells us no not one In Romans 3 23 all have sinned fall short of the glory of god The apostles told us that sin must be dealt with On an individual and personal level Romans 6 23 says all have sinned fall short of the glory of god They told us that ultimately when not dealt with it results in judgment Hebrews 9 27 it's appointed unto men to die once after this judgment They told us god loved the world And he gave us jesus christ to save us Jesus on our behalf took upon himself the sin of the world. He is the lamb of god He took upon himself the sin of the world which includes ours In first peter chapter 3 verse 18 the apostle peter who learned this lesson writes Christ also suffered when he died for our sins once for all time He never sinned But he died for sinners That he might bring us safely home to god He suffered physical death But he was raised to life in the spirit They told us that our salvation rests on the fact of his resurrection Had he not been raised from the dead Believe in him would not matter In first Corinthians 15 17 if christ isn't risen your faith is futile. You're still in your sins Because jesus conquered the grave We are now overcomers We have hope for the future We have the power of god spirit within us We're being transformed daily We experience love and peace in a hostile world We're blessed by god And we have the promise of heaven Awaiting us And romans 8 11 says if the spirit of him who raised jesus from the dead dwells in you He who raised christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you Jesus christ was raised from the dead and the spirit who raised him Dwells in you You are a temple of the spirit of god if you're born again if you've committed your heart to christ You are the temple the spirit of god The same spirit who raised jesus from the dead dwells in you That's why we can also say oh death. Where is your sting? Oh grave? Where is your victory? Because the sting of of sin is death But guess what we have victory in jesus christ because he lives we live also in him We have been forgiven We don't worship a dead teacher. We worship a living savior We worship the one who yielded his life up for us the one whose blood Cleanses us from all sin the one whose spirit and dwells and empowers us the one who took our name And wrote it in the lambs book of life The one who one day will say come up here and we will be with him And then we will see him face to face and we will say god. I love you Thank you for what you've done for me. I followed you because you loved me and gave yourself for me That's our savior. He's alive. He's not dead. Buddha's dead. Muhammad's dead Confucius is dead, but jesus christ is alive. He's alive this morning He's alive. He's alive. We worship a living savior And he forgives us of our sin. He cleanses us from all unrighteousness And he empowers us by his holy spirit There's not a sin that god will not forgive if you yield it to him He will wash it clean and you he will take your sin And as far as the east is from the west so far will he separate your sin from you Never the two will ever meet again God looks at you as the one who has what is called the imputed righteousness of christ when he looks at you He sees his son's perfection. It's not what you have done It is what he has done for you and that's why we're alive in christ That's the christian message It isn't works of righteousness, which we've done But according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of regeneration by the renewing of the holy spirit I didn't work my way into heaven. I received it as a gift Jesus christ died on the cross. He was raised from the dead. I believe that I said god be merciful to me A sinner wash me and cleanse me and fill me with your power And I've been following jesus christ for 48 years and I can tell you he is alive and living today and changes life I have seen god move and he will continue to do so He will continue to do so And if you haven't received christ I invite you to do so today If you haven't said god be merciful to me, i'm a sinner one if you don't think you're a sinner You must not be married because i'm sure your spouse has let you know Every one of us sins and falls short of the glory of god It's not somebody else's fault. There are things that contribute to my sinfulness in the way that I express it But I sin because i'm a sinner by nature That's what I am I am when i'm born i'm born with this dark Soul and I do evil things and I will do those because by nature that's what I do I cannot make myself righteous because my sin is that deep I need a cleansing my own works can't cleanse me But the blood of jesus christ which is perfect and pure Can and he washes you and cleanses you by his blood That's how it works and you say I I I need to be cleansed I remember somebody who said well, you know he was saying to a christian You know your brain washed and the christian's response was indeed My brains were filthy dirty and they needed a good washing and jesus christ washed that with his blood There's no doubt about that and if you're crippled right now If you're like the apostle peter and you're just dealing with grief and denial and things that you've done Jesus christ would be saying and tell you And tell you he's alive. He forgives. He will cleanse you. He will receive you. He will transform you He loves you and all he's asking you to do is turn from your wicked ways Turn to him and watch the miracle that your life will become Think about the people that will be impacted when your life is transformed Think about what god can do when you finally say god Immersable to me a sinner. I have a friend of mine right now in this in this room Who I went to high school with I've known him since I was 14 years old He's in this room right now And uh, I knew him. We were 14 years old. He sure has gotten old and uh And uh He was coming to this church for a year And didn't know it was me Because of the transformation god had done in my life He said that couldn't be my friend from high school god can change your life To become unrecognizable To those who used to party with those who knew you best God can change your life you yield to him and watch what he'll do Do you have sin in your life that needs to be dealt with? Jesus christ can deal with it. It takes humility on your part. You have to say to him god I agree with you and the scripture says if you confess your sin the word confess simply means it's a greek word homo It simply means to say the same thing God says you are unrighteous. You're simply saying I agree with you god. I'm unrighteous You're confessing God forgive me a sinner and god says I will forgive you you've come you've asked I will grant it because you're real you want to know god And I believe today there are people in this room that god is speaking to you may have been raised in a christian home You may have at one time professed to be a faithful follower of christ You walked away Or you may be somebody who was raised in a church Abiding home people who went to church you went to church you may have gone through the various rituals that your church offered But you never were transformed You've never had an assurance that you really know him Perhaps you've tried hard you may be even the best person that anybody could know But you don't know jesus christ And because you don't know jesus christ he will say to you in judgment You will say I never knew you but when you open your heart to christ and say god be merciful to me a sinner He receives you and forgives you. He washes you changes you and one day he'll welcome you into his kingdom He'll look at you and say well done my good and my faithful servant enter into the joy of the lord This has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world and one of these days One of these days and guys, it's not that long not that long The voice is going to say come up here and the church will be gone And we will be seeing him face to face and we'll be able to say to him. Oh lord. I've already rehearsed I pray i'm able to do this I just I just want to do this. I want to look at him. I want to say to him I'm looking into the eyes of the one who wept for me I'm looking into the the man who laid his life down on that cross for me And all I want to do when I see him is just say thank you jesus. I love you That's all I that's all I can do. Thank you jesus Can you say more? Can you say more? No, thank you jesus I love you I love you and it's not that long till we'll see him face to face Either you'll see him as savior or you will see him as judge But you will see him and I want to encourage you today to receive him as your savior because you don't want him to be your judge