 That said, we're going to be looking today at verses 9 through 11 as we continue through our series here in the Gospel of Mark. And so I'll read verses 9 to verse 11, and I'm going to give to you introductory comments and then we'll move into our study. So beginning at verse 9 in Mark 16 and reading to verse 11. Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Madeleine, out of whom he had cast seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him as they mourned and wept. And when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. So as is my natural way of teaching at least recently, I'll give you a bit of a background so we can lead to these verses and gain a better understanding. Mark at this point is beginning to speak of the appearances of Jesus Christ after his resurrection. Now many people think that when Jesus was resurrected, he immediately went to heaven, but the Bible doesn't say that. As a matter of fact, the Bible says that in fact he remained on planet earth for over a month and he appeared before various witnesses. You see his teaching ministry didn't cease when he died and was resurrected. As a matter of fact, he continued to teach for several days before he ascended. Acts chapter 1 verse 3 says that he presented himself alive after his suffering by many infallible proofs being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. And so Jesus was still on planet earth for forty days prior to his ascension and while he was here, there were many infallible things that he was doing and he was teaching them concerning the work of God and how he rules in people's lives. Now after forty days, Jesus ascended according to Acts chapter 1 verses 9 through 11. It says when he had spoken these things while they watched, he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel who also said, men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? The same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven. So Mark, Mark doesn't include all of his appearances but he does include a select few. He speaks and we'll be looking at this of his appearing to Mary. He speaks of his appearing to two disciples on the road to Emmaus and he speaks of his appearing to ten apostles. He points those things out and so what I'm going to do is I'm going to refer to these appearances as we come to a close. We're not closing today but as we are coming to a close of our study of the gospel of Mark. And so we'll begin here in verse 9 in Mark 16 and again I'll read it to you. It says, when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene or Madeleine out of whom he had cast seven demons. So he notes Jesus' appearance to Mary. Now how beautiful it is to realize that Mary would be mentioned in this way. Mark makes it very clear that she was delivered from seven demons. And what a picture of God's grace that she was a first to see an empty tomb. We have Mary Magdalene, we have Mary the mother of James, we have Joanna and Salome and they have come early. They've come to complete the burial of Christ but he's not there. Luke tells us in chapter 24 verses 2 and 3 that they found the stone rolled away from the tomb and then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. So that caused him confusion. They're at a loss. What's happened? So at that time two angels spoke to them asking, why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here but is risen. You have come, he's saying, to anoint a dead body. But he's not dead, he's alive. And he goes on, don't you remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee in Luke 24-7? It says that he said, Jesus said, the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful man be crucified and the third day rise again. So don't you remember that? Well, Mark 16.8 says that they had gone out quickly, they fled the tomb because they were trembling. So Mary and the others had left the tomb amazed and quiet and at first they said nothing because they were terrified. But later Mary went to the apostles. It says in verse 10 that she went and told those who had been with him as a mourned and wept. And so at first they don't understand what is taking place but their eyes are about to be opened. And in order to develop this a bit further with you, I'd like you to do something. Would you please, if you will, turn to John chapter 20 because I want to supplement this account with another gospel and I'm going to do so by turning you to John 20 if you'd like. And those who don't want to, that's okay too, just leave. Somebody says, you know I'm new at this thing, looking to the Bible and all. Where is John 20? Okay, John 20 is after John 19 and just before John 21, that should help you a lot. John 20. Again, this was something, this resurrection and all that's going on is something they had yet to understand. They're confused understandably. John 20 verses 9 and 10 says they did not, yet they did not know the scripture that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. They didn't know by experience. They were aware of scriptures that spoke of that. Even were aware of Jesus is saying that but they didn't know it by experience. They didn't know that yet. They didn't know the scripture yet. So when Mary at first told the apostles, two of them had responded quickly. Look at John 20 verses 2 and 3. They said she ran and came to Simon Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved said to them they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb. We don't know where they've laid him. Peter therefore went out and the other disciple and we're going to the tomb. And so this is what's taking place there. They're going to the tomb but John outran Peter and he being younger and all he arrived at the empty tomb first. And the scripture tells us that he stooped and stooped down. He looked in and he saw the linen cloths that were lying there. Just seeing that was enough for him. He didn't go into the tomb but here comes the apostle Peter and he came and he saw the tomb and as is true of his nature he went in. He saw the linen cloths lying there, the handkerchief that was wrapped around his head. Well it says that after Peter went in John went in also but it seems that they had different reactions because Luke tells us in chapter 24 verse 12 that Peter departed marveling to himself at what had happened. What he had done is he had seen an empty tomb but John had understood why it's empty because in verse 8 of John 20 it tells us that John saw and believed. And so again in John 20 verse 10 the disciples went away again to their own homes. They didn't understand what happened and they left. They went to their own homes perhaps they had homes in Jerusalem or perhaps they went to a friend's house or a rented place that they were using. So this is all taking place and Mary's there. Mary's unwilling to leave. Mary has remained behind. Mary is determined to find out what happened and she's not about to leave. It may be that she was hoping to find someone who could give her information to help her in order that she might understand what's taking place in verse 11 of chapter 20. It says Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. She stood outside by the tomb. Now the picture that you saw today, the picture of that garden tomb that we visit when we're in Israel, if you noted that picture you can see that the entrance to that is large. That's only because it's been opened up so people like us, they call us pilgrims, can go in. Ordinarily the tomb's opening was not that wide. That one has been enlarged. That's why it says that Mary stooped down to look in. Because the tomb was not normally having a large opening but something that was generally a lot smaller. As a matter of fact a common tomb and you see common tombs in Israel when you're there will stop in a particular place there and you'll see that carved out of rock very often they would open it up, make an opening and actually carve out and then what would happen is they would take the body of the deceased and they would slide the body in. So it's really small and then they would seal it. And they had an opening at the top so that as John mentioned earlier so that the stench of decay would have a place to escape. It wasn't large enough for animals to get in necessarily but it would release the smell of decay and they would leave the body there for approximately a year and then at the end of the year when the body had decomposed then they would come and unseal the tomb and remove the bones and they would put them in what is called a sarcophagus. And so the bones themselves would be placed in a box and that tomb would be reused later on by some other family member. That's what they would do. In the case of Jesus he was in a borrowed tomb of a rich man. It would have been more ostentatious a lot larger and that's the tomb that you see when you're in Israel that's the one that we visit. So Mary is there she's outside the tomb she's weeping she stoopes down and she takes a look and the Bible tells us that she is crying strong tears. The word weeping means that she's mourning with great pain and terrible grief. She loved Jesus Christ and she's crying as if her heart will break. Some of us understand that. Some of us understand that. Not everybody. Not everybody. Some people think when you cry like that you're weak. Some people think that if you have tears like that you have no faith. The deeper you love the deeper you grieve and it isn't wrong for you to grieve with mighty strong tears because that reveals so much of how much love you had. So I don't look at her as being faithless though she is and I'll show you something she is acting in unbelief but Jesus standing there just I don't know what's going on and she's sobbing crying she loved Jesus and she's unwilling to leave the place where he'd been buried. Mary fears that the body has been stolen and that it'll be abused by evil people. Now we as 21st century Americans we say to ourselves that's kind of an odd concept but when you think about it for just a moment you have to realize that that still happens to this day. When Americans have been fighting overseas and they have had their lives taken there are too many accounts of enemy soldiers taking the Americans bodies and dragging them through the streets and desecrating them. That isn't a new thing that is something that happened and has happened over the centuries and so she's concerned that somebody will take and has taken the body of Christ and is abusing that body not respecting not showing reverence for who he is and her mind is filled with all the evil that could be happening. Again Mary loved, she loved him deeply. Why? Well because he had forgiven her and restored her. Then Mark as well as Luke, Luke in chapter 8 verse 2 and Mark also speaks of the fact that she was possessed, demonized by seven demons. When you see the number seven there very often it's to illustrate something. Seven is the number of completeness in Scripture it's used often seven days of creation in various other places as completion and so seven has a scriptural meaning very often of complete or perfect and so when it speaks of her being possessed by seven demons it's saying that she was completely demonized totally possessed it was a complete possession. This is a woman who had been severely possessed in a life that who knows where it had led her but undoubtedly it was one filled with pain and shame and embarrassment I mean who wants to take a demon possessed kid to the family functions and say oh by the way this is Mary she's kind of messed up right now it's bad enough when your weird Uncle Bob shows up but how about Mary demonized man seven demons. So there's a shame and embarrassment that she has in her life and her family and everybody who knew her. We don't know what she did we don't know what kind of thing she could have done what would she do under the influence of a demon. There are demons that are referred to as unclean spirits and the reason they're referred to as unclean spirits isn't simply because they're unclean spiritually it's because they provoke the individuals who are possessed by them into doing unclean things whether it's living in a tomb or whether it's being sexually active in proper ways it's uncleanness and that's what it is and she had seven demons and she lived a life of misery when someone's demonized it doesn't necessarily mean that they're always under the influence of the demon because there's plenty of evidence in scripture as well as just people who have encountered demonized people that there sometimes will be a time when their mind seems to be in the right place and other times when it's totally not and so this is a woman undoubtedly who had experience with clarity for a while and then other times when she didn't have it and here came Jesus and when he saw her he delivered her and when he delivered her her life was entirely different. It would have been very similar to when Jesus cleansed that man who was possessed by legion and at one point he was cutting himself with stones and moaning and groaning and scaring people and they would put chains on him and he would scare everybody who was coming by and all and then there he is after he's been released from the grip of these demons and you see him at the feet of Christ receiving from him and desiring to follow him while Mary not to say that she was like that but Mary had a similar experience where she had seven demons and she's been set free and now she just loves this one who set her free and he's dead at least in her mind he is. Jesus had healed her broken sin filled heart and he won her love. She was a sinful woman who was saved by a loving Savior. She reminds me though she's not the same woman but she reminds me of the woman you find in the Gospel of Luke. That woman who came in where Jesus was at Simon the Pharisee's house and was weeping and ended up anointing his feet kissing his feet and when Simon the Pharisee who invited Christ to the to the suffer saw that Jesus was allowing such a thing to happen began to wonder within himself he even said in in himself this man truly were a prophet he would know who in what manner of woman it is who's touching him she's the sinner and that's when Jesus gave that very famous story to him the question someone owes a lot somebody owes little the person who has the amount owed to them has forgiven them completely who's gonna love them most well I suppose the one who's been forgiven most and that's when Jesus pointed out this woman and spoke concerning the fact that she had shown him adoration and love and all of that and then he said he said to him I say unto you her sins which are many are forgiven for she loved much but went on to say but to whom little is forgiven the same loves little if there's anything that I think the church needs to wake up to today and I don't speak as a prophet neither the son of a prophet I simply speak as a person who's been walking with the Lord for a while and has a burden for the church if there's anything the church needs to we as believers whether it's Calvary Chapel a Presbyterian a Baptist a foresker doesn't matter what we need to return to is a humble love for what Christ has done for us and we need to remember what he's done for us what were you like before you were saved what is your real testimony everybody's got one everybody's got a real testimony and we've got the ones that we talk about in public the things we talk about in public things that really aren't that embarrassing as a matter of fact sometimes we even glory in the things that we talk about being set from free from oh I used to drink I used to smoke I used to this is that it's almost like we're glorying and people saying wow wow what a wildlife you lived and then you get somebody to come up after you've given your testimony and they want to top yours this guy used to drink a case of beer I drank to you know and before you know you have testimony you know playoffs who's gonna be the champion right who is the worst sinner you killed one I killed six but we end up glorying in the sin and not in the Savior I think testimonies are important thank God we have them but you have the one you tell and you have the one you keep which one are you most grateful for the one you keep to yourself why because you and I and I'm not condemning you I'm pointing my you know my mommy used to say you point a finger at me you got three pointing at yourself son so I do it like this no I no I'm not condemning anyone I'm remembering my own I think that's important I think it's important that you remember where you came from she did this was a man who won her heart because he healed it it had been broken by the world and the healer the one who came Luke 4 tells us to heal the broken heart it had healed her broken heart this was a woman who had the kind of love that a Christian ought to have for Jesus Christ it was a totally spiritual adoration of the one who loved her and changed her life she loved and he's dead and he's dead one of the things that we need to remember I believe as as Christians is that God forgave us completely of all of our sins not just some but all and when we understand that when we comprehend that and we apprehend the grace that has been given to us our lives change and and those refusing God's offer of forgiveness will remain in bondage to sin and sorrow that that's why we repent Proverbs 28 13 says it like this he who covers his sins will not prosper but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy so we confess God be merciful to me a sinner well it says in verse 12 and 13 she looked into the tomb and she saw two angels in white sitting one at the head and the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain in they said to her woman why are you weeping she said to them because they have taken away my Lord and I don't know where they've laid him notice that seeing two angels doesn't disturb her they appear to be human beings she's upset over a missing body but look at their question why are you weeping why are you weeping is intended to reveal the state of her heart you see her her love for Christ is intense and pure in total devotion for him but her concern is revealing the root of her sorrow which is unbelief so they're saying in essence your tears are unnecessary why are you crying you should be rejoicing but here you are crying your heart out why are you crying well she says verse 13 she tells him because they've taken away my Lord I don't know where they've laid him somebody removed his body I don't know where they took it that reveals her plan for a proper burial she's very much like many today though Jesus is alive but many live like he's dead one commentator said this could also be said of many pulpits today to please man Jesus has been taken from those who seek him we can live like Jesus didn't rise and failed exercise what we have in him see we've been blessed abundantly in Christ because he rose because he conquered death Mary is not apprehending or comprehending that at the moment but those of us who have heard the resurrection story can still act as if he didn't raise from the dead Paul tells us that in Christ we're blessed Ephesians 1 verse 3 blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing when he spoke to the Corinthians he said you fall behind in no spiritual gift God has given to you so many blessings in Jesus we are redeemed in Jesus we have eternal life forgiveness of sins in Jesus we're reconciled to God we're justified we've been adopted we're delivered from darkness in Jesus we have the Holy Spirit we have fellowship with God we're new creations rescued from wrath we have peace we have joy we have hope we're protected from Satan we have purpose and a heavenly home these are all things from Jesus that we have these are things that matter in life amen and Mary needs to learn something that every believer should know Jesus is alive now in verse 14 when she had said this she turned around and saw Jesus standing there and didn't know that it was Jesus and Jesus said to her woman why are you weeping whom are you seeking she's supposing him to be the gardener said to him sir if you have carried him away tell me where you have laid him I will take him away notice how Christ asked the same basic question woman why are you weeping you went on to say whom are you seeking why are you weeping whom are you seeking you see she says tell me where you laid him I'll take him away that's a picture I think of a burden that many will have and have experienced through a false religion through a false religion a small woman carrying a dead body a small woman carrying an impossible burden something she couldn't carry false religions are populated by disciples who carry around in their hearts a dead teacher one who can't help one who can't speak as we have to the word of God one who can't bring comfort or communicate like a dead teacher who can't do anything but burden a follower in Luke 24 5 it reads why do you seek the living among the dead you see Christians don't carry around the body of a dead master we have a living Lord and he carries us in Isaiah 40 verse 11 he shall feed his flock like a shepherd he shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those that are with young he carries us well in verse 15 she's opposing him to be the gardener she speaks to him at first notice supposing at first she doesn't recognize him she mistakenly supposes him to be the caretaker of an enormous garden the garden that Jesus is buried in is not some small plot it's a good size and so he Joseph of Arimathea would have had a gardener to take care probably a crew to take care of all of the things that he had growing in that particular orchard there and at first she doesn't recognize Christ he supposes him to be the caretaker it's early she's distressed she's blinded by her tears and she's confused because of these things but there's a greater reason that that she didn't recognize him she was in a state of unbelief she didn't expect to see him alive and so the question again is asked why are you weeping whom are you seeking she had forgotten that Jesus said he would rise from the dead she's aware of the teaching but it wasn't something she could grasp so it says in verse 15 supposing him to be the gardener her distress and fear was that he had been taken and his body dishonored and that's upsetting her so thinking that Jesus is Joseph's gardener she begs for the body she's so emotionally distressed she can't recognize his voice her determination is so strong that she doesn't see the impossibility of the task there's no way she alone could carry his dead body but she says I will take him away and then verse 16 Jesus said to her Mary and she turned and said to him the bonnie it's a voice of the shepherd and this little sheep recognize it finally because he called her by name she called her by name instead of woman which is a respectful term by the way instead of saying woman he said to her Mary you can almost hear the tenor in this in his voice Mary she hears his voice and it brings comfort and an earlier occasion Jesus had sent his men into a storm we saw that when we looked at chapter 8 of Mark he had sent them across the lake and he had spent time alone in prayer and later in the evening he saw them as they were struggling and rowing and he walked on water toward them the Bible tells us and as he came near to them they saw him but they thought he was a ghost they didn't recognize him and they were struggling and now there's fear added to the struggle according to Mark 8 verse 50 it says immediately he talked with them and said to them be of good cheer it is I do not be afraid there's something about the comfort of the voice of our master that can bring peace in an unsettled situation for these men to hear his voice when he says to them in the way he did it's me cheer up have courage don't be afraid they heard that well in this particular case there's Mary she's emotionally put yourself in a place she's emotionally distressed she's hurting so badly she's confused and she sees somebody there in the gloomy darkness her eyes are blinded by her tears and she sees them she thinks he's the gardener where have they taken him and then he says her name and as he speaks to her and she recognizes his voice her fear and her pain are released she hears the voice of a shepherd and she says Ramon my dear master she falls at his feet she embraces his feet she clings to him and then noticed verse 17 Jesus said to her do not cling to me for I have not yet ascended to my father but go to my brethren say to them I'm as I'm ascending to my father and to your father to my God and to your God she's clutching him she's afraid of peers she's afraid of losing him again so he says don't cling to me as if our old relationship the one that we had prior to my death burial now my resurrection is going to continue to exist in that way it's not our old relationship is be is not being resumed a new work is occurring I'm no longer to be physically present with you now remember earlier he had told his disciples it was necessary for him to leave he had said in in John 16 verse 7 he said nevertheless I tell you the truth it's your advantage that I go away for if I don't go away the helper will not come to you but if I depart I will send him to it's necessary that I leave because the spirit has to come he had prepared his man in John 14 16 through 18 he had said to them I'll pray the father he will give you another helper that he may abide with you forever the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him but you know him for he dwells with you and will be in you I will not leave you orphans I will come to you I'm not going to stay I'm not going to continue here I have work to do I'm ascending to my father I will send the Holy Spirit I will not leave you orphans you need to understand that and then he goes into verse 17 and he says and continues go to my brother and say to them I'm ascending to my father to your father my God your God tell them what you have seen Psalm 22 verse 22 I will declare your name to my brother telling what you've seen I think one of the one of the strategies of Satan that has really had an impact is by impressing people to value the attention and respect of the world so if someone says something that they don't like they believe for some reason this person whose feelings are hurt because of what has been said they believe for some reason that they have the right the entitlement to live in a world where they never get hurt feelings people for my generation I know it's ancient people from my generation knew that was just part of being alive that's just a fact there's always going to be some meathead who hurt your feelings it's always going to be somebody who's going to see something about you and point it out to somebody else I remember one time when I was 12 years old there's a seventh grade and my mom used to buy me clothes that I'm going to grow into glasses that made me look like super fly some of you might remember that one big old glasses and pants with the waist that was two inches bigger than my actual waist so you had a kind of cinch up the belt and it's kind of bulging there and you look like a dork it's a word we used to use and I would put paper in my back pockets because of they were so baggy I was oh so embarrassed like you know but you you wear what you got to wear right and I went to school I still remember and I was there and the teacher asked me to come up when I'm wearing these baggy pants and it wasn't cool to have baggy pants then and I go walking up she says can you write on the board David and I start to write and one of my ex friends Mike Mike O'Hara and I still remember Mike if you're hearing me I still hate you he goes look at them pants you know and even as a kid you want to be liked and respected but that was life man people would humiliate you and you know what you did you learned to live with it it actually toughened you up and it made you strong it got to the point where you realized that you got to be true to yourself and as a Christian true to your God and true to others and if people don't like you that's just too bad but guess what today there's that way I'm just talking to I'm preaching to the choir you know this but some of us are still afraid to be rejected by the world guess what there's one who will reject us that I should fear and that's my God because Jesus said to us he said don't fear the one who can kill you and has nothing else he can do if you want to fear someone fear the one who can kill you and cast you into hell that's the one you should fear and that's true so if people don't like you don't come home and cry about it because guess what it doesn't at the end matter now if you're a jerk well maybe you had a change sometimes we sometimes we we deal with what we are we have to learn that's part of the process but if they are doing things and saying things and hurt your feelings to the point where you're just going to be quiet I'll show you go to hell that's not a right thing to do that's why I think that if there's ever going to be a true revival it's going to be when Christians from young and old stop silencing ourselves and begin to speak openly because that's what revival is it's when we speak of who Jesus Christ is you see and the world right now is has clamped on you there they're they're saying you're a bigot because you don't think that a man dressed like a woman should be teaching our children in in a story hour and oh I don't want to say something because no you should not saying be cruel don't I'm not saying be mean but we should say no wait a minute the school board you don't have the right to tell me how to raise my kid you don't have that right and so I'm going to raise my kid the way I should and a lot of parents a lot of parents are afraid don't be just be respectful be there was they used to call it the silent majority sometimes it only takes one voice to activate the rest you say you know you're right about that see so we need to be open so don't be afraid of that you see because what happens here is she goes and she speaks I got saved I told my friends I told my family I told everybody I've been doing it now for 52 years I told people about Jesus Christ that's what you do why because he's the only savior in the world he's the only one who died on a cross for him he's the only one who gave me life that's why it just makes sense to me so speak well she went verse 18 and will close and came to the disciples she'd seen the Lord and then he had spoken these things there she testified of what Jesus had told her she's the first one to see the risen Lord and to testify of his resurrection the one who is delivered of devils is the first to declare his victory and so closing and I'll just read mark 16 10 and 11 and close she went told those who had been with him as they mourned and wept when they heard that he was alive had been seen by her they did not believe this is just too good to be true they refused to listen to what she had to say at first Luke 24 11 says they didn't believe the women because their words seemed to be like nonsense well it seemed like nonsense then to those who had been prepared for this and it seems like nonsense to people today the words that Jesus Christ is alive for people today still seems like nonsense but in 1st Corinthians 118 Paul said it well he said the message of the cross is foolishness so those who are perishing but to us who are being saved it is the power of God what has changed your life it's a power of God the Holy Spirit dwelling within us activating us gifting us working within directing our footsteps as we read the scriptures who has given us hope has given us faith it's given us life it's given us joy has given us peace this Holy Spirit in the fruit of the Spirit the love and and all the rest that we have in him that comes because Jesus Christ is alive it didn't come because we just want to feel good about these things it comes because we've been energized by the power of the Spirit to live for God by his Holy Spirit because we trust in the risen Lord Jesus Christ and that's the way it worked and that's what we should be doing today I believe that the church needs to wake up in these last days let our light so shine that that they may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven