EASTER! April 20/21, 2025
Pastor
Timothy J. Spaude
Text:
Mark 16:1-8
“THE EMPTY TOMB—A
PLACE OF LIFE!”
1.
Jesus
is alive!
2.
Angels
are alive!
3.
We
have new life!
Mark
16:1-8 (EHV) “When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene,
Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could go and anoint
Jesus. 2 Very early on the
first day of the week, at sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 They
were saying to each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance to
the tomb for us?” 4 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. 6 He
said to them, “Do not be alarmed. 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 They went out
and hurried away from the tomb, trembling and perplexed. They said nothing to
anyone, because they were afraid.”
Cemeteries are not normally known as
places of life. Graves are there. Tombs and crypts are there. Put it crassly,
dead people are there. To overcome that stigma, most cemeteries choose names
that make you think of something else. Memorial Garden. Resting Place. Second
Home. Forest Home. I know of none called place of death. I also know of none
named place of life. And yet that is exactly what the cemetery or tomb of Jesus
should be named. Jesus’ Empty Tomb, place of life!
It was the place that Jesus came
alive. In case you missed Good Friday’s services let me catch you up to speed.
Ever since sin came into the world the plan for Jesus to die went into action.
Sin is rebellion against God. Every sin is a terrible crime and just like human
justice demands that there be payment for crime, God’s justice does too. But
unlike human justice that believes that penalty for crime can be made up in
time served or fines paid, crimes against God has a more severe penalty. Death.
The death penalty for every sin. But don’t just think of death as the ending of
earthly life. When the Bible uses the word death, it means separation and the
death penalty for sin is separation from God for good. You really can’t pay
that. You suffer it. But God’s love for all people is so great He came up with
a plan to maintain justice and spare sinners. He would send His Son Jesus to be
the substitute for people. The holy and perfect Son of God would take the place
of sinners and be separated from God. Justice. Those who believe in Him would
be free from the awful eternity they earned and receive the gift of eternal
life instead. Love. If you were here for Good Friday, you heard again that
everything went according to God’s plan. Jesus, true God and true man was truly
separated from the Father and paid for the sins of all people in full. He died
physically too. His body was buried. Jewish Sabbath which forbids any extra
work goes from our Friday at 6 PM until Saturday at 5:59 PM. Because of that
Jesus’ followers were not able to prepare His body for burial as was proper.
Their first daylight opportunity was Sunday morning.
“Very early on the first day of the
week, at sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 They
were saying to each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance to
the tomb for us?” A practical question. The last these women had seen
was Jesus’ dead body placed in a tomb that was sealed with a large stone.
Similar to this. PICTURE Too much for them to handle, as long as Jesus was
dead. But He wasn’t. “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. 6 He said to them, “Do
not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He
has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.” Jesus’ Tomb
was empty! It had become a place of life. In so many ways. The empty tomb of
Jesus is God’s standing proof that Jesus lives. Thousands of Jews were
crucified by the Romans at the time of Jesus. Thousands of bodies were tossed
in pits or buried in tombs. All stayed there. Except Jesus. He is risen! And
look at what this means. He died to pay for sin. He rose because payment was
over. The living Jesus is God’s proof that you are forgiven in full. No death
penalty for you. And because Jesus lives every single one of your loved ones
who has died in the Lord lives with Him too. Jesus promised that. Everyone of
us who has experienced the death of a loved one and especially you who have had
that experience most recently know that there is a sting to death. It hurts. It
brings tears to our eyes. By living, Jesus pulled that stinger out of us. Does
it still hurt? Yes. But the venom, the poison of death, does not last! Jesus
took it out of us and because Jesus lives I can guarantee a new and best
chapter of your life with your loved ones is on the way.
But before we go further, just how did
that big stone get rolled away? Angels did it. Here we find more life at the
empty tomb of Jesus. Angels are alive. Really. We need to hear this because
most, if not all of us, come from a culture that pays lip service to this
truth. Yes, the Bible says angels are real. But then when something happens
that can’t be explained naturally, we will run through every possible rational
explanation before grudgingly accepting the obvious. Angels are alive and God
sends them to help us. So the next time you hear of some miraculous rescue
where the kind soul who stopped to help is later nowhere to be found, praise
God for His living angels. When something urges you to check that fire again or
look one more time before you cross don’t thank your lucky stars, thank your
loving Lord for sending angels to watch over, to roll your stones away just
like they did for the women at the empty tomb of Jesus, a place that shows us
angels are alive.
And a place of new life for you and
me. How much do you suppose one second is
worth? Seriously. What would you pay for one second? How about 233,000 dollars?
That’s how much one second of advertising cost in the Super Bowl this year.
There are over 86,000 seconds in each day. How could one second become so
valuable? It’s just a second. But when it has a purpose, when the message
proclaimed is considered important, all of the sudden it’s super valuable.
Jesus’ empty tomb gave new life to some women and made them super valuable. He said to them,
“Do not be alarmed. 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.’” See Jesus great love for His people.
Imagine being one of Jesus disciples. Last time Jesus saw you, you turned tail
and ran while He was arrested. How close were you to His cross? Imagine being
Peter. Can you imagine how he felt? Jesus knew how they felt and what they
needed. He singles out Peter and gives the women new life. Jesus lives! A
message they needed to hear. A message, which if true, Peter would gladly have
paid more than $233,000 a second to hear. And it was true.
It is true. Jesus has made you super
valuable. Like the Easter morning women going to anoint Jesus dead body for
burial we too can often think Jesus needs us to serve Him some way and He makes
us more valuable than we can imagine. You may think Jesus wants you to serve by
being a kind and reliable CNA or other health care worker, by helping your
neighbor with their trash can or mail, or giving a ride to someone without a
car, or helping an aging parent. Literally everything we do in life can be
service to the Lord. But watch for those opportunities the Lord gives you to be
super valuable and tell hurting hearts what they need to hear. Jesus lives. So
there is hope. There is no unfaithfulness to Jesus, no denial He didn’t die to pay
for. And now He lives. There is no problem that is hopeless that will not be
resolved in this life or the next. He lives. And you get to tell people that. I
get to tell people that. Jesus knows what they need to hear and when they need
to hear.
Now, I don’t know that God did or worked
in your life to bring you here today or have you tune in. Maybe he used a
family member or friend. Maybe you got a postcard in the mail. Maybe you
remember it was something you used to do as a kid and it felt good. Don’t know.
Doesn’t matter. Here is what I do know and does matter. God loves you. He cares
for you. He knows what you are going through. He knows what you need. He will
take care of it in the right way and right time. How do we know? Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Amen.
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