WORD from the woods
Mark 15:42 - 16:8
“And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus saw where he was laid. When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”
The resurrection of Jesus is something that a lot of churches talk about on Easter Sunday but then forget about the rest of the year. That’s why I waited until a few weeks after Easter to go through this passage. This is the most vital part of the gospel, and it's something that should be celebrated often! Many churches take communion once a month in remembrance of the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross, this is something that should be remembered and celebrated often, but we tend to forget about the awesome hope of resurrection. Many people around the world went to see Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of The Christ", and I thought the movie was historically accurate and well done up to the point of Jesus' death. But, that's where Mel Gibson's gospel story ended. There was no emphasis at all on the resurrection, and sometimes we get so caught up in Jesus' suffering and death that we forget to finish the story as well. I remember growing up listening to Paul Harvey's radio show, and at the end of each show he would finish the broadcast with his signature line, "now you know, the rest of the story, Paul Harvey, good day," I think we need to take time to remember the rest of the story. One of the reasons that the early church started meeting on Sunday, the first day of the week instead of the sabbath, was to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ each week because Christ was raised on the first day the week. The resurrection is such a vital part of the gospel, here's what Paul had to say about it in 1 Corinthians 15:12-14.
"Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain."
The resurrection of the dead is something that we can't escape, even unbelievers will be raised from the dead to face judgment and will live for eternity in bodies of flesh and blood. John 5:28-29 says,
"Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment."
The resurrection and eternal life of a follower of Christ will be completely different than that of one who has rejected salvation. The eternal life of a believer is not merely a physical existence, but it's a new life spiritually in which we will forever be in communion with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! There will be no separation between us and God because of sin. The eternal existence of an unbeliever may involve physical life but it will be an eternal spiritual death where a person will forever be in the torment of being totally separated from the goodness of God, this will be a torment worse than any physical death could ever be. The fact is that we were created by God in his image to be eternal beings, because of our sin there is an unnatural separation between us and the lover of our soul. When we put our faith and trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we can experience a renewed life and restored relationship with Him, but the relationship we have with Him now is just a taste of what it will be like after the resurrection when we will spend the rest of eternity worshipping our Creator, forever separated from sin!
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-
Mark 15:42 - 16:8
“And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus saw where he was laid. When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”
The resurrection of Jesus is something that a lot of churches talk about on Easter Sunday but then forget about the rest of the year. That’s why I waited until a few weeks after Easter to go through this passage. This is the most vital part of the gospel, and it's something that should be celebrated often! Many churches take communion once a month in remembrance of the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross, this is something that should be remembered and celebrated often, but we tend to forget about the awesome hope of resurrection. Many people around the world went to see Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of The Christ", and I thought the movie was historically accurate and well done up to the point of Jesus' death. But, that's where Mel Gibson's gospel story ended. There was no emphasis at all on the resurrection, and sometimes we get so caught up in Jesus' suffering and death that we forget to finish the story as well. I remember growing up listening to Paul Harvey's radio show, and at the end of each show he would finish the broadcast with his signature line, "now you know, the rest of the story, Paul Harvey, good day," I think we need to take time to remember the rest of the story. One of the reasons that the early church started meeting on Sunday, the first day of the week instead of the sabbath, was to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ each week because Christ was raised on the first day the week. The resurrection is such a vital part of the gospel, here's what Paul had to say about it in 1 Corinthians 15:12-14.
"Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain."
The resurrection of the dead is something that we can't escape, even unbelievers will be raised from the dead to face judgment and will live for eternity in bodies of flesh and blood. John 5:28-29 says,
"Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment."
The resurrection and eternal life of a follower of Christ will be completely different than that of one who has rejected salvation. The eternal life of a believer is not merely a physical existence, but it's a new life spiritually in which we will forever be in communion with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! There will be no separation between us and God because of sin. The eternal existence of an unbeliever may involve physical life but it will be an eternal spiritual death where a person will forever be in the torment of being totally separated from the goodness of God, this will be a torment worse than any physical death could ever be. The fact is that we were created by God in his image to be eternal beings, because of our sin there is an unnatural separation between us and the lover of our soul. When we put our faith and trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we can experience a renewed life and restored relationship with Him, but the relationship we have with Him now is just a taste of what it will be like after the resurrection when we will spend the rest of eternity worshipping our Creator, forever separated from sin!
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-