INTRODUCTION:
1. Without question, this event is the most important single event that has ever occurred on earth! 1st Corinthians 15:12-22
(12) “Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? (13) But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. (14) And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. (15) We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. (16) For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. (17) And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. (18) Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. (19) If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
(20) But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (21) For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. (22) For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”
2. Without question, this event is the most controversial single event that has ever occurred on earth!
- “Swoon/Almost Died Theory”
- “No Burial Theory”
- “Mass Hallucination Theory”
- “Wrong Grave Theory”
- “Stolen Body theory”
3. Without question, this event is the most consequential event with which you will ever be confronted!
- If you believe it, God will forgive you and deliver you from eternal judgment!
Romans 10:9-13
(9) “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (10) For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (11) For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
(12) For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. (13) For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
- If you deny it, God will forsake you and deliver you to eternal judgment!
John 3:18, 36; 8:24
(3:18) “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
(3:36) “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
(8:24) “I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”
EXPOSITION: Mark 16:1 – 6
Mark 16:1-2 The Unmistakable Evidence of what they Believed!
1 “When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.”
Mark 16:3-6 The Unmistakable Evidence of the Unbelievable!
3 “And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back— it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 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.”
Cf. Matthew 28:5-6
(5) “But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. (6) He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.”
Cf. Luke 24:4-7
(4) “While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. (5) And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? (6) He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, (7) that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”
Cf. John 20:11-13
(11) “But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. (12) And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. (13) They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”
Q: Why is this impossible to believe?
A: Unsaved people cannot understand spiritual truth!
1st Corinthians 2:14 “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
Q: If it is impossible to believe, why does God demand that we believe it to be saved?
A: To make salvation humanly impossible!
Romans 3:19-20
(19) “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. (20) For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”
Ephesians 2:8-9
(8) “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (9) not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Q: If it is impossible for us to believe; and we have to believe it be saved; how can we come to believe it and be saved?
A: God gives the gift of saving belief to those who repent of their sins and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior!
Matthew 21:28-31a
(28) “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ (29) And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. (30) And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. (31a) Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first…”
Luke 13:3, 5
(3) “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. (5) No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Mark 1:15 “and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 16:7-13 The Unmistakable Evidence of how they Behaved!
(7-8) They did not do what they were told!
7 “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. 8 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.
(9-13) They did not believe what they heard!
9 “Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it. 12 After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.”
How about me, and how about you?
Q: Are we willing to do what we have been told?
Repent:
Luke 13:3, 5
(3) “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. (5) No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Acts 17:30-31
(30) “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, (31) because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
Q: Are we willing to believe what we have heard?
Believe:
Romans 10:9-17
(9) “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (10) For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (11) For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
(12) For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. (13) For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (14) How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
(15) And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” (16) But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” (17) So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
APPLICATION: *If we are willing to do what we have been told to do, and to believe what we have heard; we will be saved!
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world,[1] that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
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