:: By Andrew Moore
Introduction:
Liu Zhenying, known by his friends as Brother Yun… and by the Chinese as “the heavenly man”, was a house church leader in China.
(Show photo of prison- ppt.)
In March 1997 he was arrested as he met with other Christians.
He was sentences to 7 years in prison. His legs were smashed.
But on 5th May 1997… he walked out of that prison to freedom. There were iron gates between the floors of the prison, and in each section of the prison building. These were open. Guards were blinded as he walked past them- a guard starred straight at him, but didn’t see him. When he came to the main gate of the prison there were no guards there at all, and the gate was wide open.
What are we to think of such an event?
We live next to a prison- Long Bay Jail (actually this mightn’t work- people escape all the time!…)- but people don’t just do that……walk past guards, doors aren’t left unlocked…
(pause)
- there were eyewitnesses. – there are government records.
You might say,… “This was a freak event”.
“A collection of coincidences”. “a lucky, lucky lucky escape”… ? maybe.
A Christian journalist in Canada has said that it was all a lie- there was no miraculous escape, his claims of 74 days without food or water were fabricated, his legs were never smashed, and that he was never a house church leader.
Or you might think- it doesn’t matter anyway… “it doesn’t really effect me… it doesn’t mean anything to me”… unless you were going to promote the story and pour in millions of dollars…. Then you might want to check the facts, and double check….
(pause)
Well, on the 3rd April AD 33 another miracle… of the sort that really would make headline.
And that does REALLY matter.
Mark chapter 16, we read that a bunch of women (Mary Magdalene, Mary the Mother of James) and Salome, went to prepare Jesus for burial.
They had been with Jesus in Galilee.
They were there at his crucifixion.
The women brought spices.
To “anoint” the body…
The body would have been in an advanced state of decomposition. … and this desire to visit the body is a bit weird to us, but we probably should read it as an expression of love and devotion to Jesus.
(pause)
The women weren’t expecting anything abnormal.
There concern was… how were they going to roll the stone away from the tomb to get to Jesus.
I don’t know where the men are.
But they’re not there.
Maybe they think it’s all a waste of time…
(pause)
They get there and the stone has been rolled away.
The body of Jesus is gone.
(pause)
And it gets more bizarre
There is someone else inside the tomb.
Someone is expecting them.
And he has a message for them- a message from God:
READ VERSE 6.
Confronted with this, the women are terrified.
We get the biggest understatement of the gospel… we read verse 5- “they were alarmed”.
- they were terrified. – they fled. – they were trembling- they were afraid.
-> they don’t believe!.
And that is where the gospel ends.
Who said in chapter 1, verse 1- “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ , the Son of God”, puts his pen down in verse 8.
-> Jesus is risen.
(pause)
Our question may be-
Did it really happen?
Dead people just don’t rise from the dead.
And I agree.
This is bizarre.
I studied science at school and university. I cannot explain this.
- “Maybe they went to the wrong tomb? Surely there would be lots of tombs around which looked the same.”
But remember the tomb Jesus was buried in was owned by one of the prominent politicians of the time,.. it could easily have been accessed and checked … – sooner of later someone would have checked again.
- “Maybe Jesus didn’t really die?”
But…. this doesn’t really make sense either… for there were witnesses at his crucifixion.
There was the centurion.
There was Joseph.
And of course they could tell whether someone was dead.
- “Maybe the disciples stole his body?”
This is the oldest explanation of the empty tomb- it’s the one the Jewish people have used ever since the first century.
But the disciples of Jesus we later find out, were ridiculed, dragged of to prison, treated as ‘heretics’ and ‘traitors’… and many of them executed.
It’s true that plenty of people throughout history have suffered and died for beliefs they did not know were wrong, but who on earth would willingly die for something they knew was a lie?
(pause)
-> And what does Mark think?
Mark writes chapter 16 in the same way as he wrote about Jesus’ life and death.
He writes it as historical fact.
He tells it how it is…
And his evidence?
There were 3 eyewitnesses.
But then Jesus was going into Galilee.
(pause)
And we are fortunate… we also have Matthew and John and Luke and Paul … and 1 Cor 15 1-6 and Acts, different authors- testifying to the resurrection of Jesus.
There accounts are similar but not the same- which is what you get with eyewitness accounts.
Here’s a summary-
1 Cor 15:3-6 (read)
(pause)
Christianity exploded onto the world scene- to become the largest, most international, most multicultural religion of the world?
After his death, the disciples were scattered, their hopes were shattered.
But something changed all that.
By the end of the book of Acts there are many thousands of Christians in Jerusalem alone.
By AD 64 … there were so many Christians that Nero blamed them for the fire of Rome.
And after 300 years, Constantine the Great, who’d been brought up as a believer in Mithras, the military god, placed his name of Christ on his imperial standard along with the words SPES PUBLICA which means ‘the hope of the world’.
And today, millions of and millions of people still believe Jesus is risen. If you want numbers there are numbers.
If you want sincerity, they are sincere.
That’s the evidence.
I don’t think I’ve overstated it.
(pause)
But it’s the meaning that is most important.
This is the Bible’s question.
And this is what makes this miracle REALLY worth studying.
And there’s a clue in chapter 15:43.
It’s after the death of Jesus…. and BEFORE WE GET TO THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS…
There is- Joseph of Arimathea.
Read v 42.
He was looking for the kingdom of God.
When Jesus first came into Galilee proclaiming the Gospel, he said “The time is fulfilled,
The kingdom of God is at hand”.
Jesus in preparing his disciples for his death taught about the kingdom of God.
He said to his disciples that to them had been given the secret of the kingdom of God.
He’d told the people of the urgency… they must enter for it encompasses the whole world- 4:26-29; 4:30-32.
And in chapter 14 before he died he said: “that some will not taste death before they see the Kingdom of God come in power”.
When we get to Mark 15:43, we meet Joseph.
And he is still waiting.
The king did come!. the Christ, the Son of the Blessed. The King of the Jews.. dressed in purple.
A crown on his head.
The king was crucified.
He was king IN his crucifixion- the centurion gives the verdict at his death… at the foot of the cross, seeing Jesus breath his last said “Trully this man was the Son of God!”.
(pause)
But what about the kingdom?
Where is it?
Joseph is still waiting.
-> That’s the resurrection!!!!!!!.
Jesus’ resurrection means the kingdom of God has arrived.
Or at least it’s first instalment…. It will come at the end too, every eye will see, when every knee will bow, ,… and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.
But he who has eyes to see and ears hear- the kingdom of God has come.
…at least for Jesus, the kingdom has come.
He has been raised up.
He has disarmed the rulers and authorities, putting them to open shame, triumphing over them.
He is seated at God’s right hand, right now… where the king sits.
He is the first fruits- guaranteeing the kingdom harvest to follow (which is us!!!).
1 Cor 15:21- 24 (read).
(pause)
So what now?
Back to Mark….
vv 9- 19 are not there in the earliest manuscripts.
It’s almost certain that Mark didn’t write it. There’s no question really.
But why would Mark end so abruptly?
Maybe part of the scoll was lost.
Maybe Mark died, and he never was able to finish it,… and so some scribes added an ending.
But what if he DID mean to finish it exactly at verse 8??
(pause)
The gospel closes with these silent, fearful soul-shaken women. – afraid. – scared. – confused… – and SAYING NOTHING.
I think this is a perfect ending.
I can identify with those women.
If I was there, I’d probably be the same.
My family are away at the moment, and I’m in the house all alone… it was pretty scary.
This would really be frightening.
Scream?
Run?
Hide?
Say nothing???
I can connect with these women.
Just like Peter, when he broke down and wept when the rooster crowed…. we wept too.
But the women, just like Peter,… I know they’ve responded in the wrong way.
If we’d read the gospel (and we need to remember that Mark wrote all of Mark, just not chapter 16, and if we’d read the whole thing), we would know their response is wrong..
When the disciples were coming down from the mount of transfiguration, Jesus asked for silence- 9:9.
Throughout Jesus’ ministry he spoke in parables so the crowds wouldn’t fully understand him.
But now the time for silence is OVER!
What did the angel say to the women?- to go TELL HIS DISCIPLES.
(pause)
What’s the point of the abrupt ending?
Mark is trying to get us to see something.
We are like these women… .
You’ve met Jesus, witnessed his death… and seen the empty tomb…
It is wrong to now hide that news…. No matter what you feel.
(pause)
“I’ve been asked to speak at the Anzac Day service in Malabar next week.
“I have some relatives that are getting older. I haven’t said anything to them for a long time. The relationship is really good, I don’t want to jeopardize that now.
“I like door-knocking, telling people about Jesus, but doorknocking is scary so I don’t do it.
-> C’mon!!!…
The king has come.
The kingdom of God is here.
It is time to proclaim it from the rooftops- tell the gospel to the ends of the earth despite our fear.
This is a call to mission.
God is gathering his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
A man has risen from the dead.
No – more!… the Son of God has risen from the dead. The kingdom of God has arrived with power.
The last days mission to the nations has been launched.
Pray continually.
(for our non-christian friends?/workmates/ family/ …)
Let’s labour together
In all our various activities and programmes…
Using our gifts… A mission is made up of support crew as well as team leaders and the frontline.
For the king is alive.
The kingdom of God is here. And this kingdom will know no end
And its glory shall know no bounds
Who can you go and tell today!…
Let’s pray.
Amen.