Although our primary text is coming from the Gospel of Mark 16, I'll be other referencing other gospels to fill in some of the details for clarity of the story about the burial and resurrection of Jesus. On Good Friday, we spoke about the death of Jesus and its implications for us to believe and receive eternal life from Jesus. We understand that Jesus died sometime.
It was around 3:00 in the afternoon on Friday and sundown was around 7:00 PM. That gave Joseph of Arimathea and the disciples about four hours to get permission from Pilate to take the body down, take it to the grave and put the grave clothes on. And so they didn't have a whole lot of time to do that. Nicodemus, a man who previously came to Jesus in John chapter 3, accompanied Joseph carrying a mixture of myrrh and olives aloves. Aloe's is a aromatic resin from a plant.
It smells a little bit like a Lily. And that those spices that they brought were about £75 for you. Those that are in kilo, it's about 32 1/2 kilo. Normally only about 5 lbs of spices were used when brewing a person at that time. The cost of that has been estimated to be a minimum of $30,000. We think funerals are expensive today.
This is the this is a was extra as extravagant as the the perfume that Pastor Jake talked about on Friday that was poured on Jesus head when he was dining with Simon the Leper earlier that week. How much are we willing to sacrifice for Jesus, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary? We're sitting there opposite the tomb watching the burial. On that afternoon of the crucifixion.
They saw their beloved friend Jesus being wrapped as their friends Joseph and Nicodemus. Both men had listened to Jesus and believed that Jesus was the Son of God. But now this How could they explain it? They were numb with sorrow. They had lost their great teacher who had interpreted the teachings of the Torah, the Psalms, and the Prophets. Nothing made sense. Why? Why? The Law required that the dead body had to be entombed before sundown. And now time was of essence.
There was no time left to contemplate before sundown when the Sabbath began. Maybe tomorrow on the Sabbath day they could make some sense of all this that has happened within the last 24 hours. They were physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausted. The next day being the Sabbath and after sundown, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out and bought more spices to anoint Jesus body. The next morning, very early on the first day of the week, at sunrise, they went to the tomb.
They'd been asking each other who rolled away, Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb. They were probably unaware that the chief priests and Pharisees had gone to Pilate and asked that a seal be put on to that stone so it couldn't be moved. If they had opened that stone or rolled that stone away, they would be They could be thrown in jail, they could be killed for violating the order of the
emperor. The religious leaders had said that maybe the disciples would steal the body, and so they want to make sure it didn't happen. As they approached the stone, the tomb, they looked up and they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled back. Then as they went into the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in white robe sitting on the right side. And they were alarmed. But he said to them, don't be amazed, you're looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified.
He has been raised. He's not here. Look, here's the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples, even Peter, that he is going ahead of you into Galilee. You'll see him there, just as he told you. Then they went out and ran from the tomb, for terror and bewilderment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone because they were afraid Jesus was gone. He disappeared. This wasn't just some kind of magician's sleight of hand.
The most incredulous invent in history was the disappearance of Jesus's body. This was one of the greatest events in human history outside of creation. The only thing left in the tomb were the linen wrappings and the head cloth that was used to wrap the body of Jesus after he had been taken down from the cross a few days before. Not only was there the shock that the body was gone, there was fear that they may be next. The disciples had gone into
hiding behind closed doors. What a contrast to the week before when they had gone into the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem proclaiming Hosanna the King of Jerusalem of Israel. What a difference. The angelic being had told them that Jesus had been raised from the dead. We note that this is in the passive tense. In the Greek, Jesus didn't come to life by himself. He was raised by God to life. This was a miraculous.
This was not some kind of miraculous revival or rally in in the part of Jesus. But he had physically died. But with us, as with us, he was still spiritually alive. Jesus is the only prophet or religious leader that ever lived to be raised from the dead and live forever. As Christians, we have the greatest message of hope for the world. The resurrection from the dead proves that Christianity is real and that Jesus was God.
This was a proof that the apostles used in proclaiming the good news that everyone on the planet earth should be forgiven of their sins because Jesus died for them and God raised him up to be reunited after he had been forsaken. While He took our sins on the cross to prove He was alive, Jesus verified with a number of disciples. He visited them, and the longer version of Mark explains these appearances, as do other passages.
As we look in verse 9 of Mark 16, it says early on the first day of the week after He arose, He appeared to Mary Magdalene from whom he had driven out seven demons. She went out and told those who were there with Him while they were mourning and weeping. But even the disciples did not believe. They didn't believe when they heard that He was alive and that He had been seen by her.
Mark continues to tell us about other appearances to prove that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead after He appeared in different and after he appeared in a different form to two of them while they were on their way to the country. Now Luke tells us a little bit more about these two disciples in Luke chapter 243013 to 35. I'll just summarize that while they were returning home to Emmaus, they were talking with a stranger who explained all the Old Testament prophecies to
them. They didn't understand who it was that was going with them, but when they sat down to a meal together, Jesus gave thanks for the food and they recognized him, and he disappeared. They recognized it was Jesus. They didn't sleep for a while after that because they ran at least 7 miles back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples that they had seen Jesus and they still didn't want to believe it.
But Luke tells us that while they were telling them, Jesus appeared to the 11 themselves while they were eating, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they didn't believe those who had seen the resurrection. Do we need rebuke today? Do we believe that the record that these disciples gave to the point that they were willing to give up everything, Do we have that same kind of commitment to Jesus, to give everything over, to serve Jesus to whom we owe
our very salvation and life? Some of you may not be convinced this morning that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, that Jesus died for your sins. An atheist, Lee Strobel, wrote a case for Christ wanting to disprove his wife's faith in Jesus. But in the end, he committed his heart to Christ because he recognized this was true and he's become a pastor and author. If you doubt, read the If you doubt the Bible story, read the book The Case for Christ.
Or if you don't like reading, you can watch the movie that's been made from that book. If there wasn't enough evidence to convince his followers that Jesus was risen from the dead that appeared, he also appeared to many others. Paul talks about these appearances in First Corinthians chapter 5, verses 5 to 7. Paul writes he appeared to Cephas, then to the 12, then he appeared to more than 500 of the
brothers at one time. Most of those are still alive, and Paul wrote that because if somebody doubted, they could go back and ask these 500 people that Jesus had appeared to, to recognize that this was in fact truth. He also appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all, as though to one born at the wrong time, He appeared to me also. He appeared to Paul, a man who was trying to persecute, to kill those who are following Jesus and had believed that he rose from the dead.
Jesus continues to show himself today to people. And if anyone doubts this, I can arrange for you to talk to somebody here in our in our midst this morning who has experienced Jesus coming to him at night time. There are many stories of Jesus showing himself to Muslims who then began a journey to find out who this Jesus was.
They committed their lives to Jesus and for some of them it meant death, martyrdom, because they were following Jesus, because they had seen him in a vision and they had read His word and they believed it going on. In Mark 16 verse 15 to 18, Jesus or Mark Jesus gave his disciples a Commission. He said to his disciples go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned.
These are the signs that accompany those who believe in My name. They will drive out demons, they will speak in new languages, they will pick up snakes in their if their hands. And whatever poison they drink, they will not harm. It will not harm them. They will place their hands on the sick and they will be well. Now, having gone to Japan for about 10 years, we feel that we have been obedient to Jesus to go and preach the gospel to
other places. And Japan is a country with a population that is aging and shrinking. The church is also shrinking there. They need new life. They need people to come and to share the good news of Jesus with them. Your lives will be enriched as you as ours has if you will go to another people group who need to hear about Jesus. Japan needs a new vision. Only a half a percent of the population is considered to be born again believers.
To put that in perspective, the municipality, the town of Leamington has about 29,680 people in the 2021 census. Now half a percent of that population ends up to be around 140 a 150 people. Now, in our area here, we would have at least 10 churches or more that have 150 people, some of them many more than that. We see the need for hundreds to
come to Christ in that country. It continues to be on our prayers, our life, in our hearts and thoughts, and as we communicate with people from there, we cry out to God to bring more into His Kingdom in that country. You know, we still need to see. We still see. Even though there are many churches in Leamington, we still see the need for many more to be started. You know, if we filled every single church on Sunday morning 2 times even, it would still be many that would never be able to
get in to the church. So we're not overchurched in our community, but we need a personal vision. Not just a church vision, a personal vision to reach the lost with the spiritual gifts that God has given to you. What are you doing for the Lord? Are you enjoying the blessings that come from serving Him? God is giving great opportunities for you to step up and to become involved.
I'm praying that God will give you so much joy and pleasure in serving Him that our church will explode in our outreach both here in our community and around the world. I would be so excited if one of you would decide to go to a foreign country, another land, another people group and share the good news with them as well. Little bit like Alex and Pedro had done going to Africa, Mark wrote in 16 verse 16.
The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned. Do you want your family, your neighbors or your Co workers to be condemned? Condemned to hell for eternity? What will you do about it? Can you bring the message of Jesus to them? You can just bring it up in your conversations explaining that this is the greatest part of the of the year where we recognize Jesus is resurrected and he's living today and he's living in our hearts.
What a wonderful message we have, but it's going to take a take us out of our own comfort zones to be able to say something like that. Going on in verse 19, we read after the Lord Jesus had spoken to the disciples, He was taken up into heaven and he sat down at the right hand of God. You know Jesus is watching us from heaven. He sent His Holy Spirit to those in need. He is watching us now just as he had been. Has He? Just as he has been watching for
centuries. The church in action, the message being preached, the word going out. I believe he is looking for individuals who will get out of their comfort zone, their materialistic lifestyle and get excited about the good news of the resurrection of Jesus. The disciples of Jesus went and spread the good news.
They travelled to Egypt, Rome, Turkey, Greece, India, Persia and all around the Middle East to share the story of Jesus and they willingly gave up their lives to proclaim the gospel. Are you willing this morning? Mark 16 verse 20 finishes with They went out and proclaimed everywhere and now this next phrase stood out to me the other night. I just like had never really come across it and it says here while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through
accompanying signs. We have a risen Lord and Savior who is always with us here. It says that the Lord worked with them. Yeah, He's up in glory, but He is working with us down here. When we witness, we don't do it alone. Jesus is there working with us as a spirit and the Creator of the universe. He is able to be everywhere in the in the new form which he received when he was resurrected. We are promised that one day we too will have a body like His.
In the meantime, what are you doing with the body that you have? When you stand before Jesus at the judgement seat, what will you give as a gift to Jesus for the sacrifice that he made on the cross to forgive your sins? If you've never given your life to Jesus, ask him this morning to forgive and to take away every single stain, every single sin. Perhaps you've gone on your own way. You've rejected his promptings. We encourage you to renew that commitment to Jesus after
service. I'll stay upfront here. If somebody wants prayer or wants to come forward, give yourself to Jesus. Please do that. God loved you so much that He gave His only Son to die on the cross so that your sins would be forgiven. Don't you owe it to Jesus to give everything that you have, including your life, as a thank offering to Him? Won't you do that today? Maranatha? Jesus is coming again. Let's pray.
Lord Jesus, there's some here this morning, there's some in our listening audience, our online audience that have never given their lives to Jesus. Lord, show yourself to them. Lord, I pray that you will forgive their sins. You will make them holy, You will bring them into your Kingdom, and they they can experience your joy and the freedom that you give all people. Thank You that you are here with us, that you are watching us from heaven and you are working with us.
And sometimes we wander in our own way. Forgive us, Lord. Bring us peace. Amen.