Sermon - February 8, 2015 - The Story Week 27 - The Ressurection

Do you remember where we ended three weeks ago? Jesus had died, and to many all hope was lost.

Matthew 27:45-54

“⁴⁵ From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over the whole land. ⁴⁶ About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Elí, Elí, lemá sabachtháni?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

In Luke it says Jesus then cried out saying ‘It is finished!’ and then He gave up His spirit.

We ended three weeks ago talking about what today we call Good Friday, but at that time most did not realize it was the beginning of something great. Most thought all hope was lost. Good Friday was followed by a Saturday that was full of desperation. On that Saturday it seems that Jesus Christ was totally defeated as His body lays dead in a tomb. His side was punctured, His tongue was silent, Death was absolute. No one was betting on a resurrection. No one was counting on the wondrous blessings of the First Easter.

Matthew 27:62-64

“⁶² The next day, which followed the preparation day, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate ⁶³ and said, “Sir, we remember that while this deceiver was still alive He said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore give orders that the tomb be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, His disciples may come, steal Him, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead.’ Then the last deception will be worse than the first.”

The Pharisees were happy with themselves. They believed that they no longer had to worry about Jesus. Now they had to deal with the pesky disciples. They were concerned that they would sneak into the tomb and steal Jesus body. The reality is they did not need to be concerned at all about the disciples doing anything.

What were the disciples doing between Jesus’ death and His resurrection? They had melted away, hiding, they were without hope, without courage, they were lost. They were not devising some crazy scheme to move Jesus’ body and tell a fake story about Him resurrecting. They were too busy trying to figure out how they were not going to end up in a tomb next to Him.

It seems none of the disciples remembered any of the time Jesus mentioned that He was going to die and rise again.

Mark 9:31

“³¹ For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill Him, and after He is killed, He will rise three days later.”

You would like to think one of His disciples would have remembered this and thought it through. Let’s see He died yesterday, today is Saturday, and tomorrow is Sunday. Friday was day 1, today is day 2, ‘Hey Guys tomorrow is the 3^rd day, don’t you get it? Jesus will be back tomorrow!’… nope, not a single disciple remembered Jesus’ teaching and foretelling of His resurrection. They were hopeless and full of despair. When Sunday came they were not ready for His resurrection they were ready to finish preparing His body for its final rest.

Mark 16:2-3

“² Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they went to the tomb at sunrise. ³ They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?”

Does not look like a celebration on that First Easter morning, instead they were ready to embalm Jesus’ dead body. It may have been a glorious Sunday morning, but they were stuck in the despair of Saturday.

We can easily get stuck in the despair of Saturday. Living with a Saturday state of mind would mean thinking we have no hope, no courage, no plans, believe that death is the final end. We know everyone dies, but we try to avoid that reality as much as possible. It was obvious with the recent passing of my Grandmother. As the day drew near you could easily tell by their reactions who was in denial and who was not.

Does your world ever feel like that? Are you stuck on the Saturday of despair? You ever feel like you just can’t find anything good? Is the sky gray, the rain coming down, no silver linings, and no happy ending? How about courage, hope, or a reason to be positive? 

Does it feel like you are stuck on that Saturday of despair? When you are stuck in the hopelessness of Saturday even death feels like the ultimate insult. No matter what you do, exercise, eat healthy, take your meds… but nobody out lives death.

Elvis recently had a birthday, he is dead. Martin Luther King Jr. also had a birthday recently, he is dead. We are going to celebrate President Lincoln’s birthday and guess what he is also dead. Death will hit all of us, you can’t out run it, you can’t avoid it, it is going to happen.

If your mindset is like that of the disciples on that Saturday and all you can think is that death is the final answer, you will be stuck. Jesus died on Friday, but that was not the end. He was not stuck in that tomb. There is a reason why we celebrate Easter with so much Joy! Sunday brings about new life. That first Easter Sunday gave us an amazing promise, follow Jesus and death is not a dead end. If you follow Jesus death is the transition from this life to the BEST life.

John 20:11-18

“¹¹ But Mary stood outside facing the tomb, crying. As she was crying, she stooped to look into the tomb. ¹² She saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet, where Jesus’ body had been lying. ¹³ They said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“Because they’ve taken away my Lord,” she told them, “and I don’t know where they’ve put Him.” ¹⁴ Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not know it was Jesus.

¹⁵ “Woman,” Jesus said to her, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Supposing He was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you’ve removed Him, tell me where you’ve put Him, and I will take Him away.”

¹⁶ Jesus said, “Mary.” Turning around, she said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!”—which means “Teacher.”

¹⁷ “Don’t cling to Me,” Jesus told her, “for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to My brothers and tell them that I am ascending to My Father and your Father—to My God and your God.”

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what He had said to her.”

She saw the empty tomb and was still in that Saturday state of mind. It did not remind her of Jesus’ teachings, it did not take away her despair, or her grief. She was probably getting worse thinking someone was playing a horrible trick on them or desecrating Jesus’ body.

Seeing and hearing the angels did not change her state of mind, she was still full of despair and grief.

Mary Magdalene, who was a friend of Jesus, who had a personal experience with Jesus, who had freed her from demonic oppression was 100% stuck in the sadness and despair of Saturday. It was so overwhelming she did not see who was in front of her. Her grief had blinded her.

There are times in our lives where it seems there is no way out. The despair is overwhelming, the sadness keeps us from seeing the light, and there seems to be nothing we can do about it. You may be sitting here this morning thinking the only ‘luck’ you have is bad luck or that nothing good is going to happen in your life.

When someone is that down and out, they might look right at the empty tomb and miss the importance. They may miss God’s intervention in their lives, like He sent the angels to speak to Mary. Despair has a tendency to make us blind and cause us to avoid all that God is doing. Jesus did not give up on Mary and He won’t give up on us. Jesus spoke to Mary and opened her eyes so she could see past the gloominess of her despair.

Jesus did not walk up to her and tell her to get her act together, He came as the gentle shepherd that He is. He being the loving God that He is, He had compassion on her.

Mary came to the tomb in a Saturday state of mind; she thought death had defeated life. But Jesus helped her to see that on that First Easter Sunday that life defeated death. Once and for all life defeated death!

2 Timothy 1:10

“This has now been made evident through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”

Sitting here this morning you may be going through some dark times, you may be stuck in that Saturday of despair. Maybe you are missing a lost loved one, finances are a struggle, health issues knocking you down, you need a job, or it could feel like it is one problem after another and you can’t seem to catch a break.

You may feel there is no hope, or that God does not care, but I am here to tell you that you are no different than Mary. Jesus broke through her despair and He wants to breakthrough to you. Saturday may be here, but it will not last. If you look at a calendar what comes after a Saturday? Sunday!

Psalms 30:5

“For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor, a lifetime. Weeping may spend the night, but there is joy in the morning.”

No matter what you are going through, be patient, as it will pass. Every season of life has its Saturdays which are followed by Sundays. The struggles and despair are followed by pure Joy that can only come from our Lord Jesus! Jesus defeated death with eternal life; the tomb is not the end of the story! Gloom and despair is not how our story ends. Jesus gave us life, He gave us victory.

1 Corinthians 15:55-57

⁵⁵ Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? ⁵⁶ Now the sting of death is sin,
and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Say it with conviction! (repeat 1 Corinthians 15:55-57)

Jesus was there for Mary and helped her move from Saturday to Sunday. This morning He wants to do the same for you! If there is anything in your life that is keeping you in Saturday Jesus has paved the way. He wants you to move on from your Saturday. He wants you to move past the tomb. Jesus wants you to embrace Sunday, the Joy, the Freedom, and the Life He is offering.

Jesus is inviting you to move from Saturday to Sunday, the choice is yours. Where is death’s victory? It does not exist with Jesus.

Jesus is the victorious one!


Thanks for Reading and May the Lord Bless you Abundantly!

Robert