“The Power of His Resurrection” Mark 16:1-8 June 22, 2008

SI: For the past six Sundays we have studied Christ’s passion.

Mark has walked us, step by step through the peaks of Jesus’ suffering.

Now we come to the resurrection.

And you have to be struck with how little Mark says.

There are so many details we want filled in but he gives us the bare bones.

And yet the power of this event has changed the world.

INTRO: There is a small, very old Presbyterian denomination called

the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, the ARP.

It is a very regional church, mostly in the Carolinas and Virginia.

It was started by Scottish ministers from a Presbyterian denomination

in Scotland by the same name—the ARP.

The most important figure in ARP history was a Scottish pastor, Ebenezer Erskine.

The ARP seminary in Due West, SC is Erskine Seminary.

An unusual fact about Ebenezer Erskine is that he was born six months after

his mother’s funeral.

This is what happened. It was the year 1680 in a small town in Scotland.

Ebenezer’s mother Margaret was pregnant with him when she fell unconscious.

Her husband, Henry Erskine was the town’s pastor, church members attended,

prayed, but her breathing became more and more faint, and then it stopped.

This was in the days before embalming—so the funeral was held immediately.

The grave digger was called, Margaret was put in a casket,

taken next door to the church cemetery, and after the graveside service,

her grieving husband walked back to the manse with church members.

And as they were sitting there with him they heard the gate outside open,

and a step on the front porch—and Henry said—that sounds like my Margaret.

And the door opened, and there, to everyone’s amazement stood Margaret Erskine.

She was dazed and staggering and one of her fingers was bleeding profusely—

but she was very much alive.

She had never actually died, simply gone into a coma that was so deep

that she appeared to have died.

And after the graveside service she would have been buried alive,

but the gravedigger was a crook.

He had seen a ring on her finger. He was cutting off her finger to get the ring,

when to his horror, the corpse began to bleed. He fled the scene.

Somehow the pain jolted Margaret to consciousness—she climbed out of the casket.

and walked home—six months after her funeral, little Ebenezer was born.

That’s a true story. It’s an amazing story.

I’m sure the people who where there never forgot it.

Grandchildren probably said, Tell us again the scary story about preacher’s wife.

But as amazing as this story is, it didn’t really change anything.

It wasn’t a real resurrection.

It’s just a quirky little footnote in history.

Most brief biographies of Ebenezer Erskine don’t even mention it.

Many people, even many church people, view Jesus’ resurrection

as a footnote—an interesting, true, even an important event—

but something that doesn’t make a difference.

It doesn’t change anything for them.

But the resurrection is not a footnote in history—

it is the most significant event in history next to Jesus’ incarnation.

Because there is power in the resurrection that will change believers—

and eventually change the world itself.

Our faith in the resurrection enables us daily to tap into that power.

I want us to look at Mark’s account of the resurrection

and ask the two questions.

In fact, I would say that these are the two most important questions

about the resurrection. They have been asked over and over and will

continue to be asked until Jesus comes again. You need to know the answers.

1. Did it really happen?

2. What difference does it make?

MP#1 Did it really happen?

The Apostle Paul said

that “if Christ has not been raised our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”

Everything in Christianity hinges on whether or not resurrection really happened.

All intelligent critics of Christianity know this.

You can look back through history and see example after example of people

who tried to undermine Christianity by disproving the resurrection.

Many cases where attempts to disprove resurrection led them to believe it.

Gilbert West and Lord Lyttleton met as students at Oxford in mid 1700s.

Very intelligent, agnostics—decided they would discredit Christianity.

Would do so by proving that two events never happened—

conversion of Saul of Tarsus and the resurrection of Christ.

Lyttleton took Saul’s conversion, and West took resurrection.

Several months later met to discuss research.

Lyttleton admitted he had come to believe that Saul truly did become Paul.

West admitted that had had become convinced resurrection happened.

West wrote a book that was for a number of decades the book on subject:

“Observations on the History and Evidences of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ”

Simon Greenleaf was a law professor at Harvard from 1833-1853.

Held two distinguished chairs, Royall and Dane chairs.

He contributed to expansion of Harvard Law school and building Law Library.

Wrote a classic legal volume called A Treatise on the Law of Evidence

He believed the resurrection was a hoax. Decided to write a book exposing it.

So he studied the evidence and wrote a book titled: An Examination of the

Testimony of the Four Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence Administered in the

Courts of Justice in which he emphatically stated that the evidence shows that

Jesus did rise from the dead.

Lee Strobel graduated from Yale Law School, award winning journalist,

at the Chicago Tribune for 13 years.

He was a spiritual skeptic. Considered Bible, Christianity superstition.

But in 1979 his wife Leslie announced that she had become a Christian.

He said felt like the victim of a bait and switch scam.

But he saw fundamental changes in wife’s character and integrity.

For the next two years picked the Bible apart with all his journalistic skill,

especially examining the resurrection.

What he found changed his life and led to a book. “The Case For Christ”

What is it exactly that convinced these people—and many others like them—

that it really did happen?

They found the Gospels to be credible, eyewitness accounts.

Look at this passage in Mark. Who where the first witnesses of the resurrection?

Women. Mark names three Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James, Salome.

The women see the empty tomb and the angel.

All the other Gospels report this—it was to the women that Jesus first appeared.

It was the women who reported it.

Does that seem strange to you? Of course not.

Because we read this story as modern Americans.

So it was the women who first saw the empty tomb and the angel and Jesus?

But in the first century, when Gospels were written, the testimony of women

was not accepted in courts of law.

Their word was considered unreliable in important matters.

This was not must when it came to the law—women were marginalized in society.

Do you remember what Luke tells us the male disciples thought when

the women first came and told them what they had seen?

“They did not believe the women because their words seemed to them like nonsense.”

Women! Emotional and irrational. Judgment and accuracy can’t be trusted.

If the resurrection was made up by the early church, or if the Gospels were legends,

they would never, in a million years have made women the first eyewitnesses.

If this story has been made up they would have had men, important men,

there at the tomb to witness resurrection.

In fact, this detail of the women being the first witnesses to the resurrection

was actually used against Christianity in early centuries.

You expect us to believe in the resurrection? Come on, women first reported it!

This detail, and lots of others like this, show that this is not a hoax or a legend—

but a credible, eyewitness account. Written as history.

This was the sort of thing that convinced C.S. Lewis.

He was a literature professor, devoted his life to the study of legends and fiction.

“Anyone who says the Gospels are legends doesn’t know anything about legends.”

Legends aren’t written like this. The Gospels breathe history.

So you have the Gospels, which on close examination, clearly eyewitness accounts.

And then, on top of all that you have the existence of the church itself.

There were dozens of messianic movements before and after Jesus.

The same thing would always happen—

the leader would be killed and the movement would collapse.

Except this one. It exploded. In 200 years it took over the Roman Empire,

and 2000 years later it is the largest religion on earth.

Why didn’t it collapse? What caused the demoralized disciples to turn around

and become bold witnesses of Jesus Christ?

It’s hard to come up with any other plausible explanation but the resurrection.

Would the disciples of Jesus given their lives for a hoax if they stole the body?

Wouldn’t someone have eventually talked?

Was this a mass delusion? If so, enemies would have produced the body.

You can go down through the list of all the possibilities that have been

raised through the centuries and none are as convincing as that as this one—

it actually happened.

This is the glory of Christianity. We have a historical faith.

We believe that the Son of God really and truly came into human history

in the days of Caesar Augustus, and that he suffered under Pontius Pilate—

historical figures. And that he rose again in real history.

And if Jesus really rose from the dead, then that changes everything.

So let’s consider now, what difference the resurrection makes.

MP#2 What difference does it make?

Two things that we see in the words of the angel spoken from empty tomb.

The resurrection changes the way you look at yourself.

The angel said to the women:

Go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you into Galilee,

and there you will see him, just as he told you.

The angel didn’t say: Tell those spineless, deserting disciples that if they

get down in the dust and repent, then Jesus will forgive them and meet in Galilee.

Instead, his words imply that Jesus has already forgiven them, so that they

can repent and join him and be a part of the next big thing.

The most wonderful thing is how the angel added, “and Peter.”

Tell the disciples, and Peter.

What if the angel had just said: Tell the disciples to meet Jesus?

Women would have come and said: Jesus wants to meet you.

Peter would have said, You guys go, he can’t mean me.

You remember what Peter did? He denied Jesus with curses.

He fell the farthest.

But the words of the angel from the empty tomb meant,

Jesus has plans for you, Peter.

He has plans for the disciple who failed the most.

The disciple whose failure was the worst,

was the one whose repentance was the deepest,

so his understanding of grace was greatest—

and that made him the most qualified to be a leader in Jesus’ movement.

That’s exactly what Peter became. The leader of the disciples.

That doesn’t seem right, does it?

Our natural mindset is to believe that salvation is by strength.

And greatness and usefulness in God’s kingdom by perfection.

To the degree we are strong, keep standards, do good, will be blessed.

Failure and repentance is a setback, disrupts the flow of God’s power.

But the Gospel says salvation is by grace.

It was through the weakness of Jesus dying on the cross, we were saved.

And it is through weakness of admitting failures and need, experience grace.

Repentance after failure enhances the flow of God’s power.

We hate admitting we have failed.

We blame anything and anybody to avoid repenting.

We say, if you had my parents, if knew my situation.

Admitting failure feels like a death to us.

But if you let that failure drive you to the Gospel, it becomes a resurrection.

In Jesus’ resurrection, we also see Peter being raised to usefulness and greatness.

Do you want to be used by God? Do you want to be great in his kingdom?

Do you want to be the best husband, the best wife, best father or mother,

the best friend? The best and most useful are those who repent the most.

Those who are able to look at their lives and see their sins and failures,

and at the same time see the costliness of God’s love and grace, and repent.

Because that makes you bold and humble at the same time.

Bold enough to speak the truth and do the right thing, even if it is hard—

but humbled by God’s forgiveness so that you are not arrogant or harsh to people.

That’s who God uses.

It’s the resurrection that gives us the assurance, God really works that way.

The resurrection changes the way you look at the world.

The angel said to the women: Do not be alarmed.

Those words, spoken from empty tomb, change everything.

Do not be alarmed.

Why are you alarmed? Why are you afraid? Why are you anxious?

Why do is it so hard to face suffering and death?

Why is it so hard to face cancer or bankruptcy or uncertainty?

Because you think this world is all you are ever going to have.

Because you think this money is all the money you will ever have.

Because you think this body is the only body you will ever have.

And all of your alarm and fear is that these things will be taken

from you and then you will have nothing.

But the resurrection proves that this is not all that you have.

Jesus came into the world. He lived in this world.

His resurrection shows that salvation is not escape from this world—

but it is life in this world restored.

And so all of the things that are broken in this world—

that you suffer over and worry about so much will be made new and given to you.

Joni Erickson grew up Episcopalian.

After she had her accident, paralyzed from the neck down, every Sunday,

when priest would ask congregation to kneel, she would burst into tears.

Sunday after Sunday, that point of the liturgy would drive home to her

the fact that she would never walk again.

But then one Sunday, priest asked everyone to kneel, she started to cry—

but she read the prayer, and it was about the resurrection—and she wrote this:

“I suddenly realized, when I get to the wedding feast of the Lamb, the first thing I’ll be able to do on my resurrected legs is drop down on grateful, glorified knees and kneel quietly before the feet of Jesus. And then I’m going to get on my feet, and I’m going to dance . . .

“I can scarcely believe it, I with shrivelled, bent fingers, atrophied muscles, gnarled knees, and no feeling from the shoulders down, will one day have a new body, light, bright, and clothed in righteousness—powerful and dazzling. Can you imagine the hope this gives someone spinal cord-injured like me? Or someone who is cerebral palsied, brain-injured, or who has multiple sclerosis? Imagine the hope this gives someone who is manic depressive. No other religion, no other philosophy promises new bodies, hearts and minds. Only in the Gospel of Christ do hurting people find such incredible hope.”

The resurrection of Jesus’ body proves that God loves you body and soul.

And he is going to give you wonderful things, so you have no reason to be afraid.

It also show us that God loves this world.

He is restoring us for life in this world.

There is nothing better than ordinary life—except that it is always going away.

Eating with friends, sitting around the fire, laughing at jokes, rain and sunshine—

God’s loves it so much, he sent his Son to redeem it and make it new again.

Ordinary life is going to be redeemed—sin and death and tears will be gone.

This gives us the big reason to do good in this world.

We are the people who so believe in power of Jesus’ resurrection to restore us

and all of life that even now we start to push back against the brokenness.

Who are the sick, lonely, hurting people in your life?

Reach out to them, encourage and help them—and as you do, you bring them

a little taste of the resurrection life as Jesus works through you.

It may not be a big thing. Cup of cold water, Jesus says. Cup of coffee.

Word of encouragement. Timely visit. Ordinary life, resurrection power.

CONC: Some of you know Charles Garland.

Was pastor of Decatur Presbyterian Church, then moved to Portland, Oregon,

where he planted a church. Now back in South, in Atlanta area.

Charles is a thinker and he has some interesting observations about spiritual

differences between red state and blue state America.

Portland is strongly pagan, even anti-Christian in some ways.

But Charles observed that when a pagan Portlanders became convinced that

the resurrection really happened, they got very excited.

They would say: Wow! This changes everything.

If Jesus rose from the dead, then all of life is different.

But back in the Bible Belt, most people already believe it happened,

but for many, even in the church, it makes little difference.

I understand that. I grew up with the story. It’s old to me.

It’s easy to live and look at my self and the world and forget the resurrection.

And so we have to tell ourselves—it really happened—

and that makes all the difference.

Because of the resurrection, my failures do no paralyze or ruin me.

Through Christ and the resurrection, I can be resurrected to greatness

in God’s kingdom. All the more reason to be open about sins and failures.

And I have no need to fear the losses, blows and uncertainties of this life—

because a better one is coming. And I can be courageous and even now

start to push back against the brokenness in the lives of the people God

leads across my path.

This is the greatness of our faith: The tomb was really empty on Easter morning.

And the angel appeared to the women and said:

He is not here. He has risen.