Sunday Morning Podcast April 16, 2017. Bro. Dave Goble.
TEXT: MARK 15:1-5 , 24-26
1 And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate.
2 And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it.
3 And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing.
4 And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee.
5 But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled.
24 And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take.
25 And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.
26 And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Mark 16:1-8
1 And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had brought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher at the rising of the sun.
3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it as very great.
5 And entering into the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.
8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulcher; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they anything to any man; for they were afraid.
Very early in the morning, the stone was rolled away from the cave, where our Lord had risen from. Easter is not a metaphor for springtime, but an offer of a resolution for very much that is in our life! Regardless of mankind sometimes doubting, the resurrection really happened. This cave was located close to the cross, just as the death of sin must happen in our life, just before a spiritual resurrection. The cross is where our sins are nailed, so that we may have newness in a holy life. For a resurrection follows for all who believe; one then becomes a new person that worships and lives holy by Jesus’s power over death. Your “old” life of sin is no longer alive, …but dead.
When God calls and is allowed into a person’s world, it is an example of the resurrection in a heart. A biblical example is found in Acts the 9th chapter. Saul a persecutor of Christians, is on his way to Damascus, when Christ in a bright light from heaven, calls Saul asking why he persecutes Him. When Saul then asks “Lord, what would thou have me to do?” he becomes a follower of Christ and no longer a persecutor of Christians. This newness of life for Saul became a reality here, and God gave him a new name, that of Paul, who then became an ambassador for Jesus.
The resurrection provides a context to deal with pain, fear, and despair. For if you go long enough with doubt, pain, and fear, you will despair. Even after having been redeemed through a resurrection of your soul. “Because He lives, all fear is gone.” So if He lives, …why do I still suffer doubt, pain and fear? Because in those dark times, you now have an anchor and place to go for true help through the resurrection. Without those dark times, we wouldn’t have opportunity to test out the promises of God’s deliverance from all that would defeat us. It is only through having the victory in those painful times, we have an element of help for others that also need to find their way to Jesus. Self wants to dominate. The pleasing of your self, God will allow, if you’re determined to hold on to your own ways. But then there will be no victory over death, sin, and self. Stay dead to self, then the power of Christ’s resurrection will be a reality of faith, and hope!
You’ll have give up sin, to live a resurrected life. Are you willing to change? The cross and the cave; a resurrected life is what Easter is all about!