IF TOMBS COULD TALK
MARK 16:1–6 WHEN THE SABBATH WAS OVER, MARY MAGDALENE, MARY THE MOTHER OF JAMES, AND SALOME BOUGHT SPICES SO THAT THEY MIGHT GO TO ANOINT JESUS’ BODY. 2 VERY EARLY ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, JUST AFTER SUNRISE, THEY WERE ON THEIR WAY TO THE TOMB 3 AND THEY ASKED EACH OTHER, “WHO WILL ROLL THE STONE AWAY FROM THE ENTRANCE OF THE TOMB?” 4 BUT WHEN THEY LOOKED UP, THEY SAW THAT THE STONE, WHICH WAS VERY LARGE, HAD BEEN ROLLED AWAY. 5 AS THEY ENTERED THE TOMB, THEY SAW A YOUNG MAN DRESSED IN A WHITE ROBE SITTING ON THE RIGHT SIDE, AND THEY WERE ALARMED. 6 “DON’T BE ALARMED,” HE SAID. “YOU ARE LOOKING FOR JESUS THE NAZARENE, WHO WAS CRUCIFIED. HE HAS RISEN! HE IS NOT HERE. SEE THE PLACE WHERE THEY LAID HIM.
INTRODUCTION: I HAVE OFTEN HEARD SOMEONE START A SENTENCE WITH, “IF ONLY THE WALLS HAD EARS.” OR “I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE BEEN A MOUSE IN THE CORNER.” WELL, THIS EASTER SUNRISE, I WOULD LIKE TO THINK ABOUT WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE IF THE TOMB WHERE THE SAVIOR WAS LAID COULD TALK. WHAT WOULD IT SAY?
THIS MORNING, IF WE COULD INTERVIEW THAT TOMB, I THINK IT WOULD HAVE A FEW THINGS TO TELL US.
I. THE TOMB WOULD TELL US THAT THE WOMEN THOUGHT THEY WERE COMING EARLY, BUT THEY WERE LATE!
WHEN THE SABBATH WAS OVER, MARY MAGDALENE, MARY THE MOTHER OF JAMES, AND SALOME BOUGHT SPICES SO THAT THEY MIGHT GO TO ANOINT JESUS’ BODY. 2 VERY EARLY ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, JUST AFTER SUNRISE, THEY WERE ON THEIR WAY TO THE TOMB
a. DID YOU EVER NOTICE HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO GET UP IN THE MORNING?
i. MAYBE WE ARE NOT MORNING PEOPLE
ii. MAYBE WE STAYED UP TOO LATE
iii. MAYBE WE HAD A LONG WEEKEND AND DID NOT WANT IT TO END
iv. FOR MANY OF US, MORNINGS ARE TOUGH
b. WHAT DRIVES US TO GET UP IN THE MORNING
i. RESPONSIBILITIES – PERHAPS YOU HAVE A JOB THAT STARTS EARLY AND SO YOU NEED TO GET UP EARLY IN ORDER TO GET THERE ON TIME
1. PROVIDING FOR YOUR FAMILY
2. SECURING YOUR FUTURE
ii. CONDITIONS AND SITUATIONS
1. WE ARE SUFFERING FROM ANXIETY OR DEPRESSION
2. INSOMNIA
3. SLEEP APNEA
4. REFLUX DISEASE
5. WE ARE GETTING OLDER
6. FOR SOME HERE, YOU MIGHT BE GETTING UP EARLIER BECAUSE YOU ARE PREGNANT
7. AND THERE ARE OTHER REASONS, BUT FEW WILL STOP HERE
c. MARY, MARY, AND SALOME HAD A DIFFERENT REASON
i. FINISH THE PREPARATION OF THE BODY OF JESUS
ii. THE SABBATH HAD MADE THIS IMPOSSIBLE
iii. THEY FELT THE RESPONSIBILITY TO DO THIS
iv. THEY WANTED TO GET THERE AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE TO PERFORM THIS IMPORTANT TASK
THESE WOMEN THOUGHT THEY WERE GETTING THERE EARLY, BUT THEY REALLY GOT HERE TOO LATE
d. WHY WERE THEY LATE?
i. THEY DID NOT TAKE THE TIME TO UNDERSTAND WHAT JESUS WAS SAYING
ii. THEY DID NOT ASK FOR HELP IN UNDERSTANDING WHAT JESUS WAS SAYING ABOUT HIS DEATH, BURIAL AND RESURRECTION.
iii. BECAUSE THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND OR TAKE TIME TO UNDERSTAND WHAT JESUS WAS TALKING ABOUT, THEY REVERTED BACK TO THEIR DEFAULT POSITION
1. SOMETHING WE ALL DO
2. A SPIRITUAL FRANK SINATRA MOMENT
3. WHEN WE DO NOT TAKE TIME TO UNDERSTAND WHAT GOD IS SAYING, WE REVERT BACK TO, “I DID IT MY WAY.”
iv. WHEN WE ARE IN DEFAULT
1. WE MISS THE BLESSING OF GOD. WHAT WOULD IT HAVE BEEN LIKE, HAD THEY UNDERSTOOD WHAT JESUS WAS SAYING? THEY WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN THERE TO ANOINT HIM BUT TO SEE HIS EXIT!
2. BLESSINGS ARE MISSED WHEN WE DO NOT GRASP WHAT GOD IS SAYING.
3. PERHAPS THAT IS WHAT GOD HAD IN MINDS WHEN HE TOLD THIS TO JOSHUA –
a. JOSHUA 1:8 DO NOT LET THIS BOOK OF THE LAW DEPART FROM YOUR MOUTH; MEDITATE ON IT DAY AND NIGHT, SO THAT YOU MAY BE CAREFUL TO DO EVERYTHING WRITTEN IN IT. THEN YOU WILL BE PROSPEROUS AND SUCCESSFUL.
b. THE WORD MEDITATE IS USED 25 TIMES IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, AND THE VAST MAJORITY THEIR USE REFERS TO SOME SORT OF VERBAL ACTIVITY.
c. GOD WANTED JOSHUA, AND US TO KEEP RECITING HIS WORD WITH THE RESULT OF HAVING A LIFE – WALK WITH HIM THAT WAS PROSPEROUS AND SUCCESSFUL
d. CAN YOU THINK OF ANY BETTER DEFINITION OF THAT KIND OF LIVING THAN KNOWING GOD’S WORD WELL ENOUGH TO FOLLOW IT?
SO THIS EASTER, LET ME ENCOURAGE YOU TO BECOME A GOD LISTENER. HERE IS HOW YOU CAN DO THAT
• BELIEVE THAT GOD WANTS TO SPEAK TO YOU. HE DOES. BUT AT TIMES WE ARE TOO BUSY TO LISTEN!
• CULTIVATE QUIET. BOTH EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL
• WHEN YOU READ YOUR BIBLE READ IT AS A CONVERSATION WITH GOD, NOT A TEXTBOOK
• RELY ON THE HOLY SPIRIT TO BE YOUR TEACHER. GOD’S WORD IS LIVING AND ACTIVE
• PRAY GOD’S WORD. WHEN YOU HAVE THAT CONVERSATIONAL READING WITH GOD AND SOMETHING TOUCHES YOUR HEART PRAY THAT OUT TO GOD, INSERTING YOURSELF INTO THE PASSAGE
• AS YOU SEEK TO LISTEN TO GOD, ASK HIM QUESTIONS AND SEEK HIM FOR THE ANSWERS
• KEEP A JOURNAL. TAKE TIME TO WRITE DOWN YOU CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD
II. THE TOMB WOULD TELL US THAT THE WOMEN WERE WORRIED WHEN THEY DID NOT NEED TO BE
3 AND THEY ASKED EACH OTHER, “WHO WILL ROLL THE STONE AWAY FROM THE ENTRANCE OF THE TOMB?”
BECAUSE THEY DID NOT COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND WHAT JESUS WAS GOING TO DO – RAISE FROM THE DEAD:
a. THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE REAL IDENTITY AND PURPOSE OF THE TOMB
i. “THE BIGGEST FACT ABOUT JOSEPH’S TOMB WAS THAT IT WASN’T A TOMB AT ALL—IT WAS A ROOM FOR A TRANSIENT. JESUS JUST STOPPED THERE A NIGHT OR TWO ON HIS WAY BACK TO GLORY.”—HERBERT BOOTH SMITH
ii. “THE STONE WAS ROLLED AWAY FROM THE DOOR, NOT TO PERMIT CHRIST TO COME OUT, BUT TO ENABLE THE DISCIPLES TO GO IN.”—PETER MARSHALL
b. THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF GOD
i. “THE STONE AT THE TOMB OF JESUS WAS A PEBBLE TO THE ROCK OF AGES INSIDE.”—FRED BECK
ii. NOTHING COULD HAVE HELD THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST FROM HAPPENING
1. NOT THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS
2. NOT THE ROMAN GUARDS
3. CERTAINLY NOT A STONE ROLLED IN FRONT OF THE TOMB
SO, THIS EASTER, DO NOT ONLY MAKE IT A POINT TO BECOME A GOD LISTENER, ALSO SEEK TO REALIZE THE REAL POWER OF GOD. HERE IS HOW YOU DO THAT:
• DO NOT THINK OF GOD’S POWER IN TERMS OF STRENGTH, BUT IN HIS ABILITY TO ACCOMPLISH HIS WILL IN EVERY SITUATION.
• THINK OF GOD’S POWER IN THE WAY HE PROTECTS AND ENABLES HIS PEOPLE TO DO THE IMPOSSIBLE
• SEE THE POWER OF GOD IN THE RESURRECTION AS HIS ABILITY TO BRING GLORY TO HIMSELF AS HE BRINGS ABOUT HIS PERFECT WILL.
III. THE TOMB WOULD TELL US THE FIRST WORDS THESE WOMEN HEARD WOULD EXCITE AND INFORM THEM.
4 BUT WHEN THEY LOOKED UP, THEY SAW THAT THE STONE, WHICH WAS VERY LARGE, HAD BEEN ROLLED AWAY. 5 AS THEY ENTERED THE TOMB, THEY SAW A YOUNG MAN DRESSED IN A WHITE ROBE SITTING ON THE RIGHT SIDE, AND THEY WERE ALARMED. 6 “DON’T BE ALARMED,” HE SAID. “YOU ARE LOOKING FOR JESUS THE NAZARENE, WHO WAS CRUCIFIED. HE HAS RISEN! HE IS NOT HERE. SEE THE PLACE WHERE THEY LAID HIM.
a. REMEMBER
i. THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT GOD WAS DOING
ii. THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF GOD
b. THE SCENE WAS FRIGHTENING
i. STONED ROLLED AWAY
ii. THE BODY OF CHRIST WAS NOT THERE
iii. THERE WAS SOMEBODY THERE THEY HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE
1. WAS THE TOMB VANDALIZED?
2. WAS THIS PERSON A THIEF/ROBBER?
c. THE CHANGE OF SCENE IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN
i. THE PERSON CALMS THEIR FEARS
ii. THE PERSON KNOWS WHO THEY ARE LOOKING FOR
1. NOTICE HE DOES NOT SAY BODY OF JESUS OF NAZARETH
iii. THE PERSON GIVES THEM ALL THE INFORMATION THEY NEED
1. WAS CRUCIFIED
2. HAS RISEN (AND STILL IS)
3. HE IS NOT HERE – PRESENT TENSE
4. WHERE HE WAS THEN IS NOT WHERE HE IS NOW
iv. WHAT WE KNOW FROM THE OTHER ACCOUNTS IS THAT THEY GOT IT
1. MATTHEW TELLS US THEY WENT TO TELL THE DISCIPLES AND JESUS MET THEM ON THE WAY
2. LUKE TELLS US THAT THE ANGEL REMINDED THEM ABOUT WHAT JESUS SAID AND THEY REMEMBERED HIS WORDS AND WERE NOT BELIEVED BY THE DISCIPLES
3. JOHN TELLS US THAT JESUS APPEARED TO MARY WHILE AT THE TOMB.
SO, THIS EASTER, THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION IS, “DO YOU GET IT?”
GOD HAD A PLAN – JESUS WAS TO DIE FOR THE SINS OF MEN
GOD HAD THE POWER TO ACCOMPLISH EVERYTHING HIS PERFECT WILL DEMANDED
GOD WANTS TO KNOW IF YOU GET IT? BECAUSE IF YOU GET IT YOU WILL DO LIKE THESE WOMEN DID – TELL SOMEBODY
THE RESURRECTION WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE KEPT TO OURSELVES
