Mark 16:1-6 – My Resurrection Story – Bible study

Mark 16:1-6 My Resurrection Story I do not know if this is your most unusual Easter or not, but it is mine. Some of you were perhaps in the military and have spent an Easter or two in foreign soil or maybe even in a foxhole. Others have perhaps spent an Easter in a hospital room, either has the patient or caring for the patient. But being locked out of church this year makes this my most unusual Easter andas we are studying through the Book of RevelationI wonder if we may not have many more unusual Easters. Mark 16:1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought 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 sepulchre 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 was very great. 5 And entering into the sepulchre, 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. If you will bear with me, I will come back to these verses in a few moments, but first I want to tell you the background of the resurrection story this morningbut not just any story. I want to tell you my story. I view my story in a way you may not like or agree with, but that is all right since it is my story. Every person must and will write their own resurrection story so you make yours say whatever you wish. My story contains my greatest sadness, my greatest joy, and my greatest anticipation. I view my story as a thread that runs both backward and forward through time. As I tell you my resurrection story, you may see that my thread changes colors depending on how I feel about that section of my story. I will tell you My Resurrection Story in three points: I. Thats me. A. My story begins in the future. Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. B. This is the Great White Throne Judgment, the place where God will judge every sinner. C. That is me standing at the Great White Throne. 1. This is my future. 2. Now, even before the thought can even enter your mind, let me tell you that I am standing there because of the sins of another, not because of what Adam and Eve. 3. I understand why some might think that. a. When Adam and Eve sinned back in the Garden, they did sin for us all; and because of their sin, our nature was changed. b. Sin became part of our DNA, our genes, our very chromosomes. 4. However, \#12\ does not say that God condemns and sentences those indicted before Him that day based on their nature. a. No, rather it says that He opens a Book of Life and judges those there according to their works. b. I will stand before that Great White Throne and be condemned not because of the nature with which I was born, but because of the bad works that I have committed. c. My works are bad and my bad works are many. d. Our message today is being broadcasted on Facebook Live and will be stored on my own personal website. e. Many who have known me all of my life will be viewing this message. (1) Some who are and have been acquaintances since my youth could tell you of my evil works. And some in this community can tell you of my short comings, my failings, my sins. (2) Even closer to home, my two brothers know a few of my evil works. They could each testify to my temper, my pride, my arrogance, and my selfishness. They and many other family members have seen and know of just a few of my shortcomings much too well for me to deny them. (3) But even closer are my wife, children, their mates, and perhaps even some of my grandchildren by now are starting to figure me out. They could each bear witness and tell stories of the mean-spirit, the lazy spirit, and the prideful spirit that abides within me. (4) But all of those damning testimonies are not so bad as those books which will greet me at the Great White Throne for those books are the complete, unabridged, and unadorned details of every bad deed I have done, of every bad word I have said, and of every bad thought I have thought. (a) He has them all recorded for at the same time I did wrong against you, I was also doing wrong against Him. (b) Let me not play games about this. I would never have taken the time to even think about how I hurt you if I had not taken the time to think about how I hurt Him. (c) I am sorry for that, but denying my nature does not make it go away. (d) I am trying to tell you my story, the complete story; and I am not a very good person. 5. Friend, make no mistake. a. That is me standing there at the Great White Throne. b. It is my greatest sadness that I stand before God guilty of sinning against both mankind and the holy God. c. My thread has turned black with shame and regret, with the ugliness of sin and corruption. d. I would like to avoid that day, but I cannot. e. I would like to flee from that day, but I cannot. f. It is there and I must greet it very soon. g. Thats me standing there. D. Thats me being cast into the Lake of Fire. Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 1. I dont want to go. a. Oh how I dont want this to happen! b. But it will c. It is my future. d. It is my story. e. It is my greatest sadness. 2. I will not be like those in the state of foolish denial who claim they do not deserve it, because I do. a. By attempting to figure out what is written in those books, I have seen myself. b. By wanting to know the charges that will be leveled against me, the crimes which I have committed, I now know more of myself than I care to know. c. I shudder when I think of it, but I do deserve what will happen on that day. d. I deserve to be cast into the Lake of Fire that will burn and torment me forever and ever. 3. But I do not want it. 4. Somehow, there must be a way out. Somehow, there must be an alternative. 5. The Bible offers but one. 6. Another, a Lamb, may take my place. II. Thats my Lamb! Mark 15:33 And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? 35 And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. 36 And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. 37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. 38 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top 39 And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God. A. Thats just any man. 1. Thats Gods Son. 2. He came to take my place in hell. 3. He came to be my Lamb. B. This is my greatest joy, that my future can be changed. 1. My thread which turned black with sin and shame now turns red as Someone does for me what no one should have done. 2. Jesus, my Lamb, died for my sins and took my place. 3. This story is old in time, but it never gets old to me. C. He was recognized and announced. 1. The first was John the Baptism. Baptizing by the River Jordan, Jesus came to be baptized. As Jesus was being immersed, John saw the Holy Spirit descend upon like a Dove and heard the voice of the Father announce, "Thou art My beloved Son" \#Mk 1:11\. John later proclaimed, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world." \#John 1:29\ THE LAMB became MY LAMB. 2. Andrew appears to be the second to figured it out. Hearing what John said, he and another followed for just one day, just one day. In that day, Jesus performed no miracles. In that day, Jesus was flanked by no crowds. As far as we know, it was just Jesus, Andrew, and another talking together, but by the end of that one day, Andrew was heard telling his brother, "We have found the Messiah." \#John 1:38-41\. Whatever burned into Andrews heart burned into mine as well for thats my Lamb! 3. Nathanael took more convincing. He was not a man to simply follow the crowd and plainly stated his doubt that any prophet could come out of Nazareth, but within minutes of meeting Jesus, he seems to be bowed on his knees before Jesus proclaiming, "Thou art the Son of God; Thou are the King of Israel." \#John 1:45-49\. 4. The number increased very slowly at first, but then came the miracles. a. Then people came, mostly to be healed physically at first. (1) The sick with diseases in their body. (2) Those broken from accidents. (3) Soon the dozens became hundreds; the crippled, the deaf, the dumb, the lame, the paralyzed. b. But the more that came caused more to come and the numbers grew from the hundreds to the thousands and from merely sick of body to sick of soul: the afflicted, and the tormented, the oppressed, and the possessed. c. Oh, how they came and how they were helped. (1) They came hungry and left full. (2) They came sick and left well. (3) They came controlled and left free. (4) They came confused and they left certain. (5) They came damned and they left forgiven. D. But that is their story. I want to tell you mine. 1. I was not raised in a church. We only went on special occasions like Easter and Christmas. 2. But as a child we lived across from a beautiful, Methodist church that had a Sunday school hallway which opened to the outside. a. That doorway was directly across from my house. b. Our house was not air condition, but that church was. c. I rattled the knob on that outside door one day and found inside that darkened hallway a cool place in the hot summer. d. I also found the light switch, and checked every door to see what I could get into. e. Only one door was ever unlocked. f. Looking back now, I realize it must have been a prayer room. (1) There was a place to sit in the cool comfort of that air conditioner. (2) And there pictures and mementos of Jesus scattered around. (3) I did not in any way vandalize that room for I knew it was Gods house. (4) But would go there from time to time, to cool down, and to ponder. (5) And in that cool room, I wondered who God was. (6) And in that cool room, I prayed, "God, if you are real, I would like to know You." 3. It would be many, many more years and a false experience before God would drive the sword of understanding into my head and the spear of conviction into my heart; but finally I would be driven from my bed in the early morning hours to surrender stubborn will to God. E. On my knees beside my bed, that Lamb became my Lamb. 1. Those slaps against His face were my slaps. 2. Those thorns pressed into His brow were my thorns. 3. Those stripes with the cat-of-nine-tail were my strips. 4. The cross He bore on His back was my cross. 5. The spikes that they drove into His hands were my spikes. 6. The sins that drained the life out of His body were my sins. 7. The wrath of God that was poured upon Him was my wrath. 8. The hell that endured was my hell. 9. Thats my Lamb, my Lamb hanging there, my Lamb dying there. 10. Thats my Lamb. a. He died from my sins. b. And He died for your sins. c. He died to take our place. F. But that is not the end of my resurrection story. III. Thats my Lion. A. We started by reading the resurrection account. 1. This is where my crimson thread becomes gold. 2. This is where my greatest sadness becomes my greatest anticipation – to see my Lion face to face. 3. You see, my Lamb did not stay dead. B. The Lamb had to die. 1. The Lamb had to die to take my place. 2. The Lamb had to die when He took my sins. 3. The Lamb had to die to face the fury of the Holy God which was against me. C. But while the Lamb had to die, the Lion had to arise. 1. The Lamb is the eternal God. 2. The Lamb is the conquering Hero. 3. The Lamb is the Almighty and death, like all others, must bow before Him. D. So like a Lamb, Jesus submitted to death and the grave, but like a Lion, He arose. 1. Like a Lion who paid sins price, He arose. 2. Like a Lion who defeated death, He arose. 3. Like a Lion who defeated the grave, He arose. 4. Like a Lion who defeated the devil, He arose. 5. Like a Lion who pleased the Father, He arose. 6. Like a Lion who would ascend to His throne, He arose. 7. Like a Lion who was beginning something new and different, the Lion arose. 8. Like a Lion who invited others to follow Him, the Lion arose. E. And thats my Lion. 1. The Lamb is dead. 2. The Lion lives. 3. Forever live the Lion! Forever live the Lion! Thats the resurrection story. Thats my resurrection story, and it can be your resurrection story. Deny your sinfulness if you want, but we both know it is there. Deny that you need a Savior if you wish, but we know. Pretend Jesus is not the Lamb if you dare, but we can both feel the truth. He is. If you want to receive Jesus Christ as your Lamb today, you need to do two things.