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Scripture:
The Resurrection, He IS Risen
Sermon:
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He Is Risen, AMEN!
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When pastor asked during the Maundy Thursday’s Agapa Feast if anyone wanted to share, my immediate thought was to share how thankful I am for ALL of YOU and this wonderful church family.
Getting to share God’s Word is a privilege, so thank you for allowing me to do that today.
Pastor Paul and I thought it would be fun to split up the passages for today, so I’ll be covering Mark 16:1-8.
He gave me free rein on how to cover these passages, and since HE is the theological powerhouse, I decided it would be beneficial to take an apologetic approach!
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Apologetics is just a fancy way of saying I want to discuss, and address, a few commonly asked questions by non-believers AND Christians regarding Mark 16:1-8.
Before starting, let us pray: Lord, thank you for bringing us together on this Easter Sunday. Please bless us with discernment as we read and study your word. We give thanks for your sacrifice upon the cross. You took the punishment that we deserve and give us life. You are Lord over LIFE and over Death, and the tomb is empty because we have a living, loving God who now sits at the right hand of the Father and is an advocate for all of us. We love and thank you for all you do. In Jesus name, Amen.
Today I would like to focus on the following two points:
- Criterion of Embarrassment: Women at the Tomb
- Prophesy: He is Risen!
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We are familiar with Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary is Mary, the mother of James. This is James the younger according to Mark 15. That’s the Apostle James, son of Alphaeus, or “Little James” for those of you who watch the Chosen.
The other woman mentioned is Salome. While scripture does not tell us much about her, many scholars believe she was the wife of Zebedee, the parents of the “Son’s of Thunder,” John and “Big” James.
What is great about these first few passages is that they tell us WOMEN were the FIRST to arrive at the tomb.
Jesus had twelve apostles, ALL men, YET it was women who found the open tomb!
Joseph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus, according to John 19, took Jesus’ body to the tomb before Sabbath, covered Him in a shroud made from linen, and closed the tomb.
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So, WHERE were the twelve? WHERE were the men whose feet Jesus had WASHED a few days prior?
Judas Iscariot was dead, having hung himself AFTER betraying Jesus.
John the Apostle, the ONLY one who remained at the cross during the crucifixion, was caring for Jesus’ mother.
And the others? They were scattered!
It was the WOMEN who found the tomb open. It was the WOMEN who discovered Jesus was no longer there.
Criterion of Embarrassment:
So, where am I going with this?
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As a non-believer, I’ve asked the following QUESTIONS.
NOW as a believer, I’ve been asked these questions,
“Why do I believe Christianity is true? Why do I trust the bible?”
Truth is, it is not just ONE reason, but a great MANY reasons!
TWO of those happen to coincide with Mark 16.
The first being, the “criterion of embarrassment.”
The Criterion of Embarrassment is one, among many, of the method’s that historians use to help determine if a writing is authentic.
If something written is AWKWARD or EMBARRASSING to the author, or makes it more difficult for the movement, the more likely it is that the writing is to be authentic.
An example of this would be when the disciples kept falling asleep, in the Garden of Gethsemane, as Jesus was praying. Those disciples are not portrayed in the best light! Those details are more likely to make them look weak.
If the writers only goal was to push Christianity, they might want to leave that out of their writings.
But, the goal of the Gospels IS to share the, and that includes those embarrassing moments.
In the first century, women were not regarded as credible witnesses in Jewish society.
Women occupied a lower status in all patriarchal societies.
If someone were to invent the story of the resurrection, they would have likely written it differently.
They would have MEN going to the tomb, as a man’s word was more trustworthy.
In addition to changing WHO found the tomb, they would likely paint the Apostles in a more favorable light.
As it stands, scripture tells us nearly all the men were scared and fled!
Take Peter as an example. Jesus renames Simon, “Petros, or Peter,” meaning “Rock.”
If scripture was made up, I doubt the authors would have the Apostle named, the “Rock,” go on to deny Jesus three times!
The fact that scripture does contain these stories adds to its authenticity.
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A quick side note:
Have any of you ever heard of “gospels” that did not make it into the Bible, like the Gospel of Peter, the Gospel of Thomas, and the Gospel of Mary?
When people ask why I believe the Bible, these extra writings are often mentioned. “People ask, WHY aren’t they included?”
These writings are by people, or groups, that want to associate their false teachings to JESUS and his CLOSEST disciples.
If they can convince people that JESUS or HIS disciples wrote them, then people would see them as AUTHENTIC.
Fortunately, the evidence shows us that these writings are associated with the disciples by name only!
The “Gospel of Peter” is the one I want to briefly focus on today.
It was written 100-150 years AFTER the Apostle Peter’s death. One of the interesting things about this writing is that the author, or authors, realized the STORY of the WOMEN going alone to the TOMB was embarrassing, and therefore less reliable.
Because of this, the Gospel of Peter retells the story of the tomb. In this version, it emphasizes accounts from male soldiers that were at the tomb WITH the women.
By doing this, the writers could avoid relying on WOMEN being the ONLY eyewitnesses.
That is only a small example why no scholar believes these extra writings are heretical and untrustworthy.
Did I go too far into the weeds by sharing about the Heretical Gospel of Peter on Easter Sunday? Maybe!
Let’s get back to the Resurrection, the Empty Tomb, and address prophesy.
Prophesy:
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I like how the King James version translates verse 6, saying “He IS Risen.” Someone asked me the other day why it is sometimes phrased, “He IS Risen.” The Greek verb used here means to raise up, rise; get up.
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ἠγέρθη – Ēgerthē
It is an Aorist, Indicative Verb.
- Aorist, meaning completed one-time action in the past.
- Indicative, stating a fact, reality, or an actual event.
- Meaning – “HE IS RISEN!”
- It is making a statement about Jesus’ state of being, He is ALIVE!
- The Angel is saying, “Jesus IS Risen, He is Alive, but He is NOT here.”
As a side note, I may have added that blurb and slide because I need to keep practicing my Greek!
Including some in the sermon is my way of forcing myself to practice, haha
How AMAZING is it that we have a LIVING and LOVING God who hears our prayers and paid our debt on the Cross!? AMEN!
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I want to conclude by reading a few snippets of scripture that relates to my second point, Prophecy:
“He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”
“He poured out His soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors.”
“He shall see His offspring; He shall prolong His days; the will of YHWH shall prosper in His hand.”
If you heard that and thought it was referring to Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and resurrection, you would be correct.
But, that was from Isaiah 53, written some 800 years prior to Jesus’ Death and Resurrection.
Prophesy is another way we KNOW Christianity is TRUE. It is another way we KNOW that we CAN trust the Bible.
When looking at prophesy and Jesus, we find, conservatively, Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies in His earthly ministry.
Over 300 prophecies!
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What we have in front of us is the Word of God.
It is Truth.
The whole story points to the event we celebrate today.
And it is through HIS sacrifice that WHEN we accept HIM as Lord and Savior,
WE are made adopted sons and daughter of God.
Thank you, Jesus! and God bless.