Church Sermon - April 12, 2009

Old Testament Lesson; Isaiah 25:6-9
Epistle Lesson; 1 Corinthians 15:19-26
Gospel Lesson; Mark 16:1-8
Sermon Text; Mark 16:1-8

There is an e-mail that has been going around that has become wildly popular. That e-mail tells a story from the resurrection of Jesus based on one verse from John's Gospel. The verse says this: "The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen."

The question in that e-mail is this: "Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection?" Maybe you have seen this e-mail. Well, I did some research into that e-mail to see if it was fact or fiction. As I did my research, I found that it was fiction. But it does not go against anything what God's Word says.

I would like to share with you what the e-mail says. The e-mail is based on a Hebrew tradition that I want to share with you this morning.

"Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection?"

In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition.

In a Jewish home, how would the servant know when to clear the dishes from the table? Here is how the servant would know. If a master were to leave the table and just throw his napkin down haphazardly onto the table, the servant would know that when the master walked away, he could come in and clear the table, because the master was done.

But, if the master got up and had folded his napkin, before he left the table, the servant would not come in and clean the table, because the folded napkin meant that the master was coming back. And so, the tradition goes on to say the napkin, the face cloth in the grave was folded, because Jesus is coming back.

Not only has Jesus died on the cross to pay for your sins, not only has Jesus risen triumphantly over death, to show He has power over sin, death, and the power of the devil, but there is a promise that He also is coming back.

(There are many other passages in scripture that are far clearer than that folded napkin that Jesus is coming back.) Jesus is coming back for you, and He is coming back to take you to be with Him in Heaven!

On this glorious Day of Resurrection, let us continue our celebration, as we join in singing our Easter Anthem, hymn 162, He is Arisen, Glorious Word.

Our sermon text for this Easter morning, is the Gospel Lesson, the Resurrection Account, according to the Gospel of Mark, looking at verses 1 - 8.

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. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?"

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

"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. But go, tell His disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.'"

Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

These are your Words, Heavenly Father. Lead us in the way of truth. Your Word is truth.

Amen

As we left our Good Friday service, the very last reading that we looked at was the account of Jesus' burial. In that account, we were reminded how Joseph of Arimathea had gone to Pilate, and asked for permission to take Jesus' body. And then, he and Nicodemus took Jesus' body. Joseph of Arimathea had purchased 75 pounds worth of spices (Myrrh and Aloes), in order to put on and around Jesus' body. The Greek word there for spices is "aromata." We get our English word "aroma" from that word. They wanted to cover up the aroma of death. And so, they buried Jesus' body, with those spices.

The Bible tells us that the women were there. They saw the place where Jesus' body was buried. They wanted to come back and to give Jesus a proper burial, but they couldn't just at that moment, because the Sabbath was quickly approaching. So, everybody took Saturday, the Sabbath, off.

Our text for today tells us that it was after the Sabbath, on Saturday evening that the women went and purchased spices, so that when Sunday morning came around, and the sun rose, they could go to the tomb and do a proper job of burying Jesus.

The women believed in Jesus, as their Savior, but they didn't just yet have a resurrection faith. And, it was not until after the resurrection, that scripture says, "They still did not understand from scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead."

Everything was ready, everything was prepared. They had the spices. Their t's were crossed, their i's were dotted and they were on their way to the tomb. It was on their way to the tomb that they remembered, "Who is going to roll away the stone?" You see, that stone would have been a large, discarded millstone that would have been rolled in place of the entrance to the tomb. It would have fallen down into a little slot in the ground. It certainly would take a number of people to move that stone away.

But, when they approached the tomb, they saw that the stone had already been rolled away. They went to the entrance of the tomb, and they stepped down into the tomb. According to Mark, they saw a man. Other gospel writers say that this man was an angel.

Those women were alarmed. They were terrified.

Every time a human being comes in contact with an angel, that is the response. They are alarmed, or they are terrified. When an angel appeared to Zechariah and told him that his son was going to be the forerunner of Jesus, Zechariah was terrified. The angel had to say, first of all, "Don't be afraid." When an angel appeared to Mary and told her that she was going to be the mother of the Savior of the world, she was afraid. The angel had to begin by saying, "Don't be afraid, Mary." When an angel appeared to the shepherds, as they were keeping watch over their flock at night, they were terrified. The angel had to say, "Don't be alarmed, don't be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people." So, as an angel appeared to the women at the tomb, they too were alarmed. The angel had to begin by telling them, "Don't be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth. He is not here. He has risen."

Then, the angel told them to go and tell. "Take this message of the resurrection and go and share it with the disciples and particularly with Peter." Less than two days before this, Peter had denied that he even knew Jesus, three times. So the disciples, but particularly Peter, needed to be comforted by this message of Jesus' resurrection.

So, the women left the tomb, trembling and bewildered. The Greek word for the word 'bewildered' is 'ekstasis'. We get our English word 'ecstatic' from that word. And so, they left the tomb, yes trembling, but also they left in a state of great joy, ecstatic, with this message that Jesus, who had died on the cross, was now risen.

As we go back and look at our text this morning, there are just a few things that I want to pull out of our text and apply to ourselves.

Think about the women for just a moment, here. The women were going to the tomb to touch a dead body. Under the Old Law, under the Ceremonial Law, they would have become unclean by touching a dead body. Now, Jesus had already done away with the Ceremonial Law, through His death on the cross. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, to show that. The women did not know that. They were willing to get dirty in their faith for Jesus, as their Savior.

My question for us this morning is, "Are we willing to 'get dirty' in our faith, for Jesus, as our Savior?" I think, sometimes, we like to live in a sterile environment, in which we like to be strengthened in our faith, only when those times are convenient for us.

Now, granted it is early this morning, I will grant you that. But, sometimes do we say, or do we hear people say, "I am not coming to church, because it is early on a Sunday morning, and that is my time to sleep in"? Or, are we like people who say, "I don't take time to study God's Word at church, because that is the time where I like to fellowship with others"? Or, are we like people who say, "I only like to go when church is convenient for me. Christmas and Easter are convenient for me. Those are the times when I am going to go"? Do we like a sterile environment and aren't willing to get "dirty" in our faith in Jesus, as our Savior?

The women, as they went to the tomb were going in darkness. They were going in death. Certainly, there was an air of depression and despair about them. But, events changed for them, as the darkness, death, depression, and despair turned into hope. It turned into life! And, it turned into light.

After the angel told the women, "He has risen! He is not here," it is the gospel of Luke that shares with us another comment that the angel shared with the women. The angel said, "Remember how Jesus told you while He was still with you in Galilee, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and on the third day be raised again.'" And then, they remembered His words. A change had taken place in their life. From death and despair to hope and to life.

A change has also happened to you in your life, because Jesus rose from the dead for you. The Bible says, "If Christ had not been raised, your faith is futile. You are still in your sins." But, a change has taken place in your life, because Jesus rose from the dead. And now scripture says that because of Jesus' death and resurrection, we are connected with Him.

Scripture says, "Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life." A change has come because Jesus died and paid for your sins. A change has come to you in your life, because Christ rose from the grave for you, showing that He has power over sin, death and the devil.

Contemplate this last thought this Easter morning. Imagine if the women hadn't heeded the word of the angel to go and tell. Imagine if they would have kept that wonderful message to themselves. Well, if that would have been the case, it would have been just like the despair that Jacob once had, in the Old Testament. You probably remember Jacob and his son, Joseph. Joseph's brother had sold him into slavery. And, they had taken that coat of many colors, which Jacob had given to his son, Joseph, and they sprinkled it with goat's blood and gave it to their father and said, "Joseph is dead." Jacob grieved over the loss of his son, and he grieved for many, many years. But, years down the road when a famine came to Israel, and Joseph's brothers needed to go down to Egypt in order to get grain, they came back with that grain to Israel. They came to Jacob and said, "Joseph is alive. He is living. Look at what he has given to us."

At first, Jacob did not believe it. But, when he saw all of the gifts that Joseph had given, scripture says that Jacob said, "I am convinced. My son, Joseph is alive. I will go and see him, before I die." A change had taken place in Jacob's life. And, it was a change with a renewed sense of hope and of life.

A change has also come to you in your life, because Christ died for you. A chance has come to you in your life, because Christ rose from the grave for you. And now, we have a renewed sense of life and hope. Our sins have been forgiven and Jesus has given to you the promise of eternal life in Heaven.

May we, just like the angel told the women, follow that same command to go and tell.

This morning, as you leave worship and particularly, as you walk out of the center aisle of the church, you are going to walk under a banner, to remind you of that command to go and tell. It is the message of the angel to the women, "Christ is not here. Christ has risen. Hallelujah."

Amen.

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