Resurrection Truth

 Gtcotr/ss042025

Mark 16 

9 ¶  Now when Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.

10  She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.

11  And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

12  After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.

13  And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.

14 ¶  Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.

15  And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.’

16  “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”

 

People who haven’t seen Jesus, often imagine no one has seen Him.

• The disciples were sad and crying, Mary was happy and rejoicing.

• What benefit did they imagine she would gain by lying to them.

• What about the two men walking on the road to Emmaus? 

o Since when can we not believe our friends?

o Sometimes we see things first, sometimes they do …

• Mary saw the resurrected Christ because she was searching for Him.

o She would have served Him even if He was dead … He was good to her, and she felt she owed Him her life.

o Mary would have honorably served the dead body of Christ if necessary … she was committed, and it paid off.

 

Denying God won’t make Him disappear.

• The High Priest, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, Pilate, Herod, the Roman soldiers, and the crowds of false witnesses and protestors tried to hide Jesus in a sealed tomb.

• Perhaps they thought that if they could keep Jesus out of the public eye, people would stop talking and He would soon be forgotten.

• You cannot lock God out.

• Pretending He doesn’t exist won’t make Him go away.

 

Life far exceeds the realms of human capacity.

• We can make people die, but we can’t make them live.

• People don’t ever cease to exist.

• A human soul is born to last forever. (Genesis 2:7)

• Your container will expire, but the contents remain.(2 Corinthians 5:8)

• Jesus was alive the whole time …

o He entered death, alive and well. (Hebrews 2:14)

o He faced and defeated the devil on his own ground and took the keys of death and hell.(Colossians 2:15; Revelation 1:18)

o He preached to those held captive in death and set them free. (Ephesians 4:8-10)

 

We cannot judge eternal realities by earthly experiences.

• 1 Corinthians 2:9  But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

• Isaiah 64:4  For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him.

• Eternal life is in a realm hidden from view until we pierce that veil. 

 

Truth is not subject to us, rather we are subject to truth.

 

My hope today is that you will open your heart and mind to what Mary saw and said.

 

The truth is that God loves you just like you are. However, He loves you too much to leave you that way. And although He cannot always make everything all about you, He cares when one of His decisions disappoints or confuses you. God wants you to know He has a plan, and He will succeed, and that He will give you a chance to participate. 

 

Mary Magdalene may not have seemed to many to be the best candidate to see Jesus alive and well on that first Resurrection morning. However, she was one of the only ones up and out that early. And she was willing and ready to help. 

 

On the one hand she could be viewed as a failure since no one believed her. But on the other hand, she was a remarkable success. She did what Jesus told her to do and here we are 2000 years later still talking about the impact she has had on countless lives throughout the generations. 

 

I personally think it a little ironic that Jesus chose a former demon possessed single woman to be the first evangelist to the world. With a Savior like this, anything is possible!

 

Have you heard what she said? Do you believe her? What are you going to do about it?

 

Happy Resurrection Day!