Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to the Gospel according to Mark,
in our first reading, and verse 3. We read these words, and they
said, Among themselves who shall roll us away, the stone from
the door, of the sepulcher, Mark chapter 16 and verse 3. Now, though I've read this as
a text, this is the first of four questions that were asked
on the resurrection morning. The Holy Scriptures, the inspired
Word of God, records that there were four questions asked, of
which this is the first. And so this morning I desire,
with the Lord's help, to consider those four questions. This evening, if the Lord will,
We will consider the six questions that were asked in the evening
of this first day of the week, the day when our Lord rose from
the dead, and how vital it is that there truly was a resurrection
from the dead. The Apostle Paul, when he writes
to the Corinthians, he says in the 15th chapter how important
it is that there be a resurrection of the dead. In the Corinthian
church, there were those that held the error that there was
no resurrection. and the apostle there gives so
many reasons as to why there must be, and if there was not,
how solemn that that would be. He says that if there was no
resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. If Christ
is not risen, then our preaching is vain. Our faith is also vain. And he says we are also found
as false witnesses of God because they testify that God did raise
up Christ, which if there's no resurrection of the dead, then
he is not raised. And so if Christ is not risen,
Our faith is vain, we are yet in our sins, and also all of
those that have died already, they are perished. With so much
hanging upon the resurrection of Christ from the dead, how
important it is that it is true, that the Lord truly has risen,
The Apostle in the beginning of that chapter, he makes a summary
of what had happened, that Christ was buried, that he rose again
the third day. And he says, according to the
Scriptures, the Scriptures, the Old Testament had pointed to
it. They had prophesied. that the
Lord should rise again from the dead. And then he says he was seen
of Cephas, that is of Peter, then of the twelve. Of course
not Judas, but Matthias who was added to the twelve, or the disciples. After that he was seen above
five hundred brethren at once. And he says of those, the greater
of the part remain unto this present, that some have fallen
asleep, that is, some have died. After that he has seen of James,
then of all the apostles, and last of all, of me also, because
our Lord appeared to Paul, soulless he was, on the way to Damascus
appeared to him from heaven. If what the Apostle is writing
to the Corinthians here was not true, any one of those 500 brethren
or anyone could have risen up and questioned what he was saying
and asserting that they did not. We have the accounts, we've read
two of them, but we have each of the accounts of the rising
of the Lord by honourable and good men, witnesses. There's more evidence of the
Lord rising from the dead than there is of many events in history
that are acknowledged by many people. We have also the Record
here of first the unbelief of the disciples. They wanted to
believe, but they didn't. And yet they were brought to
believe. Their doubts were taken away. Their unbelief was taken
away. Their sorrow was turned to joy,
to gladness. And the difference in them was
so remarkable. And especially after the Lord
ascended into heaven and the Holy Spirit was given, we see
them with great power preaching the gospel and many believing. We see miracles done by their
hands ascribed to the Lord and not to themselves. We see a people
profoundly affected, joyful in the knowledge that he who they
had loved and believed in and worshipped was no longer dead,
but alive in heaven. And their understanding of that,
their belief of that, of the resurrection, caused them joy
and gladness, not sadness. How vital that we also believe. The Lord said to Thomas, because
thou hast seen, thou hast believed. Blessed are they that have not
seen and yet have believed. Why is it so important the Lord
should rise from the dead? We, you and I, we must die. And
we die because of sin, because of our sin. Our Lord Jesus Christ
had no sin. The reason why he died was because
he laid down his life to put away the sins of his people.
But if he'd have remained in the grave, then how would it
have been known that that sacrifice was accepted, that he was any
different than you and I that are sinners that must die and
stay dead? The Lord Jesus Christ must rise. The empty tomb is the assurance
given unto all men that God has accepted that sacrifice, that
the wrath of God has been appeased, that the debt is paid and that
the Lord then is risen indeed. It is vital for us to know that
the Lord Jesus Christ has put away our sin and that he's not
a dead saviour but he's a living saviour, that he is the first
begotten from the dead and that after him shall be at the last
day the resurrection of all of his people. The dead in Christ
shall rise first and we shall be forever with him. We have
a living saviour. We have one appearing in the
presence of God for us, an ascended saviour. We have the Lord Jesus
Christ, our Lord and our saviour. And so this day we remember this
truth attested by so many. You might say, why are the events
so different? There must have been so much
coming and going on that first day of the week. And yet even
in the different events, there's not contradiction. But there
is an evidence that each one told the events, not as a sitting
down and cunningly devising a fable, but as those that are rehearsing
the events as they remember them, the actual particulars that were
so uppermost in their mind. So in natural ways, if there
is one thing that happens and there's several people witnessing,
each one remembers a different aspect. And so we have here. And yet they don't contradict.
We have the reality that was stated at the end of the day,
the Lord is risen indeed. Throughout the day it was gradually
dawning more and more that this was the case and then the certainty
of it. And may we know the certainty
of it ourselves and know it because our Lord said, because I live,
ye shall live also. Those spiritually dead are brought
to be spiritually alive because the Lord is alive and he quickens
his people into spiritual life first in this life and those
that are spiritually alive that they shall then live forever
with the Lord. Well I want to look then at these
questions that were asked on this first day of the week. We'll take them as we come to
them and then this evening, if the Lord
will, consider the questions that were asked in the evening
of this first day of the week. And again, I would remind ourselves
that this is the inspired, infallible Word of God. God has chosen the
words that are put here, and He has chosen the questions that
are asked and the answers that were given. And so this is the
first question. We have coming very early in
the morning, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James,
that is the mother of our Lord, and also Salome, which is the
mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee. So Salome is
Zebedee's wife. They are the ones that are bringing
these spices that they might come and anoint him. And yet
they knew that there was a stone rolled upon that sepulchre. It may be they did also know
that there was a seal on it and that there was a watch kept.
We do not read that. But we do know that there was
the Jews trying to prevent what they knew of the Scriptures and
what the Lord has said, that the third day shall rise again. And they were fearful that the
disciples would come and steal away his body. So the seal and
the watch were to prevent that. The stone was a usual thing to
roll over the door of a sepulchre. But very heavy, it would have
been too much for the women, and they realized that. And so
they had this question, who shall roll us away the stone from the
door of the sepulchre? It was necessary for her to anoint
his body that the stone be rolled away. But you know, when they came,
they found that the stone was already rolled away. Why? Why
was the stone, you might say, to let our Lord out to rise again? But later on he appears to the
disciples in the upper room with the doors being shut. He did
not need that stone rolled away for him to rise again. But the stone did need to be
rolled away so that they could see that the tomb was empty,
that he had risen again. The Lord was risen indeed. And
this is what then the women were to see, the empty tomb. But when they're coming, they
had this question. What brought them to this place? You know, they love the Lord.
We would understand that. Those who have lost loved ones,
why they go to the grave? Why they go to where the body
was lain? They don't go expecting to see
an empty tomb, an empty grave. They don't go expecting to see
their loved one alive. But love brings them there. And
they brought these dear women there as well. Although they
had this question, they still came drawn by love. And yet they realized the impossibility,
they realized this And what a lesson this is for
us. We may also be drawn. We know
that the Lord says that no man cometh unto me except the Father
which sent me. Draw him, and I will raise him
up at the last day. Many of the Lord's people, when
they're first drawn and attracted to the things of God, When they
first feel that inclination to seek the Lord, to read his word,
to go to his people, to look for the Lord, many of them have
perceived obstacles and hindrances in the way. You might have. But may we think of The questions they had and yet
they still came. How many times in the history
of the church had there been things like this? The children
of Israel, how should they get out of Egypt when they did and
they came? to the Red Sea, how could they
go through that Red Sea? The Lord said to Moses that they
were commanded to go forward but the Red Sea. And yet the
sea was divided before them and they went through it as on dry
land. The same at Jordan. Many times there is a venturing,
a beginning in the way, like Abraham was called to go out
into a place that he afterwards should receive for an inheritance,
and he went out not knowing whether he went. There is a venturing
where there is these perceived obstacles. It is the way that
the Lord's dear people are called to walk by faith, not by sign. We think of heaven itself, It
has not entered into the heart of man what God has prepared
for them that love Him. How shall we get there? How shall
our bodies be raised? How shall our dust be reconstituted? We don't know any of these things,
but we venture. And here we have the beautiful
illustration And when they come, they see that the stone is already
rolled away. The obstacle that they thought
was not there, that impossibility, had been taken care of. An answer was already there.
You know, if they'd have stopped at home and they'd have thought,
we must settle this first, We must work out who, we must try
and find someone to be able to do this for us. They would have
never seen what they did see. May we be like them, a venturer
anyway, to come anyway, not put off by these things that seem
to stand in the way, that would naturally speaking stand in the
way, May this be a help to any seeker,
any that are seeking the Lord, seeking the truth, seeking the
things of God. Don't be put off by things that
are questions in your mind at this time. Who shall do this? How can this be? What about this
objection? this obstacle, this hindrance. May you be like the Marys here,
the Salome, and venture still, and as you seek, and as you read,
and as you hear, to see these things taken away. What about when we're venturing
in things of providence. It was with providence with Abraham
and it will be with many of the people of God. The Lord says
that when he puts forth his sheep he goes before them. And I will
instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go.
I will guide thee with mine eye. And many times we may make a
step and yet not know what shall be the next part of it. The important
thing is to be guided in one step. Very often we make mistakes
when we think, well, we'd like to know what the next thing is. You know, when I was called to
come and take the pastorate here, I was working in Australia as
a design engineer with a very good job and position in my own
home there. But the Lord showed me very clearly
that it was the time to come and that I should resign that
position and venture here. But we were coming and bringing
a small family here to a very small church that was not able
to support us financially. But I resigned my position there,
not knowing how we were to be provided for here at all, but
believing that that was the right thing to do. Three days after
I resigned my position, my employer came to me and said, the church
you're going to in England is very small. You will need income. Do you still want to work for
us? We will set you up an office in England to work for us still
as a designer in Australia. And he gave me 8,000 pounds and
a three-year contract. And that is how we started. over here at the fast. When I
handed in my notice, there was no sign, no expectation of that
whatsoever. There was no knowledge of how
we would be provided for. And now after 23, 24 years, the
Lord has provided for us all this time. And it is a venture. It is a venture by faith. And
yet, those obstacles, those questions that may be in our mind, if the
Lord gives us a clear direction in one step, then he will give
us for the next, and for the next. Don't dictate to the Lord
too far ahead, but follow one step at a time. And the Lord
go before. May these dear women And you have these questions.
Who shall roll away the stone? Who shall move this obstacle?
How shall this hindrance be removed? The Lord will do it. He will
perform it. And here, these dear women found
the empty tomb. Not only empty, but the angel,
the young man sitting there, I will clearly to tell them,
Yea, Saint Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified, he is risen,
he is not here. Behold the place where they laid
him. Well, that then is the first
question of this resurrection morning. The second one we'll
find in the Gospel according to Luke. We didn't read this
chapter, we hope to this evening. Luke chapter 24 and verse 5. We have this question that is
asked of them as, and Luke records it, as they come to the graves. So it's the same, the same occasion. We read, as they were afraid
and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them,
that is the two men who stood by them in shining garments,
The angels, they said unto them, why seek ye the living among
the dead? Now that's the question. They
say to them, he is not here, but is risen. Remember how he
spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee. But what a question. Why seek ye the living among
the dead. Of course, they did not know
that he was living. They were seeking at the tomb
because that's where they saw him last laid. They saw him dead,
so that's where they were going. That's where they were seeking. And yet this question, in the
inspired word of God, Why seek ye the living among the dead? They tell them that he was risen. For the reason why they were
seeking, they did not know as yet that he was living. And that's why they were seeking
there. Seeking in the wrong place because they didn't know he was
risen. We know in a gospel day and in
the preaching of the gospel, we do know that he is risen. We do know that we do not worship
a dead Lord. What a sad and solemn thing it
is. In so many churches, you might
see a cross. We don't worship the cross. We
worship he who was on it, but who is risen again and in heaven. Some will even put a figure,
a carving of Christ on the cross. We don't worship a dead Jesus,
but a living Jesus. We must not worship relics or
images of any kind. He is not here, he's risen. But what about this in a spiritual
sense? Why seek ye the living among
the dead? We know that all men by nature
are dead in trespasses and sins. We are dead spiritually. If you and I are seeking the
living God, the Lord Jesus Christ, then we are to seek him amongst
the spiritually alive. We're to be aware that there
are many, even that come under the name of churches, of which
there are not the living there. In the letters to the Revelation,
in the churches in the Revelation, is recorded of a church that
had a name that it lived and yet was dead. And if the saving work of the
Holy Spirit is not being wrought in a person, that person can
be a religious person. They can be a person that professes
Christ and even to be taught of Him. and yet still be dead
in trespasses and sins. Our Lord speaks of those that
shall come to him at the last day, when they have died and
appear in the presence of God, and they shall expect to have
acceptance there. And he shall say, depart from
me, I never knew you. And yet they shall say, but we
have been called by thy name, that is taught in our streets,
but he shall say, depart from me, I never knew you, all ye
that work iniquity. And we have this most solemn
reality that there are places where God's children, as they
become to be aware of their sin, their need of a saviour, their
need of deliverance from the wrath to come, will seek to places
of worship, and then they'll find out that actually in those
places of worship, though there may be the Word of God, there
are not those there that actually know the Lord at all. And this
question may be asked of them, those that are seeking, why seek
ye the living among the dead? It is vital that we seek a living
saviour and we seek him amongst a living people, those that know
the first resurrection, those that have been born again of
the Spirit, who are a saved people. May we seek the living but amongst the living, those
that are spiritually alive. This word is always very precious
to me in respect of the time I was seeking
to come to a grave, a grave of a dear sister in faith, and I'd
taken her funeral. It was a big funeral, a big graveyard,
and I hadn't actually taken the committal. But driving to that
grave, these words dropped very powerfully into my mind. Why seek ye the living among
the dead? And I still went to see where
the mortal remains of my late sister in faith were laid. But such a realisation that that
was where her body was. That's where her mortal remains
were. But her spirit was with God in
heaven. The Apostle Paul says, absent
from the body, present with the Lord. It is the most sacred thing
that when we have a funeral, all that is there is the corpse,
the body. the earthly tabernacle that shall
return to the dust, but the person, the soul, the real person that
has dwelled in that body, with a believer there present with
the Lord. Most solemn thing, if they're
not a believer, in outer darkness, in hell, no purgatory, separated from him. But may we
be of those that seek the living, among the living, that we want
to know here below where God's people are, where those are that
have been quickened into spiritual life. Remember in John 1, the epistles, a beautiful token
of being a child of God. We know that we have passed from
death unto life because we love the brethren. We love those that
also have passed from death unto life, that are able to testify
that we once were dead but now are alive. We once did not know
anything of the things of God. We didn't know our own sinful
condition. We didn't know that we were under
the sentence of death. We didn't know we were lost.
We didn't know we were blind. But now we do. The Lord has given
us life and the Lord has given us to know him who is life eternal. So this is the second question.
Why seek ye the living among the dead? May the Lord apply
it to what you and I are doing and where we are seeking. If
we are truly seeking a living God, a living people, where are
we seeking them? Is it amongst the dead or is
it amongst the people of God? Be very careful where you worship,
who you gather with, The disciples being let go when they were persecuted
went unto their own company. It is a blessed thing to know
and love the people of God. What is then the third question,
and in this as well the third and fourth question, which are
very closely tied together in the portion that we read, the
second portion in John, John chapter 20 and verses 13 and
verses 15. This is where Mary, Mary Magdalene,
has remained at the tomb and she is weeping outside of the
tomb. We read from verse 11, but Mary
stood without at the sepulchre weeping, and as she wept she
stooped down and looked into the sepulchre, and seeth two
angels sitting, in white sitting, the one at the head and the other
at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say
unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? There's the first question
in these two questions. What a question. Why weepest
thou? Have you sorrow? Have I sorrow? Are we weeping? In the same way, she answered
this, she saith unto them, because they have taken away my Lord,
and I know not where they have laid him. Do I believe these
words? They have been such a comfort,
such a blessing to the people of God who who've enjoyed his felt presence
in their souls, and yet they get into places like, dear Job
was, all the troubles, the trials that came in his life, and the
worst of all, the Lord hid himself from him, and he says this, oh,
that I knew where I might find him. Many of the Lord's dear
people have these low times, dark times, times when they can't
find the Lord, can't see the Lord. She saith unto them, because
they have taken away my Lord and I know not where they have
laid him. This is one of the true evidences
of a child of God. They know the presence of the
Lord. They know the joy of the Lord. They know also when he is taken
from them. This can never be known by those
that are dead in trespasses and sins. Those who have never had
gladness and joy of the Lord's presence and of the love of God
in their heart and the joy of the Lord will never mourn his
absence, they've never known his presence. Regarding chastening, God says
that all his children shall be chastened, corrected of the Lord. Or sometimes it might be an affliction,
sickness, illness, a loss of some providential thing, the
things that Job had come upon him. That might be done to those that
have never known the Lord, those of the world. But one way of
chastening that the world can never feel and mourn over, and
that is when the Lord hides himself from his people. Woman, why weepest thou? Is this
your grief, your sorrow this morning? Those times you say
with the hymn writer, where is the blessedness on you? When
first I saw the Lord, Where is the soul-refreshing view of Jesus
and his word? When the Lord hides himself,
when we cannot see him in the word, when the preaching doesn't
afford us food and manna for our souls, when we feel our hearts
are hard and cold, when we feel so much unbelief, when we only
see those things that go against us we don't see, The things that
are for us, we say like with Jacob, all these things are against
me. This is a sorrow, which is not
the sorrow of the world, but the sorrow of the people of God.
Is it your sorrow? Is it mine? So this was the first
question. And she had an answer. There
was a reason. Her lord was taken away. She
didn't know whether I'd lied to him. She's still viewing him
as dead. But then she turns backward,
and there's this person standing, and she thinks he is the gardener.
It's Jesus. And he has a question for her.
This is the fourth question in these inspired accounts happening
in the morning of the first day of the week. Woman, why weepest
thou? He asks the same question again,
but then he adds another question to it. Whom seekest thou? Whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the
gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou hast borne him, hence
tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. And the Lord only needed to say
one word, her name. It's obvious that she
was not looking directly at him. She turned herself, saith unto
him, Rabboni, which is to say, Master, She knew by that one
word who it was. Or this question, not only why
weepest thou, but whom seekest thou? How would we answer that? Is it the Lord Jesus Christ? Is it him alone? Have we a point
to our seeking? You might think, well, I'm seeking
this, I'm seeking that, but may it be one thing, one point, one person, Jesus
Christ, he that was crucified, risen again, seeking him who
is the only name given among men whereby we must be saved. I believe the Holy Spirit will
always bring a soul to an absolute point on this. It's none but
Jesus that can do helpless sinners good. And it is vital for us
to be brought to him, and to be brought to seek him, and to
be at a stretch until we find him, until he speaks our name,
until he reveals himself to us. This will be our sorrow and these
questions so important. Why weepest thou? Whom seekest
thou? We have in the sacred word of
God that they that seek shall find. Ask and it shall be given
you. Seek and you shall find. knock
and it shall be opened unto you. Dear Mary here, she sought, she
found, even though she sought, as it were, in the wrong place
at first, amongst the dead, but the Lord met her there, she found
him there, she was blessed there, and though she felt The Lord
was far off and in all her sorrow. May this be a help to some of
us. How close the Lord really was. He was seeing her sorrows. He
was hearing her. He knew her. He was so close
to her. May that be a help to those of
you who may feel the Lord is so far off. Your sorrow is so
great. And yet the Lord knows it all.
And he only needs to speak one word to assure you of that. And so your tears, your sorrows,
they turn to joy. Well, may the Lord bless these
four questions and what is bound up with them
to us. And may it be ere this day depart,
The Lord is risen indeed and hath appeared. The Lord add his
blessing. Amen.