Mark 16. The title of the message
this morning is taken from verse 9, and it's simply the words
found in verse 9. Now when Jesus was risen, the
Lord Jesus Christ raised from the dead when He was risen. I remember reading a story several
years ago about an old woman, a believer. As she grew older,
she had lost her memory, most of her memory of the Bible that
she had committed to her heart. You know what happens as we get
older, our memory kind of slips us, doesn't it? She did retain
in her mind the words found in that chorus of that song we just
sang a moment ago. found in 2 Timothy 1.12, for
I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able
to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." That's
a precious verse, isn't it? It really describes what faith
is. As her health, this old woman,
as her health began to falter, she became frail and only remembered
just a part of that verse. She remembered that which I have
committed unto Him." Just before she departed this
life to be with the Lord eternally, very weak and frail, and her
voice was just a whisper, and her family would lean down as
she kept repeating one word, one word, Him. Him. Him. She had lost all her memory of
the Bible but one word, Him. Yet in that one word she had
the message of all Scripture, Him. It's all about Him. It's
all about the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't that exactly what the Lord
said to those two that walked on the road to Emmaus? who were
so full of doubt, He called them, O fools, slow of heart, to believe
all that the prophets have spoken. And He expounded unto them in
all the word, beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, the things
concerning Himself." This book is about Christ. This ministry
here at Zebulun that God has given us the ministry about the
Lord Jesus Christ. We preach not ourselves. We preach
not ourselves. I am not a self-promoter. We
preach Christ and Him crucified. We preach not ourselves, but
ourselves your servant for Christ's sake. We preach the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ. My friend, this book is all about
Him. Acts 10.23 declares, to Him give all the prophets Witness
Jesus Christ Himself. We've come here today. Why have
we come here today? To worship Him. He seeketh such
to worship Him in spirit and in truth. Each time I bring a
message from God's Word, my desire is to speak about Him. Christ
and Him crucified. I want you to know, trust, and
fall in love with Him. Him. Who is altogether lovely. May God be pleased this morning
to cause us to set our hearts upon Him. May God be pleased
to grant us faith that we might look unto Him. To win Christ
and be found in Him. Now, it is not my desire to simply
convince you of the facts of the resurrection of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, we can read and we can understand
what's being said here about the scriptural, historical facts
of the resurrected Lord. But it's not my desire to simply
convince you of the facts of the resurrection. I want you
to know Him who is. the resurrection and the life. If you know Him, that's salvation. To know Him and the power of
His resurrection glory. You see, my friends, just simply
knowing the facts, even knowing the doctrine of the gospel, that's
not salvation. You can be rooted and grounded
in what we call the five points of Calvinism and understand the
doctrine, but that's not salvation. I want you to know Him who is
salvation. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed. Not when, not what. Salvation is in Him, Christ the
Lord. I want you to know Him who is
salvation, being made one with Him, being vitally joined to
Him by saving God-given faith, who is the way, the truth, the
life. Oh, to know Him, to count everything
lost, done, ruined as nothing, and to win Christ and be found
in Him. Him. You know salvation is not in
a denomination. Salvation is not in a church.
Salvation is in Him. In Christ the Lord. I've tried
to stress that over the years that I've been here. Salvation
is in a person. I trust that I have accomplished that in some
measure to point you, a rotten, wretched, guilty sinner, Now,
I point the finger back at me, too, to the Lord Jesus Christ. I want you to behold Him. Behold
Him. Now, let's consider several things. I have just three points this
morning, and I'd encourage some of you. Three points this morning.
Last week, I think I had seven. So, we're going to cut it in
half. So, okay. You're ready to go now, right?
Here's the first thing, the Lord of Glory gives unto us many undisputable,
scriptural, God-given truths of His glorious resurrection.
I believe the record of Scripture. It says in verse 9, when He was
risen. You remember the two messengers
sent from the throne of God who declare unto the women, those
heavenly angels, ministers of God, sent forth to minister to
them who shall be the heirs of salvation. They said, why are
you seeking the living among the dead? He's not here. He's risen from the dead. Salvation is in the living Lord
Jesus Christ. If the resurrection of the Lord
of glory, if it's a hoax, if it's a fraud, if it could be
proved that Jesus Christ didn't actually die for our sin, and
was raised again to glory, and ascended to glory, and seated
on the right hand of God, if it could be proved to be a fraud,
then the whole Bible must be disregarded as a lie. and must be dismissed as something
other than the Holy Word of God, because it says in Scripture,
God cannot lie. If there is no resurrection,
if our Redeemer be not raised up, we have no atonement for
sin. If our Redeemer be not the risen,
exalted, enthroned Lord of glory, we have no forgiveness of sin.
If the Lord Jesus Christ is not an absolute victor as a captain
of our salvation over all sin, we are yet in our sin and we
have no gospel message. The gospel then would be no good
news at all. For He was delivered for our
offenses and raised again because He justified us by His blood. Without His resurrection, we
have no hope of mercy. We have no hope of forgiveness.
We have no hope of salvation. But my friend, the resurrection
is so. It is so. I believe and preach
a real bodily resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. You remember he said to them,
we read it in Luke chapter 24, he said, behold my hands and
my feet, a spirit doesn't have flesh and bones as you see me
have. And I'll demonstrate that I'm
a real glorified man. Give me some fish, some honeycomb,
and I'll sit down and eat with you. He sat down and ate and
broke bread with those two men on the road to Emmaus. A real
man glorified in a body like no other. Going to be a body
just as we are going to have someday in that resurrection
glory. I want us to turn and read two
other scriptures on this. Find Acts chapter 1. Acts chapter
1 about what the scriptures Teach about His resurrection. Acts
chapter 1, verse 3, To whom also He showed Himself alive after
His passion, after His suffering, by many infallible proofs, being
seen of them forty days, speaking of things pertaining to the kingdom
of God. He walked around for 40 days
in this resurrected body before he ascended to the throne. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians
15. 1 Corinthians 15, how Christ
died for our sin according to the Scripture, that he was buried,
verse 4, he rose again the third day according to the Scripture,
that he was seen of Cephas, then of the 12, after that he was
seen of 500 brethren at once. of whom the greater part remain
unto this present, but some have fallen asleep." Five hundred
people at one time had an eye on the physical, glorified body
of the resurrected Lord. Everything we believe about the
gospel stands or falls with His resurrection. Everything. His resurrection is the crowning
proof of the acceptance of His redeeming priestly work. Acceptance
of God. It's the crowning proof that
His work was satisfying unto God. Find Romans chapter 1. Romans chapter 1. You got Romans chapter 1? Paul, verse
1, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated
unto the gospel of God, which he promised afore by his prophet
in the Holy Scripture, concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord,
which was raised from the dead, which was made of the seed of
David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of
God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the
resurrection from the dead. His resurrection declares His
work, His priestly work was accepted of the Father, that He did make
complete satisfaction for our sin. The importance the Scripture
places upon this is overwhelming. The theme of all the preaching
that went on that's recorded in the book of Acts, the theme
of all that preaching, God raised Him from the dead. God raised
Him from the dead. He is the great Shepherd of the
sheep. Through the blood of the everlasting
covenant, God raised Him from the dead. I want you to find
1 Peter chapter 3. 1 Peter chapter 3. Turn there. 1 Peter chapter 3. And let me read you this verse
before you find 1 Peter chapter 3. And let me read this to you. The God of peace that brought
again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of
the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant, makes
you perfect in all things. Now find 1 Peter 1 verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy
hath begotten us again into a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead. You see the importance the Scripture
places upon His resurrection. "...to an inheritance incorruptible,
undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who
are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation,
ready to be revealed in the last day." The Scriptures give a vital
importance to the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. In
a revelation, our Lord says, it's recorded, He said, I am
He that liveth and was dead. Behold, I am alive forevermore. And then He says to those disciples
in John 14, because I live, you shall live. That's good news. The resurrection of our Lord
Jesus Christ is reality. If He be not raised up, we're
yet in our sins. Here's the second point. The
sovereign, risen, glorified Lord makes Himself first known to this woman named Mary Magdalene
of whom the Lord cast out seven demon spirits. You see verse
9 of Mark 16. The Lord appears to this woman
first. I find that Quite amazing. Of all that the Lord could have
chosen to show Himself unto first, maybe His mother Mary, or the
beloved Apostle John or Peter, both ran to the tomb, it says
in John chapter 20. Both ran, and the Lord could
have appeared first to Peter or to John, but no, He passes
by all those other and appears to this woman. of whom the Lord... I want you
to find John 20. Let's read this together. John
20 gives us a little more information about this woman meeting the
Lord Jesus. First, John chapter 20. But Mary
stood without the sepulcher, weeping. Verse 11, John 20. And as she wept, she stooped
down and looked into the sepulcher, and saw two angels in white sitting,
one at the head and the other at the feet. where the body of
Jesus had lain. And when they say unto her, Woman,
why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because
they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they laid
him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and
saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was him. He said
to her, Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou?" She's supposing
him to be a gardener. Sayeth unto him, Sir, if thou
have borne him hence, or taken him away, tell me where you've
laid him, that I might take him away. And the Lord said to her,
verse 16, Mary. And she turned to herself and
saith unto him, Rabboni, which is Master. He speaks one word,
calls her name, And she knows Him. You remember His sheep hear
His voice? They do know Him and follow Him.
And He said to her, Touch Me not, for I have not yet ascended
to My Father, but go to My brethren and say unto them, I ascend to
My Father and your Father, and I ascend to My God and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told
the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that He had spoken
these things unto her. Now here's what I get from that.
The Lord sovereignly picks this lady who is a real... He passes by all the apostles,
all the men of preeminence, and chooses this poor little woman. The Lord Jesus Christ is sovereign
in salvation. He will have mercy on whom He
will have mercy. He prayed that in John 17. He
said, the Father has given me power over all flesh that I should
give eternal life to as many as the Father has given to me.
Salvation, as it's revealed in the Word of God, teaches us that
the Lord will save whom He will. He will show Himself and reveal
Himself when He will, to whom He will, at His own good pleasure. Salvation is always determined,
dependent. and based upon the Lord's immutable,
sovereign, free grace in Christ Jesus. He's hid these things
from the wise and prudent and has revealed them unto babes.
Why? He gives us the answer. Even
so, Father, for so it seems good in your sight. He works all things
after the counsel of His own will. Salvation is a matter of
free and sovereign grace, not merit. It's not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to God's mercy. All of us are
guilty. We've all sinned against God.
All of us are deserving of eternal condemnation. Therefore, salvation
is by the free grace of God alone. It's not by might. It's not by
your will. It's not of him that willeth
nor of him that runneth. It's God that shows mercy. He
sovereignly chose to reveal Himself to this one woman first. That's
a great lesson for us. I pray God would teach us. Here's
the second thing. Salvation is for sinners. Salvation
is for sinners. If I can find, oh, to find a
sinner. A sinner. Dead and died in the
world. Wow, wretched sinner. Salvation
is for sinners. Our Lord said, I didn't come
to call the righteous. Those who are well don't need a doctor.
I didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Mary
Magdalene was one who was possessed with seven demon spirits. You know, that number seven is
a number of completion. That is, she was completely consumed
with these wicked demon spirits residing in her. Oh, I tell you,
she was consumed with sin, with evil, and yet the Lord cast out
these demon spirits. Mary Magdalene didn't clean herself
up in order to merit God's favor, did she? She was helpless. She could not rid herself of
these demon spirits. She had no desire to. Sinners
love darkness, not light. The Lord eternally chose her
on the salvation, sought her out, and in time crossed her
path and had mercy on this woman. That's exactly what God does
today in the salvation of sinners. He makes great saints out of
great sinners. This is a faithful saying, the
Scripture declares, and worthy of all acceptation, that the
Lord Jesus Christ came to save sinners. You know, that includes
me. I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner. You say, preacher, you shouldn't
say things like that. I know a lot of folks in religious
circles would never call themselves a sinner. I'll tell you what,
those who say we have no sin are deceived and they call God
a liar. I'm a sinner. Through and through. Born in sin. Shaped in iniquity. A sinner by nature, a sinner
by choice, and a sinner by practice. I can't live one moment without
sin. Everything I think, say, do is
tainted with sin. That's what I am. That's what
this old nature is. But He makes great saints out
of great sinners. The Scripture declared that the
Lord Jesus Christ died for the ungodly. Those who are filled
with all manner of evil spirits, He fills them with God the Holy
Spirit. The love of God is shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Those who are once far off in
sin and guilt are made now made nigh by the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. One time we were without God,
without hope, and without Christ, but now by His grace we've been
made nigh unto Him, cleansed from all sin by His blood. Those who were cast out to the
loathing of their person as that infant we read about in Ezekiel
16, He makes them sons of God. He adopts them into His family
and makes them sons of God, and makes us to cry out, Behold,
what manner of love is this, that the Father should make us
sons of God? Those who were once beggars in
the dumb heap of sin, He has raised up to be made kings and
priests under our God, and we sing unto Him who loved us and
washed us from our sins. In His own blood, to Him be the
glory, both now and forever. Amen. Those who were once dead
in sin, He's made them new creatures in Christ Jesus. That's what
happened to Mary Magdalene. She met the Lord. And He did
a work of grace in her heart. Made her one time she was totally
contrary to Christ. Now she's in love with Him. She stands there at His crucifixion
where all the men deserted. She's the first one at the tomb
early that morning. Why? Why such devotion? Those
who have been forgiven much, they love much. This woman's
in love with the Lord Jesus Christ. My friends, salvation's not for
good folks. Salvation's for sinners. For
the lost. He came to seek and to save the
lost. Salvation is for the ungodly. Christ died for the ungodly.
He said He justifies the ungodly. But God who is rich in mercy,
for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were
dead in sin, He quickened us together with Christ Jesus. Number three, how merciful and
gracious our blessed Lord is to His weak, failing, sinful
people. Look at verse 10 in our text. Mark 16 verse 10. And she went
and told them that had been with him as they mourned and wept.
And they, when they had heard that he was alive and had been
seen on earth, they believed not. These two men who walked
on the road to Emmaus, to whom the Lord appeared to them, They
went and told the residue, the remnant of those disciples, and
they believed not. Verse 14, and then the Lord appears
to them and rebukes them for their unbelief and hardness of
heart, because they believed not them which had seen Him after
He was risen from the dead. Three times. Three times in these
few verses. When the disciples are told,
plainly, clearly, it's not, you know, I think, possibility, I
think, I think, maybe, He's risen. I don't know. No, the angels
declared, He is risen. Go repeat that message. The Lord
appeared to them and said, you go tell them, I'm risen. And
yet, they believe not. Three times in these few verses,
the disciples are told the Lord is raised from the dead, and
yet they believe not. Mary Magdalene repeated the words
of the angels and of the Lord, and they still believe not. The
Lord appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They went
and told the others, the Lord is risen! And they believe not. Verse 14, He appeared unto the
eleven And He rebuked them for their hardness of heart, because
they believed not the record of these witnesses." Now notice this, the Lord does
rebuke them, but He does not forsake them. He appears to them
not once, but twice. And then stayed with them for
forty days. declaring unto them the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He does chastise them for their
unbelief, but He does not condemn them eternally for their unbelief. He does this. Why does He rebuke
them so? You know why? He loves them so. Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth
and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. Now what can we
learn from this? What can we learn from verse
14 as the Lord rebukes His disciples for their unbelief? They were
clearly, plainly told, the Lord's risen! And they repeatedly refused
to believe. Thomas said, I won't believe
you, lest I touch you. What can we learn from this?
I think two things. God's saints, believers, are
still sinners. The best of men are only men
at best. How many times do we read, do
we find, and read about His disciples so full of doubt, fear, and unbelief? In Matthew chapter 8, when the
Lord was on that ship with those disciples, then a great storm
came up, and the ship started to sink, The Lord was over here sleeping.
And they wake him up and said, don't you care? Lord, we're perishing.
The ship's going down. And he said, oh, ye of little
faith. And he rebuked the wind. And
there was a great calm. And they said, what manner of
man is this that even the wind and the seas obey him? Oh, ye
of little faith. Another occasion. when the disciples
were out. You know, they were fishermen.
They were out in those boats all the time. And at one midnight,
in the middle of the night, they were out fishing. And here the
Lord Jesus Christ came to them walking on the sea. And again,
they were afraid. And Peter said, Lord, if it's
You, bid me come to Thee. Let me walk on the water. And
Peter gets out of the boat and starts to walk. Until he takes
his eye off the Lord and looks at his trouble. And he began to sink. He said,
Lord, save me, I'll perish. And he said, oh, ye of little
faith. Again in Matthew 16, when the
Lord had just fed thousands and thousands of people, and the
disciples were concerned about bread to eat for that afternoon.
And he said, oh, ye of little faith. Little faith. You know, little faith, is saving
faith, if it's God-given faith. Let us cease to feel surprised
when we find doubts and fears arising in our own hearts. Let
us cease to expect perfect faith in us or in others. We are yet in this body of flesh,
which is most vile and corrupt, We can say with the Apostle Paul,
O wretched man that I am, let us pray to be delivered from
unbelief, but let us not conclude that we have no grace in our
heart if sometimes we have seasons of doubt, fear, and unbelief.
Let us not conclude that we have no grace at all. Let us pray
as the sinner did in the Word. that I told you about earlier,
that father who brought his demon-possessed child to the Lord. And he said,
if you can, help me. And the Lord said, all things
are possible to them that believe. And the father, so distressed
over his child who was dying, said, Lord, I do believe. Help
my unbelief. And that's our prayer. May God
help us not to despair, but with faith look to the Lord Jesus
Christ for mercy and for grace to help in our time of need.
Something else I want to point out, and I'll let you go. Let
us also see the overruling hand of God, our all-wise God, who
brings great glory out of evil. You remember what Joseph said
to his brethren when they sold him into slavery? You meant it
for evil, but God meant it for good. Even our unbelief, God
can overrule that to His glory. Now here's the thing. If they who were so full of unbelief
and doubt about the resurrection Lord at first, who were so finally
and fully convinced by the resurrection of the Lord and His real bodily
resurrection from the dead, at last, where they were not convinced
until it was impossible for them to deny His presence. How strong
a proof is their testimony now that the Lord Jesus Christ is
indeed risen from the dead. See how their unbelief, when
they were finally and fully convinced, it bears great testimony to their
witness that it is valid, that it is true. It gives great veracity. Truthfulness to the witness. In closing, let us ask ourselves
this question. Have I been raised up with Christ?
Have I been resurrected from the dead? Am I made a partaker
of that divine nature in regeneration and made a new creature in Christ
Jesus? Has that taken place in here? We know the Lord Jesus
Christ is exalted to the right hand of God. Has He been exalted
in here? in our heart. Salvation is not just learning
the facts, the doctrine of the gospel in the head. Salvation
is experiencing the regenerating power of God the Holy Spirit
in the heart. Making us to love Him, submit
to Him, and trust Him for all of salvation. Christ in you is
a hope of glory. Now, I'm going to go all the
way back to my introduction. Remember the story of the old
woman who had lost all her memory of
the Bible, and in her dying hour, her last breath was Him. Him. Him. May the Lord do for
us as He did for that old woman. Cause us to see Him who is altogether
lovely. Cause us to believe Him. Be persuaded
that He is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God
by Him. May God be pleased to cause us
to love Him. We love Him because He first
loved us. May God be pleased to cause us to submit and bow
to Him. And to confess that He is Lord
to the glory of God the Father. Well, I pray the Lord will bless
that to your heart.