Easter Sunday

He’s Alive! Welcome Home!  Mark 15:42-16:16

1. Jesus was Dead.

Mark 15:42–47 “It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.

2. Jesus was Alive!

Romans 4:25 “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”

Mark 16:1-3 “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. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

Mark 16:4-6 “But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 6 “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.

“Don’t be alarmed”
“He has risen!”
3 Reasons Why the Resurrection is the Best Explanation:
1. The Romans executed Jesus.
2. The tomb was empty!
3. People saw Jesus alive!
Matthew 27:62-66 “The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first. 65 Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.”

The Stone
The Seal
The Guard

Matthew 28:2-4 “There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.”

Jesus Has Risen from The Dead!

Matthew 28:13 “telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’”

3. People saw Jesus alive.

Mark records 3 eyewitness accounts
1. Mary Magdalene
2. Two disciples on road to Emmaus
3. The Eleven disciples.
3 immediate impacts that the resurrection caused:
A. The resurrection validated Jesus’ identity and His message.
B. The resurrection fulfilled Jesus’ prediction that He would rise from the dead.

Mark 8:31 “He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.”

C. The resurrection radically changed the 11 disciples.

John 20:19-20 “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.”

Mark 16:15-16 “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

4. Go tell everyone the Good News.

1 Corinthians 15:17 “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”

When someone comes back from the dead that changes everything.

John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”