“What If…”
Mark 16:1-20
Are you scared to die? With all the news this past week of the Terry Shiavo and now Pope John Paul II, are you prepared for the time that God may call you home? How’s that for a nice introduction to an Easter Sermon. Happy Easter! Are you scared to die?
Read Mark 16:1-8.
In this text, we see three actions of God that can encourage us to have hope as we prepare for death.
1. God’s Power of Life Over Death.
- Power over Death
- Death does not have the final say
- Power over Sin
- God overcomes the curse (Deut. 21:23, “because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse.”)
Hebrews 13:20-21 (Message),
“May God, who puts all things together,
makes all things whole,
Who made a lasting mark through the sacrifice of Jesus,
the sacrifice of blood that sealed the covenant,
Who led Jesus, our Great Shepherd,
Up and alive from the dead,
Now put you together, provide you
With everything you need to please Him,
Make us into what gives Him most pleasure,
By means of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah.
All glory to Jesus forever and always!
Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes.”
Power for Salvation
- Baptism: beauty of baptism by immersion.(Mark 16:16)
2. God’s Promise of Life After Death.
- Passion Predictions all closed with life (Mark 8:31, 9:31, 10:32-34)
- We can trust God. Many people in this life will let you down, but never will.
- The resurrection is a fact of history.
- Theories to explain away the resurrection:
1. Jesus’ body was stolen by the disciples (Matt. 28.11-15)
2. The women went to the wrong tomb.
3. Jesus never really died, but only swooned.
4. The disciples did not encounter the risen Christ, but merely hallucinated.
In fact, each Sunday we proclaim the resurrection of Christ. Why would the church celebrate a meal of memorial to a person who was cursed when He died? The church would not, unless, the person was the Son of God. Eating flesh and drinking blood is culturally condemned, unless the person behind this special meal is the risen Son of God. Scripture tells us that we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. God keeps His Word. Do you believe that?
Illustration:
(From James W. Moore’s Sermon: "Jesus & Mary Magdalene") Bill Bryson has written a fascinating book called, "The Lost Continent: Travels in
Bill Bryson said he found the home to be a disappointment. He expressed his disillusionment like this: "It purported to be a faithful reproduction of the original interiors, but there were wires and water sprinklers clumsily evident in every room. I also very much doubt that young Samuel Clemens' bedroom had Armstrong vinyl on the floor or that his sister's bedroom had a plywood partition in it."
As he proceeded from window to window, he met another tourist who seemed to know a lot about the house. Bryson asked him: "What do you think of it?" The friendly stranger replied: "Oh, I think it's great. I always come here when I'm in
Bill Bryson was fascinated, "Really?" he replied. "O yes," the man said. "I must have been here twenty or thirty times by now. This is a real shrine you know."
As the two of them continued walking and touring together, Bill Bryson said to the man: "You must be a real fan and follower of Mark Twain. Would you say the house is just like Mark Twain described it in his books?"
"O, I don't know," said the tourist. "I wouldn't have the foggiest notion. I've never read any of his books!"
Visiting his shrine, but ignoring his books. Sadly, that may be a pretty good description of how many people deal with Jesus Christ. They visit his church, but fail to read his book and apply His teachings to their daily lives.
Walking in a church doesn’t make you a Christian anymore than walking into a garage makes you a car.
Question: What awaits you when you depart this life? When you cross through from this life to the next, what do you expect? If you believe God’s promise and have staked your claim upon the resurrection as true and life changing, then you can say with confidence, “When I die, I will live again.”
3. God’s Protection of Life in the Midst of Death (16:15-18).
- Great Commission of Mark’s gospel. You want some purpose in your life, check out these verses.
- These issues of snakes and deadly poison do not need to be circus acts or tests for God. God says that these will happen. However, they are not tests for true believers.
- Paul in
Miletus in Acts 28.1-6, bit by a viper and suffered no ill effects. - Bottom line: God will protect you. He will use your life to bring glory to Himself.
Great commissions from the gospels:
1. In Matthew, when we share God’s love, Jesus will be with us (Matt. 28.20).
2. In Luke, when we share God’s love, the Holy Spirit will empower us (Acts 1.8).
3. In Mark, when we share God’s love, God will protect us (Mark 16:18).
CONCLUSION:
1 Corinthians 15:17-19 (NIV), “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.”
Paul brings up an interesting point? What if? Do you ever think about these what if questions?
- What if I had gone to college?
- What if I had not been married or had a family?
- What if mom and dad were still here?
- What if the Cubs win the World Series?
- What if I had chosen a different reaction to that situation years ago?
What if? Now I want to caution you here. We can “what if” things to death and become very depressed. But at times, in those moments you are led to ponder, it is not always bad. Paul’s what if… What if there was no Easter. What if this church thing is just a game? We are a pitiable lot. If Easter never happened, we are all fools for believing a lie.
However, we can be confident that God has kept His word. Christ suffered and died under Pontius Pilate. There is historical evidence of that. Three days later, Christ was seen alive. In fact over a period of forty days after that He gave many convincing proofs that He was alive. Thus, Easter did happen. Christ is alive and well. What are we going to do about it?
1. Are we going to go home and have our Easter ham and watch the kids find some Easter eggs and think no more about the Risen Christ? Are we going to forget that the Son of God is alive and well and is active in changing people’s lives?
2. Are we going to embrace the living Christ with a love and passion that is contagious? Are we going to thank God for life. Are we going to look to the next life with confidence knowing that God has raised His son Jesus to life? And He will raise us up when that day comes. The choice is yours.
Bottom Line: Because Easter really happened and Christ is alive, we can have great hope in life after death if we trust God.
