FBCWest 688 | Jesus Isn’t There
Recorded On: 11/30/2025
Bulletin
Hymn # 55 “Will Sing the Wonderous Story”
SCRIPTURE READING – Romans 1:16 & 17
Giving of Selves and Our Offerings
OFFERTORY PRAYER
OFFERTORY MUSIC – Pru Hungate
Praise and Worship
“What an Awesome God”
“Behold the Lamb”
“Great I Am”
Proclamation of the Word
Message by Pastor Joe
“Jesus Isn’t There”
PRAYER TIME / Time of Reflection
“Resurrecting”
Sermon Notes
Mark 16:1 – 4 Women go to the tomb with spices to prepare Jesus’ body and wondering how they will get the stone rolled away from the tomb
Mark 16:5 & 6 They enter the tomb and see a young man wearing a white robe (an angel) who tells them Jesus who had been crucified is risen and He is not here
Mark 16:7 Angel tells them to tell Jesus’ disciples and Peter Jesus will meet them in Galilee
Mark 16:8 The women left afraid
1 Corinthians 15:3 – 11 Jesus died, buried and rose according to the Scriptures
Scritpures
Transcript of Service
Last time we took a look at the end after Jesus's crucifixion, Nicodemus, along with Joseph of Arimathea, took the body and placed it in Joseph's tomb. Nicodemus and an act of love and compassion put over a hundred pounds of spices and merr for the body because of what the body would be decomposing, supposedly. We're going to see this week that women who follow Jesus also are bringing spices to emeliorate the effects of the decay.
But both of those gifts, although compassionate, chose a lack of understanding of what Jesus had told them and the Scriptures. Because the Scriptures said that the Holy One, the Messiah, body would not undergo decay. So let's take a look at what the Scripture says and what happened. Tradition says on Friday, but I believe on Wednesday, Jesus was crucified as we took a look previously. Joseph asked for the body. He took it down from the cross and out of love and compassion and respect, Joseph had him laid in his own tomb.
And then Nicodemus brought a hundred pounds of merr and spices to emeliorate the decomposition of the body. While they were acts of kindness and compassion, it shows that even those who were closest to him didn't believe him. Because on several occasions, he said that they could destroy this simple his body in three days it would rise again. The Scriptures also say that the Holy One, the Messiah, its body would not undergo decay. Having not understood what Jesus was saying and the Scriptures, they acted, if you will, in reverence because of what he had meant to them and offered that offering of spices and merr. Because the next day was Passover in my not-so-hungle opinion, which was a Sabbath.
And then unleavened bread the next day, which was a Sabbath. And then Saturday, which was a Sabbath, he laid in the tomb as he had prophesied he would. Now the first day of the week Sunday came, which was the first day that anyone could do.
And so the Scripture says, and so if you have your Bibles, then you should turn to the gospel of Mark chapter 16 and we'll start with verse 1. It says, when the Sabbath was over, so now it is now Sunday. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Solomon brought spices so that they might come and annoying him. And so they're coming and again to offer spices that shows that they're again wanting to ameliorate the decomposition and they want to annoy them, but so they want to care for the body, which again, as I said, it's my view, kind of typical the way women, Joseph Eremaethia and Nicodemus were rich men and whatever, but they're men, they did probably do it right. And so they were going to go there to make sure that Jesus' body was properly attended to and annoying his body. And so they did so at the earliest that they could after the Sabbath. And so they brought spices again, thinking that they needed to ameliorate the stench and the decomposition. Again, these women were close and were part of the support staff, if you will, for Jesus is ministry and they didn't understand what Jesus had been saying on numerous occasions as well as the Scriptures.
And so they come and bring spices so that they might perform that. And very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. So obviously they had to wait.
The end of the Sabbath was at sundown on Saturday, but you can't see what you're doing in the dark and furthermore, you're going into a tomb, into a cave, which there's no light and so they have to wait till sunrise. And so they get there as early as they can when there's light. And they were saying to one another, who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb? Because they had observed where Jesus' body was buried and they were very aware that one stone was placed in front of the tomb. And it normally is that the case because again, you don't want gray robbers or animals desecrating the body. And so they observed, so they knew exactly where Jesus' body was laying and they knew the obstacle that there was this very large stone that had been placed in the entrance.
And not only the size of the stone, but because probably it was placed in a prepared ditch, they would take some men and not just amen, but some men to move the stone. And so they figured out how are they going to get somebody to help them out, which means they either didn't think about it on their way or no one offered to help them roll the stone away before they set out. But that didn't deter them. They're going to go and do what they can to prepare the body. And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large.
So they were concerned about how are we going to get into the tomb and that problem has already been removed because the stone is rolled away. The stone is rolled away as a signal. It's empty. The stone wasn't there to keep Jesus in. The stone was removed to be aware. He's no longer there. And so they saw that this stone had been rolled away even though it was large.
And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe, and they were amazed. Now, this young man sitting in a white robe, wearing a white robe, is an angel. The other gospels tell us it was an angel. The other gospels also tell us there were two angels. Not all the gospels tell us there's two angels, but some of them do.
And so sometimes when I say, well, that's an inconsistency. Let me show you how it started and it's consistency. I want to give you two ways.
One, if there are two, there's also one. One is not exclusive of two. So you can say there's one or there's two, but that's an inconsistent. But I want to give you another example. Let me say, my two grandsons and I were playing the game of horse. For those of you who don't know, it's a basketball game where you shoot a basket, and you have to replicate that. And if you don't, then you're out. And you get H-R-R-S-E, so you get a number of chances to miss.
And so I say, well, my two grandsons and I were playing horse. Then I say, one of my grandsons, the younger one, calls me to lose the game because he dunked the ball and I could not. There were two of us, two grandsons playing in me, so that's three. But I only mentioned the younger one because that's why I lost. So there's probably two angels at the tomb, but one's talking. And so it is not inconsistent, but the other thing I find amazing is this.
How often angels are involved in the ministry of Jesus? When Mary is approached to be informed that God was going to use her, an angel came. When Joseph was going to divorce Mary because he was concerned about the pregnancy, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream saying, it's okay. When Jesus was born, angels went to the shepherds and informed them that the Savior was born and where he was and go see him. When Jesus had been tempted in the desert and the wilderness for 40 days, angels came and ministered to him.
And now an angel is there and he's going to tell them this. And he said to them, do not be amazed, you are looking for Jesus, the Nazarene. So he says, I know who you're looking for because this was his tomb. Who has been crucified? That's Jesus. He has risen.
He is not here. So the angels not only tell that he's coming, they tell he's not here, he's risen. And there's going to be another angel in 40 days after this who's going to say, that same Jesus is going up to heaven, it's coming back the same way.
Angels keep declaring what God is doing even the myths of our misunderstanding. And so he could say, yeah, the tomb's empty. But he gives them an explanation why the tomb is empty. It's empty not because somebody stole them and he showed up.
And it's not because of some mystery. He said he was crucified, but he has risen just as he said he would on the third day. He is no longer here. But noticed he also says, he holds. Here's a place where they laid him. He goes, you don't trust me? Check it out.
And the other gospels will tell about the linen wrappings and the face cloth and all the other things of where the body used to be, but no longer is. But they're all consistent. He's risen. He is not here. So they have announced that Jesus is exactly who he said he is and was. There's no need for spices because as he said in three days, he would rise again.
And as the scripture said, the holy one, the Messiah, the body would not undergo decay. He did exactly what he said he would do when he said he would do it. And it was confirmed by what the scripture said and he conformed to the scriptures. But again, you don't believe me? This is where the body was. But then he gives them a task to do. But go, tell his disciples and Peter. And I think the reason that Peter has included is because Peter is suffering from the fact that he denied his Lord three times.
And having denied his Lord three times, I'm sure Peter says, even if Jesus rose again, that relationship can never be the same because I denied him. He told me I would, but I denied him. And I denied him not in while people were having pitchforks and fire.
I denied it to a slave girl. I wasn't even brave in my denial. So how could Jesus love me having denied him the way I did in the midst of his trial and ultimate crucifixion?
See, that's the beauty of Jesus' love and forgiveness and mercy. It's not what you have done. It's what he has done. It's not who you are, but who he is. It's just go tell the disciples and Peter that he's not here. And now he's not here.
Remember, he said to you, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. Before he was ever crucified, he says, I want to meet you guys in Galilee. And the other scriptures and the other gospels talk about them fishing in Galilee and about being on a mountain and having commissioned it. All these things happening. So the plan was, I'm going to meet you in Galilee.
But again, the kindness of God is, he meets them before Galilee. And I'll say, there you will see him just as he told you. You see, the angels were aware and took seriously what Jesus said, but nobody else because they thought the circumstances were so crushing that it could not take place. But nothing is impossible for God, not even the crucifixion of his son. And in three days, not only does he rise again, he rises again as not just the Lamb of God, not just as the great I am, but the one and true God, proving that what he said, there's miracles and his teaching were relevant and true because what he did. And he.
And yet the other gospel will just say, and I'm going to stop there. Mark continues on. And if you'll notice in your Bible, there are again brackets and there are two sets of brackets. There's a set of brackets for the following verses and then the final verse, there's another bracket. Now the most of the material contained in the other and the brackets aren't incorrect. Jesus does meet them and he does present himself to Thomas who's doubting.
And he says, here's my hands and my feet. And Jesus tells Thomas, the Thomas believe because he saw the hands and the feet because more blessed are those who believe who have not seen. Now think of that. I go, would it not be amazing and convincing having seen Jesus crucified, seeing him rise from the dead and being and seeing those hands and feet. You go, what a blessing. Jesus says, you and me are more blessed than that because we believe not having seen the hands and feet.
We believe anyway. The other, another gospel has one of my favorite post-resurrection stories and it's semi-contained in Mark when the two men on the road to Emmaus and they're talking about what had happened and how women have said that his body was gone and that they said maybe rose from the dead. And Jesus is walking with them and then he pretends that he's going to go on and they said, no, no, come, it's late, come and so he was and when it breaks bread they see who he is and he disappears and the verse that gets me to say, didn't our hearts burn within us when he was with us.
And there are times when I'm worshipping or when I'm reading the scriptures or when I'm seeing whatever it is. There are times, not all the time, but there are times when my heart burns within me. And I go, I can relate to those guys. That walking in the presence of God is like no other. And so there are a number of post-resurrection appearances and we're going to go in a moment to 1 Corinthians chapter 15.
But I want you to, if this was a myth, how do myths usually arise? Myths usually arise several hundred years after the event happened because everybody's dead so no one can counter man what you said. And it usually takes place in a different place. So if the idea that Jesus rose from the dead and wrong, you might say, well, it could be a myth. Jesus's resurrection took place in Jerusalem and he hung out in Jerusalem and in Judea and in Galilee for 40 days. And teaching and showing who he is and even fishing and preparing breakfast for the disciples. So it says this. And 1 Corinthians chapter 15, starting with verse 3.
For I deliver to you as a first importance, but I also received. So Jesus Paul is saying, this is what's important. And it's important not because I came up with it, but because I was taught by Christ this. So first supports what I also received. That Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. The post-resurrection, the crucifixion and what it means is confirmed who Christ is by the scriptures. Yes, Matthew, Mark and Luke and John tell us of the incidents.
Peter and Paul will tell us of the doctrinal significance of his crucifixion. And so will the writer of Hebrews. In Jude, all these people will write about the doctrinal significance. But the first thing that's most important is what the scriptures say. And then he was buried and I might add according to the scriptures as we took a look last time. But it was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. He is the Christ, the Messiah, because he rose on the third day.
The Antichrist will receive a mortal head wound and will rise from the dead, but not on the third day and not die according to the scriptures. So we are confirmed that Jesus is the Messiah. He isn't the anti-Messiah. As he lived, died, buried and rose again according to the scriptures. So why do I believe that Jesus is the Messiah because of the scriptures? The second reason, and then he appeared to see if it was Peter, then to the 12. So remember I said, tell the disciples and Peter.
Well Peter gets a first-hand look at who Jesus is, the post-resurrection and Peter testified of that and so did the other disciples. And that after he appeared to more than 500 brethren at one time, Jesus didn't just appear to the 12, he appeared to over 500 people on multiple occasions at multiple times in multiple settings. So he's confirmed his resurrection according to the scriptures. He's confirmed his resurrection according to eyewitnesses who observed it and it was enough, well, disciples, this all get together and make up a story that Jesus, we stole the body and that's what the religious leaders tried to say. We'll pay the guards to tell them that the disciples stole the body. So over 500, there was then 500 disciples. So those people acknowledged he actually rose again.
He goes, most of whom will remain until now, but some have fallen asleep. He's saying that some, this is, Paul doesn't say fall asleep because he's afraid to say he died. And because the body is now resting, but there isn't death in the traditional sense of the believer to be absent from the body. It's be present with the Lord. So he goes, so the body is fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James and then to all the apostles. So he goes, better or numerous, appearances, even to James, the one who is his brother who thought he was crazy.
He tried to bring him home. James the one who will eventually become the leader of the church in Jerusalem. So his brother saw him in all the apostles. And last of all, as the one untimely born, he appeared to me also. So Paul says, years later, when I was persecuting the church, it on my journey to Damascus to persecute the church further, Jesus stopped me and appeared to me. And now I'm going to Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus.
Paul will say that he was taught by Jesus himself on Mount Sinai, which is in Saudi Arabia. And he goes, for I am least of all of the apostles and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His grace towards me did not prove vain. But I lavered even more than all of them. Yeah, not I, but the grace of God with me. And other than it was I or they, so we preach and so you believe. You see faith comes by hearing. So one person who has faith communicates the gospel to another who then believes.
You don't believe because all of a sudden you magically decide this is true. Just who believe those who have witnessed the resurrection are now communicating that to those who then believe. And year after year after decade after decade after century after century, we become cares of the gospel.
This may try to explain things, but usually not satisfactory. This story, this narrative of the resurrection has an impact, your decision. And it is kind of interesting. There are those of us who believe and have committed ourselves in that belief that Jesus was in fact the Messiah who died for our sins and was buried rose again according to the scriptures and that we have salvation that we are now the children of God that we are now forgiven that we are now justified that we will be glorified because of what Jesus did and we trust that and we live our lives not perfectly, but we live our lives in that hope. And there are those who just rejected. Don't tell me what the facts are. I don't care. I don't believe it.
There is no God. Just don't care. And they just refuse. And there is another group which I am concerned about. It is those who believe that Jesus rose from the dead, but they take no action because of it. They don't trust Him. They don't commit their lives to Him. They don't acknowledge that not only was the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.
And He is our only hope for salvation and eternity. Can you imagine thinking that, but not acting on it? That would be like being in a burning house and a fireman knocking on door saying you need to get out.
You need to get out. The house is burning. And you go, yeah, I know the house is burning.
But I want to sit and watch TV as it burns around me. What a scary thought that you believe it to be true, but you don't act on it. The reason we know not only are all these evidences that the scriptures say so and that the apostles and the disciples and the 500 observed it. But not only what they saw, but how it changed their lives. Peter who went from denying him three times in front of a slave girl says, I'm not worthy to die in the same way Jesus did. So crucify me upside down. How almost all of the disciples other than John met with a violent death. Some beheaded others crucified others stung whatever the form there others throughout who didn't see Jesus rise from the dead who so convinced of it.
We're burned at a stake or eaten by animals or made fort of in a coliseum so that their death might be entertainment. But because of the resurrection and the truth of it, they said, my life has been changed and I will not deny it because I know whom I have believed. And I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed until that day. So you may think you won and the religious leaders may have thought they got rid of their problem when they put Jesus in the grave.
He defeated them victoriously in our commitment to him as result we receive victory. So for those of you who believe praise God. Keep on keeping on. For those of you who don't believe I pray that sometime something may happen cause you to decide differently. But my heart really goes out to those who say, yeah, I think Jesus actually did rise from the dead. And I like Easter and I like getting around with the family and I think it's all wonderful and you know all that and I celebrate that but it has no impact on my life.
I believe God is very merciful. He has proved it through the centuries, through the millennials. But if he offered his son to die for us and we treated with less understanding than Washington crossing the Delaware, what would your response be if they treated your son that way? So it is my prayer that those of you who may be hearing this message, who believe I ask you to take one more step and not only believe but I told that belief.
All God's people said.
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