April 23, 2000  EASTER – The Rolling Stones   Mark 16

By Ronald George Jr. at the Fayetteville Baptist Church

  A minister in Darby, Pennsylvania, tells this one:

   The four-year-old son of an undertaker was puzzled one Easter morning when he heard about the Resurrection.  "Do you mean," he asked, "that Jesus really rose up from the dead?"

   "Oh, yes," the teacher said.

   The boy shook his head.  "I know my daddy didn't take care of Him after He died," the boy said.  "He'd never get up again!" 

   John Singleton Copley, one of the great legal minds in British history and three times High Chancellor of England, wrote, "I know pretty well what evidence is, and I tell you, such evidence as that for the resurrection has never broken down yet."

 Intro:  In the Easter story when the ladies came to the tomb, the stone was rolled away.  Why was the stone rolled away?  The stone is an impassable barrier.  There are stones in our lives that must be rolled away by God.  We can't roll them.

Mark 16:3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?

 Scripture Text: 

 Mark 16:1 (KJS) And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the [mother] of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2 And very early in the morning the first [day] of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. 3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? 4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. 6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. 7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. 8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any [man]; for they were afraid.

 I.  Stone of Sin –  You can know and have righteousness acceptable to God.  (John 14:6) - I am the way...Father but by me. He is the only way that we can be made acceptable before the Lord.   You can have the righteousness of Christ.

 II.  Stone of Death – We can have life everlasting - (I Cor. 15:20-26,55) - in the power of the resurrection we are made alive in Christ.  Are you sure?  You can be sure & know.  (I John 5:13) - Do you know - do you believe in the empty tomb?  Do you believe in Him?  He died so that you may live.  He is the one for the many. 

 III.  Stone of the Grave – After death our body will be placed in a tomb so that it may decay.  This is a sleep for the body (I Cor. 15:55-57) - The grave is not permanent.

 IV.  Stones of Hell & Judgment - a substitute (John 3:16-17) - He became our sacrifice.  he was judged guilty for our sakes.

 V.  Stone of Guilt - forgiveness & cleansing - (Ps. 103:12) - completely removed all your sin.  (Jer. 31:34) - I will remember their sin no more.  God forgives - forgive yourself - forgive others.

 VI.  Stone of Separation - fellowship & communion with God - with Jesus - with saved loved ones.  (Rom. 6:23) - Wages of sin is death - the gift is life.  Sin separates you from God - death separates you from God - death separates you.  (Rev. 3:20)  Behold I stand & knock - if any man....  (John 1:12)  But as many as received him  (I John 1:9)

 VII.  Who will roll the stones away for you?  Only God.  If you will believe you can receive free gift of new life in Christ.  Will you trust in the Lord to roll the stones away for you? 

 VIII.  Will you come in faith looking for the Lord?   The can roll the stones away for you. 

  Dr. E. Stanley Jones, the famous missionary, wrote a charming and delightful autobiography called A Song of Ascents.  He tells about a layman, a newspaperman, a mutual friend, who was called upon to conduct a funeral service.  Being an exact man, he wanted to do it properly and in the best Christian tradition.  So he turned to the New Testament as the original source and example of how Jesus conducted a funeral.  And he found that Jesus didn't conduct funerals at all.  All He dealt with were resurrections.

    The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of the Christian faith.  Without it the believer has no hope for this life or for the life to come.  The apostle Paul wrote, "And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain" (1 Cor. 15:17).  Our belief in this great teaching is not based upon some religious feeling or upon an unfounded idea about what may have happened in the past.  Nor are we talking about an isolated rumor, but about a historical fact with solid evidence to support it.

   In the early part of this century, a group of lawyers met in England to discuss the biblical accounts of Jesus' resurrection. They wanted to see if sufficient information was available to make a case that would hold up in an English court of law.  When their study was completed, they published the results of their investigation.  They concluded that Christ's resurrection was one of the most well- established facts of history!

   In his little book, Countdown, G. B. Hardy has given us some thought-provoking questions about the resurrection.  "There are but two essential requirements: 1. Has anyone cheated death and proved it? 2. Is it available to me?  Here is the complete record:  Confucius' tomb -- occupied.  Buddha's tomb -- occupied. Mohammed's tomb -- occupied.  Jesus' tomb -- empty!  Argue as you will, there is no point in following a loser."

   The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a reality.  Countless changed lives testify that it's a fact -- not a fable!