Mark 16:1-8

Bringing the sermon home:

In the first Christian sermons and public testimonies (e.g., those found in Acts 2–5), why is so much attention given to Christ’s resurrection from the dead? Why does Paul say we’d still be “in our sins” if Christ had not been raised (1 Cor 15:17), and that Christ was “raised for our justification” (Rom 4:24)? Wasn’t His life and death the price Jesus paid to save us (Mk 10:45)? Yes, but Christ’s resurrection was the evidence that this ransom was accepted by the Father.

That empty tomb on that first Easter Sunday testifies that death has been emptied of its power, for Christ has risen from the dead, conquering death on our behalf. Though we too will taste death, we know that we too will rise from the grave, never to die again, for we have been ransomed from death.

But Christ has not only purchased our liberation from the future consequences of our sin (i.e., death), He also purchased our liberation from our current enslavement to that sin here and now. Put differently, He has ransomed us from both the penalty and the power of sin, enabling us to now walk in newness of life with Him (Rom 6:4-14).

Mark’s Gospel abruptly ends with the climax of a theme that has been woven throughout the Gospel: the theme of not telling others about Jesus, as those who found the empty tomb “said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” The question posed to the reader is not whether these three women will take courage and tell others about Jesus, but whether you will. Let His resurrection power be made visible as you overcome the fear of telling others about Jesus!

Outline:

1. Ransomed from death (the penalty of sin).
2. Ransomed from slavery (the power of sin).
3. Ransomed from fear (the pointlessness of sin).