Evangelist Jackson Nerrickson (Give Amore Team) visits one of our children, Jack's lifelong dream is to complete his seminary degree, but lacks the finances to finish it. This article is a beautiful example of how God uses him to help others understand the gospel.
Mark 16:1-6
“On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside. 5 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, 6 but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body”
Jesus was crucified on a Friday. He gave up His ghost about 3pm. It took Joseph of Arimathea a lot of trouble with the Jewish leaders before Pilate for the body of Jesus to be released to him. The Sabbath in Israel begins at 6pm on Friday to the end of Saturday, so Jesus was quickly put in the grave for lack of adequate time for a proper funeral.
Now its Sunday, the sun has just come up. Three women are walking to the tomb of Jesus, so that they could anoint his body. Things had happened so fast when he was crucified and buried. They were not able to properly prepare his body for burial. After his burial, the Jewish women rested on their Sabbath, and now, on Sunday morning, came to finish taking care of his body. But they have forgotten something. How will they gain access to the tomb? The have forgotten that the tomb is sealed with a massive stone. ... They were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, `Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb? (Mark 16:2-3).
That question gathers up the sorrowful enquiry of the whole universe. They seem to have put into language the great sigh of universal manhood, “who shall roll away the stone?” in man’s path of happiness lies a huge rock with completely blocks up the road. Who among the mighty shall remove the barrier? Men, generation after generation, buried their fellows—the all-devouring sepulcher swallowed its myriads. Who could stop the daily slaughter, or give a hope beyond the grave?
To those women there were difficulties. The stone itself was very huge and it was watched by guards day and night. And mankind faced the same difficulties. Death was a huge stone not to be moved by any power known to mortals. That death was evidently sent of God as a penalty for offenses against His law. How could it, therefore, be averted, how could it be removed? God vengeance was set upon that sepulcher’s mouth. How could that seal be broken? Who could roll the huge stone away?
Moreover, demon forces and powers of Hell were watching the sepulcher to prevent escape—who could encounter these and bear departed souls like a prey from between the lion's teeth? It was a dreary question, "Who shall roll away the stone from the sepulcher?" "Can these dry bones live? Shall our departed ones be restored to us? Can the multitudes of our race who have gone down to Hades ever return from the land of midnight and confusion?" No answer was given to sages and kings, but the holy women who loved the Savior found an answer! They came to the tomb of Christ, but it was empty, for Jesus had risen. And this is the answer to the world's enquiry. That there is another life. Bodies will live again, for Jesus lives! Be comforted, Refrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work shall be rewarded. No more Sorrows, to those of you who mourn around the grave, as those that are without hope for since Jesus Christ is risen, the dead in Christ shall rise also. Wipe away those tears, for the Believer's grave is no longer the place for lamentations, it is but the passage to immortality! It is but the dressing room in which the spirit shall put aside, for a while, her travel-worn garments of her earthly journey to put them on again on a brighter morrow, when they shall be fair and white as no fuller on earth could make them!
The holy women’s greatest fear was the huge stone. “Who shall roll the stone a way?” We are faced with this question in our daily lives. I can hear many of us asking the same question. Who shall heal me of this terrible disease? Can my sins be forgiven? The fear of the future uncertainty haunts mankind every day. To the faint-hearted, take courage and fear not. Our Lord Jesus Christ conquered death. He is a live. What is your fear? The angel of the lord tells you, “Fear not,” Every wound of the risen savior and every act of your reigning Lord consoles you. Jesus is able to help you in all your temptations. He lives to make intercession for you. He is able to save you to the uttermost. Fear not.
If this is truly the language of our hearts, we may take courage. "Fear not: for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified." Then he adds, "He is not here: for He is risen. Our great ground and reason for consolation is that we do not seek a dead Christ and we do not pray to a buried Savior. He is really alive. Today He is as able to relieve you, if you go to your closet and pray to Him. He is as willing today to accept and bless you as He was to bless the leper, the blind man or to heal the paralytic. Go to Him, then, at once and present your requests to Him for He cares for you.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us greater hope. That there is life beyond the grave. Death, the greatest enemy to mankind has been defeated. That we can go through this life with our heads raised up knowing that because he overcame, we will overcome. No matter how huge the stone you are facing. The lord will roll it a way. God to Him with holy confidence. For He is not in the tome. HE would be dead if HE were. He is risen. Living and reigning to answer your requests.
