Mark: According to

Part 77

Mark 16:1-8

He is Risen!

¹⁹ Jesus Answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” ²⁰ Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” ²¹ But he was speaking of the temple of His body. John 2:19-21

According to Jewish reckoning of time, any part of a day is considered a full day. More on this in a moment. In Genesis 1:3-5 Moses makes sure we understand that there are two parts to a day, the dark portion which we call night and the light portion which we call day or morning. . . . So the evening (dark portion of the day) and the morning (light portion of the day) were the first day. And over the next five days of creation this same sequence was repeated. Each day of the week, starts with the dark portion when the sun slips beyond the horizon marking the beginning the next evening, the next day has begun.

So if one were to die, with a little over three hours left in light portion of the day, it would be considered a full day. And if one was to be resurrected upon the dark portion of the day, once again, it would be considered by Jewish reckoning of time to be a full day. Thus, Jesus fulfilled his own prophecy when he said in John 2:19-21 that if the temple were destroyed, His body crucified upon the cross, that three days later, His temple (body) would be restored. Because according to Jewish reckoning of time, any portion of a day, constitutes a full day.

Paul carries on this theme of our bodies being the temple of the living God (II Corinthians 6:16).

¹ Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. ² Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. ³ and they said among themselves. “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” ⁴ But when they looked up they saw that the stone had been rolled away – for it was very large. ⁵ and entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. ⁶ But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples – and Peter – that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you. ⁸ So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

You and I are free to choose whichever god to serve, even gods that are made of wood and stone. But when Christ died upon the cross the plan of salvation was complete. He had lived the life you and I are unable to. But now early upon the first day of the week, while it was still dark a mighty angel came down from heaven and rolled the stone away from the entrance to the tomb.

While this was happening, I can imagine the tears flowing from the women as they made their way to the tomb to properly prepare the body that had so hastily been placed in there on the late afternoon of the sixth day of the week, the Preparation day. Poor Mary, who had been rescued from prostitution by Jesus, had demons cast from her and even washed the feet and head of Jesus, must have been heartbroken upon the death of the one whom she had spent so much time with.

But as these women, devoted followers of Christ made their way to the tomb, the angel that had rolled away the tomb spoke and said, “They Father Calls You.” And as the words were being spoken the Saviour came forth and from the grave by the life that was in Himself. Now was proved the truth of His works, “I lay down My life, that I might take it again. I have the power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” Now was fulfilled the prophecy He had spoken to the priests and rulers, “Destroy this temple, and in three day I will raise it up.” John 10:17, 18; John 2:19. Therefore of all the gods that you can I can serve to follow there is only one God that is alive, only one God that has laid down his life for you and me and was able to take it up again. Therefore, my dear friends, we serve a living and risen saviour, who came, lived died and rose again gaining the victory over death that you and I may not be separated by from God by permanent death. A God that loved us to much, that he gave of His life that we might have life. There is no other god that can make the same claim to have died and been resurrected again. For He is truly a living God. Therefore, I will shout for joy for the salvation he had granted you and me.

Yet as we see, the followers of Jesus were still confused, still unbelieving and fearful for their lives, all that is except for Mary. We will explore this more next time.