Three reasons for our joy at Jesus' resurrection (Mark 15:42 - 16:8)

[Stephan Choe]

November 20, 2025

Key verse 16:6: “But he said to them, Do not be afraid! You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, the Crucified One. He is risen; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him.”

Nietzsche said God was dead. That's not true! Our God is alive. He is alive and almighty. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. This God raised Jesus from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus is the best news for all people, because God gives eternal life to all who believe in Jesus and his resurrection.

May God give us great joy and confidence through this message of resurrection. May he help us to overcome the power of death far through the belief in resurrection and make us very joyful.

1. Jesus' burial (15:42-47)

The death of Jesus and his burial precede the narrative of Jesus' resurrection.

Jesus had really died, so he was buried.

Jesus died on the cross around 3 p.m. on Friday. When it was already evening, and because it was preparation day, Friday, Joseph of Arimathea came to Pilate and asked him to take Jesus' body. He was a secret disciple of Jesus. He had so far remained silent out of fear. But when he experienced Jesus' death on the cross, he gained new courage so that he could appear publicly for Jesus' cause.

But Pilate wondered when he heard that Jesus was already dead, for the death throes of the crucified often lasted days. Pilate inquired about this with the centurion and learned of Jesus' certain death. Therefore, he gave Joseph the body. Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Jesus' body, wrapped Him in the cloth, and placed Him in a tomb carved into a rock. Then he rolled a stone in front of the tomb's entrance. Some women, such as Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joses, watched the burial of Jesus.

2. Jesus' Resurrection (16:1-8)

Jesus was buried around 5 o'clock on Friday afternoon. The grave was carved into a rock. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Pilate had the tomb closed with a large stone. He then had the soldiers guard the grave so that no one could steal the body.

Verses 1 and 2 tell us, “And when the Sabbath had passed, Mary of Magdala and Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought fragrant oils to go and anoint him. And they came to the grave on the first day of the week, very early, when the sun rose.”

Three women who had attended Jesus' burial went back to his tomb to anoint his body with fragrant oils. The names of the women were Mary of Magdala, another Mary who was the mother of James, and Salome. Vers 9 explains that Mary Magdalene used to be possessed by seven evil spirits and that Jesus had freed her from them. The other Mary and Salome had also certainly experienced from Jesus the forgiveness of sins or the healing of their illness. These women were very grateful for this. They followed him wherever he went and served him. But now death separated them from him. He had been crucified. People put him in a grave and closed Him with a large stone.

Now, what did the women do for Jesus? They bought fragrant oils and went to his grave. They wanted to anoint him so that his body would be preserved for as long as possible, and with him their beautiful memory of him. Perhaps they could also tend his grave once a week and decorate it with flowers. Over time, however, his body would decompose, and her memory of him would fade. This would have ended the story of Jesus as a tragedy. But the story of Jesus by no means ends with his death!

Let's look at verses 3 and 4. It says, “And they spoke among themselves, ‘Who rolls the stone from the door of the grave for us?’ And they looked and realized that he had rolled away the stone, for he was very great.”

The three women went to Jesus' tomb as early as possible to anoint his body with oil. But they had forgotten that they could not move the large stone away from the grave with their power. They therefore spend all their time on the way thinking about who could move the stone away from them. But when they came to the tomb, they had a great surprise: the stone had already been rolled away from the tomb. The Gospel of Matthew tells us that an angel of God had rolled away the tombstone.

So far, death has had the final say over all people. All had to submit unconditionally to death, and their bodies rot. But God raised Jesus from the dead by his omnipotence and opened his tomb. The power of death could not hold Jesus in the tomb. Of course, if God had only wanted to, Jesus could have raised him from the dead even without opening the tomb. However, he had the tombstone rolled away so that the women could confirm‎ the disappearance of Jesus' body. Later they saw the risen Jesus in the flesh. Therefore, they could firmly believe in the reality of Jesus' resurrection.

What did the women do?

Verse 5 tells us: „And they went into the tomb and saw a youth sitting in his right hand, wearing a long, white robe, and they were horrified.“

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, the Crucified One. He is risen; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him.”

The women had thought that the crucified Jesus would remain in the tomb forever. They hadn't expected the risen Jesus at all, only the dead Jesus. That's why they were very sad. But the angel of the Lord said to them, “Do not be afraid! You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, the Crucified One. He is risen, he is not here!”

The word “He is risen, he is not here!” is good news, indeed the happiest news ever. Why? We want to learn at this point the meaning of Jesus' resurrection for us.

First, Jesus' resurrection proves that he is the Christ and God's Son. In world history, some people tried to overcome death and attain eternal life, but in vain. During my trip to China in 1995, I visited the palace of the first Chinese emperor, which is near Beijing. This emperor had sent thousands of messengers all over the world to find a panacea that would neither make him old nor let him die. Vain. Alexander the Great had conquered the world. But he cried when he thought that one day he would have to die. Why couldn't these great men of the world achieve victory over death? – Simply because they were mortal human beings.

But Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God. He showed us through his resurrection that he has the power to deliver us from the power of death. Jesus is truly God and man (1. Joh. 5.20). But he came into the world as a true man (John 1:14; 2 John 7). God proved by raising Jesus that Jesus is truly God's Son. It is impossible that God's Son would have to remain imprisoned in the tomb and rot. So the resurrection of Jesus is the best proof that Jesus is the Christ and God's Son.

The resurrection of Jesus means, second, that we who believe in Him will resurrect.

Because Jesus, through his resurrection, took away the power of death, God gives eternal life and the kingdom of heaven to all of us who believe in him. He will raise us from the dead and bring us into the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, we have a living hope and can say with Peter, “Praise be to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to His great mercy, has born us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an imperishable and immaculate and unfading inheritance that will be kept in heaven for you” (1. Peter 1:3, 4).

The resurrection of Jesus means, thirdly, that Jesus always accompanies us.

Five years ago, my beloved Esther went to Heavenly Father. It pains us a lot when we have to say goodbye to our dear people. But we have a friend, indeed a shepherd, from whom we need not say goodbye: his name is Jesus Christ! He loves us very much, so he sacrificed his life for us. But he has risen from the dead. He is always with us through the Holy Spirit. That is why he said, “Behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world!” (Mt. 28.20).

Because Jesus is always with us, we can always be joyful and happy. Therefore we can say, “The Lord is my shepherd, I will not lack anything… And whether I have wandered in the dark valley, I fear no misfortune, for you are with me, your stick and staff comfort me“ (Ps. 23). Amen!

A song is as follows:

“The risen Jesus now goes through all the world, he lives,

even if some people think he has long since died.

He mercifully helps those who, whether far away or near,

long for his help, hallelujah. He lives, he lives,

My Jesus is alive today too! He goes with me,

he speaks to me; he guides me all the time.

He already lives, experiences, gives salvation, and victory here.

You ask: How do you know he's alive? He lives in my heart!”

The angel said to the women in verses 7-8: “But go and tell his disciples and Peter that he will go before you to Galilee; there you will see him as he told you. And they went out, and fled from the tomb, for trembling and horror had seized them. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

The women should actually be very happy about the good news of Jesus' resurrection. Because of their disbelief, however, they were so frightened that they fled the grave in horror. This shows us that disbelief in Jesus' resurrection makes us joyless and fearful. But faith in Jesus' resurrection makes us very happy. May God make us all joyful Christians!