Author: Bill Hall

Mark 16:3 “And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?”

   The awkward moment when you realize you can’t do what you planned to do, happens to all of us. They were already there, and now they happened to think of the stone. Chances are, they had a plan beforehand, but they just hadn’t sorted out the details completely. Life is like that. We have to fly by the seat of our pants sometimes. But God understands, and sometimes He has a special surprise in store.

Heavenly Father, life really sneaks up on us. We never really feel ready for things. It is all so fast. But we know we can trust Your plan. You are always ready. You always know how to lead us. May we always follow You. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Mark 16:2 “Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.”

   Notice how specific this is. The sun had risen. The picture here is easy to miss, but don’t miss it. Hebrew time starts the day at sunset for a very important reason. It follows the order of creation. In Genesis chapter one we see the evening and the morning, in that order. Why? Because the darkness precedes the dawn. Every morning is a promise, a promise that the darkness shall pass. And this particular morning was a special promise. And every Sunday we celebrate this promise. And every morning when we wake up we can be reminded of this promise. Jesus is the One Who overcomes the darkness forever.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your promise of light every day! We are daily reminded that light is here to stay, and that the darkness is fading. Give us Your mercy in the day time. May we proclaim the kingdom of light for our whole lives. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Mark 16:1 “Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.”

   The Sabbath would have been over at sunset on Saturday. But that wouldn’t have been a good time for this activity. So, they waited till first thing Sunday morning. Salome was most likely the mother of James and John, two of the twelve.

Heavenly Father, we praise You for the resurrection. Though this world rejects the truth, we know that You have given us the only hope. We praise You and thank You for saving our souls. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Mark 15:47 “And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.”

   Mary was a very common name back then, to say the least! Mary Magdalene was a woman Jesus had cast demons out of. The mother of Joses was the mother of James the son of Alpheus. This James was one of the twelve. These women took note of where Jesus was laid, intending to go back to tend to the body.

Heavenly Father, You have done so much for every one of us! We cannot forget, nor shall we fail to appreciate the salvation which is ours in Christ. We see in this passage the devotion of these women to Christ though they as yet did not understand the resurrection. We too should be in love with You, regardless of all that You do for us. You are worthy of our love and devotion. I praise You for Your loving kindness and truth. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Mark 15:46 “Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.”

   Many have wondered if Joseph of Arimathea did use the tomb for himself later. This is more than doubtful. Being a believer himself, and especially so after the resurrection, he would not have wanted to use it. Though the actual tomb may not have been found, it is quite likely that the traditional site is indeed the borrowed tomb.
   I noticed here that Joseph bought new linen for Jesus. Surely an affluent man would have had something on hand that he could have used. But, he wanted the best thing. Even if he did understand and believe that Jesus would rise anyway, he wanted to offer him the best burial shroud he could. We should always give our Lord the best.

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us Your best. We will always seek to serve You the best way we can. We will give You our best efforts, and our best strength. Of course, You have to give us the strength and ability to serve You anyway. But, we’ll respond as You would expect. We will follow Your ways, and make Your paths our delight! I love You, Father. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Mark 15:45 “So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.”

   Pilate though Joseph might have faulty information and wanted to verify the facts. We might well wonder if it was common for Roman officials to release a body like this. Frankly it likely depended a lot upon who the person was. If the Romans felt the body was important to somebody, or had some symbolic value, they would likely not give it up so easily. However, Jesus was undesirable to both the influential Jews and the Romans. As a result, had Joseph not intervened, it is possible that the body would have been hurriedly buried in a mass grave with several others. Ending up in one of the finest sepulchres in Jerusalem would hardly be expected for one who had been crucified.

Heavenly Father, all we can do is stand back in awe as we consider all of the fullfilled prophecies in connection with Christ. You orchestrated every last detail. Before any of it happened, the whole thing was planned out. Thank you, for how you put it all together. You are so good to us! Your mercy and grace has been made available by something so remarkable, we will never get over it. We will praise you forever for your beautiful work. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Mark 15:44 “Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time.”

   Pilot said this because it was possible for someone to hang on the cross for several days. In fact, the death of the thieves on either side of Christ was quickened by the soldiers breaking their legs. So, they died faster than people usually would on a cross. But Jesus died even faster than that.
   This highlights something that’s very important to understand about the death of Christ on the cross. The crucifixion did not kill Christ. He literally gave his life for us. Pilot was a smart man. He knew that what had been done to Christ wouldn’t cause him to be dead that soon. He knew Jesus wasn’t a weakling. He didn’t understand why he would already be dead. And that’s simply because, the cross did not kill Christ.
   That doesn’t mean Jesus committed suicide either. He did what only He did what only He could do. He gave His life for us. I have heard people observe that the mixture of water and blood which came from His side when pierced indicates death by a broken heart. Well, though I think that observation may have merit, I’m not sure you could explain the exact cause of death, because nobody else have ever died the same way. To put it succinctly, Jesus died for sin, and of sin, the sins of all for all of history.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the death of Christ. It is only through His death and resurrection that we have any hope. In Christ we can have access to you, which is so wonderful! Thank you for mercy and grace in Him! We love you so much! The name of Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Mark 15:43 “Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.”

   We often forget that there were those among the Jewish leaders who did approve of Christ. Joseph was assisted by Nicodemus. These men may have known others who were sympathetic to the cause of Christ, but who wouldn’t make it public as did these two.
   We have to ask ourselves, what level of devotion to Christ is acceptable? Many have derided Joseph of Arimathea for not doing more. But, this was quite a great service which he rendered for our Lord. Jesus had many followers, not all were the twelve. Should we settle for only sympathetic assistance rather than heartfelt cooperation? No. But, we must all follow the way the Lord lays before us. Sometimes it is very helpful to have a Joseph on hand when he is needed.

Heavenly Father, may our devotion to You be truly genuine! You deserve our best efforts to do our best the best way we know how. And it’s all through Christ. Only by Him can we hope to do anything. Thank You for strength in Him! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Mark 15:42 “Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,”

   This means either that the day which was just ending, or the day which was just beginning, was the Preparation Day. This is why there is some debate as to what day Jesus was crucified. In any case, we can see from Luke 22:7 that Jesus died the same day the Passover was killed.

Heavenly Father, Your timing is perfect! You always get it just right. We cannot forget how You have planned and fulfilled all that You have done in the past. We will trust You for the future. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Mark 15:41 “who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.”

   And how exactly did these women minister to Christ? There were many things that would need to be done that the men would have been unable, or unwilling, to do. While in Gallilie, we find Him often at Peter’s house. These ladies may have shared in assisting Him and His mother. For Him to care for her, she would need to stay with some of these other ladies as she would not have gone with Him every time He ventured out if town.
   What is truly interesting here is that so many women followed Him. Indeed, it seems He had a good mixture of male and female followers. This is still true in the church today. It is not a men’s only club. Men and women are involved together in the kingdom of our Lord.

Heavenly Father, Your plans are perfect. You have built Your church as You see fit. It is diverse but beautiful. Thank You for the opportunity to serve in it. It is a blessing to our souls. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.