[2026. 4. 5. Easter Sunday] Jesus has risen | Mark 16:1–16

[2026. 4. 5. Easter Sunday] Jesus has risen | Mark 16:1–16

Sermon by Rev. Jinkook (Danny) Sohn (Hope of Heaven Baptist Chuch) 

 

2026. 4. 5. 부활절 주일예배 설교 
본문: 마가복음 16.1-16
제목: 예수 다시 사셨습니다

설교자: 손진국 목사 (하늘소망교회)

 

Today is Easter Sunday. Let us greet one another: “Jesus has Risen!”

How does the fact that Jesus has Risen sound to you? Do you believe it? Do you truly believe it? The resurrection is astonishing good news given to all humanity. Anyone who believes this has already received an immeasurable blessing. Amen! Today, through the Word, I want us to consider what the resurrection means for us.

 

1. The resurrection is the good news of hope given in the midst of despair.

[Verse 1–2] When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb.

After the Sabbath, the women who went to Jesus’ tomb appear—Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. Why did they go to the tomb as soon as the Sabbath ended?

Jewish burial customs in Jesus’ time required that a body be prepared within 24 hours. The body was washed, anointed with spices, and wrapped in linen. The spices—myrrh and aloes—were used to slow decay and suppress odor. After this, the body was placed in a rock-cut tomb, and a large stone was rolled in front of the entrance. After a year, when the body had fully decomposed, the stone would be rolled away, the bones collected into an ossuary, and stored with the family’s other ossuaries.

But Jesus died the day before the Sabbath, and His body was taken down near sunset. There was no time for the full burial rites. This is described in the passage we shared yesterday during the final early morning prayer of Passion Week.

[Mark 15:42–43] It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.

Once the sun set, the Sabbath began. They had to hurry, because touching a dead body on the Sabbath was forbidden.

[Mark 15:46] So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.

Because there was no time, Joseph wrapped Jesus’ body only in linen and placed Him in the tomb, sealing it with a stone.

As the women went to the tomb early in the morning, what did they bring? They brought spices. They were going to complete the burial rites they could not perform earlier.

What filled their hearts? Sorrow and despair. The Lord who had performed astonishing works for three years had suffered the most brutal death—crucifixion—before their eyes. They had no expectation whatsoever that Jesus would rise again. Their hearts were filled only with grief and hopelessness.

And as they carried the spices to the tomb, they worried about one thing: [Verse 3] They asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

“Who will move the stone for us?” Why this concern? Wealthy tombs like Joseph of Arimathea’s were sealed with stones so large that four or five strong young men were needed to move them.

Their question carries a deeper sorrow: If only Jesus were here—He always solved our problems—then we wouldn’t have to worry like this.

Is this not our own condition? We see only the problem. We see only the blocked path. We see no solution. We lose hope and fall into despair.

But do you know what is astonishing? God works precisely when we are in despair.

[Verse 4] But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.

The stone they worried about had already been moved. Not only that—the very reason for their sorrow and despair, Jesus’ death, had been overturned by His resurrection. Something they never expected had happened. Their despair was transformed into the hope of resurrection.

Beloved brothers and sisters, believe that God is the One who turns our despair into hope and our sorrow into joy. The resurrection is the good news of hope given in the midst of our despair.

[Application] What is the “large stone” in my life that I am worrying about right now? Do I believe that God is already working in ways I cannot imagine, even in my despair?

 

2. The resurrection is the gospel that turns fear into joy.

[Verse 5–6] As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here.”

The women entered the open tomb and saw a young man in white. How could they not be startled? They expected only a corpse, yet someone was sitting there. They were frightened, and John’s Gospel tells us why.

[John 20:13] They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”

Seeing that Jesus’ body was gone, they assumed someone had moved or stolen it. A rumor had spread at the time of Jesus’ burial, recorded in Matthew:

[Matthew 27:64] “So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead.”

Why were such rumors common? Grave robbery was a social problem in those days. Wealthy tombs were prime targets because valuable items were often buried with the dead. Even the linen cloth and the myrrh-soaked spices were expensive. Sometimes thieves stole the entire body because they could not remove the linen separately.

So when the women saw the empty tomb, they were overwhelmed with fear and anxiety. But the angel proclaimed clearly: “He has risen.”

This one sentence changed everything. Sorrow turned to joy. Fear turned to hope. Despair turned to assurance.

“He is risen”—this is the heart of the gospel. The resurrection completes the gospel. Without the cross, there is no resurrection—no cross, no crown. But likewise, without the resurrection, the cross is meaningless. Without the resurrection, Jesus’ death is in vain, salvation is impossible, and our faith is empty.

[1 Corinthians 15:17] And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.

Some say they believe in Jesus but cannot believe in the resurrection. That is not true faith. We believe in Jesus—His death and His resurrection. The resurrection is at the core of the gospel.

If Jesus’ story ended with His death, He might be a martyr, but He could never be the Savior. He is the Savior of all humanity because He died and rose again.

[Verse 7] “But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee.’”

Here Jesus promises to meet His disciples, and Peter is mentioned separately. Why? Not merely because he was the leading disciple, but because there was a special intention. Peter was the disciple who denied Jesus. He failed. He was deeply discouraged. Yet the angel intentionally names him to deliver the good news of the resurrection.

This is the gospel—news that gives strength and courage to those who have fallen, failed, and lost heart. The resurrection brings joy and freedom to fearful lives. The news that Jesus has Risen is God’s declaration to you and me—who fail, stumble, and fear—that we can rise again and begin anew.

Mike McKinley, in his book The Resurrection in Your Life, emphasizes: “The reality that Jesus is alive changes every area of life.” The resurrection is not merely a past event; it is the power that transforms our lives today.

[Application] Are you discouraged by mistakes or failures? What difference does it make to know that the risen Lord is with you?

 

3. The resurrection is a mission we must believe and proclaim.

[Verse 15] He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” After His resurrection, Jesus commands: “Proclaim it.”

The resurrection is not a private inspiration—it is news to be proclaimed to the world. When the early church, filled with the Holy Spirit, preached the gospel, their central message was the resurrection of Jesus.

At Pentecost, when the disciples received the Spirit and preached, Peter declared:

[Acts 2:32] God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.

Through this proclamation of the resurrection, three thousand people believed. Such astonishing repentance and salvation occurred because the disciples came to believe all Scripture concerning Jesus through the resurrection.

[John 2:22] After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

The remarkable revival of the early church happened because they believed the resurrection. When the resurrection is believed, God’s Word becomes clear, our lives are transformed, and we live not merely as saved people but as bold proclaimers of the gospel. Through this, many come to salvation.

Why? Because the resurrection is God’s decisive proof.

[Acts 17:31] For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.

The resurrection is the evidence God has given so that all may believe. Therefore, when we preach the gospel, we must proclaim not only Jesus’ death for our sins but also His resurrection. The resurrection is not merely personal joy—it is God’s gospel for the world and the essential foundation of salvation.

Let us read the final verse of today’s passage. [Verse 16] Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

The key here is faith. When the gospel of the resurrection is proclaimed, those who believe are saved. May every one of you be used preciously as messengers in God’s saving work.

[Application] Do I truly believe in the resurrection? Am I living as a witness of the resurrection? Whom must I meet today to share the risen Lord?

 

The resurrection of Jesus is the good news of hope given in despair. It is the gospel that turns fear into joy. It is the mission we must believe and proclaim.

Jesus’ tomb is empty. The stone has been rolled away. Jesus has Risen.

Let us declare it together: “Jesus has Risen!”

May this truth become your hope, your joy, and your mission. I bless you in the name of the Lord.

 

 

하늘소망교회(담임 손진국 목사)는 뉴질랜드 오클랜드 북부 실버데일에 세워진 한인교회로 '하나님의 마음으로 사람을 살리는 교회'입니다.

Hope of Heaven Baptist Church (Senior Pastor: Rev. Jinkook Sohn) is a Korean church established in Silverdale, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a church that saves people with the heart of God.