Mark 16:6-7 And he said to them, Be not affrighted: You seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here… Here we have the first gospel sermon preached after the gospel had been finished on the cross, and sealed by the fact of the resurrection. Not a sentence that dropped from the speaker's lips by accident; nor are its words mere words that came uppermost, as though some other words might have done as well. They hold the germ of which the preaching of all true evangelists is but the expansion. I. THE FIRST TITLE UNDER WHICH CHRIST WAS PROCLAIMED BY A MESSENGER FROM HEAVEN AFTER HIS CRUCIFIXION. 1. Jesus. The name given at the annunciation. Now it is fulfilled. He has saved His people from their sins. Henceforth this name shall be above every name. All through our life in time let us sing with Bernard, "This name is sweetness in the mouth, music in the ear, joy in the heart;" and all through our life in eternity let us expect to penetrate deeper and deeper into the soul of its beauty, and glory, and meaning. 2. Jesus of Nazareth. A lowly title, despised by men. 3. Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified. Words used among men to express contempt, an angel is proud to use; and the last phrase of degradation which His enemies flung at Him on earth was the first title under which He is proclaimed by a flaming prophet from heaven. II. THE FIRST NOTICE OF CHRIST'S RESURRECTION. Christ's resurrection is — 1. A mystery. 2. A miracle. 3. A victory over death. 4. A fulfilment of His promise. (G. Stanford, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. |
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