Tonight we begin to close the book of Mark by seeing the most important moment thus far in the history of man. Chapter 15 closed with Jesus’ death and burial. Three women watched as Jesus’ lifeless body was taken down from the cross and wrapped in linen. They followed as Jesus was carried by two men whose hearts must have been terribly conflicted. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were both disciples of Jesus, secretly they believed and followed Jesus and yet they were also both part of the council that had condemned Jesus for blasphemy and handed Him over to Pilate to be judged and ultimately executed. These two men, now carrying Jesus’ body to be buried in Joseph’s own tomb must have been struggling with their emotions. The Scriptures tell us that Joseph had not consented to the decision, we have to assume that Nicodemus did not either, but even so, the group they were a part of had done this, they must have sensed some form of guilt and responsibility, at the very least sadness and regret. We have to also believe they must have sensed great disappointment, they believed Jesus was the Messiah but death was not what they understood about or expected from Him. It would not surprise me if they were terribly conflicted, had they been wrong about Him? Had the rest of the council been right? What did any of this mean? All we know for sure is that in this conflicted moment both Joseph and Nicodemus loved Jesus enough to care for His body, they were not protecting their reputations or covering their bases, they were showing love to a man that had showed love to them. The three women that Mark mentions: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses and Salome had followed Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem for the Passover, they had been with Him at the cross and now they followed to watch where He would be buried. Like the two men placing Jesus in the tomb, they were not following to see if He would rise from the dead, they were following to see where His body would be so that after the Sabbath was over they could properly anoint Him for burial. The resurrection of Jesus, while foretold by the prophets and promised repeatedly by Jesus Himself came as a complete surprise to all of His followers. It makes me wonder as we begin today, what promises and purposes of God could we be overlooking, what work is God trying to do both in and through us that we are not hearing as He speaks it to us through His Word and His Spirit? Sometimes, if we are honest, we get so stuck on what we want to hear and what we already think that we miss what God is actually saying and doing. Jesus did everything He could possibly do to prepare His followers for His death and His resurrection and yet, when He died they were distraught and when He rose they were surprised. Tonight as we study the resurrection I want us to see that the three words that changed everything for these three women and the 11 disciples still change everything for us, because “He is Risen!” not only is nothing impossible but everything is being redeemed.