Sunshine in a Shady Place
George T. Coster. Mark 16:3-4 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher?… The place where Jesus lay was a dark spot to His disciples. Little did they know that speedily He was to leave that grave, victor over death, and that heaven's rare sunshine should come to that shady place. Yet so it was. Other captains may gather laurels from a hundred fields, their very names may be proverbs of conquest; but when they lie in the narrow house appointed for all living, they cease from fight, and no more conquests are in store for them. Not so was it with the Captain of our salvation. His greatest victory was gained in the grave and over it. Every hour of His life yielded the palm to that in which He rose from death. I. CHRIST'S RISING WAS TO HIS DISCIPLES THE RESURRECTION OF HOPE. 1. It proved to them the acceptance of His atonement. 2. It was to them a verification of all His claims. II. CHRIST'S RISING WAS TO HIS DISCIPLES THE RESURRECTION OF COURAGE. What changed men they were after Easter Day! The craven deserters were thereafter bold as lions. III. CHRIST'S RISING WAS TO HIS DISCIPLES THE RESURRECTION OF RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY. Till He rose, their activities were paralyzed. When He rose, how they began to preach the gospel of the grace of God; and, more than all besides, they preached not Jesus and the cross, but "Jesus and the resurrection" — the empty sepulchre, rather than the uplifted cross. (George T. Coster.) Parallel Verses KJV: And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? WEB: They were saying among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"