April 20, 2025
Here is a link to the audio version:
Or, if you prefer Spotify:
Happy Resurrection Sunday to you all!
Today I want to start in Mark 16 and his account of the first Resurrection Day.
Mark 16:
1 ¶ And when the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the [mother] of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.
2 And very early on the first day of the week, they *came to the tomb when the sun had risen.
3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”
4 And looking up, they *saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large.
5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed.
6 And he *said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, [here is] the place where they laid Him.
I love this passage because, in addition to documenting the miracle resurrection of our Lord and Savior, we see how God’s grace does for us whatever we cannot do for ourselves. The women worried about who would roll away the stone for them, and when they got there, they saw God had already done it. We tend to worry and rely on others instead of relying on God to perform His perfect will in our lives.
What About That Smell?
What God emphasized to me about this passage today is that the women were planning on anointing Jesus’ body. They had bought spices because they expected His body to decompose following His death, and with that would come the odor of death. The purpose of anointing with spices was to control the smell of decomposition.
Even though Jesus told His followers that He would be raised from the dead, the women expected His body to decompose. They expected the smell of death and what they got was the sweet fragrance of Resurrection.
The Significance of the Resurrection
Beyond not needing spices to control the fragrance, the Resurrection has great significance for the women at the grave, and for all of us. The Apostle Paul explains it.
1st Corinthians 15:
20 ¶ But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.
21 For since by a man [came] death, by a man also [came] the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive.
23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,
24 then [comes] the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.
25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
27 For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him.
Adam represented original sin. Sin leads to death. Jesus represents the absence of sin and the forgiveness of sin. Jesus leads to life. His resurrection overcame sin and death for us. Paul calls Him the first fruits of those who are asleep, meaning those of us who believe in Him will not die. Instead we sleep, and He is the first fruit of those who sleep because He was the first to be raised for the purpose of our eternal salvation.
Then Paul goes further. Christ is the first fruit, then we who are His will rise at His coming (the Rapture). Yes, those of us who die (sleep in Christ) will be resurrected, and our bodies will be reconstituted as our heavenly body, just as His was. Then the end will come, and He will deliver us as part of the Kingdom. He will abolish all rule and authority and power on this earth, and He will put all enemies under His feet, and all things will be put in subjection under His feet.
So we need not fret the evil in this world – Christ is the Victor over all! All this happens because of what happened on Resurrection Day!
Death is Defeated
Verse 26 says death is the last enemy to be abolished. A little later in 1st Corinthians 15, Paul re-emphasizes our victory over death.
1st Corinthians 15:
54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.
55 “O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;
57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 54 refers to the prophecy of Isaiah 25:8 that death will be swallowed up, and verse 55 quotes the Hosea 13:14 prophecy that death would no longer have a hold over us; it would no longer be able to sting us. Again, all this is due to the Resurrection.
Your Toil Is Not in Vain
The next point Paul makes is that, because of the Resurrection, your toil is not in vain.
1st Corinthians 15:
58 ¶ Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not [in] vain in the Lord.
In verse 58, Paul gets back to the significance of the Resurrection for us. Therefore, because Christ was raised, we should be steadfast, immovable in our faith, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our toil is not in vain.
Get that – your toil is not in vain in the Lord. If you ever wonder about whether what you are doing matters, Paul is assuring you that because of the Resurrection, your toil is not in vain, never in vain! What you are doing matters if you are doing it as unto the Lord. Whatever takes up your time, whatever your job is, whatever your calling is, offer it as a sacrifice to the Lord. Because of the Resurrection, be ready to always abound in the work of the Lord. Whether you are an accountant, a top executive, a creative director, a marketing wizard, a training supervisor, a stay-at-home mom or dad, a work from home mom or dad, or a grandparent, always abound in the work of the Lord, and your toil will not be in vain.
Our Fragrance
In 2nd Corinthians 2, Paul teaches that God, through the Resurrection, manifests in us a sweet aroma of the knowledge of Jesus.
2nd Corinthians 2:
14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.
15 For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;
16 to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?
17 For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.
Knowing Jesus is a sweet aroma. It is the fragrance of the Resurrection, not the smell of death and decomposition. But get verse 15 – we are to be a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. Those perishing get an aroma from death to death – the smell of decomposition that Jesus avoided. But those being saved get from us the aroma of life to life – that is, the Resurrection fragrance. Amen.
Smell Good Among the Stench
In 1st John 5 we are reminded that we are to carry the sweet fragrance of the Resurrection with us as we live in a world of evil.
1st John 5:
19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in [the power of] the evil one.
20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding, in order that we might know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols.
The world lies in the power of the evil one. The world is subjected to the deeds of the flesh, self-worship, and rebellion against God. We know that Jesus has come and has given us understanding to know He is True. Praise God with thanksgiving for that!
I love the closing to 1st John. Guard yourselves from idols. Don’t worship yourself. Don’t worship your mind, or your knowledge, or your gender, or your political leaders, or your portfolio of investments. Don’t allow anyone or anything to come between you and the fresh fragrance of the Resurrection. Hold fast to Jesus and the truth of His word!
And be the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Christ that God is manifesting in us.
Let us pray.
Father God, we thank You for the fragrance of the Resurrection and the fact that the women at the grave site did not need their spices to offset the stench of death. Thank You for the victory of Resurrection Sunday. Help us to be the fragrance of Christ to You among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. Help us to remember the significance of the Resurrection – that the end is coming, all things are in subjection to Him, death is defeated, and our toil is not in vain. Quicken us to focus on our knowledge of Jesus, as the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
If anyone reading this blog or listening to the podcast does not know Jesus, please pray this prayer with me:
“Jesus, I repent of my sins, and I ask you into my heart, that you might change me, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, guide me in the way I should walk from this day forward. Thank You for Your death and resurrection. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord of my life and I believe in my heart that Father God raised Him from the dead on Resurrection Day! Amen.”
House of Hope Online 
Leave a comment