Mark 16:1-8
When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 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 back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
We have by no means exhausted the significance of the Resurrection, however, in the thought of Christ's victory over death. For the death of Christ was not only a conflict with death and the devil, it was an atoning sacrifice, He had offered Himself without spot to God. But how are we to know that that offering was acceptable to Him? Suppose it was not great enough for all sin? What if it were not sufficient to make complete atonement? And even if it were, how are we to know? Only God Himself could make this known, and He did so, emphatically and unmistakably in raising Jesus from the dead. The Resurrection is God's imprimatur upon Christ's atoning sacrifice, it is God confirming that what Jesus accomplished on the Cross was a sufficient atonement for sin, and provides an entirely satisfactory basis on which He can forgive sin, for Christ's sake. The implications of this are truly tremendous. It means that forgiveness of sins through His name could now be proclaimed, and this in fact became the gospel of the early Church (see Acts 10:36-43). It was not that His Resurrection was exalted at the expense of the death that He died, rather it confirmed and sealed the death, interpreted and illumined it as the thing of glory that it was, and established it as a gospel of grace and power. Rightly understood, the Scriptures never 'fragmentize' the work of Christ - it is His incarnation, life, death, resurrection, ascension and glorification, that constitute the good news of God concerning His Son. And what God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.