Ep 12 - Who’s Gonna Roll the Stone Away? — Easter 2026 Special

You will want to hear our host Jason Pawlowski as he shares the Easter resurrection story from Mark 16:1–8, focusing on the women who go to Jesus’ tomb wondering who will roll away the large stone, only to find it already moved and hear that Jesus has risen. He highlights how they walked in faith despite an obstacle they couldn’t overcome, and connects the stone to the pressures, fear, regret, uncertainty, and hesitation people face today. Jason emphasizes that God goes ahead and moves what people cannot, pointing to the angel’s instruction to tell the disciples “and Peter” as a picture of grace for those who feel disqualified by failure. Though the women and disciples initially react with fear, the resurrection changes everything, calling all listeners to keep moving in faith because God is still moving stones. 

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Transcript

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Welcome everybody to the Three Doves Podcast. I'm your host, Jason Pulowski. And today we're talking about one question that shows up in all of our lives. Who's gonna move the stone? Hello, folks, Jason Pulowski here. And I just wanted to share the story of Easter from a different perspective. And the title of this is Who's Going to Move the Stone? Now, this isn't an interview. This is just me talking through the story of the resurrection. And I wanted to share through Mark chapter 16, verse one, and start there for you folks. Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Saloon went out and purchased burial spices so that they could anoint Jesus' body. Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. And on the way, they were asking each other, who will roll away the stone for us at the entrance to the tomb? But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside. Let's just step into the moment for a second. It's early Sunday morning. Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Salome, go out to the tomb, right? Now they're going there because they want to bring spices, uh, not because they expected any kind of miracle, but because they believed that Jesus was dead. Now, this is love. This is grief. This is goodbye for them. And on the way there, they're not talking about soldiers, they're not talking about danger. They're asking one simple question. And what was that one simple question in the verse? It's who's going to roll away the stone? They knew how big it was. And this wasn't a challenge that they could overcome. This was impossible for these ladies. And still, for this reason, by faith and their love for him, they kept walking. You see, this is kind of what faith looks like. You know, they say faith without works is dead. You have follow that? Faith without works is dead. That's real faith. Even though they know they're not going to be able to move the stone, they're still walking in the direction of the stone. You know, faith doesn't wait until everything makes sense. Faith doesn't wait until you feel ready. I can think of many moments in the stories that we've shared here on the three doves where people were moving even when they weren't ready to move. And in all honesty and transparency, I wasn't ready to start this podcast. I hesitated. I waited. And then I just heard the small still voice step out, start it. Let's get going. Move. You know, faith moves even when the problem is still there. Think about your life. You've got some stones too, don't you? Just like I do. All of us. And to be quite honest, I had so many stones that I even had a kidney stone. Things that feel, well, too big to move. There's pressure, there's fear, regret, uncertainty, things that didn't work out. And the question is the same: how's it going to move? The truth is simple. You're not the one who moves it. When they arrived, when they get to the tomb, the stone is already moved. It's gone. The problem that they talked about the whole way was already handled. Isn't that amazing? And that's how God works. He moves things ahead of you, He prepares what you can't. And most people never see that because they never take the walk of faith. So the ladies get there, they take a quick look, and they step inside the tomb. There's nobody. Instead, there's a young man in a white robe, and they're shaken to the core. And he tells them, Don't be afraid. You're looking for Jesus who was crucified. Well, guess what, ladies? He isn't here. He's risen. And everything changes in that moment for them. You see, death didn't win. The cross wasn't the end. And what looked finished was just the beginning. And let me read this from the scripture. When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. And the women were shocked. But the angel said, Don't be alarmed. You're looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn't here, he is risen from the dead. Look, this is where they laid his body. Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee, and you will see him there just as he told you before he died. I love this part because the angel says to them, Go tell the disciples and Peter. You know, Peter, the one who denied Christ three times, the one who was, you know, boastrous, um, maybe impulsive, the one who told Jesus that he wouldn't let him be crucified. And that's the one that the angel said, make sure Peter knows. The one who failed, the one who denied him, the one carrying that shame, Jesus calls him by name. That's grace, that's resurrection, that's God saying, I'm not done with you. Folks, if you feel disqualified, can I help you out? You're not. If you feel like you blew it, well, you didn't go too far. God still calls your name. You know, the disciples weren't at the tomb, they were in hiding, they were locked in a room and afraid. And these were the same men who said they would stand strong. Now they're silent. And Peter, the one called the Rock, Petrus, is buried behind that fear. You know, sometimes the biggest stone in your life is your own thinking, your fear, your hesitation. You built the wall, and now you feel stuck behind it. I've been there, I know, I've been there many times. But Jesus doesn't wait for you to fix it. He steps in, he goes before you, right into your fear, and he breaks it. Now, there's a real part. The women see all of this and they run. They're overwhelmed, they're afraid at first, and they don't know what to do, so they say nothing. That's honest and that's human. And you can see God move and still struggle. You can step out in faith and still hesitate. But fear doesn't get the final word because they did speak. The story moved forward, and everything, and I mean everything changed. Here's the evidence the same people who were afraid became bold, and the ones who hid, guess what? They became leaders, and the ones who ran, they well, they stood firm. That doesn't happen by accident, that happens because Jesus is alive. So here's the big question again who's going to move the stone? And the answer is pretty simple. God already has. And here's your role keep moving. Keep showing up. Stay faithful, even when it doesn't make sense. Because when you get there, you're gonna find it's already been taken care of. So Easter is more than just a moment, it's a message, it's not just something that happened back then, it's something that's still happening right now. And listen, you're not stuck, you're not buried, and man, you're not finished. I don't care how it looks right now, I don't care how long it's been sitting there, and I don't care how heavy it feels, there is no stone too heavy, no life too broken, and no mistake too deep. Folks, God is still in the business of moving what you cannot move. And some of you have been standing in front of the same stone for years. You've been thinking about it, stressing over it, trying to figure it out, wondering when something is going to change. And the truth is, you've been waiting for clarity when God is asking for movement. You don't need to understand everything, you don't need to have it all figured out, you don't need the strength to move the stone. You just need to take that next step because faith doesn't start when the path is all clear. Faith starts when you move anyway, and when you do, you begin to see something shift. Not always all at once, not always the way you expected, but God starts working in places you couldn't reach before. Doors begin to open, pressures begin to lift, clarity begins to come, not because you forced it, but because you showed up. And sometimes when you finally arrive at that place you were afraid of, you realize something powerful. God was already there. He was working, he was moving, preparing, and handling what you couldn't. The stone you were worried about is already gone. That's who God is. He goes before you. Stop asking who's gonna move it, and just start walking. Because when you get there, you might just find, like I've said, it's already been moved. Christ is risen, and he is risen indeed. Have a wonderful Easter, folks, and God bless you.