The Risen Lord

Lesson 13

The Risen Lord

(Mark 16)

Copr. 2024, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.

Introduction: You are about to study the best news ever! Jesus rose from the grave! Jesus promised His disciples in Mark 14:25 that He would not drink “the fruit of the vine” until He was in “the kingdom of God.” The implication was that He would drink it with His disciples when they were back together, but this time in heaven! He promised He would be back, and now we get to study the exciting news that Jesus rose from the grave! Let’s jump into our study of Mark!

1. He is Not Here
   
   1. Read Mark 16:1-2. Why did they wait until “the Sabbath was past?” (They observed the Saturday Sabbath as holy. They did not understand Jesus to say that the Sabbath was a thing of the past.)
      1. What were they planning on doing? (They planned to “anoint” Jesus’ body.)
         
         1. What does this say about their understanding that Jesus would rise from the dead?
      2. How did they know where to find Jesus? (Read Mark 15:46-47. They followed Jesus to where Joseph of Arimathea placed Him in a tomb and rolled a stone in front the entrance.)
   2. Look again at Mark 16:1. Who is “Mary the mother of James?” When we read Mark 15:47 we saw the reference to “Mary the mother of Joses.” Are they the same person? (Read Mark 6:3. Jesus’ mother was also the mother of James and Joses.)
      1. 1. Why would Mark not call her “the mother of Jesus?” (One commentary suggests that Mark wants us to contemplate who she was. That is not persuasive. I think Mark is concerned about his description somehow undercutting the divinity of Jesus.)
   3. Read Mark 16:3. Since they knew of the stone, why not bring some men with them? (Perhaps the disciples were unwilling, because of fear. Perhaps the women had not thought things through. Clearly, they did not begin to know the problems they faced based on events recorded in Matthew 27:64-66.)
   4. Read Mark 16:4-5. Why were the women alarmed? (At first, they might have thought that Jesus’ body had been disturbed when they saw the tomb was open. Most of the time when humans encounter an angel they are alarmed. Perhaps that is the explanation.)
   5. Read Mark 16:6. What does the angel understand is the source of their alarm? (That Jesus is gone.)
      1. Why is the angel there? (Consider the depth of Jesus’ love for them. After all He has gone through, and His triumph over sin, He arranges for the women to be comforted.)
         
         1. Do you think Jesus worries about your comfort?
   6. Read Mark 16:7. Who else is Jesus concerned about? (The disciples.)
      1. Would you have special concern about them if you were Jesus? (They had all abandoned Him.)
      2. Why do you think Jesus mentions Peter by name? (Think about the attitude of our Lord. Peter claimed to be the most faithful, but (except for Judas), his betrayal was the worst. Jesus is running after Peter. He wants to console Peter.)
         
         1. Can you fall so far that Jesus will not run after you?
      3. What other promise is Jesus fulfilling? (Read Mark 14:28. He promised to meet with them in Galilee after He rose.)
   7. Read Mark 16:8. They had all the attributes of fear. They “fled,” they were “trembling,” and they did not speak. Why? (The events were overwhelming. They are trying to understand.)
   8. Read Matthew 28:8-10. Matthew adds that as the women were fleeing, Jesus meets them and tells them not to be afraid. Why would they be afraid now? (Perhaps we have now come to the true source of their alarm. They are overwhelmed by it all. Remember they were with Jesus through His last hours. They saw him entombed. These events are too much to easily process.)
      1. If you were making up this story, would you include all of these comments about fear and alarm? (No. We are given the real human emotions of going through this experience.)
      2. What if the women had completely accepted Jesus’ statements about being killed and rising from the dead? Would they have confidently and joyfully taken this all in?
      3. If you were Mark, would you stop your gospel at this point?
2. He Appears
   
   1. Before we discuss the texts that follow, it is important to note an issue that is often raised. Translations of the Bible that are based on the earliest partial and complete copies of books are the most reliable. No original books of the New Testament exist. No originals of anything written during, or a hundred years after, the life of Jesus exist. Instead, what remain are copies of copies of the originals. Because of human error, unless there is some reason to doubt a particular copy, the reasonable rule is that the older the copy, the most likely it is to be correct. The last 200 years have brought the discovery of many additional and very ancient copies - which give us the best evidence of what the Bible originally said. Mark 16:9-20 is not found in two early manuscripts. However, we are going to study those verses for two reasons. First, other gospels record similar information. Second, an early church leader, Irenaeus, quoted from Mark 16:19. Irenaeus lived from 120-205 AD. The early manuscripts that omit Mark 16:9-20 were not copied until hundreds of years later. That means that this portion of Mark 16 was in use by Christians very shortly after the original was written.
   2. Read Mark 16:9-11. If you were a disciple, what would you want to believe? Why would you disbelieve the best news?
   3. Read Mark 16:12-13. Is this just another account of disbelief? Or, is this independently important? (This reflects the “Road to Emmaus” account in Luke 24 of Jesus appearing to two male disciples. The general approach of the rabbis was to exclude women as witnesses. Thus, this second rejection of the truth from male witnesses shows a hardening of the opposition to acceptance of this great news.)
   4. Read Mark 16:14. What does Jesus do about the disbelief? (First, He appears in person to prove He has risen. Second, Jesus rebukes them for “their unbelief and hardness of heart.”)
      1. If the disciples stole Jesus’ body and were making up His resurrection from the dead, would Mark write something like this?
      2. How can the disciples have a “hard heart” about Jesus coming to life? Have they decided that their three years with Jesus was a waste of time? (I don’t think so. The rebuke is for disbelieving the early reports. Now that Jesus is with them all doubt is gone.)
3. He Commands
   
   1. Read Mark 16:15-16. Is this also a command to us?
      1. What “belief” is at issue here? (Central is the belief that Jesus died for our sins and was raised to life. That is the belief that has been resisted by those Jesus is addressing.)
   2. Read Mark 16:17-18. What is the proof of belief? (Divine power and divine protection.)
      1. What would you say if members of your church started showing these signs of belief? Would Jesus need to rebuke you for “unbelief and hardness of heart” (Mark 16:14)?
   3. Read Mark 16:19-20. Does our story have a happy ending? (Yes! Jesus went to heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. But He did not leave His disciples to fend for themselves. Jesus continued to work with them.)
   4. Friend, do you believe? Mark’s goal has been to convince us that Jesus is God. To convince us that Jesus came to die. And to convince us that He rose to life so that we, who believe and are baptized, could follow Him to heaven. If you do not believe, why not make the decision to believe right now?
4. Next week: We begin the study of the gospel of John.