March 31 Lesson: Resurrection: Key to Faith

Download the March 31 Sunday School lesson.
 
Spring Quarter: Examining Our Faith
Unit 1: Living in Faith
 
Lesson 5: Week of March 31, 2024
By Dr. Hal Brady
 
Lesson Scripture: Mark 16:1-8
Key Verse: Mark 16:6
 
Lesson Aims

1. Summarize the women’s encounter with the man at Jesus’ empty tomb.
2. Explain the significance of the time elements of the text.

3. Make the commitment not to allow fear to result in failure to speak up when doing so is necessary.

If you ever visit an old cemetery and look around, more often than not you will find one heading on most of the monuments: “Here lies.” What usually follows is the name, the date of death and perhaps some praise of the good qualities of the deceased. But how different is the epitaph on the tomb of Jesus! There is nothing written nor cut in stone. Rather, it is spoken by the mouth of an angel and is the exact opposite of what is put on all other tombs: “He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.” (Mark 16:6).
 
Happy Easter, everybody! Now, we move to today’s lesson.
 
Abrupt endings to stories can both frustrate and entice an audience. Clever storytellers use these endings to their advantage because audience participants can be challenged to imagine the outcome. As you read today’s Scripture lesson, think about why the writer of Mark’s Gospel might have decided to end his account the way he did.
 
Lesson Context: Mark, the Man
Tradition tells us that the Gospel of Mark was written by John Mark, an Associate of Peter and Paul. This man was not an apostle. But he was a close relative of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10), who probably convinced Paul (Saul) to take John Mark on that apostles’ first missionary journey (Acts 12:25). However, John Mark abandoned the trip before its conclusion (Acts 13:13). This put him in disfavor with Paul (Acts 15:36-39), although the two later reconciled (2 Timothy 4:11). Students propose that Mark’s Gospel account is based on Peter’s firsthand experience with the person and ministry of Jesus, given the closeness of Mark to Peter in light of Peter calling him “my son” (1 Peter 5:13).
 
Lesson Context: Mark, the Gospel
Although Mark’s Gospel is the shortest of the four, its narrative packs a punch. Students frequently call it “the Gospel of Action.” This designation stems from the fact that Mark jumps quickly from scene to scene to chronicle Jesus’ ministry. The Gospel’s description of the last week of Jesus’ ministry highlights its inclination toward action. Of the nearly 700 verses of the Gospel, 241 of them—more than one third of the gospels—recount events from that week (Mark 11:1-16:8).
 
As we are informed, a gospel is not the same as a biography since it does not attempt to give a full account of a person’s life. The word “gospel” means “good news,” and a gospel is a book which conveys the good news about Jesus Christ by means of a record of important aspects of his life and teaching. It records those events and the teachings which are most clearly integral to the good news. Hence, as previously mentioned, a large portion of the gospel is devoted to his death and resurrection because the events are integral to the gospel. A representative selection of other events like healing miracles is given together with a representative selection of teachings. 
 
While Mark never states the purpose for which he wrote the gospel, it may be conjectured that he saw a need for a written record at a time when the first Christians were coming to the end of their earthly lives. This written account would serve both to assist in the conversion of new Christians and to give instruction and encouragement to those who were already members of the church.
 
Some students believe that the original ending to this Gospel came at Mark 16:8 and that Mark 16:9-20 was a later addition in the demands after Mark wrote. Much of the information in verse 7-20 is reflected in other Gospels (Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 24:13-43, 50-52; John 20:14-18). In this lesson we will engage in a “what if.” What if Mark did end at verse 8? What could that abrupt ending teach us today?
 

1. The Women

(Mark 16:1-4)
 
Jesus died on a Friday, the day of preparation (Mark 15:37-42). The Law of Moses prohibited work on the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11; Leviticus 23:3). Therefore, the burial process would have to wait until “the Sabbath was over.” The task of treating the body of Jesus would fall to the women, some of whom were at the crucifixion and subsequently had seen the tomb’s location.
 
The name “Mary” was common in the first century AD. By one estimate, one in four women in Palestine was so named at that time. The Gospels mention several women named Mary, so it is easy to confuse them.
 
One of the women with that name was “Mary Magdalene,” who became a devoted follower to Jesus after he freed her from spiritual oppression (see Luke 8:1-2). The designation “Magdalene” was not a family name. Instead, it might have indicated that she came from the town of Magdalene.
 
The second “Mary” is unknown to us. One possibility is that she is “the mother of James, the younger and of Joseph” (Mark 15:40). Another possibility is that she was the “wife of Clopas” (John 19:25).
 
And Salome was in all probability the wife of Zebedee, and the mother of James and John (Matthew 23:56).
 
“Spices” combated the stench of decaying flesh. These treatments were an essential part of the burial process. The women prepared these things before the Sabbath, and they waited until the conclusion of that day of rest before returning to the grave to “anoint” the remains of Jesus.
 
The phrase “very early on the first day of the week and just after sunrise” reveal the eagerness of the women to complete their task. The women were confident of their destination, having been there two days earlier.
 
In verse 3, the women asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” Up to this point the women seemed to have forgotten that a massive disk-shaped “stone” sealed the entrance to the grave. Several strong individuals would be needed to “roll it” away from the entryway.
 
And the women’s question reveals something else. It reveals the attitudes and behavior of Jesus’ followers. Because of their grief, shame, and fear, some of Jesus’ followers had distanced themselves from being associated with him. So, they would not be any help in “removing the stone away from the entrance of the tomb.”
 
Important! At this point these three women were thinking in terms of earthly factors only. And in such terms their question was unanswerable. The stone was simply too heavy for them, and they knew it. So, there it loomed before their minds, immovable.
 
It's a type of thinking that easily besets us. For in spite of our faith in God, we tend to look out on the world in our particular difficult situations as though only earthly factors were at work. When will it ever get rolled away? And the only answer is “never,” so long as we think only of earthly power.
 
As I mentioned, there was simply no answer to the women’s question in terms of earth. But God had and “has” an answer to life’s immovable stones. For when the women looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away (Mark 16:4). The Gospel accounts of Mark, Luke and John do not reveal how the stone was rolled away. They only report that the stone was no longer blocking the tomb’s entrance when the women arrived there. Matthew, moreover, discloses that an angel of the Lord came down from heave, and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone (Matthew 28:2). The massive nature of this very “large” stone is also noted in Matthew 27:60.
 

2. The Messenger

(Mark 16:5-8)
 
Now Mark’s Gospel does not provide further identifying information regarding the “young man in a white robe sitting in the tomb.” However, we can determine his nature from other Gospel accounts. Matthew 28:2 describes him as “an angel of the Lord.” Luke identifies “two men in clothes that gleamed like lightening” (Luke 24:4) who are “angels” (Luke 24:23). John 20:12 is similar. Scripture often describes heavenly beings in terms of the brightness of their garments (example Matthew 18:2). 
 
The women came to the tomb to care for the body of Jesus. Instead of seeing his body, they saw an unknown visitor. The sight of this mysterious person would have been a valid reason for them to feel “alarmed.” 
 
Fear and alarm are common reactions to seeing an angelic messenger (example Acts 10:3-4) or a supernatural occurrence (example Mark 4:41). When this occurs, a form of the reminder “don’t be alarmed” usually follows (example Judges 6:21-23).
 
The angel’s designation “Jesus the Nazarene” referred to the location of Jesus’ upbringing. The village of Nazareth was located approximately 70 miles north of Jerusalem in the hilly region west of the Sea of Gailee. Residents of that village were likely poor, and because of that, others held them in low regard. Jesus’ parents were from Nazareth, and the family returned there after Jesus’ birth. And Jesus remained in Nazareth until he began his public ministry. 
 
The angel’s proclamation that Jesus “has risen” does not mean that his spirit went to Heaven, leaving behind his dead body. The empty tomb reveals that his physical body was resurrected from the dead and his post-resurrection appearances provided further evidence of this reality (see Luke 24:37-39; John 20:27).
 
So, what was the resurrected Jesus like? Jesus’ resurrection body had “flesh and bones.” He was not a ghost. The disciples were able to recognize him and to touch him. He spoke with them.
 
The Christian faith boldly declares, “I believe in the resurrection of the body.” One meaning is that we Christians believe that the total self in all of its uniqueness will be preserved.
 
I like the way the late Dr. E. Stanley Jones put it about death. He said, “Death is going to be fun, I think. Death is just God’s anesthetic which God gives us while He changes our bodies…”
 
Now the resurrection should not have come as a surprise to his followers. Recall that repeatedly in this Gospel, Jesus has said to his disciples, “I will rise on the third day.” He said it in Mark 8, again in Mark 9, and yet again in Mark 10. If Jesus said something three times, it probably means that he said it over and over again, “I will die, but I will rise on the third day.” His disciples, however, rarely understood his teaching on this topic (Mark 9:10,32).
 
Burial customs during Jesus’ day began with washing the body (example: Acts 9:37). Then the body was wrapped with cloths, treated with fragrant spices and ointments and laid upon a flat surface in the grave. The command to “use the place where” Joseph and others “had laid him” indicated that the tomb no longer contained the body of Jesus.
 
Question! How could you respond to the claim that belief of the bodily resurrection of Jesus is nonessential for Christians?
 
Verse 7 says, “But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him just as he told you.’” 
 
The command to “go and tell” of the risen Lord indicates a change in the emphasis for Mark. In his Gospel, he frequently mentions times when Jesus urged others to be silent regarding his identity and work (examples Mark 3:11-12; 5:42-43; 7:36). Now that Jesus’ resurrection had occurred, his followers would not need to remain silent about him (Mark 9:9).
 
Jesus’ “disciples” had fled at his arrest. On that occasion, they were concerned for their safety. Rather than punish the disciples for leaving Jesus, the angel’s message offered them a chance to reunite with their Lord.
 
“And tell Peter!” In all probability, these are some of the most precious words in this passage. This special message of comfort, naming Peter specifically, removed a great deal of his anguish. His master still loved him and had plans for him. In this command of the angel to the woman, we hear God’s promise of forgiveness and restitution. We also hear God’s renewed call and Peter’s fresh start.
 
Before Jesus’ arrest, he had prophesied that his disciples would “fall away” and “be scattered” (Mark 14:27). In the same breath, however, he promised, “But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee” (Mark 14:28). The angel’s message to the woman indicated the pending fulfillment of Jesus’ promise.
 
The relation of Galilee as the location of this promised reunion was made with intent. Jesus began his public ministry there (see Mark 1:9, 14). By going back to Galilee where Jesus will be, the disciples go back to the promising birth of their call to discipleship. There they can regroup and begin again the journey of discipleship.
 
In Galilee, the disciples will physically see Jesus, but “rising” also has to do with the spiritual perception (example Mark 8:18; 15:39)—something that has eluded the disciples more often than not in the narrative. They will also see him “in the sense of gaining true insight into his identity.”
 
In verse 8, we find three strong emotions overwhelming the women as they “went out and fled from the tomb.” Their feelings were decidedly mixed; this is the only verse in the New Testament where the Greek words for “troubling, bewildered, and afraid” occurs together. The picture was one of uncertainty as the women found themselves in an in-between state: the empty tomb was initial evidence of a miraculous occurrence, but they had not yet seen the risen Jesus personally.
 
Question! How do you deal with feelings of fear that may rise when sharing the news of Jesus’ resurrection?
 
Conclusion
Today’s Scripture abruptly ends with a declaration of the women’s fear. If this were all we know of this story, we would wonder what happened next. Praise God that we know the conclusion of their story—a story that continued with Jesus’ ascension to Heaven (Acts 1:1-9) and will culminate with his promised return to earth (Revelation 22:20).
 
Three fundamental lines of evidence intertwine to convince us that Jesus rose from the dead: the fact of the empty tomb, the testimony of numerous eyewitnesses, and the long-term impact on the lives of Jesus’ followers.
 
Consider the following:

1. The resurrection means that life has hope!
2. The resurrection symbolizes God’s validation of Jesus! God’s “yes” to the world’s “no.”
3. The resurrection means that death is not final! Death is our enemy, but it is ultimately a defeated enemy.
4. The resurrection means that forgiven is a reality! “And tell Peter!”
5. The resurrection means that God’s mission becomes our mission. Consider the abrupt ending to verse 8 of Mark’s Gospel as an invitation to proclaim the good news of the resurrected Christ. The women at the tomb that morning ran in fear; our task, as disciples of Jesus, today is to run in joy with the message of the empty tomb. 

Concerning the abrupt ending of Mark’s Gospel (verse 8), one scholar proposed that “the Gospel is open-ended, for the outcome of the story depends on decisions which the church, including the reader, must still make.” So, if the story is to continue, its continuation lies in part in the hands of its readers.
 
Let me conclude. There’s a story of a little boy who was “not exactly happy” about going to church on Easter Sunday morning. His new shoes were too tight, his tie pinched his neck, and the weather was just too beautiful to be cooped up inside. As he sulked in the back seat, his parents heard him mutter: “I don’t know why we have to go to church on Easter, anyway, they keep telling the same old story and it always comes out the same in the end.” And we thank God that it does! “He has risen! He is not here!”
 
Action Plan

1. In what ways has your faith been strengthened by an experience during a funeral service or at a cemetery?
2. How do you deal with feelings of fear that may arise when sharing the news of Jesus’ resurrection?

3. What are your thoughts on the abrupt way Mark ends his Gospel?

 
Resources For This Lesson

1. “2023-2024 NIV Standard Lesson Commentary, International Sunday School Lessons,” pages 265-272.
2. “The New Application Commentary, Mark” by David E. Garland, pages 610-618.
3. “The Witness of Mark” by Arthur Wainwright.
4. “King’s Cross” by Timothy Keller, pages 214-219.

5. “Mark” by William C. Plascher, pages 239-241.

 
Dr. Hal Brady is a retired pastor who continues to present the Good News of Jesus Christ and offer encouragement in a fresh and vital way though Hal Brady Ministries (halbradyministries.com).