March 27, 2016 ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON Resurrection Faith MINISTRY INVOCATION O God: We give thanks to You for the manifold blessings to us. You did not have to bless us but You did. We shall remain eternally grateful. Amen. WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW AND UNDERSTAND The resurrection is a historical fact. Faith in the resurrected Jesus begins with the acceptance of eyewitness testimony. That testimony is collaborated by all four Gospels and literally hundreds of people (1 Corinthians 15:6). Depending on how one counts, Jesus made 13 resurrection appearances. THE APPLIED FULL GOSPEL DISTINCTIVE We believe in the indwelling of the Holy Ghost for all believers and that the Holy Ghost verifies and validates the Believer as part of the Body of Christ. TEXT: Background Scripture Key Verse Lesson Scripture Mark 16:1-8 Mark 16:1 8 (NKJV) The Resurrection of Jesus Matt. 28:1 8; Luke 24:1 9 16 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. 2 Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3 And they said among themselves, Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us? 4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away for it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6 But he said to them, Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is 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 into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you. 8 So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. 1
COMMENTARY 16:1 The repetition of the names of the woman is surprising, especially since the second Mary is described as the mother of James only without the further designation the younger and without mention of Joses. More likely the repetition emphasizes the importance of the woman as witnesses. Mark showed that identifiable persons witnessed the crucifixion, the burial, and the empty tomb. The spices probably were brought shortly after sunset on Saturday when the shops reopened briefly after the conclusion of the Sabbath. It was too late, however, to go to the tomb then. The great devotion of the women is seen in two particulars: the expensiveness of the spices and their desire to anoint a body that had been dead for a day and a half. John 19:39 40 indicates that Nicodemus wrapped the body in about seventyfive pounds of myrrh and aloes before its burial. Perhaps the women were not close enough to observe this. Perhaps they wanted to do their anointing regardless of what had been done previously. In any event, nothing in Mark s account indicates that Jesus body had been anointed. Whether the word anoint should be taken quite literally to mean pour on the head or loosely to mean apply to any portion of the body is unclear. The Jews did not embalm, and the use of spices was not to prevent decomposition but to offset its stench. The desire to anoint the body certainly indicates that the woman did not expect a resurrection. The woman may not have known of the saying of Jesus in 14:8; but even if they had, it is doubtful that it would have deterred them. 16:2 The words translated very early usually refer to the two or three hours before sunrise (3:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m), but they cannot do so in conjunction with just after sunrise. The first day of the week is Sunday, which later became the Christian day of worship in order to celebrate the resurrection. 16:3 Critics have questioned why the women did not think earlier about the problem of the stone. Love does not always foresee or deal with problems. 16:4 The passive voice should be looked upon as a divine passive, i.e., a reverent way of indicating that God rolled back the stone. Matthew 28:2 says that an angel did so, but there is no contradiction. Here the statement shows that the removal of the stone was a supernatural event. It was removed, however, not to give the woman access to the tomb but to demonstrate to them that Jesus had risen from the grave. 16:5 Mark likely intended his readers/hearers to understand that the young man was an angel. Angels sometimes are pictured as wearing a white robe and one of their tasks is to reveal the divine truth. 2
16:6 Here Mark affirmed the identity of the one who was crucified and the one who was raised and affirmed that the resurrection had taken place. Inasmuch as the absence of resurrection appearances in the Gospel is a problem, it is very important to note that in addition to the explicit affirmation here the resurrection is prophesied in 8:31; 9:9, 31; 10:34; and 14:28. Mark s own belief in the resurrection and his proclamation of it in his Gospel are unquestionable. The only evidence he gives is the testimony of the young man and the empty tomb, whereas the most important evidence in the other Gospels, which also mention the empty tomb, is the appearances of the risen Jesus. Ultimately, acceptance of the resurrection, just as the acceptance of Jesus himself, is a matter of faith. The concept of the empty tomb, however, is especially useful as a symbol that death has been emptied of its power by the risen Christ. Jesus the Nazarene is a more important term for Mark than is usually recognized. It suggests that Jesus was a real person who can be located in history and geography. Indeed the whole Gospel does this. Again, Mark used has risen as meaning God raised him. The place where they laid him was a shelf or niche carved in soft rock. Usually, there would be several of these around a larger space where one could stand. The women came to anoint a dead body, but the dead person was no longer there. He had risen! The women were the first to be told and observe that truth. So, it is in all of the Gospels, although the details vary considerably. This was almost certainly because they alone had remained near the cross and had come to the tomb as soon as possible after the Sabbath. Inasmuch as the testimony of women was not accepted in Jewish courts, and because Greco-Roman society also afforded them a lowly place, the early church would never have invented the story. Of the basic historicity of the account, there are no questions. The story about the women is strong evidence, although not absolute proof, of the historicity of the resurrection itself. 16:7 The disciples are mentioned because they had fled; Peter because he had denied Jesus. The angel s word implies that they had been forgiven and would be restored to fellowship with Jesus and their places of leadership. The verb translated is going ahead could mean to precede or to lead. Both make sense in context, but the former is to be preferred because of the statement There you will see him. The idea seems to be nothing more than that Jesus has no intention of leading the disciples to Galilee to take possession of the Kingdom or to begin the Gentile mission, as some have claimed. Nor does anything in the text support the idea that the disciples were to go to Galilee, not for a resurrection appearance, but to wait for the return of the Lord. The statement just as he told you alludes to the promise in 14:28. 3
16:8 Even the absence of resurrection appearances might not be such a great problem if v. 8 had indicated that the women went away with joy and told the disciples (as Matt 28:8 and Luke 24:9 say they did) and that the disciples told others. Verse 8, however, comes as a shock to modern readers, and there is evidence that it did to ancient ones as well. The women fled from the tomb just as the disciples fled from the arrest, trial, and crucifixion. They were seized with trembling, bewilderment, and fear. Worst of all they told no one what they had heard and seen. In the end, they seem to have failed just as much as the male disciples. Thus ends the Gospel according to Mark. Actually Mark s Gospel ends in four different ways in the ancient textual witnesses. As for the last matter, it is surprising that no resurrection appearances to Peter or others in Galilee or elsewhere are reported, but this is understandable at the earliest stage of Gospel writing. The prevailing view in contemporary scholarship is that Mark intended to end his Gospel with verse 8. The problem then becomes to explain why he did so. First an ending with references to trembling, bewilderment, flight, and fear is not surprising or out of place as many have thought because Mark previously recorded similar reactions when people observed the power of God being manifested in Jesus. Second, the abrupt ending is quite in harmony with the abrupt beginning of the Gospel. Just as Mark recorded very little that preceded the ministry of Jesus, so he recorded very little that followed it. Also, the secrecy and mystery surrounding the ending is quite in harmony with the so-called messianic secret that permeates the Gospel. It is but the final chapter of that theme. Third, Mark had a definite purpose in his ending. He apparently wanted an open ending to indicate that the story was not complete but was continuing beyond the time he wrote. He wanted his readers/hearers to continue the story in their own lives. By stating that the women told no one, he challenged his readers/hearers to assume the responsibility of telling the good news to everyone. He showed that ultimately Christian faith does not rest upon signs and miracles, even appearances of the risen Lord. Only five or six hundred persons ever saw Jesus after his resurrection, and it is unlikely that any of Mark s original readers/hearers were among these. The Christian outlook should always be one of commitment to Him in the present and future, not one of achievement and finality. By his ending, Mark challenged the disciples of his day, and he continues to challenge the disciples of today, to live and witness for the Lord Jesus Christ in the present and future. 4
RELATED DISCUSSION TOPICS CLOSING PRAYER My God: I am grateful to have found You and kept You in the forefront of my being. Bless us continually with Your grace and mercy. They represent bountiful blessings for all of us. Amen. 5