Mark 16:1-8 - The Resurrection

This week, we’re diving into Mark 16:1-8, where the world-changing truth of Jesus’ resurrection unfolds. These verses capture the raw, astonishing moment when the women discover the empty tomb and hear the angel’s declaration: “He has risen!” We’ll explore why the resurrection is the cornerstone of our faith—without it, the cross loses its power, and our hope crumbles. Then, we’ll face the challenge: if Jesus truly rose, it demands a response that transforms everything about how we live. Join me as we unpack this life-altering truth, dig into God’s Word, and look to Jesus, our true hope!

Transcript

110 - Mark 16:1-8 - The Resurrection

Intro

• If you have your Bibles please open with me to Mark 16 and find verse 1.
  • Today we begin the final chapter of the Gospel of Mark as we are nearing the end of this short Gospel.
  • Here in a moment we will read the first eight verses of this chapter and observe how Mark shares the greatest news the world has ever known.
    • The news that changed everything…
• Our text today will focus upon the resurrection of Christ.
  • Just like we have witnessed in the rest of this Gospel, Mark’s verses are simple and straight to the point.
    • Where other Gospel writers give additional details of this Resurrection Sunday, Mark does not even provide any interactions with Jesus Himself.  
  • Even without that important interaction we will still spend our time considering what these verses have to offer us and how they will challenge us today.
  • Much like other stories found in Mark, our goal is not an exhaustive look at the Resurrection but a consideration of what Mark includes as relevant as he penned this Gospel.  
    • Our time will be divided across two points…
      • The Importance of the Resurrection.
      • The Challenge of the Resurrection.
  • However, before we begin in our verses today…
• There is something that needs to be addressed within this chapter and the verses that come after verse 8.
  • If you have your Bible opened and you have any modern translation you will notice that there are brackets around verses 9 through 20.
    • To my knowledge the King James Version is the only version that does not add the brackets to this section.
    • However, I would not be surprised if there are some New King James Versions that do not add it either.  
  • Yet, in all of our modern translations you will find the final section of Mark bracketed with a note that will say something along the lines of…
    • “...Verses 9 through 20 of Mark 16 are not found in the earliest manuscripts…”
      • Now depending on the type of Bible you have, really whether it is a study Bible or just the text, you may get more of an explanation than that.
    • The important thing is that the earliest manuscripts that we have available end Mark's Gospel at the end of verse 8.
  • This has caused people to handle this final section differently than the rest of the book.
    • I do think there is a good reason to do that…
      • Even beyond the earliest manuscripts the writing style and the words used in verses 9-20 do stand out from the rest of Mark’s Gospel.
      • This is such an obvious thing that some scholars and commentators do not even address these final verses…
    • In fact, two of the commentaries that I have made use of during our study in Mark make no mention of these final verses.
      • They act as though Mark ends at verse 8.
  • Beyond the manuscripts there is also historical evidence to suggest that some of the earliest church fathers did not have these final verses.
    • However, I do not think that point is important when considering what to do with this final section.
    • That is because the fact of the matter is that for the majority of church history these verses have been at the end of Mark.
  • To that I would say that we serve a God that is Sovereign over every aspect of His Creation which includes His Word that He has preserved for us.
    • Therefore we will address these verses, we will consider them as scripture.
    • Yet, at the same time let us consider that verse 8 very well may have been where Mark ended his Gospel.
  • I think there is good reason to consider that and that will be our mindset as we step into our text this morning.  
• So with that in mind let us read our text and open in prayer.

Mark 16:1-8

• Assuming these are the final verses that Mark penned, and how he originally closed out his Gospel, let us make mention of a few things before we jump into our points…
  • First, consider with me that even with the abrupt ending Mark accomplishes his goal of sharing the Gospel.
    • The Gospel in its simplest form is the good news that…
      • Christ has come…
      • Christ has died…
      • And Christ has Risen…
    • Though this is a quick account and very much akin to the rest of Mark’s writing style it still contains the good news of the Resurrected Lord.
  • Second, consider the raw writing that Mark produces and how this would have been the first written Gospel record.
    • Mark does not write as one who is trying to force a narrative but he writes as one who is simply getting the truth out.
    • He just writes what happened, as he was told it, and his goal was simply to get to the empty tomb.
• Yet even with the abrupt ending and raw writing we still see, our first point…

The Importance of the Resurrection

• Let us take a moment to step back into the shoes of those mentioned in our opening verses…
  • These women were there…
    • They saw the Roman scourge…
    • They watched as Jesus struggled to carry the cross beam… 
    • They looked on in horror as the nails pierced His hands and His feet…
    • They heard the words of Jesus as He was suspended between earth and heaven…
    • They were there when He breathed His last…
  • Yet they were not done, they continued to stay around and watch as Joseph of Arimathea requested the body of our Lord and as he laid Him in his own tomb.
    • They even watched at a distance as the stone was rolled in front of the entrance to the tomb of Christ.
    • These women demonstrated a deep love for our Lord, they showed courage and boldness as they desired to care for His body.
  • However, make no mistake of it, they were approaching early on this Resurrection Sunday looking for a dead, decaying, lifeless body and hoping for nothing more.
• What they did not expect was what happened, and they became the first witnesses of the resurrection.
  • Though in our text they do not see the Risen Lord they do bear witness of the Resurrection in three ways…
    • First, they see the stone that had been rolled away…
      • As we can see this was a concern they had as they approached…
        • Vs. 3
      • So they were surprised to see that it was rolled away…
    • Second, they see the empty tomb…
      • We are told in verse 5…
        • Vs. 5a - “And entering the tomb…”
      • They walked in, yet the body of Christ was not anywhere to be found.
    • Third, they hear the testimony of the young man, who in other accounts is called an angel…
      • This young man tells them plainly that this Jesus who was crucified has risen back to life.
      • He commands these women to pass this information along to Peter and the rest of the apostles.
  • All of this evidence helps frame up their reaction…
    • They fled, they trembled, they were astonished, and they were afraid.
      • The same word is used of the apostles in Mark 4 after Jesus calms the wind and sea.
      • They seemed to recognize that they were dealing with something supernatural.  
    • The fact is this moment changed everything, and not only for these women but for the entirety of Creation.
  • As you think of that with me let us consider what…
    • Billy Graham, the great evangelist of the 20th century once said of the Resurrection.
      • “Without the resurrection, the cross is meaningless.”
    • What a bold statement, but what a correct understanding.
  • Church, the bodily Resurrection of Jesus is the key component of the Christian faith.
    • If someone could somehow disprove the Resurrection then Christianity would crumble.
      • The cross would be emptied of its power and Jesus would be nothing more than a wild eyed carpenter who only succeeded in leading people astray.  
    • If you take away the Resurrection…
      • The Gospel is not good news, it is deception…
      • The Gospel contains no real hope and no real answer to man’s greatest need…
    • This is not speculation, this is what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15…
  • It would do us well today to turn there together and read his writing on the importance of the Resurrection.
• As you turn there let me remind you about the context of the verses we are getting ready to read.
  • Paul writes 1 Corinthians 15 to remind this church at Corinth about the Gospel they have believed and received.
  • He sums up the Gospel in the early part of the chapter why simply stating…
    • 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 - “...that Christ died for our sins…that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day…”
      • That is the Gospel in a nutshell, the life, the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord.
      • If a church does not believe these things then they are not a church and they have not believed the Gospel.
        • Or, the Gospel they had once believed they have departed from.  
    • Throughout this chapter Paul talks about the assurance of the Resurrection and even theorizes what it would mean if Jesus did not rise from the dead.
  • It is those verses we are going to read right now…
    • 1 Corinthians 15:14-19
      • This is quite a sad list of things that would be true if Christ was not raised.  
      • Preaching would be empty, our faith would be empty, we would be misrepresenting God, and we would still be in our sins…
        • More than that, those who have perished in Christ would be lost forever.
      • That final verse we just read really hits hard…
        • If we only have hope in this life, we are nothing more than a people that should be pitied…
      • Paul says that people should feel sorry for us if Christ was not raised.
        • That is because we would have trusted in a lie, we would have false hope, and an uncertain eternity.
      • Thankfully though the Gospel of Mark did not end at chapter 15 and Paul does not end his writing at the end of verse 19, look with me at verse 20.
    • 1 Corinthians 15:20
      • The real bodily resurrection of Christ gives us true hope…
        • His sacrifice was accepted and by faith we are forgiven, redeemed, and adopted.
        • His resurrection testified that we have hope beyond this life.
  • This is exactly why Billy Graham said, “Without the resurrection, the cross is meaningless.”
• Now turn back with me to Mark 16…
  • As we consider the importance of the Resurrection of Jesus let consider once more these women…
    • Can you imagine how drastically their lives changed after this point?
    • They would have gone from being depressed, defeated, dwelling in a world of darkness to an overnight transformation…
      • What reason would they have had to be depressed, though Christ had suffered and died, He rose in victory…
      • Though they thought He defeated and gone, He is alive forevermore reigning in victory…
      • The darkness that had covered them since He was laid in the tomb would quickly fade to nothing, for the Light of the Word was once again shining.
    • Furthermore, it was not just these women but think with me about the change in the disciples?
      • We see it, it is well documented in the Gospels and the book of Acts…
        • Here they are in hiding but just a little less than 50 days they will be proclaiming the hope found in Christ.  
    • This Sunday Resurrection made all the difference in their lives, in their outlook, and in their eternity.
  • The Resurrection changed everything for them, and rightly so, it was the greatest event in history.
    • As you think about that, and as I am sure you agree with it, let us make this a bit more personal.
  • The fact is if Jesus rose again it should change everything for us…
• This is what I am going to call…

The Challenge of the Resurrection

• Here is the bottom line, this either happened or it didn’t…
  • Jesus either died, was buried, and rose again, or He didn’t.
    • There are many camps of people who believe all sorts of theories ranging from Jesus never having existed, to having a twin that took his place after His death.  
    • However what it boils down to is that this either happened and is true or it's false and He didn’t.
  • This is the challenge we are presented with as we consider the Resurrection.
• It is the challenge that was faced by these women and by the apostles.
  • Were they going to believe and respond or were they going to deny and ignore.
    • Do you realize though that everyone who interacted closely with Jesus before His death and who was confronted with the Resurrection lived a completely different life afterwards?
      • Think about it…
    • They were forever and radically changed after this point, and it matters not who you consider, but let us consider just a few…
      • Peter, of course we must consider him because he is mentioned in this text.
        • The young man told the women, to “...tell his disciples and Peter…”
        • Remember with me the last time we saw Peter in Mark…
          • He was found denying Jesus.
        • Yet now on this Resurrection day he is the first one mentioned by name…
          • Oh what grace abounds to those who are found in Christ!
        • By the time we see Peter again mentioned by name he is leading the early church…
          • Then he is the one who boldly proclaims the first message of the Gospel to the masses.
        • His life was forever changed and the words of Christ proved true, he became a fisher of men.
      • What about James, the half brother of Jesus, not the disciple of Jesus…
        • We find in the Gospels that Jesus’ family did not believe in Him but rather thought Him crazy.
        • Hard to convince a brother that you are the Messiah, right?
          • Yet what we find is that by the time James is mentioned again he is numbered with church.
        • He is listed as a pillar, and also would become the pastor of the first century church.
          • 1 Corinthians 15 tells us that he received a special visit from Jesus Himself. 
      • We could then consider the rest of the apostles as a whole, at this point in Mark they are in hiding, fearful of man.
        • Yet in just a matter of 7 weeks they will be boldly sharing about the hope they have in Christ.
        • Peter and John will be commanded to not speak anymore in the name of Jesus by the same men that put Him to death.
        • They stood before them and boldly said…
          • Acts 4:20 - “for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
        • They said, “sorry, can’t do that, can’t go there with you, we will proclaim Christ”.
    • The resurrection changed everything for them, they went from deniers to testifiers.
      • One also that is worthy of our attention is one untimely born, the one who would become known as the Apostle Paul.
      • Saul, as he is first introduced, is a persecutor of Christians.  
        • He is there approving of the death of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. 
        • He pursues believers and they are in fear of him.
      • Yet, like the others, his life does a complete 180 after he is encountered by Christ on the road to Damascus.  
    • Can I tell you church that this is not just a first century believers thing but this is the reality throughout the ages…
  • Many men and women are forever changed by the Gospel of Jesus, they are forever changed by the Resurrection.
    • Church history is littered with countless individuals whose lives were forever changed by this glorious Gospel.
    • All of it goes back to the fact that Jesus walked out of that tomb.
  • Now let us turn our attention not to Biblical history, not even to church history, but I would ask you to consider your own life history. 
• Think about it, if Jesus truly rose again consider what this means for us today…
  • It means, as we have discussed, that His sacrificial death was accepted by the Father.
    • It means that there is hope found in His Name.
    • This means that it is the greatest news that there has ever been, a way has been made where there was no way before.
  • Just like Peter, Paul, James, these women, and those who have been redeemed throughout the ages…
    • We have a question before us, what are we going to do with the Resurrection.
      • Do you believe it?
      • Does your life reflect it?
    • How foolish it would have been for these apostles to see the Risen Lord and then turn back to their trades.
      • Yet how many of us claim to believe in the Risen Jesus but our lives look just like the world around us.
    • Church, if Jesus really rose from death it truly should change everything for us.  
  • I think of a song by Matt Papa that grapples with this very thing, it is called “This Changes Everything” and the first verse and the chorus goes like this:
    • “I grew up in a little town
      Used to sing in the old church house
      There in the pew where I used to hide
      Learned the story bout the man who died
      Well I was sure I heard that He got back up
      But as we broke the bread and drank the cup
      Seemed the faces told another tale
      They were as dry as the bread was stale
      Did I miss something? Was I not supposed to cry?
      Did they hear preacher, "Jesus is alive"?
    • The chorus then goes like this:
      If this is true, this changes everything
      If this is real, I've got to tell the world
      If He is God, then I've got choice to make
      If I believe, then I must follow Him”
  • What I like about this song is that it does not ask us to consider the life change of the apostles but really turns the tables on us and challenges us…
    • If Jesus really rose from the dead and is alive then we all have a choice to make.
      • Yet I fear many of us today in this country who identify with Christ have not been transformed by Him.
      • We say we believe in the Resurrection but we live as though we are defeated, our lives do not testify to the bodily resurrection of our Lord.
      • Instead we are found acting just as the world around us, as a people without hope.  
• This is another reason why I think Mark ends this Gospel where he does, he leaves us with a cliffhanger.
  • That is because it is not about what the apostles do with Jesus, it is not about how these women respond.
  • It is as if Mark’s goal is simply to drop the Gospel in our laps…
    • Saying this Jesus who lived this way, and died this way, did not stay dead.
    • What are you going to do about it?
  • He writes as one who is simply testifying to the truth, the response for those who read should be to simply believe.
    • To place our faith in the one who died in our place and rose in victory.  

Closing

• This is where we are going to close today.
  • We are again confronted with the Gospel and the hope of the Resurrection.
    • Does your life reflect the change that He will bring about when you place your faith in Him?
    • If not, then I will join with Mark and ask, what are you going to do about it?