---

Mark | 1 -7 | 8-12 | 13:1-13 | 13:14-27 | 13:28-37 | 14:1-9 | 14:10-21 | 14:22-31 | 14:32-52 | 14:53-72 | 15:1-20 | 15:21-41 | 15:42-47 | 16 | PDF |

---

Mark 16 Bible Study – Jesus is Alive

Outline

I. The angel tells the women Jesus is alive (1-8)
II. Implications of the resurrection
III. Later addition of Mark (9-20)

I. The angel tells the women Jesus is alive (1-8)

Parallel Resurrection Accounts

Matthew 27:57-66 – The tomb is made as secure as possible with guards and a seal.

Matthew 28:1-7 – The angel appears and the soldiers are scared to death.

Matthew 28:11-15 – The soldiers were bribed to keep a lid on the resurrection.

Luke 24:1 – The women were bringing spices that they had prepared for Jesus’ body.

Matthew 16:21 – Jesus had told them ahead of time that He would die and be raised again.

Luke 24:10-12 – The disciples did not originally believe the report from the women.

Luke 24:13-35 – Jesus appeared to the disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Luke 24:41-43 – Jesus ate in their presence.

Other Cross-References

1 Corinthians 15:1-19 – Jesus appeared to more than 500 witnesses. Paul argued that if He didn’t arise, our faith is useless.

1 Corinthians 15:20-28 – Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection. His resurrection shows that believers will arise again with a new body in the future.

Acts 2:29-36 – The preaching at Pentecost revolved around the resurrection.

Romans 1:4 – Jesus was declared the Son of God because of His resurrection.

Verse by Verse Commentary

Introduction

Here we are, the moment of truth. The event we are about to discuss is the culmination of the entire history of the world! It is, in fact, the crux of the entire Bible. It was alluded to all the way back in Genesis (3:15 and 12:2). Jesus said that He would die and then rise again three days later (Matthew 16:21).

Was this man from Nazareth the Son of God? Could He truly redeem the lost sinners of the world through His death? Could the life of this carpenter from a remote region of the Roman Empire really have any meaning for us nearly 2000 years later?

Throughout the Bible, we see the repeated failures of man in vivid detail. Over and over again, we fail God and fall far short of His standard. Throughout the Old Testament, God delivers His people only to see them rebel again. He sends them leaders, prophets, kings, blessings, angels, deliverance, and the Scriptures, but they still kept falling into sin. The Old Testament shows us that people have no way to solve their problem of sin on their own.

There seemed to be no hope for mankind, unless this man from Nazareth, who preached hope and forgiveness, could supply it.

Reflect – What would have happened if Jesus hadn’t arisen from the dead?

Nothing. If Jesus hadn’t arisen from the dead, nothing would have happened. The disciples would have gone back to their jobs. The Jews would have continued exulting in their triumph. Jesus’ followers would have been confused, distraught, and disillusioned. The story would have ended. The movement would have been crushed. The New Testament wouldn’t have been written. Churches wouldn’t have been established.

Reflect – How would your life be different today if the resurrection never happened?

My life has been drastically altered by the resurrection in more ways than I can count. Not only does it assure my eternal salvation and forgiveness of sins, but I would not live in this country, have this spouse, or have my children. Most likely, I would not exist at all.

From a worldwide perspective, we would not have the New Testament. Women around the world would not have their current elevated positions. Slavery would likely not have been abolished. There would be no churches, no missionaries, and no Bible studies. There would be no Christian weddings or Christian culture because Christianity would not exist.

People would still be dead in our sins. All the world would be living in darkness, prisoners of sin and death, with no hope and no light.

Application – Take a moment to consider how the resurrection has changed your life and thank God for it once again.

But there is a far more important question than what would have happened. And that is, what did happen?

1. The women go to anoint Jesus’ body on Sunday morning –

At least five women went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body (Luke 24:10). This shows the level of commitment among many of Jesus’ women followers. Anointing a dead body would not have been a pleasant task, but Jesus had done a lot for them and this was one way they could show their love and appreciation for Him.

2. They were questioning how they would move the stone –

Mark 16:3 – And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”

The stone is described as being “very large.” They could not move it. It was too large for a secret rescue mission to take Jesus’ body away without the soldiers noticing it. But the stone had been miraculously rolled away. Matthew tells us that it was done by an angel (Matthew 28:2).

3. They are greeted by the angel –

Mark 16:5-6 – And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.

This was certainly not what they had expected. They did not go to the tomb to see if Jesus had arisen yet. This promise (Matthew 16:21) was driven far from their minds by the grief and sorrow they were facing at having seen their Lord brutally murdered in front of them.

The angel was straightforward and matter-of-fact. It was not a complicated thing. To the angel, Jesus’ resurrection was not surprising in the least. Jesus’ resurrection was the most natural and expected outcome in the world. He even tells them not to be amazed. They should not be surprised.

Matthew records that the angel told them Jesus arose, “just as He said.” (Matthew 28:5-7)

Their surprise betrayed their lack of faith and understanding in what Jesus had already told them.

4. The women were tasked to be messengers –

Mark 16:7 – But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.

God appointed them as messengers of this great truth. Notice that God didn’t send angels to everyone. He sent angels to the women, but after that, He sent people to tell people.

God could have chosen to use any number of different methods to spread the gospel message. Angels are more than capable. God could have been creative and written the message in the sky, painted it in the clouds, sent more dreams and visions, or given birds the gift of language to fly across the globe proclaiming the good news. But He doesn’t generally use these methods. He uses people as His messengers.

Reflect – Why does He generally use people to share the gospel instead of a more miraculous way?

Firstly, it is a privilege to be part of this process. We are participants, not spectators.

Secondly, when we get involved by taking the message, we grow. As we serve, share, and teach, our faith grows.

Sharing the gospel is a great privilege and a great responsibility. This job of telling others this great news is now ours. Matthew records that Jesus gave this mission to the whole church.

Matthew 28:18-20 – And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Application – How can you get involved in this great mission?

6. Did the women tell anyone?

At first glance, a comparison of Mark 16:8 and Matthew 28:8-9 reveals a possible discrepancy.

Mark 16:8 – And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Matthew 28:8 – So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

In Mark, it says they “Said nothing to anyone.” In Matthew, it says that they quickly ran to report to the disciples what had happened.

It is easily explained by looking at Mark’s stated reason they didn’t tell anyone, fear. They were afraid to tell just anyone, so on the way to the disciples, they kept this to themselves.

The Greek also backs this up. The phrase is “oudeni ouden eipan,” which can mean, “they didn’t talk to anyone on the way.”

It certainly doesn’t mean they never told anyone for as long as they lived, but at that moment, they kept quiet until they reached the disciples, whom they reported it to. As to their emotions, it was a mixture of fear, joy, wonder, and astonishment.

II. Implications of the resurrection

Discussion Questions

• What lessons do we learn from the resurrection?
• Why is the greatest event in the history of the world mentioned so simply, “He is risen?”
• What implications does Jesus’ resurrection have? What meaning does it have?
• How has it changed your life? What else in your life needs to be changed because Jesus is alive?

Reflect – Why do you believe in the resurrection? What evidence can you offer for the resurrection?

It is a reasonable question and we should be prepared to defend what we believe and why.

1 Peter 3:15 – But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.

False theories of the resurrection

Here are some of the common theories skeptics have used to explain away the resurrection over the years and a brief response to each.

Swoon theory –

This was a common theory several hundred years ago. It was never very viable and was based only on conjecture. He was stabbed in the side by the executioners to ensure his death. The centurions told Pilate that Jesus was dead. They were experts in executions. The water and the blood are a testament to a ruptured heart.

Those closest to him and who had the most incentive for him to remain alive believed he was dead. Multiple eyewitnesses at the cross, as well as Joseph of Arimathea and John, believed he was dead. Even if by some miracle, He had survived in a deep swoon, the spices and cold stone and lying there for days wrapped tightly would have killed Him. And how could a weak, “almost dead” person roll away the large stone? Even if he did so, he would have to then fight his way past the trained Roman soldiers guarding the tomb.

Even skeptics in early Christian history did not raise this theory.

The disciples stole the body theory –

This also has no evidence.

First, the disciples were hiding in fear. They were confused and leaderless. They were hiding in fear. Why would they risk their lives to try to pull off this hoax? What would be the point even if they were successful? They didn’t gain anything. None of them became rich through this. Most of them ended up dying as martyrs because they preached the gospel. So the reward for achieving the most brazen grave robbery of all time would have been being shunned by their people and killed for it. It was hardly a good prize.

Second, even if they had attempted it, would they have been able to succeed? They would have had to fight off a band of rugged Roman soldiers. The idea that they were all sleeping is preposterous. The Roman penalty for sleeping on watch would be death.

Third, if they stole the body, the body would exist. If it were ever discovered, their ruse would be unmasked.

The hallucination theory –

Another theory is that more than five hundred people who Jesus appeared to all hallucinated. The “miracle of mass hallucination” would be perhaps a bigger miracle than the resurrection. Hallucinations are individual experiences. They don’t happen in large groups. Neither do they eat, speak, or walk for forty days, which Jesus did.

There is no evidence for this theory and it still doesn’t explain where Jesus’ body was. Even His enemies admitted the tomb was empty.

Evidence of the resurrection-

Seal – The seal was the Roman way of saying, “Don’t mess with this!” There would have been a strict penalty if people were caught messing with the seal.

Stone – The stone was very large and needed multiple able-bodied men to push aside. How could Jesus have done that in His weakened state? How could the disciples have done that without being noticed?

Guards – Rugged Roman soldiers were guarding the tomb. The Roman army was very strict and even minor offences were punished by death. The Romans had no interest in the religious dispute. They were simply performing their duty, which was to guard the tomb from intrusion. In the process of trying to prevent the resurrection, the soldiers actually gave much stronger evidence that the resurrection was true.

This is a reminder that as a strategist, God runs loops around the opposition. He sovereignly works out even their direct rebellion against Him for His divine purposes.

Empty Tomb – Perhaps now it is hard to say if the tomb is empty because we don’t really know where it is. But at that time, the Jews and the Romans knew where the tomb was. The disciples were preaching that Jesus had been raised from the dead. If He were still in the tomb, the Jews would have produced the body to crush that idea.

Even the Jewish leaders accepted the fact that the tomb was empty (Matthew 28:11-15).

Grave clothes – The grave clothes were neatly arranged and the head cloth was folded separately. These small details make no sense if the disciples stole the body. Would they really take time to unwrap Jesus’ body? Would they really want to carry His dead, naked body?

No body – No body has ever been produced and you can bet the Jews wanted to produce one. They were willing to pay Judas 30 pieces of silver; how much more would they have paid for information about Jesus’ body!

Disciples’ cowardice – The disciples were mostly uneducated fishermen. They were scared for their own lives. They viewed the “Jesus experiment” as being over. They wouldn’t have even attempted to steal Jesus’ body for the purpose of hoaxing others. They themselves needed convincing of Jesus’ resurrection.

Lack of viable theories from Jesus’ enemies – Christians preached from the months after Jesus’ resurrection until now, without any logical alternative ever being offered to the resurrection. There is none. It is one of the most widely attested historical facts.

Transformed lives of the disciples – Many of these fearful men ended up giving their lives for the belief that Jesus was raised again from the dead. Where did they get this boldness? Why would they give their life for a lie?

Lying is common. But people lie in order to gain an advantage or avoid something they don’t like. I have never heard of anyone intentionally lying because they wanted to be punished. The disciples knew if the resurrection was true. Their martyrdom is strong evidence that they believed it.

Eye-witnesses – There were more than 500 eye-witnesses. When the New Testament was being written, most of them were still alive and could be interviewed about Jesus’ resurrection. Curious people would have investigated these claims. If the eyewitnesses did not insist on the claim that Jesus arose, Christianity would not have exploded like it did.

Worshiped on Sunday – Devout Jews began worshiping on Sunday. Why? The resurrection occurred then. It was the Lord’s Day. If Jesus hadn’t arisen, they would have stuck to the traditional Sabbath.

Important Questions to Consider About the Resurrection

What meaning does Christianity have without the resurrection?

Nothing special. Without the resurrection, Christianity would be reduced to a number of moral principles. Even those would have to be taken with a grain of salt. If the history and claims of the Bible are not true, then the principles are also not worth the paper they are written on.

In what way does the resurrection set Christianity apart from other religions?

Jesus was the only religious leader who ever arose from the dead. Buddha is dead. Mohammed is dead. Confucius is dead. Joseph Smith is dead. Marx is dead. Mao is dead. All of them died and stayed dead. But Jesus is not in the tomb. It’s the proof that Jesus is of God, while the other religions are just man-made.

If you come to a fork in the road without a map and there are two men there, which one will you ask directions from? I will ask the one who is alive, not the dead guy.

Why is the resurrection so important to believers?

It shows that Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf was effective. If Jesus didn’t arise, He would have been just another sinner who couldn’t pay for His sins, much less ours. The resurrection is also a symbol of the new life we have in Christ when we believe in Him. If Jesus didn’t arise, then we are still in our sins with no hope to solve the sin problem. It’s also important because it shows that the curse of sin and death will not last forever.

1 Corinthians 15:13-14 – But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:19 – If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

What implication does the resurrection have for our future?

Jesus’ resurrection gives the hope that we, too, will be resurrected one day. Jesus was the first fruits, the first of many to be resurrected. Just as He received a new and perfect body, so shall we. We can all look forward to the day when we will not be affected by sin any longer (Revelation 21:4).

The resurrection proves that Jesus is indeed the Son of God and that everything else He taught and did was true. It was the sign He gave people to prove His message.

Matthew 12:39-40 – But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

This was the sign that Jesus hung all of His claims on. Some say that Jesus was a good man or a good teacher. But He did not leave that simple option open to us.

Jesus’ claims are either true or false.

Suppose they were false and He knew they were false. In that case, Jesus is a liar. He would be knowingly leading people astray and would certainly not be considered a good man. He would be closer to a devil than to good.

The second possibility is that His claims were false, but He really believed that they were true. To make such outlandish claims, He would have to be completely out of touch with reality. He would be like a person who believes that he is a monkey and goes around making monkey sounds. That would make Jesus a lunatic, certainly not worthy of our commitment.

The final possibility is that Jesus’ claims were indeed true. He is precisely who He claimed to be and He is therefore the Lord. If, after weighing the evidence, you come to this conclusion, then the only response that makes any sense is to repent of your sins and commit to living your life for Him.

John 11:25 – Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.”

Application – Have you placed your faith in Jesus?

III. Later addition of Mark (9-20)

Discussion Questions

• Why are these verses in brackets?
• Were these verses in the original gospel of Mark? What evidence can you give for or against their inclusion?
• Why are two separate endings mentioned here?
• How did we get the Bible we are holding in our hands now?
• If an unbeliever tells you the idea that the Bible has changed many times throughout history and that what we have now is not the original Bible and is therefore untrustworthy, what will you tell them?
• Is it reliable? Does this questionable ending of Mark cast doubt on the reliability of the Bible? Why or why not?

Verse by Verse Commentary

We have far more ancient manuscripts with parts of the Bible than we do with other historical books like Homer or the Iliad.

1. We have more than 500 manuscripts containing part of the Old Testament.
2. We have more than 5000 manuscripts containing part of the New Testament.
3. We have more than 800 manuscripts containing part of the Latin Vulgate.
4. We have more than 250 manuscripts containing part of the Syriac manuscripts.
5. We have the records of early church fathers who wrote letters and extensively quoted the New Testament (many scholars say that the entire New Testament can be reconstructed from their quotes.)

How did we get the Bible that we have today and can we be sure it hasn’t changed?

The Bible was written thousands of years ago and mostly in Hebrew and Greek. So how can we be sure that what we have today is the same? In comparison with other classic books from history, there are far more manuscripts of the Old and New Testaments than any other book (over five thousand early copies of all or part of the New Testament and over five hundred. In some cases, these manuscripts were copied very soon after the original writings were written. The Jews had a very strict system for copying sacred writings. It was so strict that many copies were burned by the scribes because they weren’t copied accurately enough. The ones that are left are extremely accurate.

These early copies are then used by textual critics and compared to each other in order to get as close to the original text as possible. It is a science and it can be done with an extremely high degree of accuracy. For example, if nine out of ten manuscripts have one spelling and the other manuscript is missing a letter, then the original word and meaning can be clearly seen and the missing letter in one manuscript could be correctly judged as a transcriber error.

Next, teams of experts translate them into the native languages of countries all over the world. Thus, every new version is not a new Bible. Translators always go back to the early manuscripts we have, which are still available. There are different translations as modern language evolves. My kids use a different vocabulary than I do.

Dead Sea Scrolls – One important evidence showing that the Bible hasn’t changed over the years is the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were found in 1947. A Beduin shepherd was playing, throwing rocks into a cave, when he heard something break. After going to investigate, he found a number of scrolls in clay pots. He and his shepherd friends sold seven of these scrolls, the first four for $150. Eventually, the caves were further explored and either almost complete scrolls or thousands of fragments of more than 900 ancient texts were discovered. Every book in the Old Testament except Esther was represented by at least a fragment. These scrolls date back as far as 2200 years old to 200 B.C. Why is this important?

Our modern Old Testament comes from Hebrew copies that date back only to about 1000 AD. Now we have a reliable and objective method to compare these Old Testament texts with a separate line of copies that is much older. So has the text changed? Has it been altered over the centuries?

The Dead Sea Scrolls show us clearly that the answer is a resounding, “No!”

The Dead Sea Scrolls verified the accuracy of our biblical texts. An Isaiah scroll was found with the same content as our 66 chapters. The text and the meaning did not change over time.

Is the ending in brackets the true ending of Mark?

There is a lot of evidence that suggests that Mark 16:9-20 is an addition added by believers after the time of Mark because they thought Mark’s gospel ended suddenly.

1. The two best and most important manuscripts, Sinaticus and Vaticanus, both end at verse 8, as do most other of the most ancient manuscripts.

2. Two church fathers, Eusebius and Jerome, wrote in the fourth century that almost all Greek New Testament manuscripts end at verse 8.

3. Internal evidence:

A. The style is different than Mark’s.
B. The transition from verse 8 to verse 9 is very awkward.
C. There seems to be no need to say that seven demons were cast out of Mary here rather than when she is first introduced in this story.
D. Verse 7 indicates that if Mark was going to record appearances of Jesus, he would have included the ones in Galilee, not in Jerusalem.
E. Eighteen words are used here that are never used by Mark elsewhere in the book. Writers generally stick to the same vocabulary.
F. The title “Lord Jesus” in verse 19 is not used elsewhere in Mark.

Where did this come from then?

It would appear that it came from someone or a group of people who thought Mark’s ending was too abrupt. Therefore, they put together an account from the various other gospels.

It should be noted that with the possible exception of verses 17-18, everything else comes from the different gospel accounts and is true.

Aside from those two verses, no major doctrines or controversies are introduced.

Some have said that Mark’s original ending was lost. Others have commented that something can’t be lost unless it was known to begin with. It has been speculated that Mark and Luke collaborated and discussed that Luke’s account completely discussed the post-resurrection events and therefore Mark didn’t need to.

Others speculate that because Peter was Mark’s source in Rome and he was executed at this point, Mark couldn’t finish.

There are many more speculations, but what is the point? We don’t know for sure.

What we have is what is written. I believe we have everything God wanted us to have. If He wanted us to have something else, we would.

I believe the ending is exactly as God intended.

Many scholars believe Mark intentionally ended the gospel this way. It creates a sense of urgency and leaves the readers with the amazing news that Jesus rose. Then it essentially puts it to them to take action based on what they have heard. It is a shocking end that forces reflection and pushes the reader to the next step of learning and growth.

Jesus is risen from the dead. What are you going to do in response?

Mark E-book study: If this is helpful, you can download our full Mark study in PDF or other formats.

Mark Paperback Book: You can also order a paperback version of the complete Study and Obey Mark study from Amazon.