Read Mark 16:14–20. What did Jesus say to His disciples when He appeared to them, and what do these words mean to us today?
The first words of Jesus to His disciples are recorded only in indirect discourse in Mark 16:14. He rebukes them for their unbelief and hardheartedness. This question of unbelief is not simply a modern problem. As we already have seen, the original disciples of Jesus struggled with belief (Matt. 28:17, John 20:24–29), and they were with Jesus in the flesh and saw, again and again, the miracles.
“The women who had stood by the cross of Christ waited and watched for the hours of the Sabbath to pass. On the first day of the week, very early, they made their way to the tomb, taking with them precious spices to anoint the Saviour’s body. They did not think about His rising from the dead. The sun of their hope had set, and night had settled down on their hearts. As they walked, they recounted Christ's works of mercy and His words of comfort. But they remembered not His words, ‘I will see you again.’ John 16:22.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 788.
The story of the resurrection appears in each of the Gospels. Each Gospel writer presents the story from a different perspective, but they all contain the core concepts that appear also in 1 Corinthians 15:1–8.
Read Mark 15:42–16:6. What happens here, and why is this story so relevant to the resurrection narrative?
All the Gospel writers agree that Jesus died on the day that they identify as the “preparation” (Matt 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:14, 31, 42). Most commentators understand this as a reference to sunset Thursday through sunset Friday. Jesus died late on Friday afternoon and was then quickly buried before sunset.
Read Mark 15:42–47. What is the significance of Joseph of Arimathea’s intervention, especially since all of Jesus’ disciples were nowhere to be seen?
After all that drama, the more “mundane” things happen next. For starters, dead people always have to be buried. But several factors in what follows are quite touching spiritually, and others are extremely important historically.
Read Mark 15:33–41. What are Jesus’ only words on the cross in Mark? What does Christ’s death ultimately mean for us all?
The Gospel of Mark presents the cross as a very dark place, both physically and spiritually. A supernatural darkness descended on Calvary from about noon on that Friday until about 3 p.m. “And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour” (Mark 15:33, ESV).
