Lesson 3: The Resurrection According to Mark

You have to be somewhat surprised by Mark’s short terse account of the Easter story. We heard from Paul about 30 years earlier that there was an official list of people to whom Jesus appeared after his execution. You would expect these would play a prominent role in his gospel.

Instead, Mark adds a new element to the story: the empty tomb. In fact, in his shorter version, which I believe was his original gospel, it is the only evidence presented. Of course, that the tomb was empty says nothing by itself. It simply indicates Jesus’ body is missing. Matthew claims the Romans built on that to claim Jesus’ followers stole the body and staged the whole rising from death scheme.

Mark’s Gospel story reports three women who go to care for the body find that the stone covering the entrance has been rolled back. Inside, they find a young man sitting on the burial slab who declares, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.”

A few things to notice:

Mark carefully states that Jesus has been raised. It is not that he rose, but that God raised him. It is not that he naturally has eternal life, but that God granted it to him at this time. Those who proclaim the Easter story in the Bible almost always make this distinction.

You have to ask about the role of the young man. Is he an angel? Is he the young man who fled when Jesus was arrested and whose fear is now overcome? Is he simply a literary device used to speak God’s words in this mysterious scene?

If the body is gone from the tomb, God raised it as well as the spirit. We are not talking about an eternal soul living on, but the person Jesus of Nazareth his friends knew.

You also wonder about the women being too frightened to tell anyone. Is Mark trying to explain why his hearers have not heard this story before? Is he simply trying to convey how terrifying and unusual this happening is? What might seem matter of fact in the telling is actually extremely mysterious. Whoever added the longer ending included Mark’s concern when he indicates some participants still doubted.

It becomes apparent Mark agrees with Paul that resurrection is a future happening when God will make all right. He is more explicit that this will take place before all his contemporaries have died. God has already raised Jesus and will soon do the same for his followers.

Is the fact that things did not come off according to plan proof that the whole concept is a mistake? Are we justified in reinterpreting what resurrection means when things did not take place as Mark claimed they would? Are we misreading Mark?

I, for one, find making any assertion about resurrection immediately raises questions. I also think acknowledging and addressing these questions is essential for coming to some sort of understanding. Paul’s response to those who asked what kind of physical body we will have in the kingdom prompts us to think further about what we are trying to express. Mark’s answer to those who ask about what kind of life we will live forces us to ponder what Jesus means when he says we shall not practice marriage in the kingdom.

Scholars offer possible explanations for all of my questions. They suggest Mark might include resurrection appearances because he has already incorporated them into his telling of Jesus’ life. The feeding of thousands, healing of demoniacs, raising people from death, calming storms, and appearing with Moses and Elijah in the Transfiguration are all resurrection appearances explaining who this Jesus of Nazareth was. Others wonder if he assumes his readers are acquainted with the appearances and is throwing out a challenge for them to have their own by opening their eyes and seeing Jesus living among us right now. Once again, as soon as we consider their thoughts, the questions arise forcing us to continue our search for truth.

Tags: An Official List of Jesus’ Resurrection Appearances, Mark’s Sparse Account of Resurrection, questions About Resurrection, Resurrection of the Dead, the Biblical Understanding of Resurrection, The Empty Tomb on Easter