Our Risen Savior: Mark 16 and John 19-21

John 19: Prophecies Fulfilled

This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” John 19:24

After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” John 19:28

For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.” John 19:36-37

Mark 16: Resurrection Overview

Mark’s consolidated overview of the Resurrection is his final chapter. Verses 9-20 are not found in the earliest manuscripts, and based on style, most scholars believe they were later additions.

Mark writes in verses 1-8 of the women who went to the tomb with spices after the Sabbath had ended. This would have been a costly decision — financially, emotionally, and timewise. But love can drives us to do things that require personal sacrifice. I can only imagine their emotions heading to the tomb: their grief, their worry over the weight of the stone in front of the tomb. And then their horror and fear to find the stone moved, and an angel sitting in the tomb!

The additional verses in Mark describe the people Jesus appeared to after He was raised from the dead, as well as His ascension into heaven.

John 20 – Peace Be With You

I have always loved this chapter of John. I almost feel as if I am there… I can feel the anxiety of Mary Magdalene as she ran to tell Peter and John that the stone was moved… the thumping heart of young John as he ran faster than Peter to see what had happened… the grief and fear of Peter as he was freshly dealing with not only the loss of Jesus, but his recent betrayal of Him.

Apostles Peter and John hurry to the tomb. Eugène Burnand, 1898.

But I think what touches my heart most is this verse:

Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). (John 20:16)

Mary recognized the voice of her dear Lord, and we know that she flung herself on him, because in the next verse He tells her “Do not cling to me.” The deep love relationship between Jesus and Mary, and the fact that He honored this once despised woman with the very first glimpse of His resurrected self, is so moving to me.

Jesus then miraculously appeared to all the disciples in the locked room in which most of them were tucked away. Thomas was not there; John chronicles Thomas’ doubt that Jesus had really appeared, and his subsequent reaction when he finally did see Jesus.

I am struck by the fact that Jesus’ first greeting to the group of disciples, as well as Thomas, was “Peace be with you.” (verses 19, 21, and 26). How well the Lord knew that His disciples needed His peace which passes all understanding!

John 21 – Going Forward in Love

We now come to the final chapter of John, and the final chapter in our #40DaysWithJesus journey.

This chapter revolves heavily around Peter, and these are the first personal interactions we read about between Peter and Jesus after Peter’s betrayal.

Jesus tells Peter and crew where to find fish after a rough night, and the amazing abundance they pull in helps John recognize Jesus (v.7). Peter in his endearingly over-the-top way flings himself out of the boat and swims to shore to Jesus. Jesus cooks some fish for them, always aware of their every need.

Jesus and Peter then have a difficult conversation, which in English might appear confusing, but when you dig into the Greek you realize that the words translated “love” are not the same throughout the passage.

“Simon, son of John, do you love [agapas] me more than these? “Yes, Lord; you know that I love [philō] you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love [agapas] me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love [philō] you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love [phileis] me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love [philō] you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” (John 21:15-17)

Peter knew he was not yet capable of agape love, but Jesus knew that some day he would be.

John concludes his Gospel with these stirring words: “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:25) 

What a fitting way for us to end our study together!

40 Days With Jesus

As we come to the end of our Lenten Reading Plan, let’s look back over what we have studied:

• 40 Days With Jesus: A Reading Plan for Lent — Thoughts on Lent and a printable reading plan.
• Why Read from Mark and John for Lent? — Some background on the books of Mark and John.
• Lent is About Love (John 1:1-18) — In the first half of John 1, John tells us that Jesus is the Word… “lofty, intangible, the very essence of all thought and wisdom.”
• What Have You Seen (John 1:19-51, Mark 1) — John the Baptist is introduced, Jesus is tempted in the desert, and His healing ministry begins.
• Healing and Controversy (Mark 2-3, John 2) — Jesus begins to heal people, and turns water into wine.
• The Son Gives Living Water Welling up to Eternal Life (John 3-5) — Jesus teaches Nicodemus about spiritual rebirth, offers the Samaritan woman living water, and continues to perform miraculous healings.
• Parables and Prerogatives (Mark 4-6) — Jesus teaches His followers using parables, and demonstrates that He has authority over the weather, demons, illness, and even death!
• Jesus, Astonishing Bread of Life (Mark 7, John 6) — Jesus continues to amaze people with His teachings and miracles.
• When in Doubt Focus on Jesus (Mark 8-9, John 7) — Jesus wants us to see, hear and remember Him, take our doubts to Him, and align our thinking with Him.
• The Truth Will Set You Free (John 8-10) — We can choose to follow Jesus and enter through the door that lads to life. Or we can be blind to the truth, which ultimately leads to death.
• The Path to the Cross (John 11, Mark 10-11) — In these chapters, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, teaches the disciples and tells them what is to come, and returns to Jerusalem triumphantly.
• Jesus: The Great Teacher (John 12, Mark 12-13) — These chapters are filled with Jesus’ teachings.
• Jesus: Preparing Us for Change (Mark 14:1-42, John 13-14) — As Jesus’ death grows closer, He begins to prepare His disciples for what is coming.
• 12 Ways to Let Jesus Love You (John 15-17) — These chapters are collections of Jesus’s words as He talked to His disciples, and later to God, on the night He would be arrested.
• Jesus, King of Kings (Mark 14:42-72, John 18, Mark 15) — Jesus was not the King the Jewish people had envisioned would come to save them, but He was the King they needed!
• Our Risen Savior (Mark 16, John 19-21) — Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension into heaven are the topics of these final four chapters.

We hope you have been blessed by your time in God’s Word during our #40DaysWithJesus. I know I speak for the entire DoNotDepart team when I say we are grateful for you, and have especially enjoyed the discussions and sharing in our Facebook community group during this Lenten season. We hope you plan to spend every day with Jesus!