Introduction
Are you following Jesus in a way that still makes sense when life feels like Friday’s cross and Saturday’s silence, when the “end of the story” seems missing? The central truth I want to press into your heart is this: without the resurrection, Christianity collapses into confusion and emptiness, but because Jesus is risen, hope is restored and your life is fundamentally reoriented.
As we come to Mark 16, we take the final turn in Mark’s Gospel. And I need you to feel what’s at stake: if Mark ended at chapter 15, with Jesus dead, buried, and the disciples scattered, then the story is heartbreaking, but ultimately powerless. In fact, Paul said it plainly: “If Christ is not risen… your faith is empty” (1 Corinthians 15:14). Many of us know what it’s like to “lose the last page” in our own lived story, like a worn Bible missing the resurrection chapter, when suffering and confusion crowd out hope. Mark 16 calls us back to the beginning of everything: Jesus Christ crucified… and Jesus Christ risen.
Main Points
Are you following Jesus in a way that still makes sense when life feels like Friday’s cross and Saturday’s silence, when the “end of the story” seems missing? The central truth I want to press into your heart is this: without the resurrection, Christianity collapses into confusion and emptiness, but because Jesus is risen, hope is restored and your life is fundamentally reoriented.
As we come to Mark 16, we take the final turn in Mark’s Gospel. And I need you to feel what’s at stake: if Mark ended at chapter 15, with Jesus dead, buried, and the disciples scattered, then the story is heartbreaking, but ultimately powerless. In fact, Paul said it plainly: “If Christ is not risen… your faith is empty” (1 Corinthians 15:14). Many of us know what it’s like to “lose the last page” in our own lived story, like a worn Bible missing the resurrection chapter, when suffering and confusion crowd out hope. Mark 16 calls us back to the beginning of everything: Jesus Christ crucified… and Jesus Christ risen.
Devotion In The Darkest Hours
Mark opens with grief, not celebration:
“When the Sabbath was past… very early… they came to the tomb” (Mark 16:1–2).
Jesus has been crucified and buried (Mark 15). The Sabbath has ended. The women, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, return to finish honoring His body with spices. Notice the quiet faithfulness: the disciples are absent, but these women remain. They are not arriving with a victory song; they are arriving to serve a dead Messiah.
This is important for your discipleship: real devotion often looks like showing up when you feel nothing but sorrow. Sometimes faith is simply walking toward obedience while your heart is heavy.
And embedded here is a pattern the church still follows: the first day of the week (Sunday) becomes the day God marks with resurrection hope (Mark 16:2). Every Sunday gathering is, whether we realize it or not, an ongoing testimony: the tomb is empty.
The Tombstone Question We All Carry
On the way, the women ask:
“Who will roll away the stone…?” (Mark 16:3)
That’s practical, how will they enter? But it’s also profound. Every human being eventually stares at some version of this question: What about death? What about the grave? What about what I can’t move or fix?
People try to answer it in many ways:
- “This life is all there is; you simply cease.”
- “Science will solve it, some technological immortality.”
- “Religion will solve it, good works, karma, reincarnation, earning favor.”
But Mark is about to show you that the stone is not ultimately moved by human ingenuity, spirituality, or effort. The core issue isn’t whether you can cope with death, it’s whether God has acted on death.
God Moves What We Cannot
When they arrive:
“They saw that the stone had been rolled away” (Mark 16:4).
Mark adds, “for it was very large.” In other words: they didn’t do this. This wasn’t wishful thinking. And it didn’t “just happen.” God intervened.
Hear me carefully, because this touches the heart of the gospel: salvation is not a human achievement. The decisive acts belong to God. The stone is moved before they can even attempt it.
And the stone wasn’t rolled away so Jesus could escape, as though the risen Christ were trapped inside. The stone was rolled away so witnesses could enter and see. The empty tomb is not a private religious feeling; it is a public divine announcement.
Heaven Speaks: “He Is Risen”
Inside the tomb, they see a young man in white (an angelic messenger), and:
“They were alarmed” (Mark 16:5).
That reaction is consistent in Scripture: when heaven interrupts earth, people feel their smallness and unworthiness. But the messenger says:
“Do not be alarmed… You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen. He is not here. See the place where they laid Him” (Mark 16:6).
Those three words, “He is risen”, are the hinge of the entire story. They are the foundation of preaching, the substance of faith, and the only reason Christian hope is not self-deception.
If Jesus is still in the grave, then at best He’s a moral teacher, a miracle worker, an inspiring martyr. But if He is risen, then everything changes:
- sin has been atoned for,
- death has been defeated,
- Jesus is Lord, not merely a historical figure,
- your suffering is not the final chapter.
And God builds evidence into the moment: “See the place where they laid Him.” This is not fantasy; it is anchored in time, place, and eyewitness testimony.
Grace Rebuilds Failed Disciples
Then comes one of the tenderest lines in Mark:
“Go, tell His disciples, and Peter” (Mark 16:7).
I want you to linger there. Peter has denied Jesus brutally. He may not even consider himself worthy to be called a disciple anymore. Yet heaven singles him out: and Peter.
This is what the resurrection announces for ashamed believers: your failure is not stronger than Christ’s victory. The risen Jesus is not gathering perfect disciples. He’s regathering broken ones.
If you’ve compromised, gone silent, drifted, or denied Him in fear, listen: and you. The resurrection is God’s decisive statement that restoration is possible.
Trusting What He Already Said
The angel adds:
“He is going before you into Galilee… you will see Him, as He said to you” (Mark 16:7).
Often the turning point in our confusion isn’t brand-new information, it’s remembering what God already promised. Disappointment can make us forget.
So I disciple you here: when your story feels like the middle, and the middle is messy, go back to “as He said.” He has spoken.
- He is coming again (implied throughout the New Testament hope).
- The dead in Christ will rise (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
- There will be a new heavens and a new earth (Revelation 21:1).
- He will wipe away every tear (Revelation 21:4).
Why can you trust those promises? Because the resurrection is the historical anchor: if this promise is true, His other promises are not fragile.
Trembling And Amazed: The Shape Of Living Faith
Mark ends this section with startling honesty:
“They fled… trembling and amazed… they said nothing… for they were afraid” (Mark 16:8).
They’re not yet bold evangelists. They are stunned. Hope is dawning, but fear hasn’t vanished. That combination, trembling and amazed, is often what real discipleship feels like.
Following Jesus doesn’t remove the narrow path or the cost of obedience. The resurrection doesn’t mean you’ll never tremble. But it does mean your trembling is no longer despair. It becomes the trembling of people who are learning that God is faithful, and who will later be amazed at what He does.
And this is where the resurrection presses into practical obedience: the angel’s first word is not a suggestion; it’s a command rooted in reality, “Do not be alarmed” (Mark 16:6). If Jesus is risen, then the powers that tried to silence Him have failed. If Jesus is risen, then the threats against His mission cannot ultimately win. You can obey Him publicly, even in a hostile world, because “Take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Conclusion
Mark 16 brings us to the only ending that makes sense of everything: Jesus was crucified, buried, and raised, and therefore your faith is not empty, your suffering is not ultimate, and your discipleship is not in vain.
I want you to take inventory of your own heart today. Have you been living as though the story ends at the tomb, stuck in fear, silence, shame, or confusion? Then come back to the center: He is risen. The stone has already been moved by the hand of God. The place where He lay is empty. And the risen Christ still regathers disciples, and Peter… and you, to continue the story with courage and hope.
Father, we confess how easily we lose sight of the end of the story when life becomes hard. Forgive us for living as though Jesus is still in the grave, anxious, silent, and burdened by fear. Thank You for the truth that Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified, is risen and is not here.
Restore hope in weary hearts today. Strengthen those who feel ashamed like Peter, and remind them that Your grace calls them by name. Teach us to trust what You have already said, and make us disciples who obey You with courage in a world that resists Your kingdom.
We ask that the reality of the resurrection would shift our lives, our priorities, our witness, our endurance, and our worship. In the name of the risen Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
Conclusion
Mark 16 brings us to the only ending that makes sense of everything: Jesus was crucified, buried, and raised, and therefore your faith is not empty, your suffering is not ultimate, and your discipleship is not in vain.
I want you to take inventory of your own heart today. Have you been living as though the story ends at the tomb, stuck in fear, silence, shame, or confusion? Then come back to the center: He is risen. The stone has already been moved by the hand of God. The place where He lay is empty. And the risen Christ still regathers disciples, and Peter… and you, to continue the story with courage and hope.
Closing Prayer
Father, we confess how easily we lose sight of the end of the story when life becomes hard. Forgive us for living as though Jesus is still in the grave, anxious, silent, and burdened by fear. Thank You for the truth that Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified, is risen and is not here.
Restore hope in weary hearts today. Strengthen those who feel ashamed like Peter, and remind them that Your grace calls them by name. Teach us to trust what You have already said, and make us disciples who obey You with courage in a world that resists Your kingdom.
We ask that the reality of the resurrection would shift our lives, our priorities, our witness, our endurance, and our worship. In the name of the risen Lord Jesus Christ, amen.