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Study 4 - Who Else was there

Jesus has died. But now the Gospel tells us of another group of people who were there. They are mentioned after the announcement that he has died.

Ask a member to read Mark 15: 40, 41.

Have you noticed those verses before, or thought of their significance?

What do you take out of these two verses?

Refer also to Luke 8:1-3.

What do you learn from these two passages about women who followed Jesus in Galilee?

Consider some of the following:

· reactions to women taking a lifestyle quite contrary to the cultural expectations of women at that time in that society

· only males being disciples – certainly the named Twelve are all men

· what happened to their husbands and families

· where were the male disciples at this time

If the group chooses this is a good opportunity to write a reflection, meditation or poem about possible reactions to women who followed Jesus, as disciples.

Read Mark 15:42,43, 46, 47 and Mark 16:1 and 2.

So, what were some women doing on Friday late afternoon, Saturday and very early Sunday morning?

Discuss this.

This is followed by the women at the tomb being told Jesus is not there, he has been raised.

Read Mark 16:6-8.

This is where the Gospel ends. The rest of the chapter, verses 9-20, has been added later.

If we take verse 8 as the end, how did anyone get to hear the news that Jesus has been raised? According to Mark’s Gospel we don’t know.

However, the other three Gospels do carry the story that the women did tell their story.

Women had been entrusted with this great good news even though in that culture they were not accepted as legal or valid witnesses in a court of law. So, that in itself is interesting, trusting women with this message.

WHO WAS THERE AT THE CROSS?

Go through the different people whose stories we have looked at.

Look at the headings to each study and say of each – were they there? Why?

It is important to keep to the record in Mark’s account of the Crucifixion (chapter 15)

As we have said before the other Gospels have some differences but for this Holy Week and Easter time we have confined our study to Mark.

We have tried to read the chapters through Jewish eyes but to see how the writer of Mark’s Gospel has been "Christianising the Jewish Passover and challenging Jewish laws and rituals".

Finish by listening again to: "Were you there?"