Discussion questions

GETTING STARTED  

Let’s start with some everyday moments where our emotions shift—sometimes quickly, sometimes unexpectedly—from frustration or sadness to joy.​

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1. What’s something small and ordinary that can instantly take you back emotionally? (A smell, a song, a place, a tradition?)

2. Have you ever been completely sure something was lost, broken, or ruined…only to realize it wasn’t? What happened?

3. What’s a time you totally misread a situation—and later thought, “I had that completely wrong”?

4. What’s your go-to “mood lifter” when you’re having a rough day?

5. Just for fun: what’s something minor that you know you shouldn’t overreact to…but you still do anyway? (Traffic, slow Wi-Fi, losing your keys, etc.)

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DIGGING DEEPER

Let’s take a closer look at John 20:1–18 and explore what’s really happening beneath the surface. These questions are meant to help us see the movement from sorrow to joy more clearly, and to better understand who Jesus is in this passage.​

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1. Read John 20:1–2. When Mary sees the stone moved, what conclusion does she immediately draw? What does that reveal about what she expects...and does not expect?

2. In John 20:3–8, what details about the burial cloths stand out? Why would their condition and placement matter so much to someone trying to understand what happened?

3. John says in John 20:8–9 that the “other disciple” believed, yet they still did not understand the Scripture. What do you think he believed at that moment, and what was still missing?

4. Read Luke 24:1–11. How does this parallel account reinforce or expand what we see in John about the disciples’ initial reactions?

5. In John 20:10–13, Peter and John leave, but Mary stays. What does her decision to remain at the tomb suggest about her emotional state and her perspective?

6. Mary repeats the same statement in verses 13 and 15: “They have taken Him.” What does that repetition reveal about how grief shapes the way we interpret reality?

7. Read 2 Kings 6:15–17. How does this moment with Elisha’s servant help explain how someone can be surrounded by truth and still not perceive it?

8. In John 20:14–15, Mary sees Jesus and hears Him speak, yet still doesn’t recognize Him. Based on the text, what might explain her inability to recognize Him?

9. Read Isaiah 25:8–9. How does this promise about God swallowing up death and wiping away tears connect to what is beginning to happen in the garden?

10. In John 20:16, everything changes when Jesus says, “Mary.” Why is that moment so decisive? What does it reveal about how recognition happens?

11. Read John 10:3–4, 14. How does Jesus’ teaching about the Good Shepherd calling His sheep by name deepen your understanding of this moment?

12. In John 20:17, Jesus says, “My Father and your Father.” What is new or significant about the way He describes the disciples’ relationship to God after the resurrection?

13. Read Romans 8:14–17. How does this passage expand on what it means to be brought into God’s family through Christ?

 

​LIVING IT OUT

The resurrection doesn’t just change what we believe, it reshapes how we live, how we see our struggles, and how we speak to others. These questions are meant to help us wrestle honestly with what it looks like to live as people who have moved from sorrow to joy.​

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1. Mary was looking at everything through the “lens of loss.” Where do you find yourself doing that in real life...interpreting situations based on fear, disappointment, or past hurt instead of what God may actually be doing?

2. Jesus didn’t reveal Himself to Mary through an argument, but by calling her name. How have you experienced moments where faith became personal, not just something you knew about, but something that felt like Jesus “met you”?

3. We often want a “manageable Jesus”, comforting but not disruptive. Where do you feel the tension between wanting Jesus to make life easier and allowing Him to lead your life fully?

4. Mary was commissioned immediately: “Go and tell.” What makes sharing your faith feel difficult or intimidating in your current relationships or environment?

5. Think about someone in your life who may feel like they’re “standing outside the tomb”: discouraged, skeptical, or hurting. What makes it hard to speak hope into their situation?

6. Mary’s story moved from private sorrow to public witness. What tends to keep your faith more private than public? Fear? Awkwardness? Uncertainty about what to say?

7. Jesus turned Mary’s grief into joy, but not by removing her past, rather by redefining her future. How does that shape the way you think about your own story, especially the parts that still feel unresolved?