Mark - Chapter 16
16:1-5
The Resurrection:
The women followers come to the tomb and discover it is empty and meet there a special messenger. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bring spices to the tomb, which would be done to offset and shield the odor of decomposition of the body, which was Jewish tradition. They worry who will roll away the stone from the tomb to allow their entry. They took this task when the Sabbath was past, meaning Saturday night had ended and it was early on the first day of the Jewish week, Sunday.
The stone was not rolled away to let Jesus out. We know from later accounts that in His risen body Jesus passed through walls and doors (John 20:19). The tomb was opened to show all that he had risen from the dead. The women see an angel in the likeness of human form who gives them a contrasting picture between what Jesus was and what he now is. He has been raised from the dead. We have several accounts of humans being returned from death, such as Lazarus and the widow's son raised by Elijah but all who were returned were brought back in the same body they had before death. In Jesus we see true resurrection, which is not just living again, but is living again in a new body, one prepared and ready for eternity, never to die again. The angel tells the women to look at the place where they laid Him. So now the testimony of an angel had added to it the proof of sight to these witnesses that he was truly gone.
Romans 1:4 teaches us now Jesus was the Son of God with power. 1st Thessalonians 4:14 teaches us the promise that we also will return with Him as He became after resurrection. We shall be like Him.
16:7-8
The Message:
The angel says to the women go and tell His disciples and Peter that He has gone into Galilee where you will see Him just as he said to you. What Jesus promises He delivers. The women leave being filled with trembling and amazement. The actual Greek word here is ecstasy. They said nothing among themselves but did report back to the disciples (Mark 16:11 & Luke 24:9).
16:9-20
The End of Mark:
In many early editions of scripture the last 12 verses of Mark did not exist. There remains debate as to whether these verses are proper to be included.
The two oldest Greek manuscripts existing (dated 325 A.D. & 340 A. D) do not include these verses. Other versions dated after these two show the verses with an asterisk (*) next to them to indicate they were added. Many modern scholars seem to argue that these verses were not in the original writing.
However, more than a few early writers accepted the verses are part of the gospel:
Papias (wrote in 100 A.D.) quoted Mark 16:18.
Justin Martyr (wrote in 151 A.D.) quoted Mark 16:20.
Ireneaus (wrote in 180 A.D.) quoted Mark 16:13.
Acts of Pilate (written 200 A.D.) contains Mark 16:15-18.
In verses 9-11 we see Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene (out of whom he had cast seven devils) but when she reported the rising to His disciples they did not believe. We cannot fail to note that Jesus considered her a reliable witness while His chosen ones showed their lack of faith even though He had told them it would happen.
In verses 12-13 we see Jesus appear to two men walking along the road to Emmaus and when they told His disciples, they did not believe them either.
(Luke 24 allows much greater detail and wisdom on this meeting).
In verses 14-18 Jesus appears to the eleven and rebukes them for their hardness of heart and unbelief. They could have and should have done better and they could not escape their own accountability for the failure of their hearts.
Here is a great lesson for us. Unbelief is a high order sin. Hebrews 10:26 teaches us how serious this sin truly is as those who commit it make void His sacrifice that conquered all sin. John 3:19 views it as inexcusable. Galatians 3:23 teaches that the promise of the Lord is only given to those who believe.
The command of the Great Commission now is given. Every follower is commanded to spread the word. Every follower cannot visit foreign mission fields but every follower can see within his own life many opportunities to share the good news of Jesus. This passage is not a suggestion but is a command. If we believe, we will show it by our obedience to this command. Jesus then gave His disciples His promise of power and protection as they obey His strong instruction.
In verses 19-20 Jesus ascends back to heaven from where He came. This view was important for the disciples to see with their own eyes, as it instilled confidence within them with a final truth that they themselves witnessed. They then began to go out and preach everywhere with the Lord working with them and confirming their words through signs.
These last words teach us that Jesus entrusted His eternal message of salvation to dense, hard hearted, and at times completely unbelieving messengers, who had failed Him and fled from Him in His time of suffering. The one who walked on water with Him denied he even knew Him. To those who the Lord rebukes for unbelief He says “... go … and preach...”. He does not wait for His church or His followers to become perfect. In the act of obedience our faith is born and thrives. AMEN