6 And he said to them, Do not be troubled: you are looking for Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been put to death on the cross; he has come back from the dead; he is not here: see, the place where they put him!
And while they were in doubt about it, they saw two men in shining clothing by them: And while their faces were bent down to the earth in fear, these said to them, Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here, he has come back to life: have in mind what he said to you when he was still in Galilee, saying, The Son of man will be given up into the hands of evil-doers, and be put to death on the cross, and on the third day he will come back to life. And his words came back into their minds,
And when I saw him, I went down on my face at his feet as one dead. And he put his right hand on me, saying, Have no fear; I am the first and the last and the Living one; And I was dead, and see, I am living for ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hell.
For I gave to you first of all what was handed down to me, how Christ underwent death for our sins, as it says in the Writings; And he was put in the place of the dead; and on the third day he came back from the dead, as it says in the Writings; And he was seen by Cephas; then by the twelve; Then by more than five hundred brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, but some are sleeping; Then he was seen by James; then by all the Apostles.
About Jesus of Nazareth, how God gave the Holy Spirit to him, with power: and how he went about doing good and making well all who were troubled by evil spirits, for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all the things which he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem; whom they put to death, hanging him on a tree. On the third day God gave him back to life, and let him be seen,
Men of Israel, give ear to these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man who had the approval of God, as was made clear to you by the great works and signs and wonders which God did by him among you, as you yourselves have knowledge, Him, when he was given up, by the decision and knowledge of God, you put to death on the cross, by the hands of evil men:
And Pilate put on the cross a statement in writing. The writing was: JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS. The writing was seen by a number of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was put to death on the cross was near the town; and the writing was in Hebrew and Latin and Greek.
And Jesus said to them, Send destruction on this Temple and I will put it up again in three days. The Jews said, The building of this Temple took forty-six years; and you will put it up in three days! But his words were about that holy building which was his body. So when he had come back again from the dead, the memory of these words came back to the disciples, and they had faith in the holy Writings and in the word which Jesus had said.
And how the chief priests and our rulers gave him up to be put to death on the cross. But we were hoping that he would be the Saviour of Israel. In addition to all this he has now let three days go by from the time when these things took place; And certain women among us gave us cause for wonder, for they went early to the place where his body had been put, And it was not there; then they came saying that they had seen a vision of angels who said that he was living. And some of those who were with us went to the place, and saw that it was as the women had said, but him they did not see. And he said, O foolish men! how slow you are to give belief to what the prophets have said. Was it not necessary for the Christ to go through these things, and to come into his glory? And he made clear to them all the things in the Writings, from Moses and from all the prophets, which had to do with himself.
And while they were coming down from the mountain, he gave them orders not to give word to any man of the things they had seen, till the Son of man had come back from the dead. And they kept the saying, questioning among themselves what the coming back from the dead might be.
And for fear of him the watchmen were shaking, and became as dead men. And the angel said to the women, Have no fear: for I see that you are searching for Jesus, who was put to death on the cross. He is not here, for he has come to life again, even as he said. Come, see the Lord's resting-place. And go quickly and give his disciples the news that he has come back from the dead, and is going before you into Galilee; there you will see him, as I have said to you.
And when they saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they gave cries of fear. But straight away Jesus said to them, Take heart; it is I, have no fear.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Mark 16
Commentary on Mark 16 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 16
Mr 16:1-20. Angelic Announcement to the Women on the First Day of the Week, that Christ Is Risen—His Appearances after His Resurrection—His Ascension—Triumphant Proclamation of His Gospel. ( = Mt 28:1-10, 16-20; Lu 24:1-51; Joh 20:1, 2, 11-29).
The Resurrection Announced to the Women (Mr 16:1-8).
1. And when the sabbath was past—that is, at sunset of our Saturday.
Mary Magdalene—(See on Lu 8:2).
and Mary the mother of James—James the Less (see Mr 15:40).
and Salome—the mother of Zebedee's sons (compare Mr 15:40 with Mt 27:56).
had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him—The word is simply "bought." But our translators are perhaps right in rendering it here "had bought," since it would appear, from Lu 23:56, that they had purchased them immediately after the Crucifixion, on the Friday evening, during the short interval that remained to them before sunset, when the sabbath rest began; and that they had only deferred using them to anoint the body till the sabbath rest should be over. On this "anointing," see on Joh 19:40.
2. And very early in the morning—(See on Mt 28:1).
the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun—not quite literally, but "at earliest dawn"; according to a way of speaking not uncommon, and occurring sometimes in the Old Testament. Thus our Lord rose on the third day; having lain in the grave part of Friday, the whole of Saturday, and part of the following First day.
3. And they said among themselves—as they were approaching the sacred spot.
Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? … for it was very great—On reaching it they find their difficulty gone—the stone already rolled away by an unseen hand. And are there no others who, when advancing to duty in the face of appalling difficulties, find their stone also rolled away?
5. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man—In Mt 28:2 he is called "the angel of the Lord"; but here he is described as he appeared to the eye, in the bloom of a life that knows no decay. In Matthew he is represented as sitting on the stone outside the sepulchre; but since even there he says, "Come, see the place where the Lord lay" (Mt 28:6), he seems, as Alford says, to have gone in with them from without; only awaiting their arrival to accompany them into the hallowed spot, and instruct them about it.
sitting on the right side—having respect to the position in which His Lord had lain there. This trait is peculiar to Mark; but compare Lu 1:11.
clothed in a long white garment—On its length, see Isa 6:1; and on its whiteness, see on Mt 28:3.
and they were affrighted.
6. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted—a stronger word than "Fear not" in Matthew (Mt 28:5).
Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified!—"the Nazarene, the Crucified."
he is risen; he is not here—(See on Lu 24:5, 6).
behold the place where they laid him—(See on Mt 28:6).
7. But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter—This Second Gospel, being drawn up—as all the earliest tradition states—under the eye of Peter, or from materials chiefly furnished by him, there is something deeply affecting in the preservation of this little clause by Mark alone.
that he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him, as he said unto you—(See on Mt 28:7).
8. And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre: for they trembled and were amazed—"for tremor and amazement seized them."
neither said they anything to any man; for they were afraid—How intensely natural and simple is this!
Appearances of Jesus after His Resurrection (Mr 16:9-18).
9. Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils—There is some difficulty here, and different ways of removing it have been adopted. She had gone with the other women to the sepulchre (Mr 16:1), parting from them, perhaps, before their interview with the angel, and on finding Peter and John she had come with them back to the spot; and it was at this second visit, it would seem, that Jesus appeared to this Mary, as detailed in Joh 20:11-18. To a woman was this honor given to be the first that saw the risen Redeemer, and that woman was NOT his virgin-mother.
11. And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not—This, which is once and again repeated of them all, is most important in its bearing on their subsequent testimony to His resurrection at the risk of life itself.
12. After that he appeared in another form—(compare Lu 24:16).
unto two of them as they walked, and went into the country—The reference here, of course, is to His manifestation to the two disciples going to Emmaus, so exquisitely told by the Third Evangelist (see on Lu 24:13, &c.).
13. And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them, &c.
15. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature—See on Joh 20:19-23 and Lu 24:36-49.
16. He that believeth and is baptized—Baptism is here put for the external signature of the inner faith of the heart, just as "confessing with the mouth" is in Ro 10:10; and there also as here this outward manifestation, once mentioned as the proper fruit of faith, is not repeated in what follows (Ro 10:11).
shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned—These awful issues of the reception or rejection of the Gospel, though often recorded in other connections, are given in this connection only by Mark.
17, 18. And these signs shall follow them that believe … They shall take up serpents—These two verses also are peculiar to Mark.
The Ascension and Triumphant Proclamation of the Gospel Thereafter (Mr 16:19, 20).
19. So then after the Lord—an epithet applied to Jesus by this Evangelist only in Mr 16:19, 20, when He comes to His glorious Ascension and its subsequent fruits. It is most frequent in Luke.
had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven—See on Lu 24:50, 51.
and sat on the right hand of God—This great truth is here only related as a fact in the Gospel history. In that exalted attitude He appeared to Stephen (Ac 7:55, 56); and it is thereafter perpetually referred to as His proper condition in glory.
20. And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen—We have in this closing verse a most important link of connection with the Acts of the Apostles, where He who directed all the movements of the infant Church is perpetually styled "The Lord"; thus illustrating His own promise for the rounding and building up of the Church, "Lo, I AM WITH You alway!"