Bible Commentaries
Mark 16

Verses 1-11

36 See Psa_69:21 .

37-39 Compare Mat_27:50-54 ; Luk_23:45-47 ; Joh_19:30-37 .

37 No man could take His life from Him. All the weariness and wounds did not exhaust His vitality. At the very last He cries out with aloud voice. He laid down His soul of His own will. No mere man could die as He did. Thus it was that the Roman centurion recognized His divinity. And thus it is that the alien nations have learned that He is indeed God's Son.

38 See Heb_10:19-20 .

38 The curtain of the temple was a symbol of His physical body. It is a mistake to suppose that God was manifest in His flesh ( 1Ti_3:16 ). He was veiled, just as the curtain in the holy place veiled the holiest of all from view. It was the rending of the curtain by God which made manifest the way into the presence of God. So His rending on the cross, not the body of His humiliation, clears the way for all into the inmost precincts of God's dwelling.

40-41 Compare Mat_27:55-56 ; Luk_23:48-49 .

41 See Luk_8:3 .

42-47 Compare Mat_27:55-66 ; Luk_23:50-56 ; Joh_19:38-42 .

42 The Passover was always on the fourteenth day of the first month, and the festival of unleavened bread began on the fifteenth. The first day of unleavened bread was a special sabbath. This was followed by the weeldy sabbath ( Mat_28:1 ), so that two sabbaths came together on this occasion. The Lord was crucified on the preparation day before the great sabbath and rose on the weekly sabbath which followed.

42 The sufferings of Christ are over. His humiliation is past. Henceforth no honors are too high for Him, no glories too great. Even before His resurrection we see the symptoms of His exaltation. Joseph of Arimathea may be construed as "the heights shall be added". His name is a prophecy of coming glories. He comes without fear and takes the incorruptible body to the tomb. As the prophet foretold, He was given a tomb with the wicked, nevertheless, He was with the rich in His death ( Isa_53:9 ).

43 See Luk_2:25-38 .

40-47 Compare Mat_27:50-66 ; Luk_23:53-56 ; Joh_19:38-42 .

1 Compare Luk_23:56 .

1 In the hot climate of the orient it is necessary to embalm the bodies of the dead promptly. As the first sabbath of the festival of unleavened bread was so near, in which no servile work could be undertaken ( Lev_23:7 ), they simply swathed the body in a mixture of myrrh and aloes, until the time when they could rub it with spices and prepare it properly, for they were not aware how unnecessary this was in His case, seeing that He was not tainted with corruption even in death. At first it seems very strange that they should so hurriedly buy the spices that evening, before the sabbath came, for they could not use them until the sabbath was past. We would expect them to wait until the day after the sabbath. The reason for this lies in the fact that there were two sabbaths in conjunction. The weekly sabbath followed immediately after the first day of unleavened bread, hence they could not buy spices on it. His own teaching would give them leave to do this good work on an ordinary sabbath. Hence their haste in buying the spices on the day of preparation.

2-4 Compare Mat_28:1 ; Luk_24:1-2 .

5-7 Compare Mat_28:2-7 ; Luk_24:3-7 .

7 See Mar_14:28 .

8 Compare Mat_28:8-10 ; Luk_24:8-12 . See Mat_28:11-15 .

9-11 Compare Joh_20:1-18 .

9 "The first sabbath", which elsewhere is called "one of the sabbaths" was the first of the series of seven sabbaths from the waving of First fruits till Pentecost. Our Lord was roused from the dead on the day which denoted a finished work, not upon the day that began the weekly toil.

9-12 Both Vaticanus and Sinaiticus omit the last twelve verses, but 8 tacitly admits a longer conclusion to Mark, by spacing out the text of the last few pages, and by the fact that the last four pages are .'cancel leaves", written by a different scribe. The original conclusion of Mark was torn out, and a shorter one substituted for it. Likewise B admits a longer conclusion by leaving a blank column after verse eight, the only blank column in the whole manuscript. Our text is taken from Alexandrinus.

Verses 12-20

The reason for these omissions is plain from the character of the narrative. Failing to see the proper place of this commission, and that the record itself says that it was fulfilled ( Mar_16:20 ), the proclamation was found to be impracticable, hence was considered spurious. Those who took this commission on themselves found they could not cast out demons, take up serpents, drink poison, or raise the dead, though they might seem to speak new languages or help the ailing. This commission is for all creation. It is not confined to Israel, or mankind, but is directed to men as apart of the wider realm of creation. Originally, Adam was on close terms with the lower creatures. This commission will be restored in the kingdom. Paul, in his earlier ministries, had a part in this proclamation. While on the island of Melita, a viper fastens on his hand. The natives looked for him to become inflamed or suddenly fall dead, but he twitched it off into the fire and felt no ill effects ( Act_28:1-6 ). There, too, he heals the father of Publius and others in the island. The strange part of this is that this occurred after he himself had a physical disability and did not cure his friends. The reason is that this gospel was to be preached to every creature, and had not reached Melita before. When this narrative was closed it had been proclaimed everywhere , and was confirmed with signs following. Connected with the kingdom, it now awaits its fullest fruitage in that glorious day. Its signs reverse the curse of Eden. The serpent is rendered harmless and poison is powerless to produce death.

12-13 Compare Luk_24:13-35 .

14 Compare Luk_24:36-44 ; Joh_20:19-25 . See 1Co_15:5 .

15 See Mat_28:18-20 ; Luk_24:45-49 ; Col_1:23 .

16 See Act_16:29-34 .

17 See Act_28:5 ; Act_9:32-35 ; Jam_5:14-15 .

19 Compare Luk_24:50-53 ; Act_1:1-11 . See Psa_110:1

20 See Act_5:12 ; Heb_2:4 .