Bible Commentaries
Mark 16

Verses 1-3

THE RESURRECTION

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. Mark 16:1

In Israel the Sabbath (Shabbat) is a very important day. The Sabbath's approach and celebration regulate what a person can and cannot do. For instance, Friday is a preparation for the Sabbath and today in Israel it is quite difficult to get things done on that day. Stores begin closing in the early afternoon and by three or four in the afternoon it is almost impossible to do shopping. If customs in Jesus' day were anything like today it would have been difficult for the women to have purchased spices after the death of Jesus at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. In addition, the women were probably much too traumatized by Jesus' crucifixion and death to even think of shopping.

Today in Israel when the Sabbath ends there are always certain businesses that open up within an hour or so after sundown. It is likely that the women found some merchant open after the Sabbath and procured their necessary spices. We should note that the Jews did not use spices for mummification since this was not a Jewish custom. Rather they used spices to offset the odors of the body's decomposition.^(F1) The spices included Myrrh, a fragrant Arabian gum and Aloes, a fragrant type wood.^(F2) With their purchase, the women were thus ready to journey to the tomb at a very early hour the next morning. From John 20:1, we see that they began their journey to the tomb while it was still dark.

The women were some of the same group that watched Jesus die at the crucifixion. Mary Magdalene, probably being the youngest, seems to be the leading character. With her, were Mary the mother of James and Salome. This "other Mary" may be the same as Mary mother of James and Joses listed in Mark 15:40 and Matthew 27:56. Salome was also mentioned in Mark 15:40. Most of these women had followed Jesus to Jerusalem from Galilee.

"Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, 'Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?'" (16:2-3). We sense a great deal of fear and foreboding in these women. While it was no doubt a bit eerie to be venturing to a tomb in the twilight, there were other things bothering them. They were rightly concerned about how they would move the large rolling stone in front of the tomb. One estimate by two engineering professors from Georgia Tech has placed the weight of the stone at 1½ to 2 tons.^(F3) Not only was the stone very large and immovable, but it was sealed with an official seal. In those days it was a serious criminal offense to break such a seal. To add further to their concerns, the tomb was guarded by soldiers. We have to pause and say that although they were frightened, these were some very brave women to even attempt such a thing.

We can see in the case of these women as well as with the disciples that they did not expect Jesus to rise again in spite of all his previous teaching on the subject. Their service to him was to be final. Edwards quips here, "For the first time in history, last rites were all wrong."^(F4)

Mark, as he does in his whole gospel, is giving us a very fast-moving and abbreviated account. When we go to Matthew's account we find much helpful information that will fill-in the blanks for us here. Matthew 28:2-4 says, "There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men." Unknown to the fearful women, God had already taken care of their problems. So it is with us as we serve our God, that he has often gloriously taken care of our concerns without our knowing.

Verses 4-8

SURPRISES AT THE TOMB

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. Mark 16:4

We can assume that the terrified guards had fled the scene when they regained their senses and miraculously the tomb stood open before the women. The women now became more shocked and dazed at every turn.

"As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 'Don't be alarmed,' he said. 'You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him'" (16:5-6). When people encountered angels in the Bible, their first response was great alarm bordering on sheer terror. It is interesting that today's supposed angelic appearances hold no such alarm. We see the angel represented as a young man and in Mark's account only one angel is reported on. There was obviously more to the story. Luke and John tell us that there were two angels at the tomb. Angels are generally depicted as males with the exception of Zechariah 5:9-10.^(F5)

The angel then makes the wondrous announcement of the resurrection, "He has risen! He is not here." It is surely this announcement that really dumbfounded and mystified the women. Coffman tries to sum it up saying, "The mystery and heart-stopping meaning of what they had come to know was as devastating a body of information as mortals ever received; and the implications of it are enough to challenge and awe any man who ever contemplated it."^(F6)

It is this very information, "He has risen!" that sets Christianity off from every other religion of humankind. The world's greatest religious leaders, Buddha, Mohammed and even the great Moses died and their bodies are today still in the tomb but Jesus is risen and alive for evermore.

It is the resurrection that brought great joy and victory into the early floundering church. It is the resurrection that has sustained the hope of the church through the ages. Paul goes so far as to say that if there was no resurrection then our faith is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:14). The resurrection put God's stamp of approval on the ministry and sacrificial death of Jesus. In Romans 1:4 Paul says that Jesus "…who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead…" The resurrection was proof positive and final that Jesus was who he said, the very Son of God.^(F7)

The angel invited the women to "See the place where they laid him." This may be a significant witness to the resurrection. We know it was to John when he looked into the tomb. In John 20:1-10, he speaks of seeing the grave clothes. These were strips of linen that covered the whole body. There was something about these linen strips that make a believer out of John. The strips were apparently still intact as if the body of Jesus was inside. Obviously "Christ had risen through the grave clothes in exactly the same manner that he had arisen through the tomb. The angels had rolled away the stone not to let Jesus out, but to let the witnesses in!"^(F8)

"But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you'" (16:7). The message, "and Peter," was no doubt almost as encouraging as the resurrection message itself to poor Peter who had denied the Lord and who no doubt felt terrible. Barclay relates a saying, "The most precious thing about Jesus is the way in which he trusts us on the field of our defeat."^(F9)

We know from scripture that much of the revelation of the risen Christ would take place in Galilee (Mark 14:28). Even the Great Commission would be given on a mountain there. We can only surmise that Jesus appeared to the disciples in Jerusalem because of their great unbelief. The plan was still to be worked out in the Galilee and he would see them all there soon. It is likely that Jesus' appearance to the much wider circle of 500 people (1 Corinthians 15:6) happened also in the Galilee.^(F10)

"Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid" (16:8). How incredible it was that the greatest revelation in all earth's history was made to women. In the Jewish culture the witness of a woman was not even valid in a court.^(F11) Once again, we see the great heights to which Jesus lifted womanhood. But these women had experienced more than their minds and bodies could take in. They were overcome with "trembling" (Gk. tromos) and "bewilderment (Gk. eksstasis).^(F12) The women were so overwhelmed that they panicked and fled from the tomb. They were too afraid to speak even a word about what they had witnessed. With this amazing picture the original gospel of Mark is drawn to a close.

The NIV notes at this point, "The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9-20."

Verses 9-20

THE RESURRECTION ACCOUNT CONTINUES

When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. Mark 16:9

We immediately sense that this account is different from the rest of the gospel both in its style and content. Mary Magdalene is introduced as if it were her first appearance. She is identified as the one from whom Jesus cast out seven demons (cf. Luke 8:2). Edwards remarks here "It is virtually certain that 16:9-20 is a later addition and not the original ending of the Gospel of Mark."^(F13)

The writer then continues with the account of Mary Magdalene saying, "She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping" (16:10). This account assumes that Mary Magdalene and the other women had gotten over the shock of seeing the angel and the empty tomb and that they had rallied themselves to make the report to the disciples. We see in John's gospel (20:10-18) the tender picture of Mary meeting the resurrected Master. Perhaps after her report to the disciples Mary went again to the tomb where Jesus appeared to her. The Venerable Bede remarks here saying, "A woman first tasted death, but in Magdalene, woman first saw the resurrection, that woman might not bear the perpetual guilt of transgression among men."^(F14) Thus Mary Magdalene was not only the first witness to the resurrection but in telling the disciples she became its first herald to the church.^(F15) In spite of Mary's glowing account the disciples did not believe her.

"When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it. Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either" (16:11-13). This is reputed to be the same as the account that recorded in Luke 24:13-32. When the breathless duo arrived back in Jerusalem and told their story the disciples did not believe them either. As Guzik says of the disciples, "They were equal opportunity unbelievers!"^(F16)

"Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen" (16:14). Some of the disciples had been involved off and on in arguments about which of them would be the greatest. Now they are hearing stories of how the resurrected Christ had appeared to lowly Mary Magdalene and to the two who were not even a part of their sacred company.^(F17) Barnes says of the group, "They were not convinced, until it was impossible for them longer to deny it."^(F18) We see in Matthew 28:16-17, that even after they had traveled to the Galilee and met Jesus again some still doubted. When we see how deep was the unbelief of Jesus' select disciples we see how foolish are the stories that his disciples stole away the body and rigged the resurrection account.

"He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation'" (16:15). No doubt this statement of Jesus was made in the Galilee. In Matthew 28:18-20, we see that the Great Commission had its setting on a familiar Galilee mountain. This commission is seen by the church as something that applies to all Jesus' disciples, past and present. The great preacher Harry Ironside put it this way, "Interest in missions is not an elective in God's university of grace. It is something in which every disciple is expected to major."^(F19)

"Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned" (16:16). This statement at first glance sounds a lot like Jesus was teaching baptismal regeneration. Those commentators who believe in such a doctrine are happy to declare that the sixteenth chapter of Mark is a unity. However, the great Greek scholar Robertson pointed out that the "condemnation rests on disbelief, not on baptism. So salvation rests on belief. Baptism is merely the picture of the new life not the means of securing it."^(F20)

We might say that baptism is a very first step in discipleship. For one to spurn baptism creates a real problem with that person's salvation. Barnes adds to this, "he did not say, indeed, that a man could not be saved without baptism, but he has strongly implied that where this is neglected, knowing it to be a command of the Saviour, it endangers the salvation of the soul. Faith and baptism are the beginnings of a Christian life: the one the beginning of piety in the soul, the other of its manifestation before men, or of a profession of religion."^(F21)

"And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well" (16:17-18). While verses 9-20 may not have come directly from the hand of Mark they certainly are very early and come directly from the orthodox teaching of the early church.

Jesus cast out demons and it was a very large part of his ministry. He gave his disciples the same ability. In fact, he tells his disciples who were to come in the future that they will continue his works. He says in John 14:12, "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." Characteristically, the commentators who do not believe in charismatic gifts for today are happy to declare that verses 9-20 are not valid and should not be part of the gospel.

Because of modernistic tendencies in the church it has been popular in recent centuries to deny that supernatural gifts continue to modern times. Many preachers and teachers declare that such things ended with the first century.

However, despite what many people have said, miraculous healings continue today and they continued on in the church far past the first century. The famous apologist Justin Martyr spoke of people receiving gifts of healing around AD 160.^(F22) The church father Irenaeus (around 180) also spoke of miraculous healings and even the raising of the dead.^(F23) The African father Tertullian (about 197) wrote of performing miraculous cures.^(F24) The influential father Origen (around 248) mentioned performing many cures.^(F25) We know from other sources that miraculous healings were witnessed in the church as late as the times of Ambrose (339-397) and Augustine (354-430).^(F26)

The church father Ambrose once said, "Each believer receives gifts from the Father and Son through the Spirit according to each one's capacity to receive."^(F27) Obviously, if people today to not have the capacity of believing in supernatural gifts these gifts will likely not be given. Both Ambrose and Gregory the Great (540-604) stated that the gifts of tongues and casting out of demons were not given exclusively to the apostles but to the continuing apostolate in the church.^(F28)

The matter of picking up snakes may raise some questions for those in modern times, especially when we consider the outlandish practices of some eastern mountain churches in the US. They believe that they should be able to pick up dangerous snakes without ill effect, based on the Mark passage. However, a few of the leaders in these churches have actually died from the resulting poisonous snake bites. There is a passage of scripture that says, "Do not put the LORD your God to the test…" (Deuteronomy 6:16). There is also another passage in Ecclesiastes 7:17 that asks, "…why die before your time?"

We see from scripture that it is possible for believers to exercise dominion over serpents. In Psalm 91:13 it is written "You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent" (cf. Luke 10:19). In Acts 28:3ff we read that Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake on the isle of Malta. He shook the snake off in the campfire and went on with no ill effects. This no doubt reflects the true meaning of verse 18. Satan and his snakes should not impede our ministry.

The same principles must surely apply to the matter of drinking deadly poison. We would not tempt the Lord by doing such a thing. However, we may well experience deliverance should someone maliciously try to poison us. The church historian Eusebius tells of how Justus Barsabas, the disciple who was not chosen in Acts 1:23, drank some poison without experiencing any harm.^(F29)

Regarding the matter of laying hands on the sick and having them recover, this was an established biblical practice. James 5:14-15 commands the sick to go to the elders of the church, who will anoint them with oil and pray for them so that they can be well. 1 Corinthians 12:9 speaks of gifts of healing for helping the sick.

"After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God" (16:19). As we no doubt remember, the ascension of the Lord did not take place in the Galilee but on the Matthew of Olives at Jerusalem (Acts 1:9-11). It was a fulfillment of that most popular early Christian text, Psalm 110:1. The ascension of Jesus was certainly necessary. There would have been something seriously defective if the stories of his appearance had gone on for a few months and then gradually faded away. Jesus ascended to the glory he had before with the Father and to the new glory that was now his as the supremely successful Savior of all who would believe in him. He ascended so that he could go and prepare a place for us (John 14:3). He is in heaven now as our intercessor and as one who showers gifts upon his followers (Romans 8:34; Ephesians 4:8).^(F30)

"Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it" (16:20). We can see with this verse why Mark could not end with fearful women running from the tomb. There was much more to the story as the other gospels and Acts attest. The disciples did not always have a doubting complex. They gained faith and grew in it. In time, with the coming of the Holy Spirit, they bore a mighty witness to their risen Lord. In time, some of them bore even a mightier witness as they offered up their lives for the sake of the gospel.

POSTSCRIPT ON MARK'S ENDING

When compared to the other three gospels the ending of Mark is very strange. The ending must have troubled the early church and at some point a statement of the resurrection account was apparently appended to Mark's gospel. Many Bibles, including the NIV insert a note after verse 8 saying that the earliest manuscripts of the Bible do not contain verses 9 through 20. Several Bible scholars treat these verses differently and some refuse to make any comment on them whatsoever.

We certainly want to know why the scholars and commentators feel this way. Evans notes that R. H. Gundry may have a valid point when he insists that verse 8 was actually the beginning of an unfinished new paragraph. Some of his points are that the other gospels continue on with the account of the women and Mark's does not. He notes that Mark usually begins his accounts with a note of fear rather than ending them that way. He feels it is odd that the gospel would end on a note of disobedience. The women were instructed to bear witness and they did not do so. Also, since the other gospels relate an appearance of the risen Christ, Mark's would have likely done the same thing. He summarizes saying that verse 8 was not Mark's intended ending.^(F31)

What then happened to cause Mark to end his gospel in such a strange manner? We need to remember that the first documented case of imperial persecution happened under Emperor Nero in the years of AD 64-68. This was probably the result of the great fire that devastated Rome and Nero apparently shifted the blame of that devastation to the Christians. Christian tradition says that Paul was beheaded and Peter was crucified upside down as to his own request. He did not feel worthy to be crucified as Jesus was. We can thus see that the two brightest lights of Christianity were quickly extinguished by Nero. Rome was suddenly a very dangerous place to be for Christians. Since Mark was a close companion of Peter we can wonder if Mark was also suddenly incarcerated or perhaps martyred. Mark already had a background as Christian missionary and would surely have come under suspicion. He also had close associations with Paul. Such a scenario may explain why his gospel ended so suddenly and seemingly unfinished.

Clearly, the church in coming decades felt that the ending of Mark was incomplete. They apparently tried to remedy this by appending a statement of faith concerning the resurrection to the ending of the gospel. The church appended what they felt Mark would have said had it been possible for him to say it, or perhaps if he had lived to say it.