MARK 16:1-8-9
THE RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD OF THE HUMBLE KING
What we find in Mark as in the other gospels, though all have different details, an account of women finding that Jesus’ tomb was empty and receiving a message that he had risen. All other evidence that Mark has recounted to substantiate the claim that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, falls short of being the Good News without the conclusive fact of the Resurrection. Therefore, he reports the event through the eyes of the women, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, who have also been firsthand witnesses of Jesus’ Crucifixion and burial.
A tragic Friday had given way to a sad Sabbath day. The One in whom they believed, the One to whom they had clung, their Hero, their Leader, their Friend was no longer with them. Their experience was not theoretical or theological, but real. They loved Jesus personally. They enjoyed being with this One who was so gracious, who forgave so freely, who spoke so truthfully. [Courson, J. (2003). Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (p. 290). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.] He who engendered such love and hope was crucified, dead and buried.
Their hope seemed lost, but a new dawn, the dawn of a new day was coming and renewal and hope was in the wings of this new sun rise. The Light of new age, the hope of a new covenant was rising with this new day.
I. THE ARRIVAL [THE WOMEN’S ARRIVAL AT THE TOMB], 1-5.
II. THE ANNOUNCEMENT [THE ANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT], 6-7.
III. THE RESPONSE [THE RESPONSE] TO THE GOOD NEWS, 8.
The setting in verse 1 for the discovery is remarkably down-to-earth with the women coming to fulfil the previously omitted duty of anointing Jesus’ body with perfumes. “When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.
Sabbath ended at nightfall on Saturday. The shops would have opened then so the women could have bought the spices needed for burial. To embalm the body of Jesus they had to wait until it was daylight on Sunday morning (known ever since to Christians as ‘the Lord’s day’). These preparations are the strongest proof that even Jesus’ closest disciples were not expecting the resurrection and so would not have made the story up. Why did they buy spices or come to embalm him, if they believed that he was going to rise? Why worry about moving the stone from the door?
While Jewish corpses were not embalmed in the technical Egyptian sense (see Gn. 50:2–3 for the lengthy process this involved), aromatic spices and ointment (Lk. 23:56) were used as a mark of respect and perhaps to keep the corpse fresh for as long as possible. The women’s intention indicates that Joseph had been unable to honor Jesus’ body in this way in the hurry of Friday evening. [France, R. T. (2002). The Gospel of Mark: a commentary on the Greek text (p. 677). Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press.]
Thus equipped, the women are ready at sunrise the next morning (Sunday) to set out to complete the burial formalities interrupted by the Sabbath. Verse 2; “And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.”
The unusual double reference to the time as very early in the morning at sunrise emphasizes that the women went as soon as they could, as night became morning. “I love them that love Me,” the Lord says, “and those that seek Me early shall find Me” (Proverbs 8:17). Expecting to see nothing more than Jesus’ dead body, in their time of depression, discouragement, defeat, sadness, and confusion these women rose early. How much more, then, should we be willing to get up early to seek the living Lord? This isn’t an obligation—it’s an opportunity available to each of us on any given day. If you feel as though you’re in the dark now, be like these women. Rise early and seek the risen Lord—for these who sought Him early would be the first ones to understand and experience Resurrection Sunday. [Courson, p. 290.]
In verse 3 we find the women worrying about how they were to get into the tomb. “And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”
If Jesus had not risen, this stone would have been a real problem. The women knew well which tomb Jesus had been laid in (15:47); there was no chance of any mistake. They must have known how heavy the stone was and that three women would have been unable to move it. (Preparations for burial were usually done by women). [Cole, R. A. (1994). Mark. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., pp. 976–977). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.]
Verse 4 brings the women to the tomb. “And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large.
When they arrived, they immediately notice that the stone had already been rolled away. The very large stone was easily seen.
The large stone was rolled away not to let Jesus out. After all, He could walk through walls (Luke 24:36). Rather, the stone was rolled away to let these women—and others who would follow—in. Why? To see the reality of the Resurrection.
The Resurrection proves the validity of Jesus’ sacrifice because without it, we would never know if His work on our behalf was accepted. Then it would be a toss-up between believing Jesus, Buddha, Mohammad, or any other self-proclaimed prophet or guru. The Resurrection places Jesus in a different category than any other so-called holy man. [Courson, J. p. 291.]
The sense of the supernatural continues in verse 5 with the vision of the messenger in white clothes sitting inside the opened tomb. “And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed.”
The women entered the tomb and encountered a young man (neaniskon, 14:51) dressed in white was sitting inside. They were startled to see him sitting to their right probably in front of the burial chamber. The whiteness of the robe reminds us of Jesus’ clothing at the transfiguration.
The women were alarmed (exethambethesan; Mark 9:15; 14:33) when they encountered the divine messenger. This compound verb of strong emotion (used only by Mark in the NT), expresses overwhelming distress at what is highly unusual. [Grassmick, J. D. (1985). Mark. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 192). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.]
II. THE ANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT, 6-7.
In verse 6 the messenger reveals life changing truth. “And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.”
The reaction of the women suggests that they have met someone other than an ordinary young man. The word translated “alarmed” [ekthambéomai] conveys a powerful mixture of shock and fear [leading to a abrupt flight from the tomb in 16:8]. Such a reaction is more consonant with a meeting with an angel than with an ordinary young man, and his first words to the women convey the same impression. [Although Mark does not say that the young man was an angel, shining white clothes are usually associated with heavenly beings (as we see from the story of the transfiguration; 9:3). It is nonsense to think of him as a mere disciple.]
Sensing the women’s distress, the angel commanded them, Don’t be alarmed. They were looking for (zeteite, “seeking”) the dead body of Jesus, whom they had seen crucified. But the angel announced the transformational fact that Jesus has risen! [“He was raised;” egérthe, pass.) indicating that the Resurrection was God’s act, a New Testament emphasis (Acts 3:15; 4:10; Rom. 4:24; 8:11; 10:9; 1 Cor. 6:14; 15:15; 2 Cor. 4:14; 1 Peter 1:21).] His body was not there as they could easily see. The tomb was empty! The word of joy and hope is “He has risen.”
It is a physical event beyond human comprehension. The Jesus they had watched dying and being buried some forty hours earlier is no longer dead but risen.
The angel’s message clearly identified the Risen One as the Crucified One, both referring to the same historical Person, and it revealed the meaning of the empty tomb. The certainty of the Resurrection rests on the angel’s message from God which people then and now are called on to believe. The historical fact of the empty tomb confirms it.
All other evidence that Mark has marshaled to substantiate his claim that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, falls short of being the Good News without the conclusive fact of the Resurrection. Therefore, he reports the event through the eyes of the women, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, who have also been firsthand witnesses of Jesus’ Crucifixion and burial.
Verse 7 reveals that though the women are the recipients of the young man’s message, its ultimate target is explicitly the disciples and Peter. “But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”
The women were given a task, to tell his disciples the good news. The announcement of Jesus’ resurrection is not an end in itself, but the basis for action, which for the women is the delivery of an urgent message. That message would send Jesus’ disciples on a journey to Galilee in preparation for the promised meeting with Jesus (14:28).
Jesus intends to bring His disciples back together in a relationship that will be stronger than ever. He begins by letting them know that He looks forward to seeing them, even though they have forsaken Him. To illustrate His forgiveness, He mentions Peter by name. Broken Peter was specially included in the word of hope for Jesus’ disciples.
Peter had just denied and walked away from the Lord. He would certainly feel excluded from any Good News, from any hope of being used. If you feel the same way, this verse is for you. To you who feel like you’ve denied the Lord or ignored the Lord, the angel says, “Tell His disciples and Peter—especially Peter, particularly Peter—that the Lord goes before you into Galilee and you will see Him. All you have to do is show up.” [Courson, (p. 291).] Best of all, the disciples would see Jesus again in the ordinary everyday world of Galilee, as He had promised (14:28).
From Jesus’ first recorded public action in Galilee until the failure in Gethsemane Mark has told the story not of Jesus but of Jesus and his disciples. The experiences and the training of this group of men have been central to the gospel, and Jesus has devoted a large part of his time and effort to training them to become the task force which will take up His proclamation of the kingdom of God. In their fate the future of the gospel is at stake. [France, R. T. p. 676.]
III. THE RESPONSE TO THE GOOD NEWS, 8.
Verse 8 reveals that in spite of the angel’s reassurance and command the women’s astonishment is so great that they fled. “And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”
We might have expected Mark to tell that the women triumphantly brought the news back to the disciples, but instead he just says that they ran away (like the men had done before). This was because they were full of both awe and joy. Trembling and bewildered (the NIV) does not quite convey the full meaning here. Nor does afraid. The word should be translated “ecstatic.”
They were so overcome that “they said nothing to anyone.” [Anyone who has stood in the presence of God loses the glibness of a smooth and ready tongue. Trembling hands, whirling mind, and faltering heart—these are the after-effects of an encounter with the supernatural.] Astonishment so ties their tongues that Jesus will have to confirm the fact of His Resurrection by personal appearances rather than by spoken word. [McKenna, D. L., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Mark (Vol. 25, p. 314). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.] It took a personal meeting with the risen Christ to change a private emotion to a living faith that would witness (Jn. 20:18).
These women who were so despairing only minutes before, broken and confused about life, depressed by life, without hope for life—everything changed simply because they rose up early and sought Him, even though they did not believe they would even find Him alive.
We must not talk about our obstacles, our schedules, our busyness, our activities, or our demands without taking into consideration the two-thousand-pound stone that stood between these women and the Lord they thought was dead. Because the stone didn’t stop them, now they’re ecstatic. [Courson, p. 291.]
With this brief and tantalizing scene, we come (in the view of all but a tiny minority of scholars) to the end of the authentic text of Mark as it has come down to us. Some of the earliest manuscripts do not include: “But they reported briefly to Peter and those with him all that they had been told. And after this, Jesus himself sent out by means of them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.”
In CLOSING
The physical facts of the Resurrection are in. Jesus, who was crucified on Friday, is gone from the tomb on Sunday. Three women who expected to find a decomposing body in a tomb sealed by a stone too heavy for them to move become eyewitnesses to an empty tomb, an empty bench, and an empty shroud.
Yet the facts are not enough. Faith in the Resurrection must take over where physical facts leave off. [Empirical evidence that can be scientifically verified is only one way of seeking and finding the truth. Intuition is a way of knowing that is equally reliable for the truths expressed in art, literature, and music. But] for the leap of faith by which a person believes in the Resurrection, God gives us His Word as the way of knowing His truth. Neither empirical facts nor intuitive knowledge can finally verify such truths as the Creation, Incarnation, or Resurrection. God’s Word is our basis for belief. So, as proof of Jesus’ Resurrection, God sends His messenger to speak His word. “He is risen!” (v. 6). It is all that God needs to say. Centuries of natural, historical, and prophetic revelation peak in these three words [one in Greek, egérthe]. Angels bow, demons flee, and humans tremble before the truth. This is the Good News—Jesus Christ is alive and our hope is not in vain. Now “… in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22). The Headline for our day or any day is the live-changing News; He is risen! [McKenna, D. L., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Mark (Vol. 25, pp. 312–313). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.
