Mark — Chapter 16
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1When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could go and anoint the body of Jesus.
2Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they went to the tomb.
3They were asking one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb?”
4But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, even though it was extremely large.
5When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
6But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here! See the place where they put Him.
7But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.’”
8So the women left the tomb and ran away, trembling and bewildered. And in their fear they did not say a word to anyone.
9Early on the first day of the week, after Jesus had risen, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had driven out seven demons.
10She went and told those who had been with Him, who were mourning and weeping.
11And when they heard that Jesus was alive and she had seen Him, they did not believe it.
12After this, Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them as they walked along in the country.
13And they went back and reported it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.
14Later, as they were eating, Jesus appeared to the Eleven and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
15And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
18they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”
19After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
20And they went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked through them, confirming His word by the signs that accompanied it.
1And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
2And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
3And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
4And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
5And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
6And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
7But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.
8And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.
9Now 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.
10And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
11And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.
12After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.
13And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.
14Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
19So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
20And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
1And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the [mother] of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him.
2And very early on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb when the sun was risen.
3And they were saying among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the tomb?
4and looking up, they see that the stone is rolled back: for it was exceeding great.
5And entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, arrayed in a white robe; and they were amazed.
6And he saith unto them, Be not amazed: ye seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who hath been crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold, the place where they laid him!
7But go, tell his disciples and Peter, He goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.
8And they went out, and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them: and they said nothing to any one; for they were afraid.
9Now when he was risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.
10She went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
11And they, when they heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, disbelieved.
12And after these things he was manifested in another form unto two of them, as they walked, on their way into the country.
13And they went away and told it unto the rest: neither believed they them.
14And afterward he was manifested unto the eleven themselves as they sat at meat; and he upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them that had seen him after he was risen.
15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation.
16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned.
17And these signs shall accompany them that believe: in my name shall they cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues;
18they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no wise hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
19So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken unto them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
20And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen.
1When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought aromatic spices so that they might go and anoint him.
2And very early on the first day of the week, at sunrise, they went to the tomb.
3They had been asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?”
4But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled back.
5Then as they went into the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.
6But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has been raised! He is not here. Look, there is the place where they laid him.
7But go, tell his disciples, even Peter, that he is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you.”
8Then they went out and ran from the tomb, for terror and bewilderment had seized them. And they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
9[[Early on the first day of the week, after he arose, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had driven out seven demons.
10She went out and told those who were with him, while they were mourning and weeping.
11And when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.
12After this he appeared in a different form to two of them while they were on their way to the country.
13They went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.
14Then he appeared to the Eleven themselves, while they were eating, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they did not believe those who had seen him resurrected.
15He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
16The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned.
17These signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages;
18they will pick up snakes with their hands, and whatever poison they drink will not harm them; they will place their hands on the sick and they will be well.”
19After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
20They went out and proclaimed everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through the accompanying signs.]]
1When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him.
2Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.
3They were saying among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?”
4for it was very big. Looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back.
5Entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were amazed.
6He said to them, “Don’t be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen. He is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him!
7But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He goes before you into Galilee. There you will see him, as he said to you.’”
8They went out, and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had come on them. They said nothing to anyone; for they were afraid.
9Now when he had risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.
10She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
11When they heard that he was alive, and had been seen by her, they disbelieved.
12After these things he was revealed in another form to two of them, as they walked, on their way into the country.
13They went away and told it to the rest. They didn’t believe them, either.
14Afterward he was revealed to the eleven themselves as they sat at the table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they didn’t believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
15He said to them, “Go into all the world, and preach the Good News to the whole creation.
16He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be condemned.
17These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new languages;
18they will take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it will in no way hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
19So then the Lord, after he had spoken to them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
20They went out, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen.
Summary
Early on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and other women come to the tomb with spices, wondering who will roll away the stone, only to find it already open and empty (vv. 1-4). A young man dressed in white tells them Jesus has risen and instructs them to tell the disciples and Peter that He is going ahead of them to Galilee, but the women flee in fear and say nothing to anyone (vv. 5-8). In the passage traditionally included as the longer ending, the risen Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene, to two disciples on the road, and to the Eleven, rebuking their unbelief before commissioning them to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, and He is then taken up into heaven (vv. 9-20).
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- The tomb (vv.1-6): The rock-hewn tomb near Golgotha in Jerusalem where Jesus was buried. The women came at sunrise on the first day of the week.
- Galilee (v.7): The angel directed the disciples to meet Jesus in Galilee — back where it all began.
- "All the world" (v.15): The commission extends the geographic scope from Israel to every creature in every place.
Places on this map
- CalvaryChurch of the Holy Sepulchre, JerusalemGolgotha, place of a skull, was an outcrop of rock beside a road just outside the city wall of the time, next to a disused quarry used for tombs. The wall was later extended, which is why the traditional site now sits inside the Old City. Wikipedia
- JerusalemJerusalemA hill town about 2,500 feet up in the central spine of Judah, roughly 35 miles inland from the Mediterranean and 15 miles west of the Jordan. It sits on no trade route and has no river, which is why it mattered as a fortress and a sanctuary rather than as a market. Wikipedia
- Galileenorthern IsraelThe northern hill country above the Jezreel Valley, wetter and greener than Judah and crossed by the trade road to Damascus. That traffic is why Judeans considered it mixed and provincial, and why Jesus grew up hearing more than one language. Wikipedia
Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik examines the empty tomb, the textual question of vv.9-20, the resurrection appearances, and the Great Commission.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org Why most Bibles mark verses 9-20 as doubtful, and what the manuscript evidence actually shows.
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Mark -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- The Empty Tomb Changes Everything (v.6) — The announcement that Jesus is risen and no longer in the tomb is the hinge the entire Christian faith turns on. Do you live as though the resurrection is actually true, or treat it as a doctrine you simply affirm?
- Grace That Names the Failure (v.7) — The angel singles out Peter by name, the disciple who had denied Jesus three times, making sure he knows he is still called. Where do you need to believe that your worst failure hasn't disqualified you from God's grace?
- Fear That Almost Silences Good News (v.8) — The women leave the tomb trembling and afraid, and the earliest manuscripts suggest Mark's account may have originally ended right there, on a note of silence. What fear is currently keeping you from telling someone what God has done?
- Doubt Confronted, Not Excused (v.14) — Jesus rebukes the disciples for their unbelief and hardness of heart even after hearing reports that He was alive. What doubts are you avoiding instead of bringing honestly to Him?
- A Commission for Every Believer (v.15) — Jesus sends His followers to carry the gospel to the whole world, not just to a select few. What would obeying that command look like in your specific daily life?
- Not Sent Alone (v.20) — As the disciples go out preaching, the Lord works alongside them, confirming their message. How does knowing Christ is actively working with you change how you approach opportunities to share your faith?