Mark — Chapter 16
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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
Women come to the tomb at dawn and find it empty — a young man in white announces "He is risen, He is not here," and the risen Jesus commissions His disciples to preach the gospel to all creation.
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.
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.
- Charles Spurgeon: Sermon: "He Is Risen" on v.6 (MTP Vol. 10, No. 599) "He is risen — he is not here. The tomb is empty. Death could not hold Him. The grave could not keep Him. He is risen — and because He lives, you shall live also. That is the foundation of everything we believe, everything we hope, everything we are." Sermon: "Tell His Disciples and Peter" on v.7 (MTP Vol. 22, No. 1334) "And Peter — two words of pure grace. Peter who denied Him. Peter who cursed and swore. Peter who failed most publicly. And the angel says 'Make sure Peter knows.' That is the Gospel — the worst failure is not excluded from the greatest grace."
Reflection
- 1. "He is risen; he is not here" (v.6). The tomb is empty. Everything depends on this. If Jesus is risen, then death is defeated, sin is paid for, and every promise He made is guaranteed. Do you live like the resurrection is true — or like it's just a doctrine you affirm?
- 2. "Tell his disciples AND PETER" (v.7). Peter — the one who failed most publicly — is specifically included by name. No matter how badly you've failed, you are not excluded from grace. Do you believe that for yourself?
- 3. "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (v.15). This is not optional. Every believer is commissioned. What does "going" look like in your specific context?
- 4. "The Lord working with them" (v.20). You don't go alone. The Lord works WITH you — confirming His word. How does knowing that Christ is actively working alongside you change how you approach the mission?
- 5. The women came expecting a dead body (v.1). They found an empty tomb and a living Lord. Where are you expecting death when God may be preparing resurrection? What situation have you given up on?
- 6. The women "were afraid" (v.8) — even after hearing the resurrection announcement. Fear is a natural response to the supernatural. But fear must not silence testimony. What fear is keeping you from telling others about Christ?
- 7. Jesus "upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart" (v.14) — even the eleven doubted the resurrection initially. Doubt is not the end of faith — but it must be confronted and overcome. What doubts do you need to bring honestly to Christ?
- 8. Mark's Gospel may end at v.8 — with the women silent in fear. The open ending asks: will YOU tell? Will you overcome your fear and proclaim the risen Christ? What is your answer?
- 9. "He sat on the right hand of God" (v.19). Jesus is not absent — He is enthroned, interceding, and working. How does knowing that the risen, ascended Christ is actively ruling and interceding affect your daily confidence and courage?