Bible Study series: Mark 16:1-8. The crucifixion of Jesus ratified the New Covenant, out of which flows great blessings (e.g. salvation, redemption, and reconciliation). Now the resurrection is the vindication of God’s Son and the confirmation of the New Covenant.
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Let’s begin.
Scripture: Mark 16:1-8
1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene and Mary (mother of James), and Salome purchased aromatic spices, so that going there they might anoint him. 2 Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb, after the sun had risen. 3 They were saying to themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance?” 4 Then, looking up, they observed that the stone had been rolled away, for it was massive. 5 Going into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right, clothed in a white robe. They were astonished. 6 But he said to them, “Don’t be astonished. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He is risen; he is not here. See the place where he was laid. 7 Now go! Tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you.
8 And exiting, they fled from the tomb, for trembling and amazement gripped them. They told no one anything, for they were awed. (Mark 16:1-8)
Comments:
1-8:
The first day of the week is (our) Sunday, and all four Gospels use it for the time when the women discovered the empty tomb. It was discovered on the third day, but not seventy-two hours exactly. In Jewish reckoning of the day, it was Friday (part), all day Saturday, and part of Sunday. We should not over-read “three days.” Go to biblegateway.com, linked above, and look up “third day.” It is remarkable how many times it means something significant and redemptive. So of course the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus would be accomplished on the third day. See my comments on 8:31.
The Sabbath ended at sunset (about 6:00 p.m. or 18:00h), so the shops would reopen, and they could buy the aromatic spices.
The young man was an angel, by the clothing he wore. The other Gospel accounts mention an angel or angels.
Here is a multi-part study of angels in the area of systematic theology, but first, here is a summary list of the basics:
Angels:
(a) Are messengers (in Hebrew mal’ak and in Greek angelos);
(b) Are created spirit beings;
(c) Have a beginning at their creation (not eternal);
(d) Have a beginning, but they are immortal (deathless).
(e) Have moral judgment;
(f) Have a certain measure of free will;
(g) Have high intelligence;
(h) Do not have physical bodies;
(i) But can manifest with immortal bodies before humans;
(j) They can show the emotion of joy.
Angels: Their Duties and Missions
Angels: Their Names and Ranks and Heavenly Existence
Angels: Their Origins, Abilities, and Nature
The story is unfolded briefly and lovingly. The three women make their way to the tomb, but first they had purchased a container of burial spices. They were discussing along the route, “Didn’t we think ahead? Who will roll away the stone? It’s massive!” They were still not expecting Jesus to be raised from the dead. They were going to lovingly anoint his body for burial, just to care for him—the body—as their last gesture before they went on with their lives. Jews did not embalm bodies, so they were going to anoint him, not to preserve the body from long decomposition, but to honor him.
Then, they looked up as they got to the tomb, and to their astonishment, the stone had been rolled away. France writes insightfully: “The women’s concern about the stone (which Mark underlines with the comment that it was [very heavy or large], though any stone sufficient to seal a tomb entrance would probably have been beyond the strength of three women) adds an almost humorous, homely touch to the scene: they had made their other preparations but had forgotten this elementary obstacle. Rather than arranging with Joseph’s servants to come back with them, they were now trusting to luck that someone would be around to help. But from the dramatic point of view their anxiety is important as the foil to their discovery that the problem was already solved” (comments on vv. 3-4).
The verb “rolled away” is in the passive voice, and so it is probably the “divine passive.” This means that God was behind the scenes rolling away the stone. Or the angel probably did it, as God’s messenger. Matt. 28:2 says an angel did in fact roll away the stone, but I like how Mark implies that the angel did this. The tomb was big enough, apparently, to enter. Lane writes: “Inside the large opening in the façade of the tomb was an antechamber, at the back of which was a rectangular doorway about two feet high led inside. Small low doorways between the antechamber and the burial chamber were standard features of Jewish tombs in this period. The inner chamber where the body had been laid was perhaps six or seven feet square and about the same height” (p. 586).
A young man was sitting there inside the tomb, on the right side, dressed in a while robe or garment. He knew what they wanted. He had been sent down by God to answer their curiosity and commission them. He proclaimed the resurrection to them. “He is risen. He is not here,” in this place. Apparently, the angel could point to the place where he had been laid or placed, because leftover clothing was there. “Astonished” can be translated as “alarmed” or “shocked” or “amazed.” Using the same Greek word that described them, the angel commanded them not to be “astonished” or “alarmed” or “shocked” or “amazed.” Sometimes we need to be commanded not to let our emotions get the better of us.
Grant R. Osborne, in his commentary, Matthew: Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Zondervan, 2010) compiled all the material about the appearances, and he counts eleven appearances (slightly edited, p. 1054):
1.. Mary Magdalene (John 20:14-18
2.. A group of women (Mark 16:5-7; Matt. 28:9)
3.. Peter (Luke 24:34; 1 Cor. 15:5)
4.. Two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35)
5.. The disciples in Jerusalem (Luke 24:36-43; John 24:13-35)
6.. Thomas and the others, eight days later (John 20:26-29)
7.. Seven disciples on the Lake of Galilee (John 21:1-23)
8.. The Great Commission appearance on mountain in Galilee (Matt. 28:16-20)
9.. Five hundred believers at one time (1 Cor. 15:6)
10.. James (1 Cor. 15:7)
11.. The disciples at the ascension (Luke 24:44-53; Acts 1:1-12)
Further, here is a supplemental table of the resurrection appearances:
|
Resurrection Appearances |
|||
| Appearance | Place | Time | Scriptures |
| The Empty Tomb | Jerusalem | Resurrection Sunday | Mt. 28:1-10; Mk. 16:1-8; Lk. 24:1-12; Jn. 20:1-9 |
| Mary Magdalene | In a garden in Jerusalem | Resurrection Sunday | Mk. 16:9-11; Jn. 11-18 |
| Other women | Jerusalem | Resurrection Sunday | Mt. 28:9-10 |
| Two men on Road to Emmaus | Emmaus seven miles from Jerusalem | Resurrection Sunday | Mk. 16:12-13; Lk. 24:13-32 |
| Peter | Jerusalem | Resurrection Sunday | Lk. 24:34; 1 Cor. 15:5 |
| Ten disciples in upper room | Jerusalem | Resurrection Sunday | Lk. 24:36-43; Jn. 20:19-25 |
| Eleven disciples in upper room | Jerusalem | Following Sunday | Mk. 16:14; Jn. 20:26-31; 1 Cor. 15:5 |
| Seven disciples | Sea of Galilee | Some time later | Jn. 21:1-23 |
| Eleven disciples on mountain | Galilee | Some time later | Mt. 28:16-20; Mk. 16:15-18 |
| More than five hundred | Unknown | Some time later | 1 Cor. 15:6 |
| James | Unknown | Some time later | 1 Cor. 15:7 |
| His disciples at his ascension | Mount of Olives | Forty days after resurrection | Lk. 24:44-49; Ac. 1:3-8 |
| Paul | Damascus | Several years later | Ac. 9:1-9, 22:3-16, 26:9-18; 1 Cor. 9:1 |
| Adapted from NIV Study Bible, p. 1754. | |||
Also see 14. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Appeared to His Disciples
The commission was to tell his disciples that he had been resurrected and that he is presently going to Galilee. “Is going” is not in the future tense, but the present. Is he walking? If so, why? To show them how life with the resurrected body was supposed to be? We should not take the verb overly literally. He was going on ahead of you (including the women). He was there before them. He is waiting for you.
Strauss writes what is now well known:
The discovery of the empty tomb by women—reported in all four Gospels—constitutes important evidence for the veracity of this account. Since in first-century Judaism the testimony of women was not considered reliable, the early church would never have created stories in which women were the primary witnesses. It seems beyond dispute that a group of women discovered the empty tomb on the third day, after Jesus’ crucifixion. (comment on v. 1)
In v. 7, Peter is singled out, which corresponds to 1:36, “Peter and those with him.” I like the idea that he is singled out here, not only because of his leadership role, but because he needed restoration. We last left him in deep sorrow and weeping (14:72). Jesus needed to ensure that Peter did not lose hope, and Jesus was there in Galilee to meet him (Wessel and Strauss; and Lane). France again is right: “The specific inclusion of Peter reflects not so much his leading role in the group as his specific and more public failure in loyalty to Jesus: even after the curse at the second cockcrow, Peter has not been written off. It is also possible (Gundry [a commentator on Matthew], 1003) that Peter needed to be mentioned separately because, smarting after his humiliating failure, he had not yet rejoined the other surviving disciples. Thus both for Peter and for the rest of the eleven remaining [disciples], the message sent by the women implies an assurance of forgiveness and restoration, the more impressive for being left unsaid” (comment on v. 7).
As for Jesus’ appearances in Jerusalem and going to Galilee, there is no need to harmonize the Gospel accounts. He probably told them to go back down to Jerusalem, after he revealed himself and dialogued with them in Galilee. Maybe they had to say goodbye to their home region (Galilee) one last time, before he commissioned them to go out into all the world. Peter went through Corinth and ended up in Rome. John was in Ephesus and the island of Patmos.
I like the description of how trembling and amazement (literally ekstasis) held on to the women. So the command of the angel did not take root completely!
“awed”: I take Decker’s word choice, who goes for “awed.”
David L. Turner in his commentary Matthew: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Baker Academic, 2008), pp. 683-84, has a magnificent section in his commentary on “Without the resurrection,” which I modify here:
Without the resurrection…
Jesus’s redemptive act of dying for sinners would not have divine endorsement. The Father would not declare that Jesus’s death was victorious and the blood shed on the cross to initiate the new covenant would be effective (Rom. 4:25).
His promise that he would rise from the dead (12:40; 16:21; 17:9; 20:19; 26:32) would be empty, and his death would be scorned or pitied, but not believed or obeyed (1 Cor. 15:16-19)
Jesus could not save people from their sins, just as the angel had promised (1:21), for he would be cursed with infamy because he hanged on a tree or wooden pole (Deut. 21:22-23; Gal. 3:13).
There would be no apostolic foundation of the church (16:18), since the apostles deserted him at his arrest and death. Yet his resurrection turned them back and restored them and made them into disciples (26:27-29; 28:7, 10, 16-20).
There would be no complete model of sacrificial living. By dying to self, you gain your soul. Genuinely abundant living occurs when one gives up one’s own life, but without the resurrection the new orientation is short-circuited (10:38-39; 16:24-26; 20:26-28; 23:12; cf. Rom. 6:1-11).
There would be no eschatological shalom to rectify all earthly wrongs and renew the world (19:28). Shalom means peace and prosperity and wellbeing, and this will happen at the end of the age. But it would not happen without the resurrection.
The martyrs whose blood cries out from the ground would experience no justice or vindication (23:35; Rev. 6:9-11). Those who commit violence would not be held accountable without an ultimate reckoning (13:37-42; Dan. 12:2). “Satan would win the cosmic battle.”
People could not hope for their own resurrection and reward (13:43; 16:27; 25:31-40; 27:51-52). Jesus’s ethical teaching said that there would be judgment and reward in the coming kingdom (4:17; 5:12; 7:1-2, 21). What would become of the thrones of the twelve apostles and the rewards Jesus promised to all his disciples (6:9-21; 13:43; 19:27-29; cf. Dan. 12:3; Rev. 2:26-27; 3:21)?
The kingdom would never come to earth and be implemented fully, as it is in heaven (6:10, 33).
Jesus’s “climatic saving act of dying for sinners by crucifixion would lack interpretation and proof of divine acceptance.” The preaching of the cross (Gal. 6:14; 1 Cor. 18-25; 1 Pet. 1:19; Heb. 2:9, 14; 9:12-14; Rev. 5:6-9) would be insignificant and meaningless.
To sum up, the gospel must include the cross and the resurrection, side by side. The gospel must be communicated with the saving power of the cross, and the proof of the saving power of the cross comes through the resurrection. “Any ‘gospel’ that does not place Jesus’s resurrection alongside Jesus’s death is not the authentic message of Jesus and the apostles.”
Scriptures for the resurrection:
Acts 2:32; 3:15, 26; 4:2, 10, 33; 5:30; 10:40; 13:30-37; 17:18, 31; 23:6; 24:21; 25:19; 26:8, 23
Rom. 1:4; 4:25; 6:4-5; 8:11; 10:9
1 Cor. 15:3-8, 12-23, 32, 42.
2 Cor. 4:10, 14; 13:4
Gal. 1:1
Eph. 1:20; 2:5; 4:10
Phil. 2:8-9
Col. 2:12; 3:1-4
1 Thess. 4:14
1 Tim. 3:16
Heb. 1:3; 10:12; 12:1
1 Pet. 1:21; 3:18-22
Rev. 1:5, 18; 2:8; 5:6-10
Thus, the apostolic community, some of whom were infallibly inspired to write the NT, believed that the resurrection was the foundation of their faith. So it should be the foundation of our faith too. Are we better than their generation?
And most commentators say that this is how the Gospel of Mark ends.
Or not.
Let me translate the longer ending, and then offer my own commentary according to the beliefs and practices of the early church.
But first the GrowApp.
GrowApp for Mark 16:1-8
1. Study 1 Cor. 15:17. How crucial is the resurrection for your faith?
2. Study Eph. 2:1-6. How have you been personally “resurrected” from the dead?
RELATED
10. Eyewitness Testimony in Mark’s Gospel
2. Church Fathers and Mark’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
SOURCES
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