Mark 16:1-13

F. SUNDAY:
1. JESUS RISEN 16:1-13

TEXT 16:1-13

And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb when the sun was risen. And they were saying among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the tomb? and looking up, they see that the stone is rolled back: for it was exceeding great. And entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, arrayed in a white robe; and they were amazed. And he saith unto them, Be not amazed: ye seek Jesus, the Nazarene, which hath been crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold, the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, He goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. And 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.
Now 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 devils. She went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, disbelieved.
And after these things he was manifested in another form unto two of them, as they walked, on their way into the country. And they went away and told it unto the rest: neither believed they them.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 16:1-13

928.

Identify the particular time the women came to the sepulchre.

929.

What was the purpose in anointing the body?

930.

Why did the women come to the tomb if they knew they could not roll away the stone?

931.

Where were they that they could look up?

932.

Describe in your own words the thoughts of the two Mary's as they approached the open tomb.

933.

Why especially mention Peter in the message to the disciples?

934.

Why call Him Jesus, the Nazarene, who hath been crucified?

935.

Why promise to meet them in Galilee? When was this promise kept?

936.

How long were the women quiet? i.e., as indicated in Mark 16:8?

937.

Who did Mary Magdalene tell about His resurrection? Why didn-'t they believe? Discuss.

938.

Please read the fuller accounts of His post resurrection appearances.

939.

What are the evidences in these accounts that show them to be genuine?

COMMENT

TIME.Sunday morning, April 9th, A.D. 30; the third day after the crucifixion and burial of the Lord.
PLACE.The place of the burial was in a new made tomb, hewn out of the rock, belonging to Joseph of Arimathea. It was in a garden not far from Calvary, but the precise location of Calvary or the sepulcher is unknown to man. It is almost certain, however, that it was not where here now stands the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

PARALLEL ACCOUNTS.Matthew 28:1-8. Luke 24:1-11. Joh. 20:1-21.

INTERVENING HISTORY.Soon after the Lord's death the chief priests came to Pilate, requesting that the bodies might be taken down before sunset, because the next day was the Sabbath. Obtaining their request, the legs of the two malefactors are broken to hasten their death; but Jesus, being found already dead, is pierced with a spear in the side. At this time Joseph of Arimathea goes to Pilate, and informing him that Jesus was already dead, asks his body for burial; and Pilate, after satisfying himself that he was actually dead, orders the body to be given him. Aided by Nicodemus, Joseph took the body, and winding it in linen cloths with spices, laid it in his own sepulcher, in a garden near the cross and shut up the sepulcher. Some women beheld where he was laid, and, returning home, prepared spices and ointments, that they might embalm him after the Sabbath was past. During the Sabbath the council obtains permission from Pilate to seal up the sepulcher, and to place a watch, lest the disciples should steal the body.S. J. Andrews.

OUTLINE.1. The Women at the Sepulcher. 2. The Angel's Message. 3. The Risen Saviour.

ANALYSIS

I.

THE WOMEN AT THE SEPULCHER, Mark 16:1-4.

1.

The Women Come with Spices. Mark 16:1; Luke 24:2.

2.

Visit to the Sepulcher Sunday Morning. Mark 16:2; Matthew 28:1; Luke 24:1; John 20:1.

3.

The Stone Rolled Away, Mark 16:4; Matthew 28:2; Luke 24:2; John 20:1.

II.

THE ANGEL'S MESSAGE, Mark 16:5-8.

1.

The Angel in the Sepulcher. Mark 16:5; Matthew 28:2; Luke 24:4.

2.

The Angel's Message. Mark 16:6; Matthew 28:5; Luke 24:6.

3.

The Women Flee from the Sepulcher. Mark 16:8; Matthew 28:8; Luke 24:9.

III.

THE RISEN SAVIOR, Mark 16:9-13.

1.

The Lord Appears to Mary Magdalene. Mark 16:9; Matthew 28:9; John 20:14.

2.

The Unbelief of the Disciples. Mark 16:11.

3.

Appears to two Disciples. Mark 16:12; Luke 24:15.

INTRODUCTION

Nothing stands more historically certain than that Jesus rose from the dead and appeared again to his followers, or than that their seeing him thus again was the beginning of a higher faith, and of all their Christian work in the world. It is equally certain that they thus saw him, not as a common man, or as a shade or ghost risen from the grave; but as the Only Son of Godalready more than man at once in nature and power; and that all who thus beheld him recognized at once and instinctively his unique divine dignity, and firmly believed in it henceforth. The twelve and others had, indeed, learned to look on him, even in life, as the True Messianic King and the Son of God, but from the moment of his reappearing, they recognized more clearly and fully the divine side of his nature, and saw in him the conqueror of death. Yet the two pictures of him thus fixed in their minds were in their essence identical. That former familiar appearance of the earthly Christ, and this higher vision of him, with its depth of emotion and ecstatic joy, were so inter-related that, even in the first days or weeks after his death, they could never have seen in him the Heavenly Messiah, if they had not first known him so well as the earthly.Ewald.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

I.

THE WOMAN AT THE SEPULCHER.

Mark 16:1. When the sabbath was past. The seventh day of the week, Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. The first day of the week, Sunday, is never the Sabbath in the Scriptures, but the Lord's day, or the first day. The Sabbath ended at sunset according to Jewish ideas. Much as these women loved the Lord they waited until the Sabbath was over before they come to the sepulcher. Mary Magdalene. We find that Mark mentions Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James, and Salome. Luke mentions Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James, and Joanna, and others with them. John mentions Mary Magdalene only. What shall we conclude from these discrepancies? Do the evangelists speak in general terms, giving the names of certain prominent members only of the party, without designing to enumerate all; or do they refer to two or more distinct parties, who visited the sepulcher at different times? The former is much the more probable. Had bought sweet spices. Consisting of myrrh, aloes and other preventives of putrefaction, and odorous perfumes. These spices had been prepared upon the previous Friday evening.Whedon. Anoint him. This had not been done as yet. Nicodemus (John 19:40) had only wrapped the body hurriedly in the spices with the linen cloths.Alford. It was customary among the Jews, as a mark of honor to the deceased, after washing the corpse, to anoint it with certain perfumes, or to enclose them in the grave-clothes in which the body was wrapped. They were sometimes also burned as an incense. The hurried burial had not permitted this anointing to be completed; it had been commenced by Nicodemus at the time of the interment (John 19:39-40). Perhaps the women were ignorant of that; perhaps they wished to add their own offerings. The aromatics employed for this purpose appear from John to have been aloes and myrrh.Abbott.

Mark 16:2. And very early in the morning. All the four accounts agree that the visit of the women was very early Sunday morning, about dawn. The spices had probably been gathered in the night, after the Sabbath had ended. Came unto the sepulcher. Salome, the wife of Zebedee, had a home in Jerusalem; Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, had her home doubtless in Herod's palace on Mount Zion. These and the two Marys seem to have gathered the spices in concert and to have come together.

Mark 16:3. Who shall roll us away the stone? They seem not to have known of the deputation of the Jewish rulers, which had gone to Pilate, and secured the sealing of the stone and the setting of the watch over the tomb (Matthew 27:62-66). Hence, their only anxiety was how they should get the great stone removed from the mouth of the sepulcher. Keep in mind that the tomb was not a grave, but a cavity hewn in the side of the rocky cliff, with a door that was closed with a stone.

Mark 16:4. The stone was rolled away. Matthew says that an angel came and rolled it away, and that there was an earthquake; but the grave was not opened by the commotion or earthquake, but the commotion or earthquake accompanied the rolling back of the stone. It is not necessary to suppose that the resurrection accompanied the earthquake. It was not for him, to whom (John 20:19-20) the stone was no hindrance, but for the women and the disciples, that it was rolled away. Often the difficulties we picture before us in the path of duty are removed. The stone is rolled away.

II.

THE ANGEL'S MESSAGE.

Mark 16:5. And entering into the sepulchre. Mary Magdalene seeing the stone rolled away, and supposing the body had been removed by the Jews, runs to find Peter and John (John 20:1-2). The other women proceed to the sepulcher, and enter. Saw a young man. Matthew calls him an angel. Luke says that there were two who stood; i.e., appeared suddenly. Besides, they might easily have both sat and stood during the interview; might have been both outside and inside at different moments; and they might have been seen both singly and together in the sudden and shifting apparition.Jacobus. Sitting on the right side. As they entered, apparently. He might be sitting on one of the ledges or platforms which are common in the Oriental sepulchres, and which are convenient for the accommodation of the body during the process of anointing.Morison, In a long white garment. Matthew says it was white as snow, and his countenance was like lightning. The white raiment was a symbol of purity and of fellowship with God (Revelation 3:4-5; Revelation 3:18; Revelation 4:4; Revelation 6:11; Revelation 7:9-13). Affrighted. Rather filled with awe and amazement.

Mark 16:6. Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus the Nazarene, the crucified, is not a mere description of the person, but a pointed allusion to his extreme humiliation, summed up in the name Nazarene (Matthew 2:23), and terminating in his crucifixion. Behold the place where they laid him. Pointing, doubtless, to the particular cell in the wall of the tomb. This implies that the angel was in the tomb.

Mark 16:7. Tell his disciples and Peter. Observe, that as Christ's first appearance is to Mary Magdalene (John 20:18), out of whom he had cast seven devils, so his special message is to Peter, who had denied him.Abbott. A touching commentary on our Saviour's saying that he came to save sinners. Tell Peter, for it will be news more welcome to him than to any of them; for he is in sorrow for sin, and he will be afraid lest the joy of this good news do not belong to him.Matthew Henry. He goeth before you into Galilee. Where the Lord had promised just before his death to meet his disciples after the resurrection. Indeed (Matthew 26:32) he used almost this very language in his prediction, After I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.

Mark 16:8. Neither said they anything to any man; i.e., on their way to tell the disciples. For, says Dr. Wells, they were afraid to stay, and not to hasten all they could to the apostles. They were in a tumult of commotion, and could not pause by the way to speak to any. Observe, in their haste here to tell the story of the resurrection, an illustration of the spirit which should always actuate the disciples of Christ.

III. THE RISEN SAVIOR.

Mark 16:9. He appeared first to Mary Magdalene. This appearance is described more fully in John 20:11-17. Mary Magdalene, on finding the tomb empty, went away immediately to inform Peter and John, leaving the other women at the tomb. Soon after these had left, Peter and John arrive in haste, followed by Mary Magdalene. The disciples examine the tomb, and depart, leaving Mary near the sepulchre. While weeping there she looks in, and sees two angels, who speak with her; then, turning back, she sees Jesus himself, whom she thinks to be the gardener, for the tomb was in a garden. She recognizes him by the tone in which he speaks her name, Out of whom he had cast seven devils. Recorded in Luke 8:2.

Mark 16:10. And she went. While she was going to tell the disciples, Jesus appeared to the other women, who had started before on the same errand (Matthew 28:9-10). Possibly Mary had joined the others by this time. As they mourned and wept. It seemed to them that not only had their Friend gone, but every hope of salvation, and of the promised coming of the kingdom of God, had departed with him.

Mark 16:11. They. believed not. Perhaps the fact that he had not appeared to any of the apostles had something to do with the incredulity of the latter, for it is natural to suppose that he would first manifest himself to them. Accordingly we find that it was the testimony of Peter that convinced them (Luke 24:34). In the entire remainder of the chapter Mark gives three appearances of our Saviour which illustrate the matter of the unbelief which his resurrection had to overcome in the minds of the apostles, First of all, to Mary Magdalene, whose narrative was discredited; after that to the two from Emmaus, whose account was also disbelieved; and afterward (or rather, finally, Mark 16:14) to the whole eleven, whom he upbraided with their unbelief.

Mark 16:12. After that. This second appearance of Jesus is more fully described in Luke 24:13. The place in the country was Emmaus, some eight miles from Jerusalem. Dr. Thomson identifies Emmaus with the present Kuriet el-' Aineb, situated on the road to Joppa, on the dividing ridge between plain and mountain.

Mark 16:13. Neither believed they them. Their skepticism affords just ground for our belief. Their testimony is the testimony of incredulous and scrutinizing witnesses. They seemed to have forgotten that he said he would rise again. It was while they were discussing the story of the two disciples who had seen him at Emmaus that the Lord appeared in their midst and upbraided their unbelief (Luke 24:36).

FACT QUESTIONS 16:1-13

1167.

Wherever Calvary was located we are sure it is not in one placewhere?

1168.

Who started the action in getting the bodies down from the cross before sunset? Why pierce the side of Jesus?

1169.

When was the watch set at the door of the tomb?

1170.

Is it ever proper to call Sunday the Sabbath?

1171.

How shall we account for the differences in the records of the evangelists as to who came to the tomb?

1172.

What was the purpose in the custom of anointing the body?

1173.

It would add reality to this account if you knew the particular fragrances from each of the perfumes and ointments. Look it up in a Bible Dictionary.

1174.

Who among the women lived in Jerusalemand could thus conveniently gather the spices?

1175.

What didn-'t the women know about the tomb? Was this providential.

1176.

How was the stone rolled away? Did the earthquake accompany the resurrection?

1177.

Jesus did not need the stone rolled away to rise from the deadwhy, then, was it?

1178.

Mary Magdalene does not go all the way to the sepulchrewhere does she go?

1179.

Show how the accounts of the appearing of two angels can be harmonized. How was the angel dressed?

1180.

What implied the angel was in the tomb?

1181.

What is a touching commentary on our Saviour's saying that He came to save sinners?

1182.

Read Matthew 26:32 and show its connection with the words of the angel.

1183.

What is meant by the expression neither said they anything to any man? What example is in this for us?

1184.

Describe in your own words the activity of Mary at the tombi.e., from her first visit until Jesus appeared to her.

1185.

When and where did Jesus appear to the other women including Mary Magdalene?

1186.

The fact that Jesus did not first appear to the apostles affected the womenhow?

1187.

Jesus had much unbelief to overcome in the minds of His apostlesshow examples.

1188.

What was being discussed by the apostles when the Lord appeared to them in the upper room? (Cf. Luke 24:36.)