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Mark 16

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And 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.

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And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

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And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?

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And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.

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And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.

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And 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.

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But 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.

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And 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.

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Now 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.

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And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.

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And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.

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After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.

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And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.

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Afterward 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.

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And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

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He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

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And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

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They 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.

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So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

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And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

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Mark 16

The resurrection narrative begins before dawn on the first day of the week, with the three women bringing spices to complete the burial, asking each other who will roll away the very large stone. They arrive to find it already rolled back, the tomb empty, and a young man in white seated inside with the most important announcement in human history: don't be alarmed — you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene who was crucified — he has risen, he is not here — go tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you into Galilee, just as he told you. The inclusion of Peter by name is the personal reinstatement of the denier before any word of forgiveness has been spoken. Mark's original ending at verse 8 — the women fleeing in trembling, bewilderment, and fear, saying nothing to anyone — is the most abrupt resurrection account in the Gospels and its most honest: the encounter with the genuinely divine produces not polished proclamation but the same ecstatic terror that every theophanic encounter in the Gospel has produced. The fear is the appropriate response; the silence is temporary; the Gospel that opened with the beginning of the good news closes with the ongoing story that the reader now inhabits. The longer ending added by a later hand summarizes the Emmaus appearance, the appearance to the eleven with a rebuke for unbelief, the Great Commission to preach to all creation, and the ascension — but the Gospel's essential claim has already been made in the empty space and the young man's announcement: he has risen.

Mark 16:1

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body — the Sabbath's end (Saturday after sunset) is the first moment the women can purchase spices; they buy them Saturday night and come to the tomb at dawn Sunday. The anointing intention communicates that they are coming to complete the burial that the approaching Sabbath had prevented. The same three women who observed the burial (Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Joseph/James, Salome) are now returning to serve the dead as the chapter's first act.

Mark 16:2

Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb — the first day of the week (the day after the Sabbath, Sunday) is the day the resurrection narrative locates the empty tomb. Very early, just after sunrise: the darkness is barely finished when they arrive — the first light of the new creation's day. The first-day language will become the basis for Sunday worship in the early church: the Lord's Day, the day of resurrection.

Mark 16:3

And they asked each other, who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb? — the question among themselves communicates the practical obstacle they realize they have not solved. The stone was very large (verse 4): beyond three women's ability to move. The question is the last moment of ordinary expectation before the extraordinary is encountered. They have come to anoint a corpse; they have not yet arrived at what they will find.

Mark 16:4

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away — the had been rolled away (perfect passive: it has been rolled away and remains rolled away) communicates the action's completeness before their arrival. The passive communicates divine agency — Mark does not describe the rolling away but presents its accomplished result. The women's looking up and seeing produces the first experience of the resurrection's aftermath.

Mark 16:5

As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed — the young man in white (the same word neaniskon as the young man in the linen garment of 14:51) is the angel — a divine messenger in human appearance (cf. Hebrews 13:2: some have entertained angels without knowing it). The white robe communicates divine origin. He is sitting — calm in contrast to the women's alarm. On the right side: the posture of authority and presence.

Mark 16:6

Don't be alarmed, he said. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him — the four-part announcement: don't be alarmed (the angel's first word to every person in the annunciation stories), you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene who was crucified (identifying who is meant precisely), he has risen (the proclamation — ēgerthē, he was raised, divine passive), he is not here (the evidence). See the place: the empty space is the evidence for the empty tomb — look at where the body was laid and is no longer.

Mark 16:7

But go, tell his disciples and Peter: he is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you — the commission to tell the disciples and Peter is the women's specific mission. And Peter is a specific inclusion — the disciple who denied three times is personally named as a recipient of the message. He is not excluded from the post-resurrection community; he is specifically included. He is going ahead of you into Galilee fulfills the promise of 14:28. Just as he told you: the resurrection fulfills the prediction, confirming the rest of what Jesus predicted.

Mark 16:8

Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid — Mark's original ending (the earliest and best manuscripts end at verse 8) is the most abrupt ending in the New Testament. Trembling, bewildered, fled, said nothing, afraid: the women's response to the resurrection is not triumphant proclamation but fear and flight and silence. The fear is the appropriate response to the encounter with divine reality — the same ecstatic terror as every theophanic encounter in the Gospel. The silence that ends the Gospel is the inverse of the first line (the beginning of the good news) — the beginning has been announced; the ending is the ongoing story that the reader must now live.

Mark 16:9

When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons — the longer ending (verses 9–20) is absent from the oldest and best manuscripts and was likely added in the second century to supplement the abrupt ending of verse 8. The appearance to Mary Magdalene first is consistent with John 20:11–18. The specification that Jesus drove seven demons from her is consistent with Luke 8:2 but adds new information to Mark.

Mark 16:10

She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping — the disciples in mourning is the post-crucifixion state: they have lost their teacher and their hope. The mourning communicates the genuine grief of those who did not expect the resurrection despite the predictions.

Mark 16:11

When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it — the disciples' disbelief at Mary's testimony is consistent with Luke 24:11 (the women's words seemed like nonsense to them). The disbelief at the resurrection announcement is the consistent response of those who encounter it first.

Mark 16:12

Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country — the Emmaus road appearance (Luke 24:13–35) is referenced here in abbreviated form. In a different form communicates the transformed resurrection body — recognizable but not immediately so. The two disciples do not recognize Jesus until the breaking of bread (Luke 24:30–31).

Mark 16:13

These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either — the second disbelief repeats the pattern. The disciples collectively refuse the testimony of multiple witnesses. The repeated disbelief is not evidence of the resurrection's falsity but of the disciples' genuine difficulty accepting the unprecedented reality.

Mark 16:14

Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen — the appearance to the Eleven at the table (cf. Luke 24:36–49, John 20:19–23) includes a rebuke for the unbelief — the same stubborn-hearts language as Mark 8:17. The rebuke is not a rejection but a correction: the disciples who will be commissioned to proclaim the resurrection must themselves believe it.

Mark 16:15

He said to them, go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation — the Great Commission in Mark's longer ending is the most comprehensive: all the world, all creation. The gospel to all creation extends the mission beyond humanity to the entire created order — the new creation inaugurated by the resurrection is the gospel's ultimate scope.

Mark 16:16

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned — the salvation-and-condemnation saying attaches baptism to belief as the outward expression of the inward response. Whoever does not believe will be condemned: the rejection of the gospel is not neutral but condemnation.

Mark 16:17

And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues — the signs accompanying those who believe include the same ministry as the disciples' mission (driving out demons, Acts 2:4 tongues) extending to the whole community of believers rather than only the twelve.

Mark 16:18

They will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well — the snake-handling and deadly-poison promises are sometimes taken as prescriptive (handling snakes as a test of faith) but are more likely descriptive of protection in the mission context (Acts 28:3–5, Paul's snake survival). The healing by hand-laying extends the apostolic healing ministry throughout the community.

Mark 16:19

After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God — the ascension summary references Daniel 7:13–14 and Psalm 110:1 — the Son of Man received into the divine presence and seated at the right hand. The ascension is the fulfillment of Mark 14:62 (you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One).

Mark 16:20

Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it — the disciples' preaching everywhere is the opening of the mission to all nations that the Great Commission specified. The Lord working with them and confirming his word by signs is the pattern of the book of Acts — the word proclaimed and accompanied by signs that attest its divine origin. The Gospel that began with the beginning (1:1) ends with the disciples going everywhere — the ongoing story of the kingdom's spread through proclamation and signs.