Mark 16
DorrisMark 16:1-8
- THE VISIT OF THE WOMEN TO THE
(Matthew 28:1-8; Luke 24:1-11; John 20:1-2)
1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices,–Mark specifies the time of purchase as after the Sabbath. Luke mentions a purchase of spices in these terms: “They returned, and prepared spices and ointments. And on the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.” Some think they have found here a discrepancy. We do not. Luke does not specify the time; he is only careful to let us know that they did not break the Sabbath. Mark specifies the time.
that thee might come and anoint him.–A hasty but lavish embalming of our Lord’s sacred body had been begun on Friday evening by Joseph and Nicodemus, and now these women come to the tomb early Sunday morning prepared to complete the embalming.
2 And very early on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb when the sun was risen.–Matthew says: “As it began to dawn toward the first day of the week.” Luke says: “At early dawn.” John says: “Early, while it was yet dark.” Lange translates Mark, “When the sun had begun to rise.” This harmonizes all the passages, as the beginning of sunrising marks dawn and precedes his appearance. [The Sabbath, as they kept it, ended with the setting of the sun, or six o’clock, Saturday afternoon. The stone at the sepulcher was heavy, and in the night they did not attempt to go, but waited impatiently for the coming of the dawn; and while it was yet dark they started to the sepulcher, but reached it as the sun was rising. Luke (24:10) says it was “Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James: and the other women with them.”]
3 And they were saying among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the tomb?–[These women had followed the body, and had seen Joseph place it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out of a rock, and roll a large stone to the door of the sepulcher. The stone was too large for them to remove, and as they went to the tomb they were troubled as to how they would remove the stone from the sepulcher that they might get at the body of Jesus to anoint it. They had not heard of the sealing of the stone and the guard, else they would have been troubled much more.] We often trouble ourselves in advance over difficulties which God is already removing.
4 and looking up, they see that the stone is rolled back: for it was exceeding great.–This is a reflective mention, indicating that the evangelist’s mind was busy with the thought of the relief and joy the women experienced in seeing that the difficulty, so great, was removed. From John (John 20:1-2), we learn that Mary Magdalene, as soon as she saw in the distance that the stone was not in its place, ran to Peter and John with her understanding of the matter, namely, that his enemies had removed the body. The angel had sat on the stone immediately after rolling it away, and paralyzed the guards by the splendor of his appearance, but now had gone within the tomb. Matthew does not state that the women saw him sitting on the stone, but only at some point he spoke to them. The other two women kept on toward the tomb. When they came near enough to see, they found the stone already rolled away. “There was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was as lightning, and his raiment white as snow: and for fear of him the watchers did quake, and became as dead men.” (Matthew 28:2-4.)
5 And entering into the tomb,–The tomb was doubtless a large one. The stone had been removed, and they thought they would now have no difficulty in reaching the body.
they saw a young man sitting on the right side, arrayed in a white robe;–The same angel; though the overwhelming splendor of his appearance was probably abated for their sakes.
and they were amazed.–They had come to find a dead body, not a living being, man or angel.
6 And he saith unto them, Be not amazed:–Reassuring words, necessary at the opening of such a train of wonders as they were soon to witness. Matthew says: “Fear not ye.”
ye seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who hath been crucified:– that had fallen on human ears up to that time. Matthew adds the words, “as he said.”
behold, the place where they laid him!–Matthew says “Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” The angel saw their fright, spoke gently and reassuringly, and “said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying that the Son of man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words” (Luke 24:5-8), reminding them that he had told them that he would rise from the dead, which none of his disciples had as yet understood or were expecting.
7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter,–There is a wondrous touch of sympathy and forgiving love in this special mention of the penitent Peter, still smarting, doubtless, under the remembrance of his denial. To the women was first announced the news of Jesus’ resurrection; they, like the rest of his discples, were not expecting such an event.
He goeth before you into Galilee:–Where the great manifestation of himself to above five hundred brethren (1 Corinthians 15:6) probably took place.
there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.–Mark now brings in the significant reminder that they ought to have been prepared for all this by Christ’s own prophetic statements. This suggests the deep interest that angels have ever taken in the progress of man’s redemption.
8 And they went out, and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them:–The news of the ressurrection was entirely unexpected to these women. Their plans were wholly frustrated and they were filled with fear and wonder that is hard to describe as they sped quickly away on an entirely new errand.
and they said nothing to any one;–On their way to “his disciples and Peter,” as the angel directed. We are not to conclude, because the angel said, “Tell his disciples and Peter,” that Peter was not still a disciple.
for they were afraid.–[They feared to disclose what they had heard to any but the persons to whom they had been directed by the angel. No wonder they quickly fled to their companions to tell the new and wonderful truths! They fled from the sepulcher, where the truths were revealed, that in their newness, their greatness, their far-reaching consequences, they were unable to grasp, and that oppressed their astonished and bewildered minds. They trembled with excitement and amazement, and dared not utter a word to any one, “for they were afraid.”]
Mark 16:9-11
- JESUS APPEARS TO MARY
9 Now when he was risen early–Mark now records the fact of the resurrection. Heretofore, he had only recorded the message of the angel. “He is risen.” (Verse 6.)
on the first day of the week,–The mention of the day a second time (verse 2) is significant, as if to emphasize that which ever after was to be the day of days. It is of the first importance that Christians maintain the sacredness of the day by assembling themselves around the Lord’s table in commemoration of our Lord’s suffering and death in eating the bread and drinking the cup. (1 Corinthians 11:26.)
he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.–Luke (Luke 8:2) mentions that “seven demons had gone out” of her and Mark repeats it here to show the power of love and penitence. “Mary was standing without at the tomb weeping: so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; and she beholdeth two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. When she had thus said, she turned herself back, and beholdeth Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turneth herself, and saith unto him in Hebrew, Rabboni; which is to say, Teacher. Jesus saith to her, Touch me net; for I am not yet ascended unto the Father: but go unto my brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and my God and your God.” (John 20:11-17.) She who had been filled with Satan becomes the honored messenger of Christ.
10 She went and told them that had been with him,–“Mary Magdalene cometh and telleth the disciples, I have seen the Lord; and that he had said these things unto her.” (John 20:18.)
as they mourned and wept.–They, Peter and John, had seen the empty tomb;that was all they personally knew.
11 And they,–The disciples to whom Mary went after she had seen Jesus and to whom she delivered the message of Jesus: “Go unto my brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and my God and your God.” (John 20:17.)
when they heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, disbelieved.–That the disciples disbelieved the message of Jesus delivered by Mary reveals how completely they had given away to despair; and notwithstanding the fact that Jesus had foretold his resurrection, they did not expect it.
Mark 16:12-13
- JESUS APPEARS TO TWO IN THE COUNTRY
12 And after these things he was manifested in another form–Different from what they had before seen him. In some way, we know not how, his appearance was changed.
unto two of them, as they walked, on their way into the country.–The name of one of them was Cleopas. (Luke 24:18.) They were going, that day, “to a village named Emmaus.” This is a brief reference by Mark to an incident told with great minuteness of detail by Luke. (Luke 24:13-35.)
13 And they went away and told it unto the rest:–To those disciples who remained in Jerusalem, especially the eleven. “And they rose up that very hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them.” (Luke 24:33.)
neither believed they them.–Not only did they disbelieve Mary Magdalene, but also these two witnesses.
Mark 16:14-18
- JESUS APPEARS TO THE ELEVEN
AND GIVES THE GREAT
(Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 24:36-49; John 20:19-23)
14 And afterward he was manifested unto the eleven themselves as they sat at meat;-Mark in his narrative traces the way by which our Lord brought evidence of his resurrection to the apostles. First by Mary Magdalene. Matthew notices also by the other women. After this by two disciples, possibly of the seventy. Afterward he appeared to the eleven apostles. Judas had hanged himself, leaving only eleven apostles. The women who showed such devotion at the cross and grave are honored with his first appearances. But the apostles who had failed to show such devotion are favored last. Doubtless Jesus, too, intended to show them the importance of believing upon evidence.
and he upbraided them with their unbelief–Chided—probably rebuked them sharply for their lack of faith regarding his resurrection in the face of so much evidence.
and hardness of heart,–That perversity of heart attending unbelief.
because they believed not them that had seen him after he was risen.–Mark has thus far mentioned only such testimony to the resurrection as had been discredited by his disciples, and it is true that to the extent of this testimony “they believed not them that had seen him after he was risen.”
15 And he said unto them, Go ye–Here Jesus begins giving the Apostolic Commission, or, Great Commission, as it is often called. This was given on the day Jesus ascended to heaven. It is called a commission, and properly so, because it committed to the apostles what they had not before received, the authority to preach the gospel, and to publish the conditions of salvation. Up to this time Jesus had forbidden them even to tell any man that Jesus was the Christ. (Matthew 16:20; Matthew 17:9.) But now their lips are unsealed with only one limitation, namely, that they are to wait in Jerusalem until they are “clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:47-49; Acts 1:7-8.) They were to go; not to wait for an invitation.
into all the world,–Not only the land of Israel, but every part of the inhabited earth. A world-wide commission.
and preach– Proclaim –make known–offer pardon and eternal life to the race on the terms of salvation offered by Christ.
the gospel–The good news. The glad tidings of joy. The assurance that Christ has come, and that sin may be forgiven, and the soul saved. The gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. By it we are saved. (1 Corinthians 16:1-6.) It is God’s power to salvation. (Romans 1:16..)
to the whole creation.–To every creature. That is, to every responsible human being. Christ commands his disciples to offer salvation to all men. If they reject it, it is at their peril. God is not to be blamed if they do not choose to be saved. His mercy is manifest; his love boundless; grace is free to all. The gospel message is limited to man. As man receives the gospel he is raised and elevated by it, and in turn he improves and elevates the lower animal. We find better horses, cattle and stock of all kinds in Christian lands than we do in heathen lands. This is the result of the influence of the gospel on man. As the gospel elevates him, he elevates the lower animal. This commission is backed up by all authority in heaven and on earth. (Matthew 28:18-19.)
16 He that believeth–That is, he that believeth the gospel. (Verse 15.) It was to be preached in order that it might be believed. He that credits it to be true, and acts accordingly. and is baptized–The preaching of the gospel imposes duties and responsibilities upon those who hear it. Here it imposes faith and baptism. Water baptism is a command, not a promise. Holy Spirit bptism is a promise, not a command. We obey commands and enjoy promises.
Baptism in the commission is an act of obedience performed by the believer, and therefore it is a command. This being true, and since baptism of the Holy Spirit is always a promise and never a command, therefore the baptism of the commission is not Spirit baptism. Water baptism is a burial. “We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death.” (Romans 6:4). “Having been buried with him in baptism.” (Col. Z:12.)
shall be saved;–From past sins and their consequences. Salvation has both its negative and its positive side, freedom from sin and conformity to Christ. “Shall be saved” is equal to “unto the remission of your sins” in Acts 2:38, and “wash away thy sins,” Acts 22:16. It is the new birth of John 3 5: “Except one he horn of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” If baptism and the new birth is not one and the same, then one can he saved without the new birth for Jesus said: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.”
but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned.—The term “condemned” has no more reference to the eternal state than the term “saved” in the preceding clause. They both have primary reference to the present state, and the former is the exact counterpart of the latter. Condemnation already rests on those who believe not (John 3:18), but the apostles are here told that it shall especially rest on those who hear the gospel and believe it not. It rests on them now, and it must, of course, rest on them forever unless, at some subsequent period of life, they shall become believers. In this way the state of condemnation which now exists will reach forward into eternity, unless its cause be removed, in like manner as the state of salvation enjoyed by the baptized believer will reach into eternity, unless it be forfeited by subsequent apostasy. It has frequently been observed that though Jesus says: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved,” he does not, in stating the ground of condemnation, mention the failure to be baptized as part of it, but simply says: “He that disbelieveth shall be condemned.” From this it is again inferred that baptism is not one of the conditions of pardon.
But the conclusion does not follow for the fact that baptism is not mentioned in stating who shall be condemned can never remove it from the place it occupies in stating who shall be saved. Suppose a governor of a state should say to the convicted thieves in the penitentiary, “He that pledges himself to be honest and will restore what he has stolen shall be pardoned, but he that will not make this pledge shall serve out his time in prison,” none but a crazy thief could think that because restitution is not mentioned in the latter instance he would be pardoned without making restitution.
Equally unreasonable is the conclusion in question. Equally true that there is not a man in the penitentiary who would expect pardon without the restitution required. The leading thought in the commission is to state the ground on which men would be saved, and not that on which they would be condemned. The apostles were to be concerned with saving men, not with condemning them; consequently, Jesus tells them in detail on what ground they are promised salvation; but as condemnation is his own work, not theirs, he speaks of that comprehensively by naming the one sin of unbelief which renders all acceptable obedience impossible, and is the chief cause of all condemnation. He that believeth not is already judged or condemned. (John 3:18.) One does not have to refuse to be baptized to be condemned –unbelief damns him before his refusal to be baptized. Unbelief will damn the world. A man should come to the commission, then, not to learn how he may be damned, but how he may be saved;and this it teaches him right plainly.
The assertion, “He that disbelieveth shall be condemned,” implies that all who hear can believe–that no innate or acquired incredulity can justify unbelief of the gospel. This is asserting the highest possible claim in behalf of the evidences of Christianity, and he who makes the claim is he who will judge the world at the last day. If, in the face of this declaration, any man will venture to the judgment in unbelief, alleging that the evidence is not sufficient for him, he must settle the issue with Jesus himself. A responsible baptized unbeliever is under the same condemnation with the unbeliever. Hence, the unbeliever is condemned baptized or unbaptized. Baptism without faith will profit no one. “Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water.” (Matthew 3:16.) “Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in the Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water.” (Mark 1:9.) Jesus is our model, and we ought to follow him in all things.
17-18 For a full discussion of these verses see appendix at the end of the Book Notes for Mark.
Mark 16:19
- THE OF CHRIST
19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken unto them, –The Great Commission and the instructions connected therewith.
was received–By the Father and all the heavenly host.
up into heaven,–This must have been a happy meeting since it had been about thirty-three and a half years since Jesus left heaven. He was blessing his disciples when he parted from them. (Luke 24:51.) He was borne up from Mount Olivet and a cloud received him out of sight. (Acts 1:9-12.) He also ascended from Bethany. (Luke 24:50-51.) No contradiction here as skeptics claim from the fact that Bethany is situated on the east side of Mount Olivet. He ascended from both Bethany and Mount Olivet. Jesus will return to earth again in like manner as he ascended. (Acts 1 10, 11.) After his resurrection Jesus associated with his disciples on earth forty days. (Acts 1:3.)
and sat down at the right hand of God.–It means that Jesus was exalted to honor and power in the heavens. It was esteemed the place of the highest honor to be seated at the right hand of a prince. So, to be seated at the right hand of God means that Jesus is exalted to the highest honor of the universe. (Ephesians 1:20-23.) The language of the verse establishes a close connection in time between the close of the speech Jesus made and his ascension. The same connection is indicated by Luke both in his gospel and in Acts, where, although he quoted none of the words reported by Mark, he reports a conversation quite similar to it which occurred on the same occasion and was immediately followed by the ascension. (Luke 24:49-51; Acts 1:4-9.)
Mark 16:20
- THE WENT FORTH
WITH SIGNS
20 And they went forth,–The apostles, whose unbelief is related in the first part of this chapter, and who witnessed the ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:2-4), now believing and obedient.
and preached–The gospel (verse 15). They are carrying out the Great Commission.
everywhere,–In the parts of the then inhabited world. (Romans 10:18; Colossians 1:6; Colossians 1:23.) The apostles preached the gospel to the whole world, in harmony with the Great Commission, inside of thirty-three years, and that too, free and independent of all organized missionary societies save the church of Christ. The church is the only missionary society authorized by the Lord, and it is all ever used by the apostles and inspired men. This is all that ought to be used today. It was successful then, and will be now. All human institutions attached to the church or used as aids are only parasites sucking the life’s blood from the church. Every new human institution added is only a new financial burden for the church to bear.
They are expensive besides being unauthorized by the Lord. Then why not leave them off and use nothing in the form of an organization except the church as the apostles did? This is God’s wisdom.
The Lord–Risen, ascended and exalted–King of kings, and Lord of lords.
working with them,–By miracles–by removing of obstacles–by supporting them–by giving the gospel success, and making it effectual to save men; thus fulfilling his promise, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:20.) The Lord cooperated with the apostles. He brought his divine power into cooperation with their human agency. (1 Corinthians 3:9; 2 Corinthians 6:1; Ephesians 1:19.) He gave them unparalleled success.
and confirming the word–Preached by the apostles, showing it to be the word of God–a revelation from heaven.
by the signs that followed.–The signs of verses 17, 18. These proved the message delivered was from God. They were signs that God was with them and had sent them forth to preach. [Here was the fulfillment of the promise of verse 17. These powers were not given to all the believers in the age of the apostles, nor was the power given to any for general use–that is, this power was given not to heal generally, but to confirm the truth. Paul did not heal all the sick. Some of his own friends came near to death that he did not heal. The truth was confirmed, no one exercised this power for his own benefit. Our sanctification friends will not prove their faith by their works in drinking deadly poison or taking up venomous serpents.]
Amen.–Truly, verily. So be it.