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Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 16:1

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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.

Ch. Mar 16:1-8. The Resurrection

1. And when the sabbath was past ] Friday night, Saturday, and Saturday night passed away, three days according to the Jewish reckoning (comp. ( a) 1Sa 30:12-13; 2Ch 10:5; 2Ch 10:12; ( b) Mat 12:40; Joh 2:19; Mat 27:63), and He, Who had truly died, lay also truly buried.

bought sweet spices ] Meanwhile the holy women, whom a love stronger than death had drawn to observe the spot on the evening of His burial, had returned in order that they might complete the embalming of the Body, which had necessarily been done in haste, as the Sabbath drew on (Luk 23:54).

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

See this passage explained in the notes at Mat 28:1-8.

Mar 16:1

Sweet spices – Aromatics. Substances used in embalming. The idea of sweetness is not, however, implied in the original. Many of the substances used for embalming were bitter – as, for example, myrrh – and none of them, perhaps, could properly be called sweet. The word spices expresses all that there is in the original.

Anoint him – Embalm him, or apply these spices to his body to keep it from putrefaction. This is proof that they did not suppose he would rise again; and the fact that they did not expect he would rise, gives more strength to the evidence for his resurrection.

Mar 16:4

It was very great – These words belong to the third verse: Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? for, the evangelist adds, it was very great.

Mar 16:5

Sitting on the right side – As they entered. The sepulchre was large enough to admit persons to go into it; not unlike, in that respect, our vaults.

Mar 16:7

Tell his disciples and Peter – It is remarkable that Peter is singled out for special notice. It was proof of the kindness and mercy of the Lord Jesus. Peter, just before the death of Jesus, had denied him. He had brought dishonor on his profession of attachment to him. It would have been right if the Lord Jesus had from that moment cast him off and noticed him no more. But he loved him still. Having loved him once, he loved unto the end, Joh 13:1. As a proof that he forgave him and still loved him, he sent him this special message – the assurance that though he had denied him, and had done much to aggravate his sufferings, yet he had risen, and was still his Lord and Redeemer. We are not to infer, because the angel said, Tell his disciples and Peter, that Peter was not still a disciple. The meaning is, Tell his disciples, and especially Peter, sending to him a particular message. Peter was still a disciple. Before his fall, Jesus had prayed for him that his faith should not fail Luk 22:32; and as the prayer of Jesus was always heard Joh 11:42, so it follows that Peter still retained faith sufficient to be a disciple, though he was suffered to fall into sin.

See this passage explained in the notes at Mat 28:1-8.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Mar 16:1-8

And when the Sabbath was past.

The Sabbath before the resurrection of Christ

There never was such a Sabbath on earth as that described here.

1. To Jesus, our Divine Master, it was a Sabbath of silence. His ministry had closed His public career had ended. Love and hate, and want and weakness, were all outside, and Jesus was in the sepulchre.

2. To the disciples it was a sabbath of grief. The heart had been torn out of their lives. This was the darkest sabbath they had ever known.

3. To the churchmen in their temple worship it was a sabbath of guilt and fear. Sing they might; but there lay that dead Saint in the garden, and they seemed to hear His deep pantings as He travelled under the cross towards Golgotha. Pray they might; but they would seem to hear Jehovah telling them to wash their hands in innocency, and so surround His altar. Then there was something about that garden sepulchre that was frightful to them. They had rolled up a huge stone and sealed it, set a guard, and yet that Teacher seemed to be abroad and walking through the temple, and ever and anon His great eyes would throw out flashes from their awful depths, which made their souls quail in them. And ever and anon their hearts beat as they seemed to hear the accents of His marvellous voice, as if its echoes still hung on cloister beams, and would occasionally descend with its palpitating utterances on their horror-stricken ears. No living man could scare them as that dead Man did. (Dr. Deems.)

Jesus risen

I. What was the object of these women in going to the sepulchre? That they might anoint the body of the dead Christ. This was their only thought. They had loved Him. They loved Him still: and with a womans fidelity loved Him though He were not merely unfortunate, but false to His word. It was despairing, yet unbelieving love. The Easter mornings sun has risen in the Church these eighteen hundred years, and there are those who still go to the tomb looking for their Christ. The Church for such is but a sepulchre. Their Christ is a dead Christ. Their Christian love is tearful. The world, the Church, needs enthusiastic believers; and they can never be had except as each can say, I know that my Redeemer liveth. Despairing, unbelieving love is always timid and distrustful. It always sees obstacles ahead. It cannot go easily in an open path. Faith removes mountains. Faith in a living Christ makes the way to heaven easy to tread, open to view.

II. The changed errand of these visitors to the tomb of Jesus. They had come to embalm Him. Their spirit, purpose, all are changed. It is not now in sadness to anoint a dead Christ, but in gladness to announce a risen Christ. And the new work of hope is much easier than the old errand of despair. Is there not just this difference between the spirit and work of those who heartily believe and trust a living Christ and those whose faith all centres about a dead Christ? Let us not underrate the value of the death of Christ, it is the foundation of our peace with God. But the foundation is not the whole of the temple of our faith. The cross is no more the sign of suffering, but the symbol of victory and power. It is the royal sceptre in His hands who rules in the kingdom which is righteousness and joy in the Holy Ghost. In this spirit of courageous hope we are to go and tell the story of the risen Jesus. (G. M. Boynton.)

The mission of the holy women

Our Lord was already in His grave, but He was not covered with earth; He was not enclosed in a coffin, but merely lay in a recess hollowed out of the rock, where Joseph of Arimathaea had placed Him on the evening of Good Friday. Joseph had probably been forced to do His work hurriedly, in order to get it done before the Sabbath came on. He had been contented with wrapping the body in fair linen, and hastily covering it with some preparation that might preserve the bruised and mangled flesh from the rapid corruption that might naturally be looked for. Mary Magdalene and her companions came to complete what Joseph had begun-to rearrange with more care and attention to detail the position of the body in its last resting place, and while doing this to cover it with such preservatives against decomposition as to ensure its integrity for many years to come. Now, Mary Magdalene and her companions would have expected to encounter at least one difficulty, for they had watched the burial on the evening of Good Friday; they had even noted how the Lords body was laid; they would have observed how, under the direction of Joseph of Arimathaea, the doorway which formed the entrance to the tomb had been closed up by a large stone, which, spanning an opening of some four feet in height by three in breadth, could not have been moved by fewer than two or three men. They could not hope to roll away such a stone by themselves, and how were they, at that early hour, to procure the necessary assistance? Their anxiety did not last long. When they looked, says St. Mark, they saw that the stone was rolled away. It seems to have been rolled into the first or outer chamber of the tomb, where the angel was sitting upon it when he addressed the holy women. (Canon Liddon.)

The Holy Sepulchre-its interest to Christians

No other spot on the surface of this earth can equally rouse Christian interest. Rome and Athens have glories all their own: they say much to the historical imagination; but they say little by comparison to all that is deepest in our nature-little to the conscience, little to the heart. Sinai and Horeb, Lebanon and Hermon, Hebron and Bethel, Shechem and the Valley of the Jordan and the Valley of the Kishon, have high claims on Jews and Christians from their place in the history and books of the chosen people; but dearer still to us Christians are Bethlehem and Nazareth, and Jericho and Bethany, and Tabor and the Hill of the Beatitudes, and Bethsaida and Capernaum, and Gethsemane and Calvary; and yet the interest even of these must pale before that which attracts us to the Tomb of Jesus. When in the Middle Ages the flower of European chivalry, and amongst them our own King Richard, set forth on that succession of enterprises which we know as the Crusades, the special object which roused Europe to this great and prolonged effort was the deliverance not so much of the Holy Land, but the Holy Sepulchre from the rule of the infidel; and when a Christian in our day finds himself in the Holy City, what is it to which his eager steps first and naturally turn? There is much, indeed, on every side to detain him; but one spot there is which gives to the rest the importance which in his eyes they possess, and one spot compared with which the site of the Temple itself is insignificant; he must take the advice of the Angel of the Sepulchre (Mat 28:6),-he must come and see the place where the Lord lay. (Canon Liddon.)

The Holy Sepulchre-its appearance now

Under the larger of the two cupolas of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, there stands what is to all appearance a chapel, twenty-six feet in length by eighteen in breadth. It is cased in stone; around it is a row of slender pilasters and half columns; and at the summit is a crown-like tomb. At the east end of this chapel a low door opens into a small square room, called the Chapel of the Angel, because here the angel sat on the stone that had been rolled inside from the door of the sepulchre. At the western end of this ante-chamber is another much lower door leading into the sepulchre. The sepulchre itself is a vaulted chamber about six feet by seven feet, and the resting place of the holy Body of our Lord is at the right side as you enter, and is now covered with a marble slab which serves as an altar; indeed, the sides and the floor of this sepulchral chamber are cased in marble, which hides the rock beneath. Immediately over the slab there is a bas-relief of the resurrection, while forty-three lamps of gold and silver hang from the roof, and shed a brilliant light in what would be otherwise a perfectly dark vault. No doubt it all wears a different aspect from that which met the eyes of Mary Magdalene. Then there was only a low, rocky ridge, the boundary of a small suburban garden, in the face of which rock the tomb was excavated. Since then all the ridge except that which contains the tomb itself has been cut away in order to form a level floor for the great Church. Mary saw no incrustation of architectural ornament, no marble, no lamps; only a tomb of two chambers, one inside-the other cut out of the face of the rock. Thus it is that, as the ages pass, human hands, like human minds, are wont to surround whatever is most dear and precious with creations of theft own; but, like the native rock inside the marble, the reality remains beneath. If the surroundings are thus utterly changed, the original spot-the original tomb-still remains; and if Christian pilgrims from well-nigh all the nations of the world still seek it year by year, and if prayer and praise is almost incessantly offered around it in rites and tongues the most various and dissimilar, it is because its interest to the Christian heart is beyond that of any other spot on the surface of this globe-it is the place where the Lord lay. (Canon Liddon.)

The Holy Sepulchre-authenticity of the site

Can we believe, someone asks, that this is really the place where the Body of the Lord was laid after His death? Why not? Christendom, east and west, has believed it, at least since A.D. 335. In that year the first Christian Emperor Constantine completed the church which the historian Eusebius tells us he made up his mind to build on this spot immediately after the Nicene Council. At its consecration a great many bishops came to Jerusalem, and Eusebius himself among the rest; and no doubt was entertained by them that this was the genuine tomb of our Lord. But then the question arose, How did Constantine and his bishops know that the sepulchre over which he built his church was really the sepulchre of our Lord, and not of someone else? And one answer which is sometimes given to this question, as by Robinson, is, that the place was revealed to Constantine by a miracle, and that as the miracle may at least conceivably have been a pious fraud of some kind, there is no certainty that the presumed site was the true one. Robinson quotes a letter of Constantine to the then Bishop of Jerusalem, in which the Emperor speaks of the gladdening discovery of the Sign of the sacred Passion of the Redeemer as miraculous. But the allusion in this expression is to the real or supposed finding of the wood of the Cross. Constantine says nothing about the finding of the Sepulchre, nor is there any real ground for thinking that it was ever discovered at all, for the simple reason that its position had never been at all lost sight of. The wood of the Cross might well have been buried and forgotten; and if it was ever to be certainly identified, some extraordinary occurrence might be necessary to identify it; but the burial place of Jesus was not likely to have been lost sight of. Constantine was not farther removed in point of time from the date of the earthly life of our Lord, than we are from the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and we know pretty well where most people who attracted any public attention during her reign were buried. The Jews, like the Egyptians, took especial care to preserve memorials of the dead. St. Peter, in his first sermon, alludes to Davids sepulchre as being with us even to this day. Would St. Peter, think you, or those whom he taught, have ever lost sight of the sepulchre of Davids greater Son? Would not each generation of Christians have learned, and handed on to their successors, all that was known about it? Above all, would not the great Alexandrian school, who diffused so much light and knowledge in the first ages of the Church, have kept its eyes steadily on a matter of some real importance like this? Even in those days a visit from Alexandria to Jerusalem and back might have been easily taken, the weather being favourable, in three weeks; and men like Clement and Origen would have learnt, either from personal observation or through others, all that could be learnt respecting the exact scene of the momentous event which was the keystone of the religion which they taught. Indeed, it was notorious amongst the Christians, that in the days of the Emperor Hadrian (A.D. 132) a temple of Venus had been built on this very spot, and this building, in something less than two centuries was finally removed by Constantine, who uncovered the tomb in the rock beneath. Notwithstanding the ruin which fell upon Constantines Church at the time of the Persian invasion, and upon its successor under the mad Caliph El Hakim, there is no reason to think that the site and identity of the tomb were ever lost sight of. There are, of course, other opinions on the subject. The late Mr. Ferguson maintained with great ability what scholars have come to consider a paradox, viz., that the site of the Sepulchre was that of the so-called Mosque of Omar in the Temple area. A more plausible opinion, warmly upheld by the late General Gordon, is, that it is in a garden at the foot of the striking hill which is just outside the Gate of Damascus. This site is so much more picturesque and imposing than the traditional one that, had there been any evidence in its favour in Constantines day, it would certainly have been adopted. The old belief is likely to hold its ground unless one thing should happen. We know that our Lord was crucified and buried outside the Gate of Jerusalem. The Epistle to the Hebrews points out the typical importance of His suffering without the gate. If excavations ever should show that the second (i.e., in our Lords day, the outer)

wall of the city embraced the site of the Sepulchre within its circuit, then it would be certain that the traditional site is not the true one. At present there is not much chance of these necessarily difficult excavations being made; and while no one can speak positively, high authorities believe that the real direction of the second wall is that which Constantine and his advisers took for granted. We may therefore continue to hold with our forefathers that the chapel under the larger cupola of the Church of the Sepulchre does really contain the place where the Lord lay. (Canon Liddon.)

The joy of Easter

The humiliation of Jesus reached its lowest depths when He gave up the ghost. Everything after that moment gave symptoms of change in the current of affairs. The very enmity which crucified Him started us heroes in His favour-Nicodemus: Joseph. Even His descent into hell was more a thing of victory than of abasement. Spirits in prison are made sensible of a new achievement in the universe, of which He is the hero. Angels in glory are despatched on new embassies, and mysteriously move about the place where His Body lay. A new era breaks upon the course of time. He is risen. Blessed news! Joyous tidings! Solemn wonder! Glorious triumph! Well may we gather flowers for the altar, and tune our voices to exultant songs, and call every instrument of music to our aid, to give utterance to the holy cheer which such an occasion carries with it.

I. Easter is the rolling away of sorrow from distressed and loving hearts. A death day to the tormenting distresses of human care and heart oppressions. Believest thou the tidings? then why afflict thyself any longer with thy bereavements and weaknesses? Lift up your downcast eyes and look, and you will see that the stone is rolled away, and greater comfort at hand than we ever imagined. Easter brings comfort and joy to

(1) the poor,

(2) the suffering,

(3) the bereaved,

(4) the fearful.

Guilt is cancelled, condemnation is past, peace with God is made. Open thy heart to these Easter tidings, and as thou hungerest and thirsteth after righteousness, thou shalt be satisfied. The stone is rolled away.

II. Easter is the setting up of a glorious refuge for assaulted and endangered faith. If we have any doubts about the Divine Sonship of Jesus, or any questions about the truthfulness of Christianity, or any disheartening scepticism about the reality of gospel blessings, it is because we have not done justice to the facts of the Christian Easter. It is the impregnable fortress of our faith. There is nothing in Christianity which does not there find shelter, entrenchment, vindication. The resurrection of Jesus demonstrates:

1. That Jesus was the Christ.

2. That there is another life after this.

3. That it is safe to trust in a complete forgiveness in the merits and righteousness of Christ alone. He died as thy substitute; therefore the account must be settled, or he never could have thus triumphantly been made alive again.

4. That He is now ever with and in His Church and Sacraments, there to dispense the blessings of His efficacious presence, to breathe His Spirit on mens souls, and to make them participants in His new life.

III. Easter is the stationing of loving angels round the grave conducting to converse with the glorified. By nature we have no fellowship with heaven, and no communion with the dwellers there. Our sins have sundered us from that bright and happy world. But Jesus has brought us and angels together again. Easter has put an angel of God in every sepulchre. A higher and a better world there joins upon this life of sorrow and tears. As the friends of Jesus come thither with spices of love in their hands, they come into the communion of the glorified, and begin to have converse with angelic excellence, Heaven borders on the tomb. Another step, and the loud uplifted angel trumpets bid us welcome to the mansions of the everlasting home. (J. A. Seiss, D. D.)

Loves tribute

I. A striking example of constant love. It is usual to regard man as typifying strength and courage, and woman as typifying love and tenderness. But often those who typify love and tenderness prove stronger and more courageous in the sense of clinging constancy than those who claim to have a monopoly of the robuster qualities. It was certainly so here.

II. Love acts promptly. Here love had imposed a task upon itself, and, true to its nature, sought the earliest opportunity for discharging it. These women could not have entered earlier upon this business.

1. Promptness to perform an act of kindness.

2. Loving service rendered in relation to one from whom there was no prospect of a return.

III. Love is oblivious to obstacles. It forms its plans, marks its course, regards ardently its object, but takes no account of the stones, great or small, that may be in its way. Well for the world that love is thus characteristically blind to hindrances; ninety-nine out of every hundred efforts made for its welfare have been the achievements of men who have been gloriously oblivious of the stones. Carey: Livingstone.

IV. Love never retreats. Ever accompanied by faith and hope, it dares to pursue its course whatever the difficulties may appear.

V. God has angels over against the stones that may be in the pathway of love. Men are never so angel-like as when engaged in removing hindrances out of the way of those who seek to serve God. (A. J. Parry.)

Songs in the night

The nightingale is celebrated for its singing in the night. We have, however, seen it maintained that it is all a mistake to suppose that she sings only in the night. She sings in the day as well; only, as other songsters are then in full chorus, her sweeter strains are not particularly distinguishable from the rest. But at night, when all others are hushed, her song is heard, and is more sweet by reason of the contrast with the surrounding stillness. So it was with these women. They served in the day of bright sunshine, but their service was then overshadowed, so to speak, by the demonstrative crowd that thronged around the Saviour. Amidst all the marks of attention paid Him, theirs did not appear particularly distinguishable. But when the voice of the noisy, effusive crowd was hushed during the dark night of trial and suffering which followed the brief day of popularity, they continued to give forth the music of love and sympathy through the dark loneliness of the night. This is love indeed, and the world needs more of it-love that will give forth the music of service in the night, and even at the grave of its hope. (A. J. Parry.)

Loves tenacity

The little English drummer boys apt reply to Napoleon indicates the spirit of love in this respect. The story relates, that when the little drummer was brought prisoner before the Emperor, he was told to sound the retreat. I never learnt it, was the prompt answer. Love has never learnt to sound the retreat, or practise it. Love is ever accompanied by faith and hope, and in their company it always dares to pursue its course, however great may appear the odds against it. (A. J. Parry.)

Moral strength in women

It is a curious psychological fact that women, though usually much weaker than men, develop, in the hour of affliction, a wonderful degree of moral strength. They bear up under a weight of adversity which would completely crush a man; but as soon as the painful ordeal is over, then nature seems to resume its sway, and the stoic of a few moments before melts into a flood of tears, and gives herself up to a season of uncontrollable weeping. Just as the stately oak affords an impervious shelter from the pouring tempest; but so soon as the fury of the storm is past, and the sun shines out again from behind the clouds, then the slightest touch brings the great raindrops rattling to the ground. Hence we are not surprised that these three women came with tearless eyes to anoint our Saviours body. Their hearts were sore with grief, but theirs was a depth of woe that found no relief in weeping. (J. E. Johnson.)

The stone of death rolled away

They saw that the stone had been rolled away. How I love to dwell upon these words; they are so full of comfort to every stricken soul. There is not only a great beauty, but there is a profound significance in them. The mass of men at that time believed that, when a man died, that was the end of him; he was indeed dead-he was annihilated. It was a common custom among the Romans to heap great piles of rough rocks upon the graves of the dead, as though they would bind them down to the only scene of their existence. Men everywhere shrank with terror from the grave, and the thought of death filled them with horror. On Easter eve, nearly nineteen centuries ago, the fear of death rested like an immense rock upon the great heart of humanity, but on Easter morn that weight of fear and dread was rolled away, and a risen Saviour proclaimed to the world the glorious fact of an immortal existence. (A. J. Parry.)

The import of death

The complexion of our religious thought depends upon the view we take of death. This life is but the foreground of that which is to come, and death is the narrow bridge upon which we pass from one state of existence to another; or, rather, it is our initiation into the hidden mysteries of the future. The initiatory ceremony is attended with some pain, it is true; but, as in ancient times, when a king wished to raise a brave man to knighthood, he struck him lightly with a sword, and then pronounced him noble: even so, death is but the soft sword touch by which the Eternal King elevates His faithful servant to the knight-errantry of heaven. There is, in the German, a beautiful fable which represents the angel of slumber wandering over the earth in company with the angel of death. As the evening draws near they approach a village and encamp upon one of its hills, listening to the curfew as it tolls the knell of parting day. At last the sounds cease, profound silence reigns round about, and the dark mantle of night covers the earth. Now the angel of sleep rises from her bed of moss, and, stepping forward to the brink of the height, silently scatters the unseen seeds of slumber. The evening wind noiselessly wafts them out over the habitations of weary men. Sweet sleep settles down upon all the inhabitants of the village, and overcomes them all, from the old man who nods in his chair to the infant resting in its cradle. The sick forget their pain; the afflicted their anguish: even poverty is oblivious of its wants. All eyes are closed. After her task has been performed, the angel of slumber turns to her sister and says: When the morning sun appears, all these people will praise me as their benefactor and friend. How delightful it is to go about doing good so silently and all unseen! What a beautiful calling we have! Thus spoke the angel of sleep; but the angel of death gazed upon her in silent sorrow, and a tear, such as the undying shed, stood in her eye. Alas! said she, I cannot rejoice like you in the gratitude of men. The earth calls me its enemy, and the destroyer of its peace. O my sister, replied the angel of slumber, at the great awakening of the resurrection morning the souls of the blessed will recognize you as their friend and benefactor. Are we not sisters, and the messengers of our common Father? They ceased to speak, but the eyes of the death angel glistened with tears as they both fled out into the darkness of the night. (A. J. Parry.)

Hope in death

Visitors to the catacombs at Rome never fail to observe the inscriptions over the graves of those early Christians who, escaping from persecution, took refuge in these subterranean abodes. Their friends inscribed over their resting place these blessed words, Requiescat in pace–Rest in peace. Sometimes they added an anchor, which was a favourite emblem with them-the symbol at once of their tempestuous lot, and of the calm trust with which it was borne. (A. J. Parry.)

Reunion after the resurrection

If you have taken a sail, on a pleasant day, down the harbour of some great city by the sea, you have seen there, perhaps, a noble ship sailing up the bay. All her canvas is set, and shines brightly in the sun. Her crew crowd the rail, and earnestly gaze at the familiar landscape. Here they are at last. They have been round the world, or in search of whale in the Arctic Ocean. At times, during their absence, it seemed as though this hour would never come. In the night when the waves tossed their ship, when the wind whistled through the rigging, and the blocks and cords were covered with ice, they thought of home and loved ones, but long years must elapse before they could return, and hope sunk utterly in their bosom. Now, however, it is all over; the pain is passed; their eyes are rejoiced once more with the sight of their native land, and, as the ship draws near the shore, they eagerly scan the faces on the pier-fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, little ones, and friends have come down to welcome them. The vessel is made fast, a plank is thrown to the land, they step upon it, pass over, and all hearts rejoice in the present gladness. No one thinks of the past; the anguish of parting is forgotten; the long separation fades into a brief moment; all is bliss. My friends, this is but a figure. We are the crew of that vessel, Jesus is the Captain, life is the long voyage upon which we are all embarked, and the landing is that glorious moment when we shall all be united beyond the deep; dark ocean of eternity. And may we not see in those who stand upon the pier, and scan, with eager, earnest gaze, the races on the ship, that throng of friends who await us on the other side? (A. J. Parry.)

Angels in graves

It is very pleasant to note how the ministering angels gather round death and the grave. There is the supporting angel, in what we may truly call the dying agony of Gethsemane. There are the angels who waited to waft the soul set free to that inner heaven, familiar, in Hebrew imagery, as Abrahams bosom. There is the angel of the resurrection, who takes away the bar, and lets out the prisoners of hope. And still, even in the empty grave, tarrying there as if he loved it, there is an angel-strong, beautiful, and fresh as a young man-pure, and bridal, and modest in his long white robe. And why should I put such a difference between the Head and the members as to think that Jesus tomb was so tenanted, and that mine is empty? Why should that have such sweet company, and a Christians grave be solitary? Or why should that be shrouded, in our imagination, in darkness and gloom, which is so beautiful and so attractive to those heavenly visitors (James Vaughan, M. A.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

CHAPTER XVI.

Early in the morning after the Sabbath, the three Marys come to

the sepulchre, bringing sweet spices to embalm the body, 1-4.

They see an angel who announces the resurrection of our Lord,

5-8.

Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene, who goes and tells the

disciples, 9-11.

He appears also to the two disciples who were going into the

country, who also tell it to the rest, 12, 13.

Afterwards he appears unto the eleven, and commissions them to

preach the Gospel to all mankind, 14-16.

And promises to endue them with power to work miracles, 17, 18.

He is received up into heaven, 19.

And they go forth to preach and work miracles, 20.

NOTES ON CHAP. XVI.

Verse 1. And anoint him.] Rather, to embalm him. This is a proof that they had not properly understood what Christ had so frequently spoken, viz. that he would rise again the third day. And this inattention or unbelief of theirs is a proof of the truth of the resurrection.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

We are now come to the history of our Saviours resurrection, his several appearances to and converse with his disciples, from the time of his rising from the dead unto the time of his ascension up into heaven, which was forty days. Of all the evangelists, St. John is most full in his relation of this part of the history of our Saviour, which we shall consider in order; for his two last chapters are wholly spent in this part of the history: in the mean time, as we did in our notes on Mat 28:1-20 take notice only of what Matthew hath upon that argument; so we shall, in the opening of this chapter of Mark, take notice only of what Mark hath not concurrent with, and completory of, what Matthew had before said (for what he hath of that nature, we shall refer the reader to our notes on Matthew). See Poole on “Mat 28:1“, and following verses to Mat 28:20. And here we will also take in what Luke hath that tends to the fuller relation of any thing which Mark hath; not meddling with what John hath, but reserving that till we come to open the fuller account of this whole history, in the twentieth and twenty-first chapters of his Gospel.

Matthew saith, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week. John saith, they came early, when it was yet dark. Luke also saith, very early. But it is manifest from the history, that they came a second time, of which Mark may speak, passing over their first coming.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

1. And when the sabbath waspastthat is, at sunset of our Saturday.

Mary Magdalene(See onLu 8:2).

and Mary the mother ofJamesJames the Less (see Mr15:40).

and Salomethe motherof Zebedee’s sons (compare Mar 15:40;Mat 27:56).

had bought sweet spices, thatthey might come and anoint himThe word is simply “bought.”But our translators are perhaps right in rendering it here “hadbought,” since it would appear, from Lu23:56, that they had purchased them immediately after theCrucifixion, on the Friday evening, during the short intervalthat remained to them before sunset, when the sabbath rest began; andthat they had only deferred using them to anoint the body till thesabbath rest should be over. On this “anointing,” see onJoh 19:40.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And when the sabbath was past,…. “In the end of it”, as Matthew says, Mt 28:1; not “when it was the sabbath”, as the Arabic version reads; for it was not lawful to buy spices, and anoint with on the sabbath day; [See comments on Mt 28:1].

Mary Magdalene, and Mary, [the mother of James,] and Salome; who was the wife of Zebedee, and the mother of the other James and John:

had bought sweet spices; or “brought”, as the Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions read; for though the women might have bought some on the preparation day, the day before the sabbath, the same evening that Christ was buried, Lu 23:56, yet, they might buy more for the same purpose, after the sabbath was over: for this there was a particular market at Jerusalem d; for we are a told, that

“there were there three markets, one by another; in the first of which were sold, all kinds of precious things, silks, and embroidered work; in the second, various kinds of fruits and herbs; and in the third, all kinds of spices.”

That they might come and anoint him; with those sweet spices, as was the manner of the Jews: hence we read e of, , “the spices of the dead”; which were used to expel an ungrateful savour: this they did, out of affection to Christ, but seemed to have no faith in his resurrection, though he had told them of it, which they had forgot. The Vulgate Latin reads, “that they might anoint Jesus”; the Ethiopic version, “anoint his body”: but the Arabic thus, “anoint the sepulchre”; his body being anointed before, and wound up by Joseph and Nicodemus; and therefore they came to strew the sepulchre with spices and ointments, and give it a sweet perfume. Though it seems most likely, that they came to anoint his body; for this was one of the things which was customary in Israel to do to dead men, as Maimonides f observes, , “they anoint him with various sorts of spices”.

d Jechus Haabot, p. 24. Ed. Hottinger. e Misn. Betacot, c. 8. sect. 6. & Barrenors in ib. T. Hieros. Beracot, fol. 12. 2. f Hiichot Ebel, c. 4. sect. 1.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

The Women at the Sepulchre; The Apostles Reproved.

1 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. 2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. 3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? 4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 5 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. 6 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. 7 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. 8 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.

Never was there such a sabbath since the sabbath was first instituted as this was, which the first words of this chapter tell us was now past; during all this sabbath our Lord Jesus lay in the grave. It was to him a sabbath of rest, but a silent sabbath, it was to his disciples a melancholy sabbath, spent in tears and fears. Never were the sabbath services in the temple such an abomination to God, though they had been often so, as they were now, when the chief priests, who presided in them, had their hands full of blood, the blood of Christ. Well, this sabbath is over, and the first day of the week is the first day of a new world. We have here,

I. The affectionate visit which the good women that had attended Christ, now made it to his sepulchre–not a superstitious one, but a pious one. They set out from their lodgings very early in the morning, at break of day, or sooner; but either they had a long walk, or they met with some hindrance, so that it was sun-rising by the time they got to the sepulchre. The had bought sweet spices too, and came not only to bedew the dead body with their tears (for nothing could more renew their grief than this), but to perfume it with their spices, v. 1. Nicodemus had bought a very large quantity of dry spices, myrrh and aloes, which served to dry the wounds, and dry up the blood, John xix. 39. But these good women did not think that enough; they bought spices, perhaps of another kind, some perfumed oils, to anoint him. Note, The respect which others have showed to Christ’s name, should not hinder us from showing our respect to it.

II. The care they were in about the rolling away of the stone, and the superseding of that care (Mar 16:3; Mar 16:4); They said among themselves, as they were coming along, and now drew near the sepulchre, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? For it was very great, more than they with their united strength could move. They should have thought of this before they came out, and then discretion would have bid them not go, unless they had those to go with them, who could do it. And there was another difficulty much greater than this, to be got over, which they knew nothing of, to wit, a guard of soldiers set to keep the sepulchre; who, had they come before they were frightened away, would have frightened them away. But their gracious love to Christ carried them to the sepulchre; and see how by the time they came thither, both these difficulties were removed, both the stone which they knew of, and the guard which they knew not of. They saw that the stone was rolled away, which was the first thing that amazed them. Note, They who are carried by a holy zeal, to seek Christ diligently, will find the difficulties that lie in their way strangely to vanish, and themselves helped over them beyond their expectation.

III. The assurance that was given them by an angel, that the Lord Jesus was risen from the dead, and had taken leave of his sepulchre, and had left him there to tell those so who came thither to enquire after him.

1. They entered into the sepulchre, at least, a little way in, and saw that the body of Jesus was not there where they had left it the other night. He, who by his death undertook to pay our debt, in his resurrection took out our acquittance, for it was a fair and legal discharge, by which it appealed that his satisfaction was accepted for all the purposes for which it was intended, and the matter in dispute was determined by an incontestable evidence that he was the Son of God.

2. They saw a young man sitting on the right side of the sepulchre. The angel appeared in the likeness of a man, of a young man; for angels, though created in the beginning, grow not old, but are always the same perfection of beauty and strength; and so shall glorified saints be, when they are as the angels. This angel was sitting on the right hand as they went into the sepulchre, clothed with a long white garment, a garment down to the feet, such as great men were arrayed with. The sight of him might justly have encouraged them, but they were affrighted. Thus many times that which should be matter of comfort to us, through our own mistakes and misapprehensions proves a terror to us.

3. He silences their fears by assuring them that here was cause enough for triumph, but none for trembling (v. 6); He saith to them, Be not affrighted. Note, As angels rejoice in the conversation of sinners, so they do also in the consolation of sinners. Be not affrighted, for, (1.) “Ye are faithful lovers of Jesus Christ, and therefore, instead of being confounded, out to be comforted. Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified.” Note, The enquiries of believing souls after Christ, have a particular regard to him as crucified (1 Cor. ii. 2), that they may know him, and the fellowship of his sufferings. His being lifted up from the earth, is that which draws all men unto him. Christ’s cross is the ensign to which the Gentiles seek. Observe, He speaks of Jesus as one that was crucified; “The thing is past, that scene is over, ye must not dwell so much upon the sad circumstances of his crucifixion as to be unapt to believe the joyful news of his resurrection. He was crucified in weakness, yet that doth not hinder but that he may be raised in power, and therefore ye that seek him, be not afraid of missing of him.” He was crucified, but he is glorified; and the shame of his sufferings is so far from lessening the glory of his exaltation, that that glory perfectly wipes away all the reproach of his sufferings. And therefore after his entrance upon his glory, he never drew any veil over his sufferings, nor was shy of having his cross spoken of. The angel here that proclaims his resurrection, calls him Jesus that was crucified. He himself owns (Rev. i. 18), I am he that liveth, and was dead; and he appears in the midst of the praises of the heavenly host as a Lamb that had been slain, Rev. v. 6. (2.) “It will therefore be good news to you, to hear that, instead of anointing him dead, you may rejoice in him living. He is risen, he is not here, not dead, but alive again. We cannot as yet show you him, but hereafter you will see him, and you may here see the place where they laid him. You see he is gone hence, not stolen either by his enemies or by his friends, but risen.“

4. He orders them to give speedy notice of this to his disciples. Thus they were made the apostles of the apostles, which was a recompence of their affection and fidelity to him, in attending him on the cross, to the grave, and in the grave. They first came, and were first served; no other of the disciples durst come near his sepulchre, or enquire after him; so little danger was there of their coming by night to steal him away, that none came near him but a few women, who were not able so much as to roll away the stone.

(1.) They must tell the disciples, that he is risen. It is a dismal time with them, their dear Master is dead, and all their hopes and joys are buried in his grave; they look upon their cause as sunk, and themselves ready to fall an easy prey into the hands of their enemies, so that there remains no more spirit in them, they are perfectly at their wits’ end, and every one is contriving how to shift for himself. “O, go quickly to them,” said the angel, “tell them that their Master is risen; this will put some life and spirit into them, and keep them from sinking into despair.” Note, [1.] Christ is not ashamed to own his poor disciples, no, not now that he is in his exalted state; his preferment doth not make him shy of them, for he took early care to have it notified to them. [2.] Christ is not extreme to mark what they do amiss, whose hearts are upright with him. The disciples had very unkindly deserted him, and yet he testified this concern for them. [3.] Seasonable comforts shall be sent to those that are lamenting after the Lord Jesus, and he will find a time to manifest himself to them.

(2.) They must be sure to tell Peter. This is particularly taken notice of by this evangelist, who is supposed to have written by Peter’s direction. If it were told the disciples, it would be told Peter, for, as a token of his repentance for disowning his Master, he still associated with his disciples; yet he is particularly named: Tell Peter, for, [1.] It will be good news to him, more welcome to him than to any of them; for he is in sorrow for sin, and no tidings can be more welcome to true penitents than to hear of the resurrection of Christ, because he rose again for their justification. [2.] He will be afraid, lest the joy of this good news do not belong to him. Had the angel said only, Go, tell his disciples, poor Peter would have been ready to sigh, and say, “But I doubt I cannot look upon myself as one of them, for I disowned him, and deserve to be disowned by him;” to obviate that, “Go to Peter by name, and tell him, he shall be as welcome as any of the rest to see him in Galilee.” Note, A sight of Christ will be very welcome to a true penitent, and a true penitent shall be very welcome to a sight of Christ, for there is joy in heaven concerning him.

(3.) They must appoint them all, and Peter by name, to give him the meeting in Galilee, as he said unto you, Matt. xxvi. 32. In their journey down into Galilee they would have time to recollect themselves, and call to mind what he had often said to them there, that he should suffer and die, and the third day be raised again; whereas while they were at Jerusalem, among strangers and enemies, they could not recover themselves from the fright they had been in, nor compose themselves to the due entertainment of better tidings. Note, [1.] All the meetings between Christ and his disciples are of his own appointing. [2.] Christ never forgets his appointment, but will be sure to meet his people with the promised blessing in every place where he records his name. [3.] In all meetings between Christ and his disciples, he is the most forward. He goes before you.

IV. The account which the women did bring of this to the disciples (v. 8); They went out quickly, and ran from the sepulchre, to make all the haste they could to the disciples, trembling and amazed. See how much we are enemies to ourselves and our own comfort, in not considering and mixing faith with that Christ hath said to us. Christ had often told them, that the third day he would rise again; had they given that its due notice and credit, they would have come to the sepulchre, expecting to have found him risen, and would have received the news of it with a joyful assurance, and not with all this terror and amazement. But, being ordered to tell the disciples, because they were to tell it to all the world, they would not tell it to any one else, they showed not any thing of it to any man that they met by the way, for they were afraid, afraid it was too good news to be true. Note, Our disquieting fears often hinder us from doing that service to Christ and to the souls of men, which if faith and the joy of faith were strong, we might do.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

When the sabbath was past ( ). Genitive absolute, the sabbath having come in between, and now over. For this sense of the verb (common from Demosthenes on) see Acts 25:13; Acts 27:9. It was therefore after sunset.

Bought spices ( ). As Nicodemus did on the day of the burial (Joh 19:40). Gould denies that the Jews were familiar with the embalming process of Egypt, but at any rate it was to be a reverential anointing ( ) of the body of Jesus with spices. They could buy them after sundown. Salome in the group again as in Mr 15:40. See on Mt 28:1 for discussion of “late on the sabbath day” and the visit of the women to the tomb before sundown. They had returned from the tomb after the watching late Friday afternoon and had prepared spices (Lu 23:56). Now they secured a fresh supply.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

THE RESURRECTION DAY ORDER OF EVENTS

1) Three women at dawn, while it was yet dark, appear to have left, either their residence in Bethany or the Southeast part of Jerusalem, about the time of dawn, to walk more than a mile to the garden tomb. They were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, followed by other women bearing spices, Luk 24:1.

2) When the three women found the stone rolled away, Mary Magdalene left to tell the disciples, Luk 23:55; Luk 24:9; Joh 20:1-2.

3) Then Mary, the mother of James and Joses, went near the open tomb, and saw the angel of the Lord, Mat 28:2.

4) She then left the tomb to meet other women who were also coming to the tomb with spices.

5) By this time Mary Magdalene had found Peter and John, who came immediately to the tomb, looked in, and left, Joh 20:3-10.

6) Mary Magdalene returned to the open tomb, weeping, saw two angels there, then met Jesus, and left again, as He instructed her, to go tell the disciples that He had risen, Joh 20:11-18.

7) Mary, the mother of James and Joses, had met the other women who were bringing spices, and upon returning to the open tomb with them, they too saw the two angels, Luk 24:4-5; Mar 16:5.

8) They, there and then, received the angelic message, and as they went to find and tell the disciples, Jesus met them, Mat 28:8-10.

ORDER OF OUR LORD’S 13 APPEARANCES AFTER HIS RESURRECTION:

A) On the first day of His resurrection:

1) To Mary Magdalene, Joh 20:14-18.

2) To the women returning from the tomb with the angelic message, Mat 28:8-10.

3)To Peter, probably after noon, Luk 24:24; 1Co 15:5.

4) To Emmaus Disciples, in the late afternoon, Luk 24:13-31.

5) To the apostles, except Thomas, Luk 24:36-43; Joh 20:19-24.

B) Eight days afterward:

6) To the apostles with Thomas present, Joh 20:24-29.

C) In Galilee:

7) To the seven by the Sea of Tiberius, Joh 21:1-23.

8) On an appointed mountain, to the apostles and above five hundred brethren, Mat 28:16; 1Co 15:6.

D) At Jerusalem and in Bethany:

9) To James, 1Co 15:7.

10) To the eleven, Mat 28:16-20; Mar 16:14-20; Luk 24:33-53; Act 1:3-12.

11) To Stephen outside Jerusalem, Act 7:55.

E) Near Damascus and in the Temple:

12) To Paul, Act 9:3-6.

F) On Patmos:

13) To John, Rev 1:10-19.

THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST AND EVENTS OF THE FIRST DAY V. 1-16

THE RESURRECTION ANNOUNCEMENT V. 1-8

Comments on Mar 16:1 :

1) “And when the sabbath was past,” (kai diagenomenou tou sabbatou) “And when the sabbath was past,” or gone, when they had rested through it, (Luk 23:56; Mat 28:1; Lu 241; Joh 20:1) Three days after the crucifixion and burial.

2) “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome,” (he Maria he Magdalene kai Maria he to lakobou kai Salome) “The Mary of Magdalene and the Mary who was the mother of James the less, and Salome,”

3) “Had bought spices,” (egorasan aromata) “Had bought and brought spices,” at the end of the Sabbath, after the sun went down, when lively trading was done, because no purchase could be made on the Sabbath. This they did that they might do the anointing early the next morning, Mar 16:2.

4) “That they might come and anoint Him.” (hina elthousai aleipsosin auton) “In order or (for the purpose) that they might come and anoint Him,” very early in the morning, on the first day of the week. The spices were mixed with oil, for rubbing on the corpse, for the anointing for burial.

They may not have known of either the guards at the tomb or the spices and embalming work of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, Mat 27:62-66; Joh 19:38-42.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

Mar 16:1

. And when the Sabbath was past. The meaning is the same as in Matthew, In the evening, which began to dawn towards the first day of the Sabbaths, and in Luke, on the first day of the Sabbaths. For while we know that the Jews began to reckon their day from the commencement of the preceding night, everybody understands, that when the Sabbath was past, the women resolved among themselves to visit the sepulcher, so as to come there before the dawn of day. The two Evangelists give the name of the first day of the Sabbaths, to that which came first in order between two Sabbaths. Some of the Latin translators (302) have rendered it one, and many have been led into this blunder through ignorance of the Hebrew language; for though ( אחד) sometimes means one, and sometimes first, the Evangelists, as in many other passages, have followed the Hebrew idiom, and used the word μίαν, one. (303) But that no one may be led astray by the ambiguity, I have stated their meaning more clearly. As to the purchase of the spices, Luke’s narrative differs, in some respects, from the words of Mark; for Luke says that they returned into the city, and procured spices, and then rested one day, according to the commandment of the law before pursuing their journey. But Mark, in introducing into the same part of the narrative two different events, at—tends less accurately than Luke to the distinction of dates; for he blends with their setting out on the journey what had been previously done. In the substance of the fact they perfectly agree, that the women, after having observed the holy rest, left home during the darkness of the night, that they might reach the sepulcher about the break of day.

We ought also to recollect what I have formerly suggested, that the custom of anointing the dead, though it was common, among many heathen nations, was applied to a lawful use by the Jews alone, to whom it had been handed down by the Fathers, to confirm them in the faith of the resurrection. For without having this object in view, to embalm a dead body, which has no feeling, would be an idle and empty solace, as we know that the Egyptians bestowed great labor and anxiety on this point, without looking for any advantage. But by this sacred symbol, God represented to the Jews the image of life in death, to lead them to expect that out of putrefaction and dust they would one day acquire new vigor. Now as the resurrection of Christ, by its quickening vigor, penetrated every sepulcher, so as to breathe life into the dead, so it abolished those outward ceremonies. For himself, he needed not those aids, but they were owing to the ignorance of the women, who were not yet fully aware that he was free from corruption.

(302) “ Aucuns En la translation Latine.”

(303) “ Et ont ici mis le mot Grec qui signifie Un ; ” — “and have put here the Greek word which means One. ”

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES

Mar. 16:1. Had bought sweet spices.Simply, bought spices. No time specified, merely the fact stated. From Luk. 23:56 we gather (unless, indeed, there were two companies of women) that the purchase was made before the Sabbath began. St. Marks point is, that the women bought spices some time or otherno matter whenin order that when the Sabbath was over they might come and anoint the body of the Lord. They seem to have wished to complete the imperfect embalming which Joseph and Nicodemus had hastily begun. See Joh. 19:39-40, and cp. 2Ch. 14:14.

Mar. 16:2. They came, etc.They come (so as to be) at the sepulchre when the sun had risen. That is, they start from home very early, with the object of reaching their destination soon after daylight.

Mar. 16:3. The door of the sepulchre.There was generally an approach to the tomb open to the sky; then a low entrance on the side of the rock, leading into a square chamber, on one side of which was a recess for the body, about three feet deep, with a low arch over it. The stone here referred to would be the stone which covered the actual entrance into the vault. It would probably be not less than six feet in breadth and three in height. Had the women known of the arrangement recorded in Mat. 27:62-66, they might have hesitated about visiting the tomb that day at all.

Mar. 16:4. Looked.Looked upthe only, but sufficient, proof that Calvary was a hill.

Mar. 16:5. While Mary Magdalene, after a hasty glance, sped away to inform Peter and John that the sepulchre had been, as she supposed, rifled (Joh. 20:1-2), the other women made bold to enter and inspect for themselves. Affrighted.The word, used only by St. Mark, signifies amazement blended with fear. It is found also in chaps, Mar. 9:15, Mar. 14:34, Mar. 16:6. Such experiences as these women were now passing through filled them with awestruck surprise.

Mar. 16:7. And Peter.With what solemnity the apostle would utter these words as he recounted the matter to St. Mark 1

Mar. 16:8. Quickly.Omit. Fled.Not as Mary Magdalene had done, in terror and hopelessness, but full of bewildered excitement, for agitation and ecstasy had them in its grip. And to no one said they anything, for they were afraid to pause until they had delivered their message to the disciples and Peter.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Mar. 16:1-8

(PARALLELS: Mat. 28:1-8; Luk. 24:1-12; Joh. 20:1-10.)

The pious women visiting the sepulchre.The present hopes of the followers of Jesus had been destroyed and their future expectations frustrated by the ignominious death of their Lord. When they beheld the accomplishment of all which the malice of His enemies could inflict, they seem to have given way to their feelings of despondency and dismay. But while the most favoured of the apostles had retired from the place where He was put to death, and from the garden in which they had seen His body laid and a large stone rolled to the mouth of the sepulchre, there were others whose faith and love had survived all these trials (Mar. 15:40-41). During our Saviours life these pious women had ministered to Him of their substance. They had followed Him out of the distant part of the country in which they resided; and they were still found, in that hour of suffering, hoping against hope, or desirous to testify to the end the love which they bore to Him who had loved them. When, at a later hour of the same mournful day, the body of Jesus was taken down from the Cross and laid in the new sepulchre, wherein never man before was laid, the same affectionate attendants still followed their Lord (Luk. 23:35). As yet they knew not the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. But perceiving that they who had in a hurried manner buried the body of Jesus had not embalmed it, as the manner of the Jews was to bury, but had merely wrapped the body in linen with dry spices, they determined to perform that last office of affectionate care, and returned, and prepared the spices and ointments necessary for the purpose, and rested the Sabbath day, according to the commandment. And very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. They knew not that the heavy stone which they had seen placed over the mouth of the sepulchre had been farther secured by having been sealed with a seal and guarded by soldiers set as a watch. But they were aware that, even without such a precaution, there was an impediment to the accomplishment of their pious intention insurmountable by their own strength. Still they persevered in their exertions, though not without some secret misgivings that their labour would be in vain (Mar. 16:3). But as soon as they reached the sepulchre all their apprehensions were proved to have been groundless. They came but to embalm the body of Jesus; they expected to have found a lifeless corpse; and lo! a vision of angels, which told them that He was risen from the dead.

I. The constancy of these pious women, contrasted with the comparative weakness of the faith even of the apostles, may remind us that the faith which worketh by love, the religion of the heart, is by no means in proportion to the outward advantages which different individuals may possess. There may be often found among the comparatively unlearned, in the meanest stations and in circumstances of the greatest apparent distress, a practical acquaintance with vital religion, a firm trust in God, an abiding faith in the merits of the Saviour, and a sense of the real consolations arising from a spiritual frame of mind, which may well serve as an encouragement and as a lesson to others who have been blessed with far greater opportunities of religious improvement. Such examples teach us, in language which cannot be misunderstood, what a treasure true religion is; for it is found supplying, and more than supplying, the want of all which this world can afford.

II. Another reflexion arising from this history is, that we are often ignorant of obstacles which really beset our path of duty, while we exaggerate to ourselves the magnitude of those with which we are acquainted. How many, when inquiry is made respecting their religious condition, are found to have fixed their apprehensions upon some circumstances which they conceived to be the principal, if not the only, bar to their advancement in piety! Some will complain of the cares of life. Before the eyes of others there may be set some trial of temper, some weakness of which they are especially conscious, some trouble which at present occupies their thoughts, or some easily besetting sin which they know not how to conquer or remove. And each of these may conceive that there is but this one barrier interposed between him and his duty. But when we are led thus unduly to estimate the magnitude of some one obstacle to a religious life, we overlook others of greater importance and still less surmountable by any powers of our own. If the sepulchre of Jesus was sealed with a seal to prevent all access from without, who knows not that the heart of man is by nature closed against Divine grace and remains dark and impervious to its holy light! If the sepulchre of Jesus was guarded with a band of soldiers, whose express duty it was to prevent the seal from being broken and the stone from being rolled away, who knows not what a band of evil passions and unholy desires and worldly thoughts besets the heart of man, and how the prince of the power of the air disposes his active and sleepless forces, to keep the thoughts and affections still cold and dark, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them!

III. But while we thus learn justly to appreciate the real obstacles against which we have to contend, the example of the pious women may encourage us to persevere in the plain course of duty, in the firm persuasion that, although we cannot, by our own strength, roll away the stone from the sepulchre, yet that, however great it may be, there is a power which will remove it for us. There are periods when the heart even of the faithful Christian is weighed down with much sorrow. He is exposed to some great danger, or apprehends some severe trial. At such a time his faith is ready to fail him. He goes on his way, weary and sad at heart, although he knows that he is treading the direct path of Christian duty. But who shall set bounds to the mercy or power of God? When the Christian has accomplished his journey, he looks and sees that the stone is rolled away. Either his apprehensions are removed, or, if the trial which he feared has come upon him, strength has been given him to enable him to bear it. And if this be true in the trials which are of a temporary kind, so is it especially found in those which regard our spiritual state.

IV. If we persevere in faithful obedience, our exertions will often be blessed beyond our utmost hopes.The pious women who visited the sepulchre of their Lord looked only for the sad satisfaction of preparing His body for the tomb. And the apprehension which chiefly weighed upon their minds was instantly removed, as soon as they looked and saw that the stone, which had appeared so great, was rolled away. And after they had been relieved from this fear, a new source of holy joy was unexpectedly opened to them. Their Lord was risen from the dead, no more to see corruption. And so assuredly will God deal with His servants at all times. With the temptation He will make a way to escape, that they may be able to bear it; with the trial He will give strength; with the tribulation He will send patience; and with patience, experience; and with experience, hope.Prof. Temple Chevallier.

Mar. 16:3-4. All difficulties surmounted by the faithful.If we look at the difficulties, trials, and sorrows which attend man from the cradle to the grave, and consider at the same time only mans strength, which is perfect weakness, we must say with the apostle, Who is sufficient for these things? Who then can be saved? Happy is it for him who is brought to confess, With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible; for when men are brought to look out of themselves and to say, Who shall roll us away the stone? they have taken the first step towards its removal.

1. Sometimes the Christian is in great fear of danger, in common with other men who fear not God. He sees no means of escapethere may be no chance of it, as the world would say; a fatal sickness is around him, or he is in the power of an enemy. But is he without comfort or resource? Nay, he remembers Joseph in Egypt, Lot in Sodom, Daniel in the lions den, the three children in the furnace, Israel at the Red Sea, Paul and Silas and Peter in prison; and when ready to faint, and cry, Who shall roll away the stone? he hears again those cheering words, He shall give His angels charge over thee, etc. Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.

2. Sometimes the Christian is poor and in misery, and knows not to-day how he shall live to-morrow; distress presses him hard; he is in great straits, and there seems no help for it; he cannot see the least prospect of his condition being bettered, or he may have a dread that poverty must soon come upon him; his faith is tried to the uttermost; bad success, misfortunes of various kinds, daily threaten him. And is he without comfort or hope? Does he forget Hagar in the desert, the Israelites in the wilderness, Elijah at the brook Cherith, the widow and her cruse of oil?

3. The Christian is sometimes much oppressed and made to suffer under false accusations, his character mistaken, words misrepresented, motives misunderstood and falsely stated. Who shall roll away the stone? But he is not without great comfort under all this, for he calls to mind our Saviours words (Mat. 5:11-12). He does not forget that Christ came unto His own, and His own received Him not; He was despised and rejected of men; He was reviled. If he be inclined to think that God hath forsaken him, he hears God reasoning with him thus: Isa. 40:27; Psa. 37:5 to Psa. 7:4. The Christian is sometimes sorely perplexed in some of his plans and undertakings: nothing he takes in hand seems to prosper; so many difficulties arise that he is tempted to yield to despair. But even here he can patiently abide; in quietness and confidence is his strength; he leans more unreservedly upon God; he waits His time; he knows that mans time is always readyGods time may not be yet. He remembers that God often permits one to sow and another to reap, one man to begin and another to finishas David, who prepared the materials, and Solomon, who built Him a house; and so looking steadfastly to Him, he sees the stone rolled away.

5. The Christian is sometimes in great doubt as to how he should actwhether this or that is his duty; in a strait betwixt two, or else in perplexity as to how he should perform that which he knows to be best. He is often haunted with the fear of consequences and of a doubtful mind, tossed to and fro like a wave of the sea. How comforting then are such words to him! (Joh. 7:17; Isa. 50:10; Psa. 97:11; Isa. 26:3).

6. But if ever the Christian is ready to say, Who shall roll away the stone, it is when, having borne the Christian name, he is convicted of having lived as a stranger to Christ the hope of gloryof exhibiting in himself that sad contradiction, a worldly and unholy Christian. Who can tell the blessing to a soul, weary and heavy laden with the burden of its sins, of hearing such words as these, Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee? Who can tell the comfort of such consoling counsel as this? Claim the privileges of the covenant, the first of which is pardon and forgiveness through Christ, into whom ye were baptised. Treat God as your Father: you are not strangers and foreigners, though you have been bad and rebellious subjects; but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints. You have liberty to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus; and having a High Priest over the house of God, draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith: for though you have no power of yourselves to help yourselves, you can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth you.E. J. Boyce, M.A.

Mar. 16:5-6. The first preaching of the Resurrection.Mark has scarcely anything to say about our Lords appearance after the Resurrection. His object seems mainly to be to describe rather the manner in which the report of the Resurrection affected the disciples. And so he makes prominent the bewildered astonishment of the women. If the latter part of this chapter be his, he passes by the appearance of our Lord to Mary Magdalene and to the two travellers to Emmaus with just a word for eachcontrasting singularly with the lovely narrative of the former in Johns Gospel and with the detailed account of the latter in Lukes, he emphasises the incredulity of the twelve after receiving the reports. And in like manner he lays stress upon the unbelief and hardness of heart which the Lord rebuked.

I. The first witness to the Resurrection.There are singular diversities in the four Gospels in the account of the angelic appearances, the number, occupation, and attitude of these superhuman persons; and contradictions may be spun, if one is so disposed, out of these varieties. But it is wiser to take another view of them, and to see in the varying reportssometimes of one angel, sometimes two, sometimes of one sitting outside the sepulchre, sometimes one within, sometimes noneeither different moments of time or differences produced by the different spiritual condition of the beholders. We know too little about the laws of angelic appearances, we know too little about the relation in that high region between the seeing eye and the objects beheld, to venture to say that there is a contradiction where the narratives present variety. Enough for us to draw the lessons suggested by that quiet figure sitting there in the inner vestibule of the grave, gazing on the tomb where the Lord of men and angels had lain. He was a youth. The oldest angels are the youngest, says the great mystic. He was clothed in a long white garment, the sign at once of purity and of repose; and he was sitting in rapt contemplation and quiet adoration there, where the body of Jesus had lain. Wherefore was he there? Because that Cross strikes its power upwards as well as downwardsbecause He that had lain there is the Head of all creation, and the Lord of angels as well as of menbecause that Resurrection following upon that Cross, unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places, opened a new and wonderful door into the unsounded and unfathomed abyss of Divine lovebecause into these things angels desire to look, and, looking, are smitten with adoring wonder and flushed with the illumination of a new knowledge of what God is and of what man is to God. Farther, we see in that angel-presence not only the indication that Christ is his King as well as ours, but also the mark of his and all his fellows sympathetic participation in whatsoever is of so deep interest to humanity. All the servants of our King in heaven and earth are one, and He sends forth His brightest and loftiest to be brethren and ministers to them who shall be heirs of salvation.

II. The triumphant light east upon the cradle and the Cross.Jesus, the Nazarene, who was crucified. Do you not catch a tone of wonder and a tone of triumph in this threefold particularising of the humanity, the lowly residence, and the ignominious death? All that lowliness, suffering, and shame are brought into comparison with the rising from the dead. The cradle is illuminated by the grave, the Cross by the empty sepulchre. As at the beginning there is a supernatural entrance into life, so at the end there is a supernatural resumption of it. The Birth corresponds with the Resurrection, and both witness to the Divinity. Brethren, let us lay this to heartthat unless we believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the saying He was crucified is the saddest word that can be spoken about any of the great ones of the past. If He be not risen, our preaching is vain, and your faith is also vain. If Christ be not risen, ye are yet in your sins. But if what Easter Day commemorates be true, then upon all His earthly life is thrown a new light, and we first understand the Cross when we look upon the empty grave.

III. The majestic announcement of the great fact, and its confirmation.He is risen; He is not here. The first preacher of the Resurrection was an angel, a true ev-angel-ist. His message is conveyed in these brief sentences, unconnected with each other, in token, not of abruptness and haste, but of solemnity. He is risen is one word in the originala sentence of one word, which announces the mightiest miracle that ever was wrought upon earth, a miracle which opens the door wide enough for all supernatural events recorded of Jesus Christ to find an entrance to the whole understanding and the reason. He is risen. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is declared by angel lips to be His own act. The Divine power of the Fathers will did not work upon Him as from without to raise Him from the dead; but He, the embodiment of Divinity, raised Himself, even though it is also true that He was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father. These two things are not contradictory, but the former of them can only be predicated of Him; and it sets Him on a pedestal immeasurably above and infinitely apart from all those to whom life is communicated by a Divine act. He Himself is the Life, and it was not possible that Life should be holden of Death, Now, then, note the confirmation of this stupendous fact. He is risen; He is not here. We take it as a plain historical fact, which the extremest scepticism has never ventured to deny, that the grave of Christ was empty. The trumped-up story of the guards sufficiently shews that. When the belief of a resurrection began to be spread abroad, what would have been easier for Pharisees and rulers than to have gone to the sepulchre and rolled back the stone, and said, Look there! there is your risen Man, lying mouldering, like all the rest of us! They did not do it. Why? Because the grave was empty. Where was the body? They had it not, else they would have been glad to produce it. Now note the way in which the announcement of this tremendous fact was received. With blank bewilderment and terror on the part of these women, followed by incredulity on the part of the apostles and of the other disciples. These things are on the surface of the narrative; and very important they are. They plainly tell us that the first hearers did not believe the testimony which they call upon us to believe. And that being the state of mind of the early disciples on the Resurrection day, what becomes of the modern theory, which seeks to explain the fact of the early belief in the Resurrection by saying, Oh, they had worked themselves into such a fever of expectation that Jesus Christ would rise from the dead that the wish was father to the thought, and they said He did because they expected He would?

IV. The summons to grateful contemplation.Behold the place where they laid Him. To these women the call was simply one to come and see what would confirm the witness. But we may, perhaps, permissibly turn it to a wider purpose, and say that it summons us all to thankful, lowly, believing, glad contemplation of that empty grave as the basis of all our hopes. Look upon it and upon the Resurrection which it confirms to us as an historical fact. It sets the seal of the Divine approval on Christs work, and declares the Divinity of His person and the all-sufficiency of His mighty sacrifice. Behold the place where they laid Him, and, looking upon it, let us think of that Resurrection as a prophecy in its bearing upon us and upon all the dear ones that have trod the common road into the great darkness. Chrift has died, therefore they live; Christ lives, therefore we shall never die. Behold the place where they laid Him, and in the empty grave read the mystery of the Resurrection as the pattern and the symbol of our higher lifethat, like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Oh to partake more and more of that power of His resurrection!A. Maclaren, D.D.

Mar. 16:7. The message of the Resurrection.The text, tis the first joyful tidings that came to the Church of God of our Saviours Resurrection, the first blessed news of Christs triumphant victory over death and the grave, and thereby of His restoring of us to life and immortality. This day Satan and the powers of hell, all the enemies of our salvation, were vanquished and subdued by Christs Resurrection; the hold and fortress of death, the grave, was spoiled and ransacked, the gates and bars of hell broken in pieces. Our Samson hath taken the gates of the Philistines on His shoulders, and carried them away. Surely this is a day of joyful tidings. Let it be told to the Kings household, published in the Church of God. Say unto Zion, Behold, thy God reigneth: He hath triumphed gloriously; He hath led captivity captive; the horse and the rider, that pale horse, and Death riding on him, hath He slain in the battle (Rev. 6:8).

I. The despatch of this message, and that seems very hasty and somewhat abrupt: it begins here with a word of diversionBut. Why so? Were they in the wrong way? or in an unwarrantable employment? Just now, in the former verse, he bids them come and see the place, behold the sepulchre where the Lord was laid, and from whence He was risen. Why doth he now presently remove them from it, not let them stay and take their fill of that joyful vision? Tis said of Hilarion he went once to Jerusalem to see those monuments of Christs death and passion; but he went no more, he made no practice of it, placed no piety in it. So here the angel allows them a sight of the sepulchre to confirm their faith; but withal he dismisses them presently, suffers them not to fix their devotion upon it. Besides this reason, the angel is thus quick and speedy in his diversion, to teach us that even the spiritual delights of contemplation must give way to religious and pious actions. Their piety in meditating on His Resurrection must give way to their charity in imparting it to others. He is the best servant, not that delights to stand in his masters presence, but that carefully minds and diligently goes about his masters business. For the despatch of this message here are two things considerable.

1. From whom it comes. The first news of Christs Resurrection is sent by an angel.
(1) It becomes the excellency of this great work of Christs Resurrection to be attended and published by the ministry of angels.
(2) Fit it was an angel should first publish it, a heavenly messenger, as being a matter supernatural and heavenly, and of special revelation. All proclamations are first published at the court-gate, then sent abroad into the kingdom. This new revelation, tis first proclaimed at heavens gates by an angel, and then sent abroad unto the sons of men.
(3) Angels are made messengers and publishers of these tidings, and they gladly undertake it. See now there is a sweet communion and intercourse twixt them and us. It shews us the virtue and power of that great atonement of Christs death and bloodshed; it hath made up the breach and alienation twixt us and the angels. They were all partakers in Gods quarrel; and therefore the Scripture presents them in martial and military and warlike appearances, tells us of armies and hosts of angels. When soldiers and martial men proclaim peace and good-will, there is peace indeed. This office of love the angel performs, tis the fruit of Christs mediation, the merit of His death, the purchase of His passion.
2. By whom the angel conveys this message; they are the women that repaired to the sepulchre. Reason would conceit that some other messengers should have been employed than these poor, weak women. But Gods thoughts are not as mans thoughts are.
(1) God purposely makes choice of such instruments in this great and weighty service. In the whole carriage and economy of the gospel God observes a mixture of much spiritual power and glory, with much outward baseness and meanness.
(2) The tidings of His Resurrection are conveyed into the world by weak women. Kings and princes, saith Chrysostom, make known their minds to inferior people by their great officers and ministers of state: God, He employs poor, feeble, contemptible men to declare His will to the potentates of the world.

(3) But yet there is some congruity that God observes in the choice of these messengers. These good women, they stood to it and clave to Christ when the apostles all of them fled and forsook Him; they assisted His Cross when the others hid themselves (Mar. 15:40); they watched His burial, repaired early and weeping to the sepulchre; they were forwardest in attending His passion; and so they are first made acquainted with His Resurrection.

II. The persons to whom these tidings are directed.Tell His disciples and Peter.

1. Here is a general direction to His disciples.
(1) Why is not the message directed to Pilate and Herod, to Annas, and Caiaphas, and the priests, that condemned Him and compassed His death? It might have been a mighty conviction to them. No; tis purposely hid from them to punish their infidelity and former obstinacy. They had heard Him preach in His lifetime; now, should He appear from the dead, they would not believe Him.
(2) Why not to the common people, that sinned out of ignorance? No; this manifestation of His Resurrection was not made promiscuously to all, purposely to prepare a way to faith and believing. The great honour that Christianity doth to God is to embrace His truth upon belief.
(3) This message and tidings of Christs Resurrection is directed to His disciples. (a) They were the only visible body of Christiansto teach us, to whom the benefit of Christs Resurrection belongeth; tis to the Church, tis limited and confined only to believers. (b) The faith of the disciples was now in a great weakness; they had almost given over all belief that Jesus was the Messias (Luk. 24:21). Our faith, not only when tis in robore, in its full strength and vivacity, but when tis in vulnere, wounded and weakened and overwhelmed with temptations, is accepted of Him. (c) These disciples were at this time full of sadness and sorrow for the loss of their Master. Such mourners are blessed mourners; they shall be comforted. They that can lament for His passion, they shall be partakers of the joy and comfort of His Resurrection.

2. To acquaint Peter with these good tidings an express message is directed to him.
(1) Peter had fallen most foullydenied, forsworn, his Master with curses and execrations. Oh, twas a great sin of the first magnitude! And yet to such and so vile a sinner are these tidings directed. It shews the virtue of the gospel of Christs death and Resurrection; the greatest sinners, the most heinous offenders, may get good by it.
(2) Peters faith and graces have received a very great bruise and maim by his fall: his conscience is deeply wounded. He is like one fallen from a high place, exceedingly bruised, and lies for dead. Such a one must be catched up in our arms, more carefully tended.
(3) Peter is now overwhelmed with sorrow for his heinous sin: he wept bitterly, no doubt abhorred himself in dust and ashes. And to extraordinary mourners God graciously directs extraordinary and special and more personal comforts.
(4) Peter by his great fall in denying of Christ hath incurred a great and an infamous scandal, given a great offence to the whole Church of God. This personal message to him shall not only comfort his conscience, but cure his credit too. It plainly signifies he must not be cast off, but be dealt mercifully withal, and accounted as a brother. Nay, it restores him not only to his discipleship, but to his office of an apostle. The tidings are sent to him under the name of Peter, his apostolical name.
(5) From this personal message to Peter we may briefly collect these three corollaries: (a) As loving parents are most tender of their weakest children, so is Christ to the feeble Christians, sorrowful, heavy-hearted Christians; His bowels of compassion yearn most towards them. (b) The angel pities Peter, and hath care and compassion on him. Peters tears were the wine of angels; they were a banquet in heaven. (c) In conformity to Christ, in imitation of His angel, it must be our duty to practise the charge given to these messengers; have a care of Peter, of a sorrowful, contrite, broken-hearted Christian.

III. The sum of the message, the news to be imparted.He goes before you into Galilee: there shall ye see Him.

1. Here is an intimation of Christs Resurrection. The angel is careful to confirm that truth to them. Indeed, tis the main capital truth of Christian religionthe sum and pith and kernel of the gospel. It strengthens our faith in other saving truths.

(1) It confirms us in the truth of His Divinity (Rom. 1:4; Psa. 16:10).

(2) It confirms to us the benefit of His death and passion. Had He died only, death had overcome Him; now He is risen, He hath overcome death.
(3) This intimation is the strongest means to revive and comfort them. Faith, tis like the flower called heliotropium: when the sun sets, it fades and closes; when the sun rises and returns, it blows out and flourishes.
2. Here is a prediction that must evidence the truth of His Resurrection. He goes before you into Galilee.
(1) Here is an act of local motion. Christs body now, after His Resurrection, tis a glorified body, and yet within the compass and condition of a true natural body, to be transferred by motion from one place to another. (a) After His Resurrection twas a finite body: He is risen; He is not here. When it was in one place, it was not in another, (b) It was a sensible body (Luk. 24:39). (c) It was organical: we read of His hands, feet, side. It had all the parts and members of a human body, in a just proportion and situation, the fit proportions of a human body.

(2) Here is an act of prevention: He goes before you. Early and speedily He hastens to Galilee, to visit and comfort them. Tis the gracious course of Gods preventing goodness; He is forward to relieve and comfort His Church. All delays are tedious to Him. Nay, see the impatience of His love to His poor disciples: He appoints them Galilee; but He cannot withhold Himself so long from themHe appears to them sooner. (a) To Mary in the garden. (b) To the women in the way as they are going to Jerusalem. (c) To the two disciples as they are going to Emmaus. (d) To the apostles ere they stirred one foot out of the city. This is the speediness of His mercy (Isa. 65:24). He is still better than His promise.

(3) Here is the designation of the place: Galilee. Why to so remote a place? (a) As tis said of Peters sinking, twas not pedes, but fides; not his feet, but his faith failed him,so Christ here requires them not to exercise their feet, but their faith. He would have them begin with faith, and then they shall end in sight. (b) He sends them so far the more to quicken and inflame their desires and longings to see Him. If He comes sooner to them, tis to comfort them; if He stays longer, tis to quicken and enliven their desires towards Him.

(4) In particular Galilee is the place appointed. (a) Twas locus tutus: He graciously provides for His disciples safety; He calls them out of Jerusalem, the place of persecutionmakes them withdraw themselves from that bloody generation, where they were beset with dangersleads them into a place of safety, where with greater freedom they might converse with Him. (b) Twas locus familiaris, a place where He had usually conversed with them; twas the place of His abodeHe was called a Galilean. Purposely Christ chooses all the circumstances that might help forward their faith. In Galilee they had often enjoyed His presence; His appearing there would more fully affect them. (c) Twas locus discipulorum plenus; it was a place wherein Christ had most of His disciples. His preaching had nothing the success at Jerusalem that it had in Galilee. In Galilee He was seen of five hundred brethren at once. Here is the place that Christ delights to visit and frequent, where He hath the fullest churches, the greatest communion of saints and believers. (d) Tis locus typicus. Christ calls them from Jewry to Galilee; it casts the shadow of a type and prefiguration; it represents to us the passage and remove of Christ and His gospel from the Jews to the Gentiles. Before in His lifetime He confined His own presence and preaching to the nation of the Jews, and forbade His apostles to preach unto the Gentiles; but His Resurrection brake down the wall of separation; now their commission is enlarged, Go, teach all nations.Bishop Brownrigg.

OUTLINES AND COMMENTS ON THE VERSES

Mar. 16:1-2. The quest of faith.

1. Faith seeks after life in the very sepulchre of Christ, and it will find even more than it seeks, because it seeks it as it ought, and out of a principle of obedience.
2. A solid and substantial devotion is always regular, does everything in its proper time, and is very far from neglecting what is commanded for that which is not.
3. The Spirit of God, which guides these holy women, permits them not to dispense with the observance even of a dying law, that so they may perform a service to Christ which could be deferred but a very little while.P. Quesnel.

The earnestness of the women.It is no wonder if we find the women here more earnest than the apostles in their grief and in regard to the death, the burial, and the embalming of the Lords body. The woman is the first in the expression of her grief, for she was the first in hastening to the Fall; she goes before to the tomb who was the precursor to corruption; she brings the tidings of the Resurrection who had been the herald of death; she who had conveyed to the man the message of so dreadful a destruction herself conveys to men the sounds of a great salvation; that the loss which she occasioned by her suggestion to unbelief she might now compensate for by the tidings of faith (Gen. 3:6; Gen. 3:12; 1Ti. 2:14-15).Pet. Chrysologus.

Apparent discrepancies in the narratives.To harmonise the accounts a certain effort is necessary, because they tell of interviews with men and women who had to pass through all the vicissitudes of despair, suspense, rapturous incredulity, and faith. Each of them contributes a portion of the tale. From St. John we learn that Mary Magdalene came early to the sepulchre, from St. Matthew that others were with her, from St. Mark that these women, dissatisfied with the unskilful ministrations of men whose rank knew nothing of such functions, had brought sweet spices to anoint Him who was about to claim their adoration; St. John tells how Mary, seeing the empty sepulchre, ran to tell Peter and John of its desecration; the others, that in her absence an angel told the glad tidings to the women; St. Mark, that Mary was the first to whom Jesus Himself appeared. And thenceforth the narrative more easily falls into its place. This confusion, however perplexing to thoughtless readers, is inevitable in the independent histories of such events, derived from the various parties who delighted to remember each what had befallen himself.Dean Chadwick.

Mar. 16:2. The first day of the new creation.Surely we Christians may see the reason of our keeping this day far more than any other day, inasmuch as it is the first of all days, the first day of the old creation, and the first day of the new in Christ, as on this day Christ rose from the grave. On this day, the first day in the beginning, the light was created. On this day, the first of days, Christ, the True Light, the Sun of Righteousness, rose from the grave. On this day the Holy Spirit came down, the true illumination, to fill the new creation with the light of God. This day, therefore, is beyond all days the day of our Maker, the day of our Redeemer, the day of our Sanctifier (Psa. 118:21-25.)

The journey of the women.A journey of

1. Love.
2. Provident care.
3. Hope.
4. Joy.
5. Life.

Mar. 16:3. Who shall roll us away the stone?This question is applicable to

1. Those who are seeking Divine guidance and direction. To be involved in circumstances of doubt and perplexity respecting some path is no evidence of the want of the Divine favour. God sometimes keeps His children in the dark to secure their safety (Isa. 50:10).

2. To the subjects of anxious care through poverty and affliction. Stand still, and see the salvation of God.
3. To the persecuted and tempted believer. God will strengthen thee in thy weakness, and nerve thee for thy duty.
4. The hour of death. The eye of sense sees only the western horizon, and says, The sun is going down. The eye of faith turns to the glowing east, and sees the Sun of Righteousness rising with healing in His wings.

Obstacles in the Christians path.-Many of the obstacles in the life of the Christian, when they are first sighted ahead and when they are seen from a distance, appear to be invincible, insurmountablebarriers never to be overstepped or moved out of the way. The fact is, they are looked at only as to themselves and their own great size, and for the time there are not taken into account the weapons which may be brought to bear against them and for their removal. In themselves, and as they stand before us, they are certainly formidable and fear-inspiring. Any mountain in the Alpine range is certainly of itself rather a startling and somewhat real obstacle; but it only requires, that one should pass over it into the fertile fields beyond, a stout heart, and a good physical frame, and abundance of stay and resolution, and plenty of time. A flood of water or. an army of men is, either of them, fear-inspiring under certain circumstances; but the one, be it remembered, is made up of single drops, and the other of single units; and either the one or the other may be very easily restrained or destroyed.W. M. Arthur.

Mar. 16:4. The stone rolled away.

I. To let Christ out of the grave.

1. To express the Divine acceptance of the work of Christ.
2. To do homage to the person of Christ.
3. To acknowledge the grandeur of the occasion.
4. To shew the futility of the mightiest human opposition.
5. To reveal the sympathy of the holy universe with the plan of salvation.

II. To let Christians into the grave.

1. To convince them of the reality of the Resurrection.
2. To comfort them with the fact of the Resurrection.
3. To impress them with the power of the Resurrection.
4. To qualify them for the announcement of the Resurrection.
5. To assure them of their own resurrection.B. D. Johns.

Mar. 16:5. The tomb of a wealthy Jew, even when hewn from the solid rock, was a large and ample structure. It commonly consisted of at least two parts:

(1) an antechamber, which often took the form of a long vestibule or corridor; and

(2) the mortuary chamber itself, in which the body or bodies were laid. Josephs tomb seems to have been of this type. When the women looked up as they drew near, they saw at once that the rocky slab which closed the corridor on the outer side had been removed from its place. Filled with amazement, they seem to have paused for a while; and then, while Mary of Magdala ran off to summon Peter and John (Joh. 20:2), the other women gathered courage to climb up to the vestibule and enter it. And here a still more amazing spectacle met their view. They sawin the mortuary chamber, I suppose, or at the entrance into ita youth sitting on the right hand, clothed in a long white stole, i.e. a talar, which indicated a heavenly being, none other wearing such a vestment. They would know him for an angel by his garb and by his youth, angels being assumed never to lose the bloom and beauty of youth. And they were affrighted, or rather amazed, the word denoting the extreme mental perturbation which a supernatural presence naturally inspires in those who are compassed with this muddy vesture of decay. And what wonder that amazement, a solemn awe, should seize them, when, in the chamber of death, they saw the very type of immortal life! An angel in a tomb should teach us at least, if it did not teach them, that death is not the end, but a new beginning.S. Cox, D.D.

Mar. 16:6. The empty grave.

1. A sure and undeniable proof of Christs Deity.
2. A full security that He is alive, to die no more.
3. An awful view of the evil nature of sin.
4. The insufficiency and uselessness of all our own righteousness in the matter of our justification before God.
5. In the grave of Christ we may see the curse of the broken law buried, and the wrath of God finally and effectually appeased in relation to every one who enjoys an interest in a risen and glorified Redeemer.
6. Here we may see death itself lie buried, so that none of the followers of Christ have any reason to be afraid of that last enemy.J. Young.

He is not here.

1. Not in the grave, for He is risen from the dead.
2. Not in the garden, for He goes forth into all the world.
3. Not here on earth, for He is entered into His Divine glory.

Where Christ is not.There is but one place, only one, in which Christ is not to be foundHis grave. He is not there; He arose and left it, and has never returned thither. If, then, that be the only place where He is not, He must be found by you, if you seek Him everywhere else, and everywhere only to bless you and do you good. Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. And yet, though emptied of Christ, that grave is full of consolation. His not being there tells us that He is Emmanuel, God with usthat His sacrifice is accepted, and that we are saved.

The place where they laid Him.With most tombs the interest consists in the fact that all that is mortal of the saint or the hero or the near relative rests beneath the stone or the sod on which we gaze. Of our Lords sepulchre the real interest is that He no longer tenants it. It is not as the place in which He lies; it is not even chiefly as the place wherein He lay; it is as the place from which He rose that the tomb of Jesus speaks to faith.Canon Liddon.

The empty tomb of Jesus recalls an event which is as well attested as any in history; it is so attested as to put the idea of what is called illusion out of the question. The main purpose, the first duty, of the apostolic ministry was to witness to the fact that Christ had risen. The apostles did not teach the Resurrection as a revealed truth, as they taught, for example, the doctrine of justification; they taught the Resurrection as a fact of experience, a fact of which they themselves had had experience. And this is why the different Evangelists did not report the same appearances of our Risen Lord. Each one reports that which he himself witnessed, or that which was witnessed by an eye-witness on whose authority he writes. Put the various attestations together, and the evidence is irresistible. That which these witnesses attest must be true, unless they have conspired to deceive us, or are themselves deceived. The idea that they are deceiving us cannot be entertained by any man who understands human character; the idea that they were themselves deceived is inconsistent with the character of the witness which they give.Ibid.

The empty tomb an incitement to Christian endeavour.And why? Because of all effective endeavour hope must be a main ingredient, and hope nowhere so learns successfully to resist the pressure and shock of disappointment, and to reach forward with confidence into an unexplored future, as at the empty tomb of Jesus. Had He been crucified without rising from the dead, hope in the eventual triumph of truth and goodness must perforce have died away from the hearts of men; but as it is the Resurrection is a warrant that if the heaviness of spiritual discouragement should endure for a night, the joy of spiritual success, patiently awaited, cometh in the morning. So it is that those who while endeavouring to live the new life of Christ are fighting a hard battle against untoward circumstances, against strong insurgent passions, against deeply rooted and perhaps very evil habits, against some fatal weakness or warp of the will. Fail they must, if they essay to fight that battle in their own natural strength; but they can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth them, and the Christ that strengtheneth them is not only the teacher Christ, the example Christ, the perfect sacrifice for sin, He is also the Risen Christ, risen for their justification, and to this end making them a free present of His Resurrection strength. As such a soul in moments of deep discouragement comes in thought to see the place where the Lord lay once, but where He lies no more, it learns to understand its share in His great victory, and to expect with confidence that He will take it out of the horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and will set its feet upon a rock, and will order its goings. And so, too, with enterprises undertaken for the good of othersenterprises which seem to be stricken with the note of failure, which fail over and over again, which we are tempted to give up as a bad business. Do not give up that enterprise, be it what it may, if you can dare to offer it, if you have offered it, to God as intended to promote His glory and the good of your fellow-mendo not give it up. There was darkness over the whole world on the day of Calvarydarkness which lately portended, though it necessarily preceded, the brightness of the Resurrection morning. Your enterprise will have its Easter, if you will only have the patience and the grace to wait.Canon Liddon.

Mar. 16:7. The message to Peter.Whence happened it that to Peter, guilty, fallen Peter, is vouchsafed not only a common interest with his brethren in the angelic tidings, but a separate and individual communication?

I. Because he had greatly offended against his Lord and Master.The Good Shepherd went, as it were, into the wilderness to recover him to the way of life and salvation. And what message so likely to effect the purposes of infinite love, or to animate the apostles hopes, as the assurance that Christ had gotten Himself the victory over death, had triumphed gloriously over the wide dominion of the grave, and proved Himself to be the Son of God with power by the Resurrection from the dead? He was thus taught that the sincerity and bitterness of repentance which he had felt were not in vain; but that the same compassion which had awakened in his mind a salutary sense of his guilt still waited to pardon, to embrace, to restore him.

II. Because he was a penitent transgressor.The remembrance of his sin was grievous unto him, the burden of it was intolerable. Shame and remorse had wrung his heart with anguish, which could bear no other witness than the eye of Heaven: He went out and wept bitterly. Happy the tears which Peter shed in the seed-time of his sorrow! and great the measure of his joy when the reaping of the harvest came!

III. In order that he might be invigorated for future duty.When thou are converted, said our Lord, strengthen thy brethren. The infant Church was in some degree committed to his especial care; and therefore an express revelation of his Masters triumph over death was vouchsafed, that he might bless the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to His abundant mercy, had begotten him again to a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. His faith was to be confirmed by the tidings of that wondrous event. His holy boldness in the great gospel cause was to be aroused by this pledge of his Saviours power and truth. And thus it actually happened. He continued sound in the faith, unshaken in danger, unmoved in tribulation, and at length laid down his life for his Master, with whom he now reigns in glory everlasting, bearing on his brow the bright diadem of Christian martyrdom.

1. The preachers of the gospel may learn from the angels message what should be the pattern of their own ministrations. We should guide the undutiful son to the tender Father whom he has left; and when he comes to himself, when he arises to seek salvation, we should shew how his peace has been made, and how he may partake the mercies of that amnesty which the trumpet of the gospel jubilee proclaims to all.
2. The spiritual application of this subject will also teach us the duty of preparing to meet our Risen Saviour in the world of glory. He hath first departed to prepare the way for us.R. P. Buddicom.

A forgotten promise.In common with the apostles they had forgotten His gracious promise, as in our hours of darkness we too commonly forget the words which should inspire trust and hope: But after I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee (Mar. 14:28 : see also, for the pastoral figure, the previous verse),go before you as a shepherd who collects and leads his scattered sheep. It may be doubted whether we have any of us laid such stress on this promise as it deserves, or as the Gospels lay on it, and on the means taken to secure its fulfilmentwhether we have not been almost as forgetful of it, and with less excuse, as the apostles themselves. What it really meant was, that before they returned from the feast to their Galilean homes Jesus would be there, going before them and shewing the way. Had they remembered the promise and acted on it, how much suffering they might have been spared! If, instead of mourning and weeping in Jerusalem, they had set out for Galilee, assured that He would there manifest Himself to them and renew His broken intercourse with them, the days lost in grief might have been bright with hope and action.S. Cox, D.D.

Galilee, the place of meeting.Galilee was the place where He had spent most of His time on earth, where His first miracle had been wrought, and where His apostles had been called to follow Him. It was the locality where He Himself had been brought up, and also the native place of the dearest of His disciplesPeter, James, and John. These had followed Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and there had witnessed many sad and solemnising scenesscenes fitted to trouble, to agitate, and to overwhelm. Remembering all this, we cannot help seeing that there was great tenderness and love on the part of the Redeemer in asking them to meet Him after His Resurrection,not at Jerusalem, where He had been faithlessly betrayed by one of the twelve; not at Gethsemane, the scene of His indescribable agony; not at Calvary, where He had poured out His soul even unto death; but in Galileeremote and secluded Galileeinseparably associated with the memory of their earliest days, and with their first impressions of the riches of the Saviours grace.

A testing lesson in faith.We believe on evidence, but in difficult things we want the greatest possible amount of evidence. Faith is awakened in us, but faith needs to be trained and confirmed by some hard act of faith. The disciples heard of the Resurrection, but heard it as an idle tale. Then He appeared to them, and they were affrighted, supposing they had seen a spirit. They behold His hands and feet; they handle Him, and find that He has flesh and bones, and is not a ghostly apparition. But there may yet be room for doubt; it may be an illusion or contagion of credulity that has crept into their wearied and excited minds. And so they are led away from the scene of the event to Galilee, a three days journey. Thus a twofold end is gained: fresh confirmation, and a stern, testing lesson in faith. Is it, after all, we can imagine them saying, worth the while to make the journey to Galilee? Can He who died on the Cross, whose feet were pierced with nails, journey thither? That He should appear here is possible; we have heard the like before: but will He appear in Galilee? So their minds may have acted; and as they made the journey every step and every hour must have tended to throw them out of their belief and hope. For there is nothing that so tests our faith in an event difficult of belief as to get out of the atmosphere of it. The wonder lessens as we go away from it. When remote from it, the mind settles back into the old habit of belief, and into its every-day habit. And nothing so aids this tendency as a journey. Its weariness takes away the edge of interest; the wider view of the world draws us back to the steady order of the world and the great facts of nature. In a journey we believe in what we see; we are engrossed in the changing scene. Travel helps the mind, but it is not favourable to the finer exercises of the spirit. This journey to Galilee was made by the disciples in resistance of all these influences. Doubtless the energy of their faith sank with weariness, and their practical minds fell under the spell of the old, every-day world. Doubtless they often said to one another, Has not our life these three years been a mistake? Have we not left a real and rational life in the world for the vagaries of an enthusiast? This is a temptation that we all undergo,the temptation to let go the ideals of life that have been revealed to uspurity, honour, unselfishness, self-denial, truth, spiritualityand sink back into the selfish, striving world that is all about us, clamouring at every door of our nature for entrance. But if this experience of the disciples was a trial of their faith, it also strengthened it. For faith is not hurt by doubt until it yields to it. The very weakness and faltering of faith may be turned into strength by pressing on in its path, fighting doubt, and resisting the appeals of the world. This journey of simple trust and stout adherence to hope was a fine preparation for harder experiences soon to follow. There would come times when not merely the faltering of their own hearts was against them, but all the powers of the worldtimes when their only refuge would be their faith in the Risen and Ascended Lord. Then the memory of this experience, crowned by actual sight of their Master, would come to their rescue.T. T. Munger, D.D.

Mar. 16:8. They were afraid.Why? Certainly not, as Petter supposes, from the apprehension of some hurt or danger which might befall them by or upon the apparition of the angel to them. Neither is it natural to think of any far-seeing solicitude lest the news should get wind and reach the ears of the members of the Sanhedrin, so as to arouse to persecution. Dr. Edward Wells comes nearer nature. For, says he, 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.J. Morison, D.D.

ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 16

Mar. 16:1. The devotion of the holy women.The nightingale is celebrated for its singing in the night. We have, however, seen it maintained that it is all a mistake to suppose that she sings only in the night. She sings in the day as well, only, as other songsters are then in full chorus, her sweeter strains are not particularly distinguishable from the rest. But at night, when all others are hushed, her song is heard, and is more sweet by reason of the contrast with the surrounding stillness. Similarly was it with these women. They served in the day of bright sunshine, but their service was then overshadowed, so to speak, by the demonstrative crowd that thronged around Him. Amidst all the marks of attention paid Him, theirs did not appear particularly distinguishable. But when the voice of the noisy, effusive crowd was hushed during the dark night of trial and suffering which followed the brief day of popularity, they continued to give forth the music of love and sympathy through the dark loneliness of the night.

Mar. 16:3-4. Imaginary difficulties.Once upon a timeso the homely tale runsa man and his wife started one pleasant morning to pay a long-promised visit to a friend some four or five miles away. The good woman carried her only little one with her; and they had not got far from home when she suddenly remembered a bridge they had to cross which was very old and very unsafe. Then she began to worry about it. What shall we do about that bridge? she said to her husband. I shall never dare to go over it, and we cant get across the river by any other way. Oh, said the man, I forgot that bridge! It is a bad place, What if it were to break, and we fall into the water and be drowned? Or even, said the wife, suppose you should step on a rotten plank, and break your leg, what would become of me and the child? I dont know, said the man, what would become of any of us, for I couldnt work, and we should starve to death. So they went on worrying and fretting and framing evil till they got to the bridge, when, behold I since they had been there last, a fine, new, substantial stone bridge had been built! They crossed by in safety, and found that they might have saved themselves all this anxiety.

Difficulties overcome.Men who undertake great works, like the Mont Cenis tunnel, the Atlantic cable, a railway across a continent, know that there are palpable, vast, and costly difficulties. There are costs which are certainly known, which civil engineers can readily calculate; and there are probable costs, which hinge upon conjectured contingencies; and there are possible costs which may be brought to light by the progress of the work. The men who furnish the capital necessarily look at these. They do not want to be in company with the man whose tower was not finished, of whom the Master told us. But, nevertheless, they go forward. Immense difficulties had to be overcome to establish the Central and Erie and Pacific Railways, the continental and sub-ocean telegraphs, and other great works; but they have been brought into existence, and stand to-day, because men who are not visionary had the nerve to dare to take up great burdens, and the shoulders broad and strong enough to bear them.

Love never retreats.A little English drummer-boy was brought prisoner before Napoleon. The emperor told him to sound the retreat. I never learnt it, was the prompt reply. Love never retreats. Love is ever accompanied by faith and hope, and in their company it always dares to pursue its course, however the odds may appear against it.

Mar. 16:6. The secret of Christs influence.During the years which followed the outbreak of the French Revolution, and the revolt against Christianity which accompanied it, there was an extraordinary activity in some sections of French society, directed to projecting religions that might, it was hoped, take the place of Christianity. New philanthropic enthusiasms, new speculative enthusiasms, were quite the order of the day. On one occasion a projector of one of these schemes came to Talleyrand, who, you will remember, was a bishop who had turned sceptic, and so had devoted himself to politics; but whatever is to be said of him, he was possessed, in a very remarkable degree, of a keen perception of the proportions of things, and of what is and is not possible in this human world. The visitor observed, by way of complaint to Talleyrand, how hard it was to start a new religion, even though its tenets and its efforts were obviously directed to promote the social and personal improvement of mankind. Surely, said Talleyrand, with a fine smileSurely it cannot be so difficult as you think. How so? said his friend. Why, said Talleyrand, the matter is simple; you have only to get yourself crucified, or, anyhow, put to death, and then, at your own time, to rise from the dead, and you will have no difficulty.Canon Liddon.

Natures testimony to the Resurrection.In the life of Michael Faraday there is a very touching and instructive reference to the Resurrection. He tells us that during his travels on the Continent he was particularly struck with the beauty and simplicity of the little posts of remembrance set up on the graves in a quiet little graveyard in Switzerland. He speaks of one grave which more than any of the others arrested his attention. Some one was too poor to put up an engraved brass plate, or even a painted board, but had written on a piece of paper the dates of the birth and death of the one whose remains were resting below. The piece of paper was fastened to a board, and mounted on the top of a stick at the head of the grave. The paper was protected from the rain by a small roof, the ledge of which protruded sufficiently to carry the water away from the board. It was a very simple contrivance to memorialise a friend. But on examining the contrivance Faraday saw that Nature had contributed her part towards that humble memorial. Because under that little shelter formed by the protruding ledge, and by the side of the inscription on the paper, a caterpillar had attached itself, and there had passed through its death-like state of a chrysalis, and ultimately assumed its finished state of a butterfly, and had winged its flight from the spot, leaving its corpselike relics behind. And the young scientist turned away from that humble grave, his heart strengthened in the belief of the Resurrection, and his thoughts kindled into a glow by the contemplation of the wonderful works of God.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

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 Marys 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 Mar. 16:8?

937.

Who did Mary Magdalene tell about His resurrection? Why didnt 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.Mat. 28:1-8. Luk. 24:1-11. Joh. 20:1-21.

INTERVENING HISTORY.Soon after the Lords 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 Angels Message. 3. The Risen Saviour.

ANALYSIS

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

The Women Come with Spices. Mar. 16:1; Luk. 24:2.

Visit to the Sepulcher Sunday Morning. Mar. 16:2; Mat. 28:1; Luk. 24:1; Joh. 20:1.

The Stone Rolled Away, Mar. 16:4; Mat. 28:2; Luk. 24:2; Joh. 20:1.

II.

THE ANGELS MESSAGE, Mar. 16:5-8.

The Angel in the Sepulcher. Mar. 16:5; Mat. 28:2; Luk. 24:4.

The Angels Message. Mar. 16:6; Mat. 28:5; Luk. 24:6.

The Women Flee from the Sepulcher. Mar. 16:8; Mat. 28:8; Luk. 24:9.

III.

THE RISEN SAVIOR, Mar. 16:9-13.

The Lord Appears to Mary Magdalene. Mar. 16:9; Mat. 28:9; Joh. 20:14.

The Unbelief of the Disciples. Mar. 16:11.

Appears to two Disciples. Mar. 16:12; Luk. 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

THE WOMAN AT THE SEPULCHER.

Mar. 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 Lords 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 (Joh. 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 (Joh. 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.

Mar. 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, Herods steward, had her home doubtless in Herods palace on Mount Zion. These and the two Marys seem to have gathered the spices in concert and to have come together.

Mar. 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 (Mat. 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.

Mar. 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 (Joh. 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 ANGELS MESSAGE.

Mar. 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 (Joh. 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 (Rev. 3:4-5; Rev. 3:18; Rev. 4:4; Rev. 6:11; Rev. 7:9-13). Affrighted. Rather filled with awe and amazement.

Mar. 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 (Mat. 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.

Mar. 16:7. Tell his disciples and Peter. Observe, that as Christs first appearance is to Mary Magdalene (Joh. 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 Saviours 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 (Mat. 26:32) he used almost this very language in his prediction, After I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.

Mar. 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.

Mar. 16:9. He appeared first to Mary Magdalene. This appearance is described more fully in Joh. 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 Luk. 8:2.

Mar. 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 (Mat. 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.

Mar. 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 (Luk. 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, Mar. 16:14) to the whole eleven, whom he upbraided with their unbelief.

Mar. 16:12. After that. This second appearance of Jesus is more fully described in Luk. 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.

Mar. 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 (Luk. 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 didnt 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 Saviours saying that He came to save sinners?

1182.

Read Mat. 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. Luk. 24:36.)

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

SUMMARY 15:1616:20

This closing section of Mark, like the corresponding section in Matthew, contains two proofs of the divinity of Jesus. The first is found in the darkness that covered the earth during three hours of his suffering. It is common, when we would make a comparison to indicate the impossibility of an undertaking, to say that you may as well attempt to blot the sun from the heavens. But this, God did, in effect, when the noonday sun was shining on the dying agonies of Jesus. It was accomplished by no natural eclipse, for the moon was on the opposite side of the globe (the moon was always full at the Passover); but it was done by the simple fiat of Jehovah. No stroke of His almighty hand since the sun was created has been more wonderful. It finds its only conceivable explanation in the fact that Jesus was dying. Was Jesus, then, an imposter? Or was he, what he claimed to be, the Son of God? Let a man stand, by imagination, for three hours amid that awful gloom, as did the Roman centurion, and then answer the question.
But the crowning proof in the grand series which Mark has presented, is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. No power but Gods could have raised him from the dead, and this power could not have been exerted in behalf of a pretender. That he was raised from the dead, then, is proof demonstrative that he was all that he claimed to bethe Christ, the Son of the living God.

It has sometimes been admitted, that to prove so extraordinary an event as the resurrection of one from the dead, would require most extraordinary evidence; and certainly it would in the case of any ordinary person; but in the case of Jesus, who had wrought so many miracles in proof of his divinity, who had repeatedly declared that he would arise from the dead, and who had died amid the most astounding manifestations of the divine displeasure toward his murderers, his resurrection was an event most reasonably to be expected, and it ought to be believed on the most ordinary testimony. Indeed, after having lived as he did, and having died as he did, his failure to arise from the dead would have been the most astonishing circumstances in his wonderful career. Such a life ending in the unbroken slumber of the grave, would have been an everlasting puzzle to the world. But such a life, followed by a glorious resurrection from the dead, attains a fitting consummation, and rounds out to completeness the most extraordinary personal history known in the annals of earth or heaven. The proofs of this event, furnished by Mark, are briefly thesethat an angel appeared to a company of women in the empty sepulcher, and told them that Jesus had arisen; that he himself appeared alive that morning to Mary Magdalene; that he appeared the same day to two male disciples as they walked into the country; that he appeared afterward to the eleven as they sat at meat; and that, having given them a commission to preach salvation through him to every creature, he ascended up to heaven, and subsequently worked with the disciples by signs following, as they went everywhere preaching the Gospel. Closing his testimony in the midst of a world which at the time of his writing was being filled with these last-mentioned signs, and which was still able to disprove by living witnesses all that he had written, if it were not true, he laid his pen aside, and sent forth his graphic narrative to challenge contradiction, and to do its part in the regeneration of mankind. We thank God that it has lived and come down to us; and as we pass it on to generations which shall come after us, we smile to think of the blessings it will bear to millions yet unborn, and of the undimmed radiance with which every sentence in it will shine when the sun shall have been blotted out forever, and the harvest of God shall all be gathered in. (J. W. McGarvey)

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

XVI.

(1-8) And when the sabbath was past.See Notes on Mat. 28:1-8. Mary the mother of James (not, as in Mar. 15:40, of James and Joses) answers, as before, to the other Mary of Mat. 28:1. Salome appears, as before, in St. Mark only.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

Chapter 16

TELL PETER ( Mar 16:1-8 )

16:1-8 When the Sabbath had passed, Mary of Magdala and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices to go and anoint his body. Very early in the morning on the first day of the week, when the sun was rising, they went to the tomb. They kept saying to each other, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” They looked up and they saw that the stone had been rolled away, for it was very large. And they went into the tomb, and they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long, white robe. They were utterly amazed. He said to them, “Do not be amazed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He is risen. He is not here. See! There is the place where they laid him. But go! Tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He goes before you into Galilee. There you will see him as he told you’.” And they went out and fled from the tomb, for fear and astonishment gripped them. And they told no one anything for they were afraid.

There had not been time to render the last services to the body of Jesus. The Sabbath had intervened and the women who wished to anoint the body had not been able to do so. As early as possible after the Sabbath had passed, they set out to perform this sad task.

They were worried about one thing. Tombs had no doors. When the word door is mentioned it really means opening. In front of the opening was a groove, and in the groove ran a circular stone as big as a cart-wheel; and the women knew that it was quite beyond their strength to move a stone like that. But when they reached the tomb, the stone was rolled away, and inside was a messenger who gave them the unbelievable news that Jesus had risen from the dead.

One thing is certain–if Jesus had not risen from the dead, we would never have heard of him. The attitude of the women was that they had come to pay the last tribute to a dead body. The attitude of the disciples was that everything had finished in tragedy. By far the best proof of the Resurrection is the existence of the Christian church. Nothing else could have changed sad and despairing men and women into people radiant with joy and flaming with courage. The Resurrection is the central fact of the whole Christian faith. Because we believe in the Resurrection certain things follow.

(i) Jesus is not a figure in a book but a living presence. It is not enough to study the story of Jesus like the life of any other great historical figure. We may begin that way but we must end by meeting him.

(ii) Jesus is not a memory but a presence. The dearest memory fades. The Greeks had a word to describe time meaning time which wipes all things out. Long since, time would have wiped out the memory of Jesus unless he had been a living presence forever with us.

“And warm, sweet, tender, even yet

A present help is he;

And faith has still its Olivet,

And love its Galilee.”

Jesus is not someone to discuss so much as someone to meet.

(iii) The Christian life is not the life of a man who knows about Jesus, but the life of a man who knows Jesus. There is all the difference in the world between knowing about a person and knowing a person. Most people know about Queen Elizabeth or the President of the United States but not so many know them. The greatest scholar in the world who knows everything about Jesus is less than the humblest Christian who knows him.

(iv) There is an endless quality about the Christian faith. It should never stand still. Because our Lord is a living Lord there are new wonders and new truths waiting to be discovered all the time.

But the most precious thing in this passage is in two words which are in no other gospel. “Go,” said the messenger. “Tell his disciples and Peter.” How that message must have cheered Peter’s heart when he received it! He must have been tortured with the memory of his disloyalty, and suddenly there came a special message for him. It was characteristic of Jesus that he thought, not of the wrong Peter had done him but of the remorse he was undergoing. Jesus was far more eager to comfort the penitent sinner than to punish the sin. Someone has said, “The most precious thing about Jesus is the way in which he trusts us on the field of our defeat.”

THE COMMISSION OF THE CHURCH ( Mar 16:9-20 )

16:9-20 When he had risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary of Magdala, out of whom he had cast seven devils. She went and told the news to those who had been with him, who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

After that he appeared in another form to two of them as they walked, as they were on their way to the country. And they went away and told the news to the rest, but they did not believe it.

Later he appeared to the eleven as they were sitting at meat and rebuked them for their disbelief and the obtuseness of their minds, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. He said to them, “Go into the whole world and preach the goodness. He who believes and is baptized will be saved. He who does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe. By my name they will cast out devils. They will speak with new tongues. They will lift serpents, and even if they drink any deadly thing it will not hurt them. They will place their hands on the infirm and they will be well.”

So the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

They went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed their message by the signs that accompanied it.

As we saw in the introduction, Mark’s gospel really stops at Mar 16:8. We have only to read this passage to see how different it is from the rest of the gospel and it appears in none of the great manuscripts of the gospel. It is a later summary which replaces the ending which either Mark did not live to write or which at some time went astray.

Its great interest is the picture of the duty of the church that it gives to us. The man who wrote this concluding section obviously believed that the church had certain tasks committed to it by Jesus.

(i) The church has a preaching task. It is the duty of the church, and that means that it is the duty of every Christian, to tell the story of the good news of Jesus to those who have never heard it. The Christian duty is to be the herald of Jesus.

(ii) The church has a healing task. Here is a fact we have seen again and again. Christianity is concerned with men’s bodies as well as men’s minds. Jesus wished to bring health to the body and health to the soul.

(iii) The church has a source of power. We need not take everything literally. We need not think that the Christian is literally to have the power to lift venomous snakes and drink poisonous liquids and take no harm. But at the back of this picturesque language is the conviction that the Christian is filled with a power to cope with life that others do not possess.

(iv) The church is never left alone to do its work. Always Christ works with it and in it and through it. The Lord of the church is still in the church and is still the Lord of power.

And so the gospel finishes with the message that the Christian life is lived in the presence and the power of him who was crucified and rose again.

-Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)

Fuente: Barclay Daily Study Bible

1. And Salome Besides the three women here mentioned, Luke mentions a fourth, Joanna, the wife of Chusa, adding that there were others, of women from Galilee. It was, therefore, a numerous party. Sweet spices Consisting of myrrh, aloes, and other preventives of putrefaction, and odorous perfumes. These spices had been prepared upon the previous Friday evening. Previous to this, the sacred body had been embalmed by Nicodemus with spices to the enormous amount of a hundred pounds in weight, inclosed within the linen cloth that enwrapped him. Why was this exceeding copious amount of spices lavished upon the Lord’s body? The ancient Egyptians adopted the practice of embalmment with the idea of preserving the body undissolved and unmarred for the day of resurrection. Did these friends of Jesus provide these ample preservatives under a somewhat similar conception? As Mary unknowingly anointed his body for his burial, so these disciples seemed half unconsciously to be embalming him for his resurrection. It is almost impossible to suppose that some thought of his prediction of his rising again should not cross their minds, and it seems naturally to have shown itself in this munificent honouring of the sacred body.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘And when the Sabbath day was past Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices that they might come and anoint him.’

Mark telescopes the account. He is not concerned about the detail but the basic facts. He tells us first that these three had to buy more spices once the Sabbath was over. They had discovered that they did not have sufficient, but the arrival of the Sabbath had cut short their plans and nothing could be done on the Sabbath. The purchase of spices and their application to the body were forbidden on the Sabbath. So they waited until after sunset on that day and then went out and purchased what they needed.

We should perhaps note the love revealed by their actions. The body had now been dead for over a day, and by the time they reached it a day and a half, yet they were determined that He should be anointed, come what may.

He says nothing about Mary Magdalene, the youngest and most agile, leaving the others in their preparation, going on ahead to discover what was happening at the tomb, and her subsequent experiences and her meeting up with Jesus Himself (Joh 20:1-18). For what he was concerned about was the experience of the whole band of women who had shared the vigil at the cross. (Whether Mary rejoined them again at any stage we do not know).

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Jesus Is Risen (16:1-8).

The Sabbath went slowly by, and then the grieving women went to buy spices in order to anoint Jesus’ body. Approaching the tomb with heavy hearts, they wondered how they would be able to move the stone that barred the entrance. But they never dreamed of what they were going to find. For when they arrived at the tomb they discovered that the stone had been rolled aside, and on entering the tomb found there a young man dressed in pure white who informed them that Jesus was no longer there. ‘He is not here,’ he declared, ‘He is risen’.

Analysis.

And when the Sabbath day 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 will roll us away the stone from the door of the tomb?” (Mar 16:1-3).

And looking up they see that the stone is rolled back, for it was very large. And entering into the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were amazed (Mar 16:4-5).

And he says to them, “Do not be amazed. You seek Jesus the Nazarene who has been crucified. He is risen. He is not here” (Mar 16:6 a).

“See the place where they laid Him. But go and tell His disciples, and Peter, ‘He goes before you into Galilee. There you will see Him, as He said to you” (Mar 16:6-7).

And they went out and fled from the tomb. For trembling and astonishment had come on them. And they said nothing to anyone for they were awestruck (Mar 16:8).

Note that in ‘a’ they come to the tomb, chatting away about their problem, and in the parallel they flee from the tomb and say nothing to anyone because they are filled with awe. Their whole lives have been turned upside down. In ‘b they see a young man in white sitting on the right side, (who is there as His representative), and in the parallel he says, ‘see the place where they laid Him’ and tells them to go to Galilee where they will see Jesus Himself. He is no longer in the tomb. Centrally in ‘c’ we have the announcement that ‘He is not here, He is risen’.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The Resurrection and Appearance of Jesus Christ Mar 16:1-13 records the resurrection and appearance of Jesus Christ.

Mar 16:1-8 The Resurrection of Jesus ( Mat 28:1-8 , Luk 24:1-12 , Joh 20:1-10 ) In Mar 16:1-8 we have the account of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Mar 16:1 “that they might come and anoint him” Comments – Jesus had already been anointed for burial when the woman wiped His feet with her hair (see Mar 14:3-9).

Mar 14:8, “She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.”

Mar 16:1 Comments Biblical scholars hold two views as to the time and day when the women first visited the empty tomb, stating they either arrived Saturday evening or Sunday morning. Mark and Luke clearly state that the women discovered the empty tomb early Sunday morning (Mar 16:2, Luk 24:1). However, statements made by Matthew and John are not so clear, leaving room for debate (Mat 28:1, Joh 20:1). Thus, scholars use the accounts of Matthew and John as the basis for an argument of a Saturday evening discovery of the empty tomb, although the Sunday morning view is generally preferred by scholars.

Mat 28:1, “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.”

Mar 16:2, “And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.”

Luk 24:1, “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.”

Joh 20:1, “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.”

Modern English versions offer translations that reflect both views, translating the Greek phrase in Mat 28:1 as “after the Sabbath day” ( NIV, RSV), or “towards the end of the Sabbath day” ( ASV, AV, YLT). [163]

[163] A. T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research (New York: Hodder and Stoughton, n.d.), 645-646.

Alfred Edersheim says the Jewish day begins at evening (6:00 p.m.) instead of midnight, as is used in the modern Western civilization. [164] Thus, if we understand the women to be making their way to the tomb before 6:00 p.m. Saturday evening, then they would have arrived as “the end of the Sabbath day” (Mat 28:1), while it was still Saturday, so that the first day of the week “began to dawn” at 6:00 p.m. on our Saturday evening. This is how Rotherham brings out his translation:

[164] Alfred Edersheim says, “It is noteworthy that in Genesis 1 we always read, ‘And the evening and the morning were the first day,’ or second, or third day, etc. Hence the Jews calculate the day from evening to evening, that is, from the first appearance of the stars in the evening to the first appearance of stars next evening, and not, as we do, from midnight to midnight.” See Alfred Edersheim, The Bible History Old Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eedmann Publishing Company, c1876-1887, 1984) 19.

Rotherham, “And, late in the week, when it was on the point of dawning into the first of the week, came Mary the Magdalene, and the other Mary, to view the sepulchre.”

However, the NIV interprets Mat 28:1 to mean the dawning of the following Sunday morning after the Sabbath. This is generally the preferred interpretation, that the women went to the tomb early Sunday morning as daylight began to dawn.

NIV, “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.”

This issue over how to translate Mat 28:1 is not a new one, but dates back to the early Church fathers. Eusebius gives an alternative explanation to these verses. Williams and Caffin quote Eusebius (A.D. 260 to 340) on his comparison of Mat 28:1 and Joh 20:1 by saying,

“The expression, ‘on the eve of the Sabbath’, is due to the translator of the Scripture; for the Evangelist Matthew published his Gospel in the Hebrew tongue; but the person who rendered it into the Greek language changed it and called the hour of dawning on the Lord’s Day.” ( Quaestionum ad Marinum 2.1) [165]

[165] A. Lukyn Williams and Benjamin C. Caffin. Matthew, in The Pulpit Commentary, eds. H. D. M. Spence and Joseph Exell (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1950), in Ages Digital Library, v. 1.0 [CD-ROM] (Rio, WI: Ages Software, Inc., 2001), “Introduction: 4 What Was the Original Language of the Gospel.” The Greek text of this passage is found in PG 22 col. 941a.

Mar 16:4 Comments The stone was not rolled away so that Jesus Christ could come out of the tomb, for He could not pass through walls (Joh 20:26). The stone was rolled away so that His disciples could bear witness to His resurrection, and the angel could testify to them that He had risen. Thus, in Mat 28:6 the angels invite the disciples to come and see the empty tomb.

Joh 20:26, “And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.”

Mat 28:6, “He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”

Mar 16:5 Comments Phil Edwards says when he visited the Garden Tomb, he noticed to the left was an area carved out of the wall of stone large enough to lay a body, while on the right was a place cut out just large enough for someone to sit. Thus, Mar 16:5 tells us that the angel was sitting to the right of the place where Jesus’ body had been placed. [166]

[166] Phil Edwards, “Easter Sermon,” Panama City First Assembly of God, Panama City, Florida, April 24, 2011.

Mar 16:7 “tell his disciples and Peter” Comments – The fact that Jesus singles out Peter both reminds him of his sin, but most importantly, lets him know that he has been forgiven, and that it is time for Peter to get busy in serving the Risen Saviour again. Jesus will single out Peter on another occasion by the shore of Galilee and ask him three times if he loves Him. Thus, Jesus has Peter at the forefront of Him mind when he purposed to appear to the disciples in Galilee.

Mar 16:7 Comments – Jesus will indeed go before His disciples into Galilee, and Matthew’s Gospel will emphasize this meeting after His Resurrection. Only Mark’s Gospel makes another mention of His meeting with the disciples in Galilee (Mar 16:7). Matthew’s Gospel mentions it three times in his final chapter. He records how the angels told the women at the Garden Tomb to have His disciples meet Him there (Mat 28:7). Jesus then appeared to these same women as they left the Tomb and told them to have His disciples meet Him there (Mat 28:10). It was in Galilee that Jesus delivered to His disciples the Great Commission (Mat 28:16-20). Thus, it was an important meeting.

Mat 28:7, “And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.”

Mat 28:10, “Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.”

Mat 28:16, “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.”

Some scholars believe that the reference in 1Co 15:6 to Jesus appearing to above five hundred disciples took place in Galilee. It would have been a location, perhaps in a rural area, where Jesus would have been able to appear with causing a disturbance.

1Co 15:6, “After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.”

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

The Passion and Resurrection of Christ Mar 14:1 to Mar 16:20 gives us the account the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. This section concludes with Christ’s commission to His disciples to preach the Gospel with signs following.

Outline: Here is a proposed outline:

1. The Betrayal and Arrest Mar 14:1-52

2. The Trial Mar 14:53 to Mar 15:20

3. The Crucifixion and Burial Mar 15:21-47

4. The Resurrection Mar 16:1-13

5. The Commission to Preach Mar 16:14-18

6. The Ascension of Jesus Mar 16:19-20

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

The Resurrection of Jesus.

The women at the sepulcher:

v. 1. 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.

v. 2. And very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher at the rising of the sun.

v. 3. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher?

v. 4. And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away; for it was very great.

The weekly Sabbath came to a close at sunset, whereupon the bazaars were quickly thrown open to take advantage of any trade that might happen along before complete darkness set in. The same women that had been present on Calvary, two of whom had been witnesses of Christ’s burial, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome, the wife of Zebedee, had, even on Friday evening, prepared such ointments and spices as they could find before the Sabbath was announced. They now made further purchases of sweet-smelling spices, in order to have everything ready against the morrow, for they intended to go out to the grave and anoint the body of their Master properly. Note: Here is a bit of evidence that there was no idea or intention in the minds of the disciples to steal the body of Jesus and falsely to allege that He had risen from the dead. The prophecies of Christ concerning this event had apparently been entirely forgotten for the time being. So early did the women start out from the city on the next morning, on the first of the Sabbath-days, the great day of the festival when the sheaves were offered to God in the Temple, that they arrived at the grave when the sun was rising. They seem to have had no knowledge of the presence of the soldiers or else not to have anticipated any difficulty on their account. But one fact was worrying them all the way out to the garden, and they spoke of it again and again the matter of the stone that had been rolled before the door of the sepulcher. It had taken at least two men to put it into place, and there was little chance of their removing it with their combined strength, for it was very great. “Rock-cut tombs, whether large or small, were regarded as important possessions. To close a ‘doorway’ tomb securely must always have been a matter of difficulty in. Palestine. It was not easy with the kind of locks they had to keep intruders out of tombs. This led to the cutting of a large groove by the side of the doorway into which a rolling-stone was fitted. When it was desired to open the tomb, the stone could be rolled back. The stones were too heavy to be easily disturbed. It was in a new tomb of this type that the body of Jesus was laid, and it was such a stone that the women found rolled away on the resurrection morning. ” This was the first thing that the women looked for when they came in sight of the tomb, for by this time they could distinguish objects clearly. And the fact that the stone was rolled away from the tomb may have filled them with great fear and consternation, causing them to think, perhaps, of grave robbers. Mary Magdalene, at least, waited for nothing more, but turned at once and brought this version of the happening to the city, Joh 20:1-31; Joh 21:1-15.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

EXPOSITION

Mar 16:1

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. A hasty but lavish embalming of our Lord’s sacred body had been begun on Friday evening by Joseph and Nicodemus. They had “brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight” (Joh 19:39). This would be a compoundthe gum of the myrrh tree, and a powder of the fragrant aloe wood mixed together, with which they would completely cover the body, which was then swathed with linen cloths (), also steeped in the aromatic preparation. Then the sindon would he placed over all. Compare the , of St. Luke (Luk 23:53), as applying to the sindon, with the of St. John (Joh 21:1-25 :40) as applying to the . This verse records a further stage in the embalming. What had been done on the Friday evening had been done in haste, and yet sufficiently for the preservation of the sacred body, if that had been needful, from decay. The remaining work could be done more carefully and tenderly at the tomb. Observe the aorist in this verse (hJgo>rasan) “they bought;” not “they had bought.”

Mar 16:2

And very early on the first day of the week ( ), they come

among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the tomb? The usual form of tombs in Palestine was the following:There was generally an approach to the tomb open to the sky; then a low entrance on the side of the rock, leading into a square chamber, on one side of which was a recess for the body, about three feet deep, with a low arch over it. The stone here referred to by the women would be the stone which covered the actual entrance into the vault. It would probably be not less than six feet in breadth and three in height. This great stone had been rolled By Joseph to the mouth of the tomb; and then he had departed. Now, as the women approached, “they were saying (,) among themselves, Who shall roll us away () the stone?” They had seen the arrangements, and had observed the size of the atone on the Friday evening. (Mar 15:47).

Mar 16:4

And looking up () they see () that the stone is rolled back (): for it was exceeding great ( ). At this point we learn from St. John that Mary Magdalene ran away to tell Peter and John (Joh 20:2).

Mar 16:5

And entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, arrayed in a white robe; and they were amazed. They enter the tomb, the expression “tomb” including the ante-chamber They see that the stone has been rolled back, so as to expose the entrance into the place where Jesus had lain. On that stone a young man was sitting. The angel peared in the form of a young man, because youth indicates the vigor, the beauty, and the strength of angels. The good angels always appear in beauty and comeliness of form. There will be no deformity in heaven. The angel appeared as arrayed in a white robe. This white robe, or talar indicated a heavenly spiritual being. St. Matthew (Mat 28:3) says that “his countenance was like lightning,” flashing with splendor, and his raiment was as white as snow. It may be that he appeared more terrible to the keepers (Mat 28:4), and that he abated something of his dazzling brightness when he appeared to the women; but “they were affrighted” (); literally, they were amazed. Amazement was the dominant feeling, though probably not unmingled with fear.

Mar 16:6

And he saith unto them, Be not amazed , the same wordye seek Jesus, the Nazarene, which hath been crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold, the place where they laid him; that is, here is the place where they laid him ( ). St. Matthew (Mat 28:6) says, “Come, see the place where the Lord lay” ( ). This seems to imply that the women actually entered the inner chamber, and saw the very place where the Lord lay. Who does not see here how irrefragable is the evidence of his resurrection?

Mar 16:7

But go, tell his disciples and Peter, He goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. St. Gregory (‘Hom. in Evan.’) says, “If the angel had not named Peter, he would not have dared to come amongst the disciples. Therefore he is specially named, lest he should despair on account of his denial.” It was evidently intended as a special message of comfort to Peter. St. Luke (Luk 24:34) records the personal appearance of our Lord first to Peter. Here St. Mark, with characteristic modesty, keeps Peter in the background. In Mar 14:28 our Lord is recorded to have said, “After I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee.” He would go before them as their Shepherd, and lead them to that part of the Holy Land which, as he had honored it before his resurrection, so he would honor it again now.

Mar 16:8

And they went outthe word () “quickly” is omittedand fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them ( )agitation and ecstasy; they were in a state of the utmost excitement. And they said nothing to any one; for they were afraid. The vision of angels had terrified them. They were probably afraid to say anything to any one, on account of the Jews, lest it should be said that they had stolen the body of Jesus. It has been well remarked that independent accounts of events occurring a time of supreme excitement, and related by trustworthy witnesses, but from different points of view, naturally present difficulties which cannot be cleared up without a full knowledge of all the particulars. (See ‘Speaker’s Commentary’ in Mat 28:9)

Mar 16:9

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. St. Luke (Luk 8:2) mentions that “seven devils had gone out of her;” and St. Mark repeats it here, to show the power of love and penitence, that she was the first to be permitted to see the risen Savior. The vision of the angel had scared her, and she said nothing; but the actual sight of her risen Lord gave her confidence, and she went immediately, in obedience to his command, and told the disciples (see Joh 20:11-18). She had lingered about his tomb; her strong affection riveted her to the spot.

Mar 16:10

She went and told ( ) them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. The aorist here indicates immediate action. This word occurs again in Mar 16:12 and Mar 16:15, but nowhere else in St. Mark’s Gospel It is to be noticed, however, that it occurs twice in the First Epistle of St. Peter, and once in his Second Epistle. This seems to connect St. Peter with the writer of these verses.

Mar 16:11

And they, when they heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, disbelieved (). They refused to believe on the bare statement of Mary Magdalene, although M. Renan says, “Sa grande affirmation de femme, ‘Il est res-suscitei’ a ete la base de la foi de l’humanite.” They did not believe her until the risen Lord stood before them., p. 297.)

Mar 16:12

And after these things he was manifested in another form unto two of them, as they walked () on their way into the country. This appearance is doubtless the same as that which is related fully by St. Luke (Luk 24:13).

Mar 16:13

And they went away and told it unto the rest: neither believed they them. This want of faith happened by the permission and providence of God. “This their unbelief,” says St. Gregory, “was not so much their infirmity as our future constancy on the faith.”

Mar 16:14

And afterward ( ) he was manifested () unto the eleven themselves ( ) as they sat at meat. There is an emphasis here on the word “themselves.” The former appearances had been to persons not having any official character. But now he appears to the eleven apostles, when they were all gathered together at the close of that memorable day. “Unto the eleven.“ If, as seems evident, this appearance refers to the day of our Lord’s resurrection, there would be only ten present; for Thomas was not then with them. Still, they might be called the eleven, because the apostolic college was reduced to eleven after the betrayal by Judas; so that they might still be called the eleven, although Thomas was absent. St. Bernard says on this, “If Christ comes and is present when we sit at meat, how much more when we kneel in prayer!” He upbraided them (). This is a strong word of rebuke. They ought to have received the testimony of competent witnesses. But their doubts were only removed by the evidence of their senses; just as afterwards in the case of Thomas. St. Mark is always careful to record the rebukes administered by our Lord to his apostles.

Mar 16:15, Mar 16:16

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation ( ). He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned. Here is a considerable interval of time, not noticed in any way by the evangelist. And he saith unto them; not on the day of his resurrection. It would seem that this charge was delivered to them in Galilee, and that it is the same as that recorded in St. Matthew (Mat 28:19), which was again repeated immediately before his ascension from Bethany. Go ye into all the world; not into Judaea only, but everywhere. This command has expanded with the discovery in later times of new portions of the inhabited earth; and must ever be coextensive with geographic discovery. Preach the gospel to the whole creation; that is, “among all nations.” Man is the noblest work of God. All the creation is gathered up in him, created after the image of the Creator. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned. These words are very important. The first clause opposes the notion that faith alone is sufficient for salvation, without those works which are the fruit of faith. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; that is, he that believeth, and as an evidence of his faith accepts Christ’s baptism, and fulfils the promises and vows which he then took upon himself, working out his own salvation with fear and trembling, shall be saved. But he that disbelieveth shall be condemned ( ,). The condemnation anticipates the doom which will be incurred by continual unbelief.

Mar 16:17, Mar 16:18

And these signs shall follow them that believe. Such evidences were necessary in the first dawn of Christianity, to attract attention to the doctrine; but our Lord’s words do not mean that they were to be in perpetuity, as a continually recurring evidence of the truth of Christianity. St. Gregory (on 1Co 14:22) says, “These signs were necessary in the beginning of Christianity. In order that faith might take root and increase, it must be nourished by miracle; for so even we, when we plant shrubs, only water them until we see that they are taking root, and when we see that they have rooted themselves, we cease to water them. And this is what St. Paul means where he says ‘Tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to the unbelieving’ (1Co 14:22).” In my name shall they cast out devils. St. Mark, of all the evangelists, dwells most perhaps on this, as characteristic of our Lord’s work, and as the evidence of his supreme dominion over the spiritual world. They shall speak with new tongues. This was the first intimation of the great miracle to be inaugurated on the day of Pentecost. The gift was continued but for a very limited time. They shall take up serpents. The instance of St. Paul at Melita (Act 28:3-5) would be familiar to St. Mark’s readers. And if they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no wise hurt them. There are some few traditionary notices of the fulfillment of this promise; as in the case of “Justus Barsabas,” mentioned by Eusebius (‘H.E.,’ 3, 19), and of St. John, mentioned by St. Augustine. It may be observed of this passage, that no one could have interpolated it after the cessation of the signs to which it refers, which took place very early.

Mar 16:19

So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken unto them, was received up into heaven. Here is another interval. The evangelist has gathered up some few of the most important words and sayings of Christ; and now he takes his reader to Bethany, the scene of our Lord’s ascension. It has been well observed (see Bishop Wordsworth, in loc.) that the fact of the Ascension is gradually revealed in the Gospels. St. Matthew does not mention it at all. St. Mark refers to it in this brief and very simple manner. But St. Luke describes it with great fullness, both in his Gospel and in the Acts of the Apostles, throughout which book he leads his readers to contemplate Christ as ascended into heaven, and as sitting at God’s right hand, and as ruling the Church and the world from the throne of his glory.

Mar 16:20

And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen. These words are alluded to in several passages by Justin Martyr, and, for the reasons given above, could not have been written later than the time of miracles being wrought. They form a fitting introduction to the Acts of the Apostles. Cornelius a Lapide concludes his Commentary upon St. Mark with the following beautiful apostrophe of St. Augustine:”O kingdom of everlasting blessedness, where youth never grows old, where beauty never fades, where love never waxes cold, where health never fails, where joy never decreases, where life never ends!”

HOMILETICS

Mar 16:1-8

The empty sepulcher.

In this passage there is no direct narrative of the Savior’s resurrection. The evangelist probably tells what, and only what, he had heard from credible and well-known witnesses. There were no such witnesses to the act of the Lord’s emergence from the tomb. But the Marys and Salome had stated what they had seen and heard. They declared that, although they went early to the sepulcher, they found it both open and empty. They related their interview with the young man, the angel, who informed them that Jesus had risen. And it is upon their testimony that the evangelist bases in the first instance his gospel of the resurrection.

I. LOVE WILL FIND OCCASIONS AND WAYS OF EXPRESSING ITSELF. In our Lord’s ministry, devout and attached women had often provided for his wants. When the end of that ministry arrived, these affectionate friends were found faithful to their Master; they were amongst the witnesses of his crucifixion and his death. Nor did they then withdraw, but lingered by the lifeless body until it was deposited in the new-hewn tomb. Even then their love was not satisfied; it remained for them to finish the rites which had been so hastily performed by Nicodemus and Joseph, and so abruptly suspended by the sunset which was the commencement of the Jewish sabbath. Behold them, accordingly, in the garden immediately after sunrise. On the past evening they have purchased spices; and they have now, at early morning, come, laden with the fragrant preparations, to perform the last offices to the body of him they have long honored and loved. The incident reminds us of the grateful and most graceful tribute offered to Jesus by the sister of Lazarus, who poured the costly perfume over the sacred feet of her Lord, her Benefactor. In both cases the value and the charm of the services are owing to the love by which they were inspired. Love followed Jesus, not only in the way, and into the dwelling, but to the cross and to the grave. They who truly love the Lord Christ will find opportunities in abundance of proving their affection.’

II. WE IMAGINE DIFFICULTIES WHICH GOD HAS ALREADY SOLVED FOR US. NO wonder that these feeble women questioned one with another, “Who shall roll us away the stone?” Strong men had closed the entrance to the tomb by placing this huge stone against it; how should this barrier to the carrying out of their intentions be removed? They looked up, and lo! the stone was rolled away. This had been done at daybreak by the celestial messenger. Very similar is much of Christian experience. We perplex ourselves, it may be, with speculative difficulties. Nature and revelation teem with mysteries. To our finite and untrained, inexperienced intelligence it must be so. Our penetration is too dull, our wisdom is too short-sighted; our powers, knowledge, and opportunities are all unequal to the task. But all is clear to that Being who is infinitely wise; and when we lift up our eyes we shall in due time see the resolution of our doubts. We perplex ourselves, it may be, with practical difficulties. How shall we do our workthat work being so vast, and we so hell, less? How shall we train our family, conduct our business, discharge our responsibilities? We cannot tell. But, looking unto him, we shall be lightened. He shall bring our way to pass. We perplex ourselves, ‘it may be, with difficulties as to the Church and kingdom of Christ. How shall the Lord’s people be awakened to zeal, or reconciled in unity, or qualified for the work assigned them in a dark and sinful world? Our mind is baffled by the problem, which we have no means of solving. Let us go on our way. When we come to our difficulty, we may perhaps find that it is gone. Let us leave the problems of the future to be solved by him with whom all is one eternal “now.” Let us commit the distant in space and in time to him to whom belong alike the far-off and the near. There is no stone so exceeding great that he cannot roll it away; none that he will suffer to hinder or delay the execution of his own purposes.

III. CHRIST MAY BE SOUGHT IN THE GRAVE, BUT HE IS FOUND IN THE RISEN LIFE, THE SPIRITUAL REALM. Notwithstanding that Jesus had foretold both his death and his resurrection, the disciples were overwhelmed with astonishment at his crucifixion, and were amazed and incredulous at the tidings of his triumph over the grave. The men do not seem to have come to the tomb until they were summoned; the women came, but they came to embalm the dead, not to welcome the livingthe risen, It needed that they should be assured “He is risen; he is not here]” in order that the current of their mournful thoughts should be arrested and reversed. In the tomb they did not find him, but they met him in his glorious resurrection-body. There are many who still commit the same mistake regarding our Savior. They think of his bodily and earthly life, of its outward incidents and of its tragic close. They think of him as if his ministry and his mediation came to an end on Calvary. They do not think of him as risen, as living in human society, as working in human hearts, as governing and blessing human lives. Yet, for us, what is the significance of the Redeemer’s rising from the dead? Is it not just thisthat the Savior’s resurrection-life is his moral and spiritual sway over humanity? It is not in his body that his presence consists. It is in the penetration of the world’s moral nature by his ever-present, all-pervading Spirit; it is in the transformation of the world’s moral life by the power of his sacrifice, his obedience, his self-denial, his benevolence. Many a king and conqueror has died, after a life of ambition, a career of slaughter and of oppression. The death of such has been welcome, for it has put an end to a power for mischief which has cursed the world. But every teacher, every discoverer of truth, has implanted in the soul of humanity a seed which has outlived himself. How much more does the Divine Light and Life of men continue to illumine and to inspire the world, which first rejected him, and then found out his inestimable worth, his incalculable power!

IV. THE MOST WELCOME AND GLORIOUS REVELATION 1S RECEIVED AT FIRST WITH FEAR, ASTONISHMENT, AND SILENCE. Of the women we read, “They were amazed;” “trembling and astonishment came upon them;” “they were afraid;” “they said nothing to any one.” It is a strange effect to follow from such a cause. Nothing could be so welcome and so joyful as the news which greeted them. But it was too startling, too surprising, too unexpected. They “departed with fear and great joy,” just as the eleven afterwards “disbelieved for joy.” There is news which seems too good to be true. Even so now there are doubting souls, who fain would believe in a Divine Savior, and who withhold their faith, not from unspirituality of nature and habit, but from the intensity of their appreciation of the blessing neededthe revelation of Divine favor, and the prospect of a glorious immortality. Let such raise their minds to the height of the Divine benevolence. “Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead?” Such an interposition is surely worthy even of the Supreme! “That our faith and hope might be in God.” Surely such an end may be believed to justify the most unexampled revelation and the most stupendous display of power. It is well that the tidings should be received with some sense of their amazing importance and their unique bearing upon the state and prospects of mankind.

V. THE NEWS OF THE RESURRECTION IS GOOD TIDINGS TO BE PUBLISHED ABROAD. The faithful women were directed to act as messengers. They have been called “the apostles of the apostles.” They were to find Peter and the other disciples, to tell them that Jesus had risen, and to direct them where they should meet him. This they did, and in so doing they set an example to Christians in all coming time. Whatever else may be said of the resurrection of Jesus, this must be said of it first and foremost: It is good news, worthy of all acceptation. As such the apostles received it, and as such they published it. In the record of their ministry, nothing is so prominently put forward as their preaching Jesus and the Resurrection. A risen and glorified Savior was the Savior they preacheda Savior who had died, but who liveth evermore. Glad tidings to be proclaimed in every language and to all mankind!

APPLICATION.

1. Let us learn to live a life of faith in a risen, exalted, reigning Savior and Lord. Our religious life should receive its impulse and its motive from looking upwards to the Lord of life.

2. Let us regard it as our sacred ministry to publish as good tidings the truth that Christ is risen. This is the office and privilege of the Church of him who was dead and is alive again, and lives for evermore.

Mar 16:9-14

Disbelief convinced.

The day of Christ’s resurrection was a day which opened in gloom and closed with gladness. In the morning our Lord’s disciples and friends were mourning their Master’s death, were grieving at what they deemed their forsaken and friendless lot; in the evening the same persons were rejoicing in a risen and triumphant Redeemer. They had found the key to their perplexities; they had received a new impulse and aim, the power and the promise of a new life. To what was it all due? Simply to this: they exchanged unreasonable disbelief for reasonable faith.

I. THE EVIDENCE DISBELIEVED. In some cases we are justified in refusing our assent to testimony; in others we are justified in withholding that assent until the testimony is confirmed. Such was not the case on the occasion under consideration. The evidence was that of credible persons, and of persons whom the eleven knew to be credible. Mary of Magdala, and Cleopas, and his companion were well known to the company of our Lord’s friends and disciples. They were persons of unquestionable veracity. They had been themselves convinced against their own persuasions and prejudices. Mary had gone to the grave to complete the rites of buriala proof that she was not expecting the resurrection. The two who walked to Emmaus regarded the death of Jesus as She destruction of their hopes; they were sad of countenance and slow of heart. If the testimony of Mary were rejected as that of an enthusiast, how could the testimony of the two companions be disputed? Besides, from the other Gospels we know that the other women had also borne witness to having seen Jesus, and that the Lord had appeared to Simon, who had announced the good news to the others. Testimony so varied, repeated, and credible as this deserved a better reception than was accorded to it. But whatever was said of the rising of the Lord Jesus, the disciples during that day disbelieved.

II. THE EXPLANATION OF THIS DISBELIEF. There must have been and there were reasons, or rather motives, for the attitude of the unbelieving disciples. According to this passage, grief was one explanation. The sorrow which possessed the hearts of Christ’s friends, when they saw him insulted, tortured, and slain, was deep and poignant. Time had not elapsed for that grief to be allayed. They were still prostrate beneath the anguish which had crushed their hearts. They would hear of nothing that might alleviate and soothe them. And with grief was mingled disappointment. Their mounting hopes were smitten as with a bolt, and fell lifeless to the earth. They had looked for conquest, and they thought they saw defeat. They had looked for a kingdom, and lo! their King was slain. Doubtless, the sentiments of all were expressed in the pathetic lament, “We trusted this had been he who should have redeemed Israel.” Such hopes, so crushed, could not easily arise again. Minds so amazed, staggered, utterly perplexed, were all unready to welcome tidings of encouragement. The storm-blast had passed over the tree and snapped the trunk in twain; the calm and the sunshine could not rear the prostrate head.

III. THE BLAMABLENESS OF THIS DISBELIEF. When the Lord himself appeared unto them he doubtless made allowance for their feelings. Yet it is here recorded, “He upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.” This implies that they ought to have felt and acted otherwise.

1. And they would have done so had they cherished a juster view of the nature of the Lord himself. Had they remembered the witness borne to him by the Father, had they recalled his own lofty claims, had they pondered his wonderful works, and especially his miracles of raising the dead to life, then the tidings that he had risen would not have fallen upon unreceptive minds.

2. Further, the disciples should have remembered the Lord’s promises, some of which had been given in figurative language, but some of which had been couched in the plainest terms. He had said that, after being put to death, he would rise on the third day. How is it that they had so utterly forgotten a promise so express and so surprising?

3. And they should have borne in mind the predictions of the Old Testament regarding the Messianic kingdom, which should be based upon humiliation and suffering, but should be built up in glory. Jesus himself reproached them for having missed the purport of the Messianic prophecies: “Ought not Christ to have,” etc.?

IV. DISBELIEF VANQUISHED. What Christ’s messengers could not do, he did himself. What could not be wrought by testimony, was wrought by evidence of eyesight and hearing. The change which came over the disciples demands attention. Their conversion from disbelief to faith was:

1. Instantaneous. For long hours they had resisted the witness of those who had seen the risen Lord; but, upon themselves seeing him, they yielded an immediate assent.

2. It was complete and joyful There was no further questioning, and no further sadness. For a moment “they believed not for joy; but “then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord.” Their minds went quite round; from doubt they passed to confidence, from depression to exhilaration.

3. And this conversion was enduring. Never did they hesitate in their own testimony. They thenceforth regarded themselves as witnesses of the resurrection, and spake boldly of what their eyes had seen, their ears had heard, their hands had handled, of the Word of life.

V. THE LESSONS OF THEIR DISBELIEF.

1. It makes the testimony of the disciples the more valuable. Clearly, those men were not credulous, were not disposed or prepared to believe. It must have been conclusive evidence indeed which convinced them. There can be no danger in accepting the testimony of such men as these.

2. It is a rebuke to those who, through hardness of heart, believe not in a risen Savior. With the clear, full evidence which we possess, we shall indeed be blamable if we withhold our cordial faith from him who for us died and rose again. “Blessed,” says the Lord, “are they who, not having seen, yet believe.”

Mar 16:15-18

The great commission.

Whether these words were spoken at once upon one occasion, or whether they are the summing up of many words uttered by our Lord between his resurrection and ascension, one thing is clearthey are the unburdening of his great heart of what was the load chiefly pressing upon it. Why had he condescended to live upon earth, to fulfill a ministry of humiliation, to endure unequalled woes, to die a death of ignominy and of shame? Surely not that after his departure from earth all things might be as before. But rather and only that, as the great foreseen result, of his earthly advent and ministry, a new and heavenly power might be introduced into humanity, a new spiritual kingdom might be set up in the world, and a new day might dawn upon the long, dark night of time. Hence the gospel which he caused to be proclaimed, the commission which he entrusted to his disciples and especially his apostles. Hence the authority Jesus entrusted to his servants, and the vast sphere he contemplated for their labors of witness and of work.

I. THE COMMISSION ENTRUSTED TO THE CHURCH.

1. What they were to take. “The gospel,” glad tidings of salvation and eternal life through a Divine Redeemer, who died for the world’s sins, and lives for the world’s eternal life.

2. To whom they were to take it. “To the whole creation,” i.e. to all mankind, of every race and every through them on his Name were entrusted with this great commission. “Freely,” said Christ, “ye have received; freely give.” No order of men, but the whole Church, receives this sacred trust.

II. THE RESPONSIBILITY LAID UPON THE WORLD TO WHICH THE GOSPEL COMES. A great alternative is propounded. There is no middle course supposed. Belief and baptism are the condition of salvation; disbelief ensures condemnation. We may well admire the wisdom and the condescending compassion which determined such a condition as faith as the condition upon which the highest spiritual blessings may be enjoyed. It is possible to the youngest, to the least learned, to the feeblest of men. Yet it is a mighty principle; being able, when directed towards a Divine Savior, to secure all good which man can need and God can give, both for time and for eternity.

III. THE CREDENTIALS ACCOMPANYING THE PUBLICATION OF THE GOSPEL.

1. What they were. There are enumerated: power to exorcise demons, power to speak with tongues, immunity from harm by poison or by serpent-bite, the ministry of supernatural healing.

2. Why they were given. It was to authenticate the message and the messengers. As in Christ’s ministry spiritual authority was indicated by miraculous works, so was it in the ministry of Christ’s followers and apostles. As a matter of fact, attention was thus drawn to the Word of life.

3. Why they were withdrawn. When this exactly was we cannot perhaps decide; but as the purpose of their bestowal was temporary, it is evident that when this purpose was answered, and Christianity was launched upon the waters of the world, it was in accordance with Divine wisdom that miracles should cease.

Mar 16:19, Mar 16:20

Ascension.

Christ ascended on high. How could it be otherwise? He came into this world in a manner and with accompaniments so remarkable, he lived in this world a life so singular and unique, that it was but appropriate that he should quit this world as none other has ever done. What is meant by his being “received up”where “heaven” is,this we do not know; our knowledge is limited, and our power of conceiving the eternity and infinity around us is feeble. One thing we do see, and that is, that Jesus finished his work on earth and then departed; and one other thing we see, almost as clearly, viz. that the moral, spiritual work which was the object of his mission, so far from coming to an end with his bodily departure, really then commenced, and has been proceeding ever since. How he interests himself in it and carries it on, we can only tell in general and scriptural language; that he does so, is plain to every spiritually enlightened man. St. Mark, who plunged at the outset so boldly into his task of relating “the gospel of the Son of God,” here, with characteristic brevity, clearness, and vigor, tells the last portion of his narrativethe ascension of the Savior into heaven, and the consequent continuation of his work on earth.

I. THE ASCENSION IS THE COMPLETION OF OUR SAVIOUR‘S EARTHLY MINISTRY. To those who believe that the Lord Jesus arose from the dead, the narrative of the Ascension can present little difficulty. It is impossible to believe that he who consented to die, and who conquered death, could again enter the grave. It remained for him to quit the earth without dying; and what we read of his resurrection-body leads us to believe that this was not only possible, but natural and easy. In fact, the Ascension may be regarded, not as the consequence so much as the completion of the Resurrection; and, in apostolic language, the two events are sometimes referred to in one and the same expression. How explicitly had Jesus foretold this great event! Early in his ministry he had declared, “No man hath ascended into heaven, save he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of man, who is in heaven.” Expostulating with the cavillers at Capernaum at a later period, he had asked them, “What then if ye should behold the Son of man ascending where he was before?” And on the day of his resurrection he had directed Mary to take to his disciples this message: “I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and my God and your God ” The foresight and authority of our Savior were proved by the correspondence between his words and the event which exactly fulfilled them. The Ascension implied that all the purposes of the incarnation and advent of the Redeemer were accomplished. What he came to do, to suffer, and to say, he had already done, suffered, and said. He did not leave the earth until on earth there was no more for him to do. In his recorded intercessory prayer, addressing his Father, he said, “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”

II. THE ASCENSION IS THE COMMENCEMENT OF OUR SAVIOUR‘S REIGN. We are too prone to think of human life as if it closes when the last breath is drawn and the heart beats no more. We forget that this is but the birth to the higher, the proper, the eternal life. Similarly with our view of the Redeemer’s ministry of service, his tenure of priestly, royal office. We are too prone to regard his life as closing with the conclusion of our Gospel narratives. We follow him in thought until the cloud, descending upon Olivet, receives him out of our sight, and then we say, “It is all over! His course is run, his work is finished!” But it is not so. The very contrary of this is the case. That Christ’s ascension draws a sharp line of demarcation, is true; but the one side is finite, the other is infinite. We can comprehend the one; the other baffles all our powers of penetration. The steps of Jesus through this earthly pilgrimage are steps which we can trace; but we lose sight of them, and faith alone can follow, when he ascends on high. This, however, is certain to us, that, with the ascension of Jesus, the second, the more spiritual, the more beneficent, the more enduring stage of this Divine ministry, commenced. He did much in his humiliation; he is doing more in his glory, tie came to found a kingdom; he went to administer it; and he must reign until his foes become his footstool. Contemplate the Son of man as he is here represented, no longer wearing the disguise of feebleness and submitting to the insults and the hatred of the wicked. His days of toil, of hunger, and of weariness, his nights of exposure and of mental conflict, are over. No more is he to endure the misrepresentations of the hypocritical and the malicious; no more to baffle the insidious snares of the crafty and the unscrupulous; no more to be patient under the cold mockery of the unspiritual and ungrateful. His deeds of mercy shall never again be attributed to the powers of evil; never again shall those he fain would benefit seek to cast him headlong from the precipice; nor shall he sigh because of the hardness of heart and insensibility of his foes. It is well that he has gone through it all; that he has been despised and rejected of men, that he has been overwhelmed with the baptism of suffering, that he has drunk to the dregs earth’s bitter cup of woe. All this is well. But it is better that it is past and over; that he takes with him into the unseen state the memory of his humiliation, his obedience, his death; that he enters upon his purchased possession; that he sees “of the travail of his soul, and is satisfied;” that he is “received up into heaven, and sits down on the right hand of God.” What are we to understand when told that Christ sat down” in heaven, and by the Father’s side? The evangelist speaks here in such a way as to convey to us important religious truth Christ’s earthly ministry had been one of unrest and homelessness; from the commencement of his public labors until those labors ended on the cross, few had been the intervals of repose. With the Ascension began the period of rest. The seat upon the throne is becoming to royalty: the monarch sits whilst the courtiers, guards, and attendants stand. So the expression implies the kingly dignity of Immanuel. He has exchanged the crown of thorns for the diadem of empire. On his head are many crowns.” Further, a judge sits upon the judgment-seat, whilst the criminal stands at his bar. Jesus not long before had stood, as the vilest culprit might have done, before the malignant Caiaphas, before the vacillating, unrighteous Pilate. Now, no longer the accused, he is the just, majestic, and almighty Judge, ordained by God to be the Judge of quick and dead. How bold and plain, although metaphorical, is Mark’s language here! “The Lord Jesus sat down at the right hand of God.” “The right hand of God” is one of those expressions, so frequent in Scripture, which are used, in condescension to our infirmities, to convey to us, in a striking and effective manner, truth otherwise not easily communicated. A courtier, when at the right hand of his sovereign, is near him, is readily addressed; is in a position either to give information or to receive instructions; can easily obtain a signature, or an authority or warrant under the sign-manual; is in a position to introduce to the king any applicant or petitioner; in brief, occupies a post of privilege, trust, influence, honor, and authority. And when our Savior is pictured as at the right hand of God, we are to understand that he is the Mediator, through whom the Divine power and guidance, favor and blessing, are bestowed upon those in whom he has shown himself interested by undergoing on their behalf the labors and the sacrifices of the earthly humiliation. No wonder, then, that the position occupied by Christians is described in language so rich, full, and inspiritingthat all things are declared to be theirs, for they are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

III. THE ASCENSION WAS THE PREPARATION FOR A NEW AND SPIRITUAL ECONOMY. The bodily absence of the Redeemer was the condition of a new dispensation of spiritual power and of world-wide extent. Hitherto the evangelizing journeys of the twelve had been restricted in scope and local in range; they had gone only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and they had directed attention to the speedy approach of the kingdom. But the aim of Jesus was one of universal benevolence; other sheep, not of the Israelitish fold, were to be brought in; he was to draw all men unto himself. This was to be done by spiritual agencies, which were dependent upon the removal of the Lord to heaven. In fact, the ascension of the Lord Jesus was, in the Divine counsels, the condition and the occasion of the bestowal of the Holy Spirit, in the manner and measure distinctive of the new, the Christian dispensation. He himself had put this with great plainness before his disciples’ minds: “If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I go, I will send him unto you.” This was a doctrinal statement of the nature of a revelation. What was the intelligible and manifest fact corresponding to it? Surely thisthat the earthly mission of the Savior being complete, the gospel was to be preached, and should be made, by a spiritual force acting on human natures, the means of awakening men to a new conscience of sin, a new yearning for holiness, a new purpose of an unselfish and unworldly life. It is no more unreasonable to attribute the fruits of the gospel to the Spirit of God, than it is to attribute human purposes to the spirit of man. It is a spiritual universe, and things material and outward actions are nothing but the garb and utterance of what is spiritual. If there be truth declared, revealed, and if there be a nature capable of receiving, feeling, responding to truth, there is one all-sufficient explanation of this wonderful and beneficent correspondence, and that is, the presence and the action of the Holy Spirit of God. The ascension of Christ changed the life of the apostles, and through them, the history of the world.

1. Now and henceforth there was an express theme for them to publish. This was the gospel, the good tidings, which only now was complete, and so divinely perfected by all that Jesus had done and suffered, that it was adapted to fulfill the purposes of Divine wisdom. Before, the disciples had directed attention to what was to come; now, to what had occurred actually and really. Christ had died for men’s sins, according to the Scriptures; he had arisen from the dead for their justification and salvation. Around the great central facts of Christ’s birth, crucifixion, and resurrection gathered all the Divine truths which constituted the gospel. Accordingly, in the first place, the facts were related as facts abundantly attested, and as facts of interest and precious moment to all’ mankind. And, when these facts were believed, then they were explained, and (under the guidance of the Holy Spirit given from above) the inspired apostles taught their bearing upon the position and prospects of the sinful race of man. It should never be forgotten that our religion consists in something more than laws of life, sentiments of virtue, promises of help, hopes of immortality. In accordance with the constitution of things, all these depend upon and flow from the great central facts relating to the Lord Jesus Christ.

2. Besides having a theme, the apostles of our Lord now had a commission which authorized them. They did not go unbidden, without instructions, without authority, upon this errand of mercy and blessing to mankind. He who had all power in heaven and in earth had given them their commission. He had said “Go!” and they went; not in their own strength and wisdom, but in his. The same warrant and authentication abides with the Church of Christ throughout all the ages. The apostles were, as the name implies, those who were sent; in this respect, as distinguished from personal endowment and equipment, an apostolic mission is entrusted to the whole body of Christ’s followers to the end of time.

3. The sphere within which this commission was to be executed was world-wide. “Go ye into all the world,” Jesus had said, “and preach the gospel to the whole creation.” “Make disciples of all nations.” A grand and noble design, worthy of the source whence it emanated, in the heart of him who is “the Savior of all men, specially of them that believe.” The habitable globe is the field in which the Christian missionary is called to work; for the human race is the object of Divine compassion, the destined participant in the bounty of the Divine beneficence. None, however large-hearted and compassionate, can complain that the operations of mercy and benevolence are restricted and restrained.

4. In fulfilling this commission, the heralds of Christ’s gospel were assured that they should enjoy, not only personal assistance, but the assistance involved in undoubted credentials, by which they and their message should be commended to the attention of men.

(1) The Lord wrought with them. They were workers, but they were fellow-workers with him. What was to be done in the renewal of human hearts, and the transformation of human character, was not to be done by the exercise of merely human power. A Divine energy and operation were alone adequate to secure results so difficult, so glorious.

(2) Signs followed. Signs, i.e. of a Divine presence and energy. There were such in abundance, as is evident from the record in the Acts of the Apostles. Signs outward, manifest, obvious to every eye, as in the case of those miracles of healing which accompanied the ministrations of the first Christian preachers. Signs of a less obtrusive, but of an even more convincing character, as in the case of those Jews who were delivered from formalism, those Gentiles who were emancipated from idolatry, those flagrant transgressors of the moral law who were turned from darkness unto light, and from the service of Satan unto God.

(3) Thus the Word was confirmed. Miracles, preaching, all were means to an end, and that end the establishment and extension of a spiritual kingdom. For the Word of God was no mere instrument of music to charm the ear and captivate the imagination; it was and is “the sword of the Spirit.” Its work is to conquer, to subdue, to govern; and this work it does with incomparable keenness of edge, with incomparable force and efficiency. It has been promised, “My Word shall not return unto me void.” It has proved itself a Word of power, a Word of salvation, a Word of life.

APPLICATION.

1. In heart, let Christ’s people ascend with their ascended Lord and Leader. “Risen with Christ,” “set your affection upon things above.”

2. In life, let Christians seek to execute their Master’s parting commission. He has left them a trust to fulfill, a work to do; let them not be found slothful, but diligent and watchful.

3. In hope, let all who “love his appearing,” look forward to his return. For in like manner shall he come again, to receive his people to himself. “Even come, Lord Jesus!”

HOMILIES BY A.F. MUIR

Mar 16:1-14

Resurrection proofs.

The last days of the manifestation of God in Christ were signalized by a great deprivation and a great recovery. A life beyond the dread confines of the grave completed the cycle of wonders associated with the earth-life of Jesus. This, although not sufficiently realized ere it actually occurred, is a part of a continuative development. It is no awkward and hasty fragment joined on to another and more legitimate narrative. To intelligent students of the life, it appears the sublimely consistent outcome of all that preceded the death. The evangelists, from the very beginning of their histories, prepare one almost unconsciously for such a denouement. It is in a sense the necessary conclusion towards which they move, and It throws into new relations and proportions all the preceding events. The earthly actions and experiences of Christ are sufficiently verified, but in describing them evangelists do not seem to think of having to furnish proof. It is only when they begin to tell us of the resurrection that all is alertness, and that conscious collation of evidence takes place. This is the arcanum of the faith which must be preserved from all uncertainty; this fact must be certified that all else may be made intelligible and morally effectual. And the moral significance of the Resurrection is even more insisted on than its physical wonder. It is the defeat of evil machinations, and a triumph over every precaution of his enemies.

I. SOME IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF EVIDENCE FOR THE RESURRECTION, The number and variety of Christ’s appearances have been noted by the evangelists. The spiritual nature perceives the supplementary effect and educative efficiency of his resurrection fellowship. There is also a marked absence of all appearance of collusion.

1. Conspirators would have striven to keep the grave sealed until its emptiness should be discovered.

2. The Roman watch was all but inviolable.

3. Those who might be expected to conspire remained at a distance, and were informed of the event.

4. Many of them at first refused to believe the news.

5. From the Emmaus and embalming incidents, we see that most of the disciples did not look for his (at all events immediate) reappearance.

II. THE NATURE OF THE RESURRECTION. The question of those who deny the physical, yet emphasize the ideal and spiritual resurrection”What can a few pounds more or less of dust and ashes matter?”is shallow and impertinent.

1. The senses were appealed to: sight, hearing, touch; physical results were produced; fellowship was realized with him under physical conditions (the fish and honeycomb).

2. was not recognized at first. A great change had, therefore, been produced. And such a thing might be looked for. Mary, Emmaus, Thomas and the stigmata.

3. The manner of disappearance as described is suggestive of a real body (Act 1:9; Luk 24:50, Luk 24:51).

III. THE BEARINGS OF THIS FACT UPON CHRISTIAN FAITH AND LIFE. In considering these, we see how the foregoing question betrays an incapacity for discussing the highest practical problems.

1. Christ came to save the entire naturebody, soul, and spirit. He is, therefore, himself the Firstfruits and the Type. There is, in his resurrection state, a hint as. to the possibilities of our material nature when completely purified and redeemed.

2. The bodily resurrection of Christ is a more signal marvel than the spiritual alone would have been, and was at the same time more susceptible of sensible demonstration.

3. It was in harmony with the method of his miracles, and the grand key to them. How the moral element in this life grew and expanded into ever more powerful effects and general relations! At last, when earnestly and carefully regarded, doubt is overwhelmed by it. How it appeals to our sense of the highest fitness, and answers the unconscious longings of the spiritual life!M.

Mar 16:3, Mar 16:4

“Who shall roll us away the stone?”

Two things occurred together in attempting the last service to the buried Christweak, though willing and loving instruments, and a practically insurmountable difficulty. They themselves were unable to roll away the stone which closed the sepulcher, “for it was exceeding great.” This experience has often been repeated.

I. HOW FOREBODINGS OF DIFFICULTY IN CHRISTIAN SERVICE OFTEN ARISE.

1. By discounting the help of Christ. They thought him dead and helpless.

2. By calculating only one‘s own resources. Looking inward. The healthy outward and upward look at the indications of Providence and experience.

II. HOW THE GOOD INTENTION OF LOVING HEARTS IS REWARDED BY THE SAVIOUR.

1. By finding the difficulty which had been anticipated already removed.

2. By finding the intended service rendered unnecessary. The empty grave at first a disappointment, but afterwards a source of joy.M.

Mar 16:6

“He is not here.”

I. THE PLACE WHERE CHRIST HAS BEEN‘ IS NOT ALWAYS THE PLACE WHERE CHRIST IS.

II. IT IS A LIVING AND NOT A DEAD CHRIST THAT CHRISTIANS ARE TO SEEK.

III. THEY THAT TRULY SEEK CHRIST WILL, EVEN THROUGH DISAPPOINTMENT, LEARN WHERE TO FIND HIM.

IV. THE DUTIES OF SORROWING LOVE ARE DISPLACED BY THE DUTIES OF REJOICING FAITH.M.

Mar 16:19, Mar 16:20

The gospel the Word of the ascended Lord.

These words, at the end of Mark’s account, give the great sequence of our Lord’s manifestation. The Ascension was the divinely necessary result of the Resurrection; the gospel is the necessary fruit on the human side of the experience produced in the hearts of the disciples by his life and work. Such a series of events could not end in silence. As in life, so in death, resurrection, and exaltation, Jesus Christ “could not be hid.” The preaching of the gospel is a result, therefore, of an express command and an inward impulse. The two verses are in sequence to the preceding account, and the one to the other, logically, spiritually, and potentially. Notice in this connection

I. THE POINT AT WHICH THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL BEGINS. At the final withdrawal and exaltation of Jesus.

1. Its subject is a completed one.

2. The various portions of it are self-evidently connected, and mutually interpret one another. The final transcendent issues of the contest of Christ with sin and death are each representative and interpretative of what preceded and led up to them. The life and its relation to the Divine purpose, prophetic anticipation, and human yearning, would be incomprehensible without this glorious trinity of consummations: death, resurrection, and ascension.

II. THE POWER IT REPRESENTS. The power of a finished work of atonement, a victory over death and hell, and an exalted, glorified humanity.

1. The highest exaltation has been reached by him of whom it speaks, He is invested with Divine power, and executive authority in the universe of God. Whether there be any such place as the “right hand of God” may be a curious question; that there is a state which such a phrase describes is a matter of spiritual revelation and experience. “All power is given,” etc.

2. Its tone is therefore authoritative in the highest degree. The gospel is a throne-word. Preachers are ambassadors. The dignities and pretensions of earth are nothing to them. The Lord through them “commands all men everywhere to repent.” Herod is a sad illustration of what occurs when even a king attempts to patronize the gospel.

3. This pretension is confirmed by practical proofs. The works accompanying it and resulting from it are “signs.“ You cannot explain them unless on the highest ground. Although physical miracles have ceased, spiritual results are still more demonstrative and glorious. In changing the heart, renewing the nature, purifying the affections, the “Word of his power” achieves what nothing else can. And such signs are to be looked for whenever and wherever it is proclaimed. “The Lord working with them”everywhere, because ascended and glorified.

III. THE PEOPLE IT CONCERNS. “And they went forth, and preached everywhere.” This was no accident or caprice of choice: he commanded it (verse 15). But it is also divinely fitting that this should be so.

1. The gospel is intended for all men.

2. It is adapted to all men.

3. The work of Christ’s servants is to seek the salvation of all men.

Until all have had an opportunity we must continue to preach: that is our responsibility. It is not said that all will believe or be saved: that is the responsibility of those who hear. Only of this are we certain: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance“ (2Pe 3:9).M.

HOMILIES BY A. ROWLAND

Mar 16:3, Mar 16:4

The stone rolled away.

Day was dawning on Jerusalem when the women saw this strange sight. Day was dawning in their hearts too, for slowly and surely the darkness of doubt and grief was stealing away. And day was dawning on the whole world, and on all future ages of history, for the Sun of Righteousness had risen, bringing life and immortality to light. No three days in human history were so momentous as these of which the context speaks; for it was on them that the great conflict between death and life was fought out, and for ever won, by the Captain of our salvation. (Describe the varied feelings which swayed the minds of Christ’s foes and friends after the Crucifixion, as they thought of his quiet grave in the garden.) The resurrection of Jesus Christ was put boldly in the forefront of apostolic teaching. Of all the miracles, this was the chief; of all evidences of the supernatural, this was the most important. In almost every recorded address and extant letter, this is insisted on as the cardinal fact of the Christian faith; indeed, Paul says, “If Christ be not risen, your faith is vain.”

I. WE RECOGNIZE THE STONE ROLLED AWAY FROM THE SEPULCHRE AS BEING TO US A SIGN OF CHRIST‘S VICTORY.

1. Accepting the fact of our Lord’s resurrection, not only as proved by the credible, concurrent, and cumulative evidence of trustworthy men, but on the ground that this fact alone will rationally account for the victory of the Christian faith over men of all nations and conditions, we do not wonder at its prominence in New Testament teaching. Because Christ has risen, his death becomes more than a martyrdom for the truth; it appears as the voluntary offering of himself on the part of One who said of his life, “I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” It is the sign that God was still well pleased with the beloved Son, for it was the Divine reversal of the world’s judgment upon him. It is a proof that the same Jesus who once walked this weary world still lives, with the old sympathy and power to help, fulfilling his promise, “I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” It is the pledge to us, the only pledge we have in history, that the splendid utterances of St. Paul about the resurrection of the saints will have their fulfillment. For the redeemed, as well as for their Lord, heavenly hands have rolled away the stone that once sealed the grave.

2. The victory of Christ on the Resurrection morning was dramatically complete in its details, and in this we see a suggestion of the absoluteness of his triumph over his foes. The Gentiles had mocked and crucified him; he passed by their strong guard without an effort. The Jews had accomplished their purpose against him; the seal of the Sanhedrim was broken. Death had seized upon him, and some had cried, “Himself he cannot save;” but, the Son of God, it was not possible that he should be holden of death. The grave had closed over him; but he passed through its portals resistlessly, as Samson came forth from Gaza, bearing on his shoulders its gates of brass and bars of iron. “He must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet”the pride that will not let us become as little children; the self-will that declares, “We will not have this man. to reign over us;” the lusts which, like the horses of the sun, would drag their victims to destruction; the death that strikes down all our defences, and tears away our dear ones from our embrace. Victory over these will be his, not ours. To the eye of faith the rolling away of the stone appears to be the loosening of the keystone in the great fortress of sin and death, of which at last there shall not be left one stone upon another.

II. THE STONE ROLLED AWAY MAY ALSO BE REGARDED BY US AS A REMINDER OF EXPECTED DIFFICULTIES UNEXPECTEDLY REMOVED. It was natural enough that these feeble women should say among themselves, “Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher?” For a moment it appeared as if all their labor of love, in the preparation of spices, would be thrown awaythat the last tender ministry must be given up. But as they went forward, trembling yet hoping, they discovered that the difficulty they had dreaded was gone. God had done for them what they could not have done for themselves. Too often we discourage ourselves by thinking of future difficulties, until they loom so large in our imagination that we turn back from the path of duty.

1. It is so with our anxieties about temporal things. But whatever lies in the future, let us go on steadfastly and trustfully, and by-and-by we shall make the conquered difficulty an Ebenezer, which shall witness to others of the fact, “Hitherto hath the Lord helped me.“

2. Similarly we must deal with some difficulties respecting Christian doctrine. “Whosoever shall do the will of God shall know the doctrine.”

3. So let us go on also to attempt our appointed work for God; and the difficulties which are insurmountable by us will be removed by hands mightier than our own.A.R.

HOMILIES BY R. GREEN

Mar 16:1-18

The Resurrection.

In the early dawn”at the rising of the sun” on the morning after the sabbaththat one most wondrous sabbath, the last of the old serieshasty feet were hurrying to the sepulcher. They were those of Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, and Salome. Love drew them thus early to the sacred tomb. But they were bringing “spices that they might come and anoint him,” so far were they from expecting what had taken place. It does not appear that any of the disciples were looking for the Resurrection. As they neared the place a difficulty suggested itself to them: “Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the tomb?” To their astonishment, it was rolled away. “Entering into the tomb,” they found not the body as they expected; but “they saw a young man [an angel] sitting at the right side, arrayed in a white robe.” Calming their affrighted spirits, he declared for the first time, “He is risen; he is not here.” The few details of the excited doings of that first morning of the weekthat first Lord’s dayhave a deep interest, which their meagreness cannot destroy, if indeed it abates it. Again and again Jesus appears to the disciples, now in smaller, now in larger companies, and gives them as true and deeply settled an assurance of his resurrection as was before given of his death. To that resurrection we turn as to the signal incident in the life of the world’s Redeemerthe central fact in all human history. Nothing abates the significance of the Incarnation; but the raising up of the dead body into life is supreme in its bearing on the history of the human race.

I. The resurrection of Christ is THE CRUCIAL TEST OF THE WORLD‘S REDEMPTION. “If Christ hath not been raised your faith is vain.” Then the whole structure of Christianity is shaken to its foundations. It has no longer its present significance. It has wrought only imaginary changes. “Ye are yet in your sins.” It has deluded its most devoted adherents. Itself aiming at truth, exalting, glorifying it, it has deceived and disappointed the hopes of its faithful ones. “They also which have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.” The Christian Church has never shrunk from the alternative, exulting in its jubilant assurance, “But now hath Christ been raised from the dead.” Herein the completeness of the atoning work of Christ is demonstrated, the warrant of faith in that atonement is presented, and the end of all is attained in the righteousness of men. With a divinely attested atonement, of which, to avail themselves, men are warranted in appropriating by faith the justificationthe righteousness which they need. He “was delivered up for our offenses, and was raised for our justification.”

II. The resurrection of Christ is THE FIRM GROUND OF HUMAN HOPE. “As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” Back to this event the eye of the believer has turned to see the assuring sign. Our friends lie still in the grave; but the Church has never since that early morning looked to a Christ in a tomb. It is easy to see how the horizon of the human life would be overclouded had we to think of the Redeemer as still in the grave.

III. THE BRIGHTEST ASPECT OF HUMAN LIFE is seen in the resurrection of Christ. Life with or without a future suggests the two utmost extremes. The barest glimmer of a possibility of a future life beyond the grave would be the greatest enrichment of that life had there not been a previous assurance of it. This fact added to human life transforms it at once. It is an inestimable possession. What possibilities does it not open before our eyes] What an encouragement to patience! “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us-ward.” The resurrection of Christ throws an altogether new light upon all human history; but its brightest light is thrown upon the gloom of.the future.

IV. The resurrection of Christ is THE ILLUSTRIOUS EXAMPLE OF THE UNIVERSAL RESURRECTION, “Christ the Firstfruits.” The ingathering and presentation of the first-fruits must be taken as the pledge of the ingathering and presentation of the entire harvest. The inspired teaching on this lofty subject is such as to give the utmost assurance and comfort. The “weakness,” the “dishonor,” the “corruption,” with which we are made familiar by death, stand in contrast with the “incorruption,” the “glory,” the “power,” which we learn shall characterize the resurrection. While the casting off the “natural body,” to be clothed with “a spiritual body,” the exchange of “the earthy” for “the heavenly,” is exemplified in the one Example which is for every believer the most comfortable assurance.

V. The resurrection of Christ is THE COMPLETE DEMONSTRATION OF TRIUMPH. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” It has ever been held that the Resurrection was the Divine seal of testimony to the perfectness and acceptability of the work of Christ. The rage of wicked men, the antagonism of error, the whole power of the enemy, triumphed in crushing the truth; but the Resurrection is a demonstration of complete superiority to all, and casts its illuminating comment upon the words, “I lay down my life, that I may take it again I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” These and many other teachings cluster around this most precious incident in the history of this typical life. He who would derive the utmost advantage therefrom must needs share the experience of the holy apostle: “I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not having a righteousness of mine own, even that which is of the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellow- ship of his sufferings, becoming conformed unto his death; if by any means I may attain unto the resurrection from the dead” (Php 3:8-11).G.

Mar 16:19, Mar 16:20

The Ascension.

And now after “he was manifested” many times, showing “himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing unto them by the space of forty days,” and having taught to his disciples, in the new light of his resurrection, “the things concerning the kingdom of God,” hethe Lord Jesus””was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God,” “the heaven” receiving him “until the times of restoration of all things.” Now the holy, earthly life of Jesus is terminated. He has “ascended on high;” now the luminous pathway to heaven is open; now the eyes of the disciples of the Lord Jesus are ever turned upward, and their steps tend to heaven. Now the great truth is exemplified; life ends not in a grave, nor even in a resurrection from the dead, but in an ascension into heaven. This is the true goal. This the final hope. The regained Paradise is not on earth, but on high. The home of the weary is in “my Father’s house.” The world’s rest is in heaven. Now life is a pilgrimage; men “seek a. country,” “a better country, that is, a heavenly;” and “God hath prepared for them a city.” The typical life is a perfect one; the cycle is complete. He “came down from heaven.” He has ascended up “where he was before.” So is it with the revelations of Holy Scripture. They begin in an earthly paradise; they end in a heavenly one. Such is the cherished hope of all believers. We must consider the ascension of Jesus in its bearing upon his own life, and upon the life and hope of his disciples, and upon the aspect of human life generally.

I. The Ascension into heaven is THE JUST VINDICATION OF THE LIFE AND CLAIMS OF JESUS. The position, which he assumed amongst men as the Son of God, as the Savior of the world, as the Judge of human actions; the call which he addressed to men to believe in him, to accept his teachings as of supreme authority, to trust in him for salvation and eternal life; and the great promises which he held out to men;all needed a demonstration of their validity. To the patient reader of the Gospels this demonstration is afforded again and again “by divers portions and in divers manners.” But all would lack their crowning affirmation had Jesus remained enchained by death, or had he not ascended up on high. It were impossible to believe in. such a Mediator as still in the grave. The Ascension, which is the necessary consequence of the Resurrection, is the complement of the Incarnation. Such a life and such a death as Jesus’ demanded a triumph and a vindication. It was, in the absence of the Resurrection, the failure of the truth. Sin, error, the world, conquered the truth and righteousness of heaven. So for the one brief sabbaththe dead lull in the world’s active historyit seemed to be; but the Resurrection, completed in the Ascension, is the effectual vindication of truth and of righteousness, as it is the vindication of the righteous One.

II. Not less is the Ascension THE VINDICATION OF THE WORLD‘S FAITH IN JESUS. They who accept a teacher as authoritative, who commit great interests into his hands, who have so great faith in him as to entrust their reconciliation with God into his hands, who accept him as a mediator between themselves and God, who depend upon him for eternal life, who concentrate all their hopes of the future upon his word, must be prepared to justify their conduct. That justification is found in the Ascension. Too great a confidence cannot be placed in One concerning whom it may be said, “The third day he was raised again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God.” Jesus, who vindicated himself in every step of his progress, vindicates also the daily, humble, entire faith of “them that put their trust in him.”

III. There is a step further. THE CONDUCT OF THOSE WHO DEJECT CHRIST AWAITS VINDICATION. Where shall it be found? Given the facts of Jesus’ life, his death, his resurrection, and ascension on high, where can any justify their repudiation of him? Precisely as faith and obedience are vindicated, so is unbelief and neglect condemned. The bearing of Christ’s ascension on the universal life is of so great significance, that its rejection imposes the heaviest penalties on the disobedient. Not only is their own life debarred the beneficent influences of so great a fact, and the long train of facts of which it is the completion, but the life of others surrounding is proportionately injured. He who has faith in a great truth throws the influence of his encouragement over the faith of all amongst whom he moves, while he who abides in unbelief tends to wither the confidence of those around him. His example is contagious, and his life is impaired in its character. It cannot, therefore, exert the same beneficial influence upon others that it might do if under the control of great truths. Men must sooner or later vindicate to their fellows their conduct towards them. If it be good, the world’s testimony will be joined to the Divine testimony. If evil, the world’s condemnation must be added to that of the eternal Judge. Man’s highest wisdom is to place himself near to great truths, that he may feel their power and elevation; and, by a thorough sympathy with them, be prepared to extend their influence far and wide. How greatly the world to-day needs men having faith! Such only can move the mountains which stand in the way of human progress and blessing. No truths have equal power for the uplifting, the ennobling, the appeasement, the satisfaction, the glorification of the human life, as have those which, beginning with the Incarnation, end with the ascension into heaven of the Lord Jesus Christ; “to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”G.

HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON

Mar 16:1-8

The sepulcher.

I. SELF–REWARDING LOVE. The women obey the longing to serve, though they know not how. Of love it is said, “All other pleasures are not worth its pains.” In lavishing care upon the remains of one beloved, we show that the proper objects of love are persons. It is not to the love of an abstraction, but to the love of himself, that Christ calls us. The suffering in this world are to us as the body of Jesus.

II. ANGELIC MINISTRY. “Angels minister to the followers of Christ, and share their joy.” The chain of sympathy is electric between earth and heaven; and all that we know in sorrow and joy has its immediate reflection and response above.

III. THE EMPTY TOMB. The contents have escaped, as some ethereal vapor eludes its bonds. He could not be holden of the tomb. It bore witness to his resurrection; and earth is no more a sepulcher, but a portico to heaven.J.

Mar 16:9-14

Appearances of the risen One.

I. THEY WERE REPEATED AND VARIED,

So in the history of the Church and the world; there are epochs of the manifestation of Christ and of apparent concealment. Though history in one sense repeats itself, in another it does not. Christianity is the exhibition of the new in the old, the old in the new. And so in the individual.

II. THEY WERE MET BY PREJUDICE. New truth finds in us something ever to over-come. The victory over a prejudice gives us cause for thanks; what we really possess of truth we possess because we have resisted it. We do not understand it till we have contended against it. “We may believe more surely in the Resurrection, because they were so slow to believe.”

III. THE SPIRITUAL EVIDENCE OF CHRISTIANITY IS THE REAL EVIDENCE, Unless we see that Christ’s resurrection coincides with spiritual truth and needs, we shall not see it at all. Mediate knowledge can never be free from doubt; certainty lies in that which is immediate.J.

Mar 16:15-18

Final utterances.

I. CHRISTIANITY IS A GOOD MESSAGE FOR ALL MANKIND.

II. ALL WHO HAVE AFFIANCE IN CHRIST ARE MEN CONSECRATED AND SAVED.

III. IF FAITH BE POSSESSED, ALL NECESSARY CONFIRMATIONS OF FAITH WILL BE GRANTED.

IV. IN THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST, THE OUTWARD IS ONLY OF VALUE AS SIGNIFICANT OF THE INWARD AND SPIRITUAL.J.

Mar 16:19, Mar 16:20

The Ascension.

I. THE ASCENT OF CHRIST FOLLOWS FROM HIS DESCENT. His glory was conditioned and prepared for by his self-humiliation for our sakes.

II. HE IS NOW IN THE SEAT OF SPIRITUAL POWER AND GLORY. The right hand of God is a figure of omnipotence. This power is felt in and through all the thought and development of the world.

III. THIS POWER IS FELT IN HUMAN WORKS OF LOVE. Good signs ever are following the course of the good message. Faith working by love in us corresponds to power working by love in God. For us there is Divine encouragement to work for humanity in this last page

“In dens of passion and pits of woe,
To see God’s love still struggling through,
To sun the dark and solve the curse,
And beam to the bounds of the universe.”

HOMILIES BY J.J. GIVEN

Mar 16:1-18

Parallel passages: Mat 28:1-15; Luk 24:1-49; Joh 20:1-23.

An eventful day.

I. THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.

1. The morning of our Lord‘s resurrection. The first day of the week on which the events recorded in this section of the chapter took place was an eventful one. On the morning of that day we are placed side by side with some weeping women. They are Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome the wife of Zebedee. They had loved their Lord in life; they had stood by him in death; they had cleaved to him on the cross; and now his lifeless corpse is to them an object of affectionate concern. In the grey dawn of the morning twilight they quit their couch, they leave their cottage, and, setting out, come to the tomb with the spices and perfumes they had carefully prepared, the sun by this time having begun to rise. But lo! in their confusion and haste and sorrow they have overlooked an important fact; they have not known, or forgotten, the efforts of his enemies to make sure the sepulcher, already secured with a great stone, sealing it with the imperial signet and setting a guard. In their hurry they have forgotten all thisthe stone, the seal, the sentry. Soon as the thought occurs to them they look anxiously at each other and sorrowfully inquire,” Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher?” Of the stone, at least, they were well aware.

2. The rolling away of the stone. Not pausing for an answer, they press forward to the sepulcher. On reaching the spot their fears are disappointed and their expectations exceeded. An earthquake had shaken the place, an angel had descended; and when they looked up (, another graphic trait) they see that the stone is rolled away. So is it with many another stone of huge dimensionswith many a stone of difficulty and doubt and danger. So with the stone that barred the entrance of the heavenly world against the sinner; so with the stone that closes the grave’s mouth where the dear dead dust of loved ones lies; so with the stone that may be laid on the spot where our own ashes shall one day repose. The rolling away of this stone from the sepulcher of the Savior involves the rolling away of all these stones.

3. The evening of the same day. In the evening of the same day two lone pilgrims are traversing the pathway between the vineyards. They are journeying to a little village embosomed in vine-clad hills, and seven miles distant from Jerusalem. They are glad to escape from town; for a heavy heart seeks solitude. Their Master had been crucified, their hopes had been dashed, and their fond anticipations disappointed. They were returning home in sadness, for what was there in the capital to interest them now? All that had been dear to them there was now gone, and to all appearance gone for ever, for their Lord and Master was no more. The lovely scene around, the bright sky above, the cheerfulness of the season, but little harmonized with their sadness of heart and sorrow of spirit.

“The spring in its beauty on Carmel was seen,
And Hermon was dress’d in its mantle of green;
While the pathway which led to Emmaus was made
All fragrant and cool by the olive trees’ shade;
The dove in Jehoshaphat’s valley was wailing,
The eagle round Olivet proudly was sailing:
But all was unheeded, for doubt and dismay
Were distracting those two lonely men on their way.”

They walked and talked, and talked and walked, beguiling the difficulties of the way, and forgetting the lapse of time. They commune and reason together; they balance probabilities. They comment on the early visit of the women to the sepulcher, on the stone being rolled away, and the vision of the angels, and so for a moment they entertain a faint hope that their Master might have risen, and would now restore the kingdom to Israel. But that hope is like a brief glimpse of sunshine which the dark clouds soon blot again from the sky. Immediately it occurs to them that the words of the women had been treated as an idle tale. Their wish might have been father to the thought, while hope and love are proverbially quick-sighted. Why had Peter not seen the vision? Why had John not been privileged with the sight? A third traveler overtakes them. He joins their company. He asks the cause of the sadness pictured on their countenance; he inquires the subject of their communings; he converses with them cordially and confidentially; their heart was burning within them while he spake to them by the way and while he opened to them the Scriptures. These two scenesone in the morning, the other in the evening of the same day; the former described by St. Mark and St. Matthew, the latter by St. Mark, but more fully by St. Luke (Luk 24:13-35)occurred on the day of our Lord’s resurrection from the dead.

II. A VISIT TO THE SAVIOR‘S TOMB.

1. The place where they laid him. “The place where they laid him,” as St. Mark terms it, or the place where the Lord lay, was the tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea. We visit the tomb of an earthly friend; we venerate the place of our fathers’ sepulchres; we gaze pensively on the green hillock that overlays the mortal remains of one we love; with willing hand we plant the shrubthe myrtle or the cypress which marks the place where the heart’s treasure is enshrined; we snatch the early flowers of the spring and strew them on the grave of some dear one gone; carefully we wreathe the garland and place it on the spot or hang it on the shrub that points it out. Many a time have we stood in cemeteries more like a flower-garden than a garden of the dead, and admired the care, the tenderness, and the affection of surviving relatives, as evinced in the plants and wreaths and flowers which ornamented the last resting-place of the departed. “Come, see the place where the Lord lay,” was the invitation of the angel to the women in the parallel record of St. Matthew. The passage of the Gospel before us is thus a visit to a tombto the tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea, the tomb where Jesus lay, the tomb of the dearest Friend we ever had, the tomb of the most loving One that ever lived, the tomb of him who “came not to be ministered unto, but to minister,” of the good Shepherd that laid down his life for the sheep, of him in regard to whom the believer can say, “He loved me, and gave himself for me.”

2. Object of our visit to the Savior‘s sepulcher. The followers of the false prophet Mahomet make their weary pilgrimages from year to year to that impostor’s tomb. We pity their delusion, we pray for their deliverance; but we admire their devotedness. The mighty military enterprises that roused the martial spirit of European peoples during the Middle Ages, and employed the hands and hearts of bravest warriors, had for their object the rescue of the holy sepulcher from the possession of the infidel, and the protection from injury and insult of all Christian pilgrims who might please to visit that shrine. The conception was a grand one, but somewhat grossgigantic in one sense, and yet grovelling in another. The subject of our section leads us in the same direction; but our visit is spiritual, not literal; it is not to the mere geographical position, but to the glorious Person who made a brief repose there, and accomplished a triumphant resurrection therefrom.

3. The lessons to be learnt from this visit. When we visit in this sense the place where they laid him, the first lesson we are taught by it is

(1) the lowliness of our Lord. It was wondrous condescension on his part to visit earth at all. For the Holy One to come into this sin-blighted world, for the eternal Word to be made flesh and dwell among us, for the Son of God to be made of a woman, made under the Law, for the King of saints to endure the contradiction of sinners, for the King of glory to make himself of no reputation,in a word, for him who was in the form of God, and thought it no robbery to be equal with God, to take upon him the form of a servant, was surely most astonishing humiliation. But for that high and holy One, not only to empty himself and become obedient to death, and a death so painful and so shameful as that of the cross, but to enter the region of the dead, to be laid in the tomb, and to lie as a corpse in the cold grave where they laid him,this may well challenge the surprise of man, as it commands the study of angels. We admire that patriot king who quitted for a time his throne and left his kingdom and traveled through the nations of Europe, visiting their dockyards, their workshops, and their manufactories, and actually working as a mechanic, in order that when he returned home and resumed the reins of government he might benefit his kingdom and improve his subjects. Still more are we astonished at Charles V., who had done daring deeds of chivalry, gained brilliant victories, achieved great successes, exhibited strokes of skillful diplomacy, and wielded a mighty power among the potentates of Europe, at length, as though wearied with royalty and fatigued with dominion and surfeited with splendor, giving up and resigning all, retiring into private life, and spending the remainder of his days in a cloister. But what was the temporary resignation of the Czar of all the Russias, or the final abdication of him who wore the imperial crown of Germany and swayed the proud scepter of Spain, compared with the King of kings and Lord of lords resigning the sovereignty of the universe for the stable of Bethlehem, the crown of glory for the cross of Calvary, the scepter of heaven for the garden sepulcher? “Though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich.”

(2) “Come, see the place where the Lord lay,” and consider the lesson of his love, for it was his love that laid him there. It was love that made him submit to the indignities which, as we have seen, were heaped upon himthe scoffing, and scourging, and spitting, and smiting. It was love that subjected him to the insults of priests and people, to the sentence of an unjust judge, the torture of most cruel death, and the disgrace of an ignominious execution. It was love that thus nailed him to the cross and suspended him on that cursed tree, as the gazing-stock of earth and heaven. So was it love that bound him in the habiliments of death, wrapped him in the cerements, and laid him in the coldness of the tomb. Was it strange, then, that the sun suffered an obscuration when the Savior expired, that the sky put on mourning when the Lord of glory gave up the ghost, or that the frame of nature shook when the Divine Upholder of its system died? Was it strange that rocks rent as if in commiseration of what might rend even a heart of stone? Was it strange that graves opened and their ghastly occupants came forth, and with bloodless face and skeleton form entered the holy city, and moved through the streets in grand and solemn silence, or flitted as strange and fearful apparitions among the living population that passed along the thoroughfares, when he who was the living One, having all life in himself, entered the abode of death and was laid in the grave? Long before, a dead man had started into life, when he was laid in a prophet’s grave and touched a prophet’s bones. Was it strange if the dove cooed plaintively in the valley of the Kidron, if the vine drooped mournfully on the hillside, if the brook murmured dolefully as it rolled over its pebble bed that night? Was it strange that the disciples hung their heads in sorrow, in sadness, and in silence, when their Master was entombed? “Come, see the place where they laid him,” and “where the Lord lay;” and will not love beget love? Will you not love him who thus loved you, or rather can you forbear loving him who thus loved you first of all and best of all? Who ever heard of love like this before? “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends;” but while we were yet sinners, and therefore enemies, “Christ died for us.”

(3) “Come, see the place where the Lord lay,” and reflect on a third lesson which is taught us there. This lesson respects the light that is thus shed into the gloom of the grave, and into the dreariness of that dark and narrow, house. Darkness had reigned in all deathland before, but then life and immortality were brought to light. In some places, where railways run beneath high hills, all at once you pass out of the light of day into a dark subterranean passage. In a moment or two you find that tunnel so dark as at first you thought it; the lamps on either side relieve the gloom and interrupt the darkness. By-and-by you quit the tunnel and emerge into the light of day, brighter and more beautiful, you think, than before because of the very contrast. The grave was a dark subterranean passage once; no light entered it, no ray brightened it; but now lamp after lamp is hung up in it, and on the other side the Christian finds himself in the everlasting light and unclouded brightness of heaven.

III. THE GRAVE WHENCE THE LORD ROSE: THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.

1. Honor shown Christ in death. “Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him;” and mark the honor paid him there. Even in death he was not unhonored. A few faithful females, a few devoted though dejected disciples, refused to believe that the past was only a delusion, the present merely a dream, and the future altogether darkness. They entertained an undefined expectation, and that expectation now glimmered before their mind’s eye like the meteor of a moment, anon disappeared, leaving the gloom still denser. It was a dark hour with the disciples of our Lord, but it was the hour before the daybreak. These few faithful followers, however, ceased not in their attention to the body and attendance at the grave. They watched and waited, and visited the spot. The Jewish ruler Nicodemus, and Joseph of Arimathaea, a rich and honorable counsellor, as we saw in the preceding chapter, failed not in tender devotedness and affectionate dutifulness to the lifeless corpse.

2. Honor of a higher king. Greater glory awaits that body. The resurrection work of wonder takes place. Scarce had the morning of the third day arrived, scarce had the morning-star announced its early dawn, when the mediatorial reward began to be bestowed, and the faithfulness of the eternal covenant became manifest. Come once more, and see the place where the Lord lay, and as it can never be seen again. ThereO wondrous sight!lies the Prince of life; he is sleeping the sleep of deathsilent and still as the grave where they laid him. Satan exults, the hosts of darkness hold jubilee, all pandemonium triumphs, hell cannot contain its satisfaction, if aught like satisfaction ever enters there. But hark! a voice from heaven echoes through that sealed sepulcher; it is the voice of God. The words “Awake, arise!” resound. In an instant the grave-clothes drop from off the body; without the help of human hand they are wrapped together and carefully laid aside; the napkin falls from the face; the stream of vital fluid circulates through the veins; the limbs that a moment before had been stiff and stark in death are in motion. The form of sinful fleshof a servant and a suffereris laid aside for ever. The Savior rises; he rises in glory indescribable; he rises by his own and his Father’s power; rises triumphant over death, and the Conqueror of the grave. The angels of God come down to do him honor; one of them rolls away the stone and opens the sepulcher; the keepers shake and become as dead men; earth becomes tremulous for joy under the feet of its risen King; all nature puts on its fairest spring attire and joins in celebrating the Redeemer’s triumph. Thus on all sides are re-echoed the words, “He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay?

3. Positive proof of his resurrection. If you have any doubt of this, you need not go further for proof, and proof to demonstration, than the lie of the adversaries. “His disciples,” say they, “came by night, and stole him away while we slept.” What! eleven disciples overpower a company of Roman soldiers armed to the teeth, or roll away the huge stone in silence, or enter the tomb in secrecy, or range things so securely there? Or, granting this, how could they carry the body unnoticed through the streets of Jerusalem, while thousands bivouacked in or patrolled those streets and thoroughfares at that Passover season, and while the full-orbed moon shone down upon the scene? Or, allowing this, is it likely that Roman soldiers would sleep on guard while death was the penalty, or that a whole detachment of them should all fall asleep at the same time? Or, conceding even this, suppose they slept, how could they see the purloiners of the body, or how could they say whether disciples did it or not? We need not stay to answer these questions; they sufficiently show the truth of the statement, “He is not here: for he is risen.”

IV. REASONS FOR THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD.

1. It was necessary for justification. We have visited the empty tomb, and now we may inquire why he lay there and rose thence. It was in the first place for our justification. “He was delivered for our offenses, and raised again for our justification.” “By his death,” says one, “he paid our debt, in his resurrection he received our acquittance.” Another says, “Had no man been a sinner Jesus had not died, had he been a sinner he had never risen again.” In other words, his death shows his sufferings for sin, his resurrection proves full satisfaction made by those sufferings. The meaning of his death is summed up in the words, “God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh;” the meaning of his resurrection runs thus: “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” His resurrection was thus his acquittal from the obligations he had come under, and our absolution through him from the debt we owed, so that, once united to him by faith, our persons are justified, our sins remitted, and our services accepted. Thus we see the meaning of that empty tomb. It is as though the voice of the Eternal proclaimed in thunder-tones through all the universe, “This is my beloved Son,” in whose person and work, in whose life and death, “I am well pleased.” His resurrection is the full recognition of the Redeemer’s work. It is the protest of Heaven against the accusations with which he was loaded. It is the vindication of him whom Jew and Gentile condemned as deserving of death. It is the authoritative announcement that the work was finished, the debt paid, justice satisfied, the Law fulfilled, obedience rendered, punishment endured, wrath exhausted, sin put away, righteousness brought in, Satan vanquished, and God glorified. It is the consent of Heaven to the cancelling of the handwriting that testified against us. Therefore “all power is given unto him heaven and in earth.” And had he not all power, as Jehovah’s Fellow, from everlasting? Yes, but now he has it as our Mediator; he holds it on our behalf, and exercises it our benefit. Therefore “he received gifts.” And why needed he gifts in whom all fullness dwelt, and who shared the Father’s glory? As Head over all things he received them for his people’s use, “even for the rebellious, that the Lord God might dwell among them.” “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.” And did not God love him when he was in his bosom, before all worlds? Yes, but now he loves him as our Representative, and us in him; and consequently the apostle prays so earnestly to “be found in Christ.” He is “crowned with glory and honor.” And why? That he might communicate to us that glory which, as God, he had laid aside, and as Mediator resumed, and thus make his own peculiar privilege the common property of all believers.

2. It was necessary also for our sanctification. “Planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection;” “As Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so should we also walk in newness of life.” To live habitually in any known sin is to deny practically that sin is death; to indulge presumptuously in sin is to ignore the fact that Christ has risen from the dead; to persevere in sin is to resist the influence of Christ’s resurrection, and shut our ears to the loud call that comes from the empty tomb, saying, “Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” We turn to some practical illustrations of the subject of sanctification. What is a saint? He is one that is risen with Christ, and acts accordingly, seeking the things that are above. Though in this world, he is not of it; he is above it. His conversation, treasure, heart, hope, home,all are in heaven, whence he looks for the Savior. Among the currents in the Atlantic Ocean is the great Gulf Stream; it has been called a river in the ocean. The water of this stream is on the average twenty degrees higher than the surrounding ocean; it preserves its waters distinct from those of the sea on either side, so that the eye can trace the line of contact. It retains its physical identity for thousands of miles, casting branches and fruits of tropical trees on the coast of the Hebrides and Norway. It greatly influences the Atlantic, keeping one-fourth of its waters in constant motion. The sanctified personthat is, the saintis like that Gulf Stream; he is in the ocean of this world, but he has no affinity with it; he is not conformed to it; he has a higher temperature, for “the love of God is shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost which is given unto him.” Nevertheless, his influence is great and always for good; he keeps the dead waters from stagnation and in healthy movement.

“With Christ the Lord we died to sin,

With him to life we rise;

To life which, now begun on earth,

Is perfect in the skies.”

3. The resurrection of Christ is necessary for our resurrection. “Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the Firstfruits of them that slept;” “He has destroyed the last enemy, and that is death.” During the reign of Augustus Caesar a reverse befell the Roman army in the densely wooded valley of the Lippe. It was led by Varus to quell an insurrection of the Germans. The legions got embarrassed amid the entanglements of the forest; they fell into disorder; a violent tempest coming on at the same time aggravated their difficulties; four and twenty thousand of them were cut to pieces, and the general fell upon his sword. Six years after succeeding legions reached the plain, where lay the bleaching bones of former comrades, strewn in disorder or piled in heaps as they had fought and fallen. Fragments of weapons, limbs of horses, heads of men stuck on trunks of trees, were to be seen on every hand. In groves hard by were the savage altars where tribunes and centurions had been victimized; while those who survived that fatal field pointed out the place where lieutenants were butchered, standards taken, Varus wounded, crosses erected for the captives, and the eagles trampled underfoot. In addition to all, in a night-vision the ill-fated Varus, smeared with blood and emerging from the fens, seemed present to the imagination of his successor, and beckoning him to a like defeat. The description of the whole scene by Tacitus, the Roman historian, is vivid and terrible in the extreme. Ever after throughout his reign the Emperor Augustus was heard at times to exclaim, “Varus, Yarns, give me back my legions!” So, when we reflect on the ruins of frail humanitythe wreck of generation after generationwe may well imagine Mother Earth appealing to Death in pitiful accents, and exclaiming, “Death, Death, give me back my sons and daughters; restore to me my children thou hast slain.” That appeal shall be heeded one day, not by Death, but by him who was swallowed of Deathswallowed as a poison, and so destroyed the destroyer. Christ, by his resurrection, says to Earth, widowed and weeping over the graves of her children, “Weep not! I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death.” To Death he says at the same time, “O Death, I will be thy plagues! O Grave, I will be thy destruction!” Further, he will not only raise us up, he will fashion the body of our humiliation and make it like his own glorious body, Plants and animals have their proper habitats; different species demand different situations; different vegetable tribes are allotted to different latitudes and different elevations. The palms of the torrid zone will dwindle and die in the temperate; the trees of the temperate, again, shrink into shrubs in the frigid. Such is the difference of latitude. That of elevation has a similar effect. A French traveler tells us that, in ascending Mount Ararat, he found at the foot the plants of Asia, further up those of Italy, at a higher elevation those of France, then those of Sweden, and at the top those of Lapland and the northern regions. Just so we shall be adapted to our future dwelling-place. “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God;” therefore the living shall be changed, the dead quickened, and all God’s people, quick and dead, glorified together; “for this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

V. PRACTICAL LESSONS.

1. Come, “behold the place where they laid him,” and there see the fruits of Christ’s death and the benefits of his resurrection; come, seek the pardon and peace which the justified possess; come, secure the holiness and happiness of the sanctified; come, entertain the “sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life.”

2. We have considered the lowliness of Christ, and dwelt on his love, and now we may rejoice in the light he has shed on the tomb. We are hastening to that “bourn whence no traveler returns.” As we advance, desire fails; a little longer, and the grasshopper will be a burden. Once we reach the summit we soon go down the hill, and it is well and wisely so arranged.

“Heaven gives our years of failing strength

Indemnifying fleetness,

And those of youth a seeming length

Proportion’d to their sweetness.”

3. “Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified.” So, too, we seek Jesus, though condemned as a Nazarene in the spirit of the contemptuous question, “can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” We seek Christ crucified, though to the Jew a stumbling-block, and to the Greek foolishness. We are not ashamed of the offense of the cross. Nay, like Paul, we glory in that cross. The day was when Paul gloried in his pedigree, for he was an Hebrew of the Hebrews; in his sect, for he belonged to the straitest sect of the Jews’ religion, being a Pharisee; in his morality, as touching the Law blameless; in his learning, brought up at the feet of Gamaliel; in the seal of the Abrahamic covenant, being circumcised on the eighth day; in his Roman franchise, born free; in his citizenship, a citizen of no mean cityhis native Tarsus, beautifully situated in the plain and on the banks of the Cydnus; in his persecuting zeal, haling men and women to prison. But once his eyes were opened, once his heart was renewed, once he obtained mercy, then his ground of glorying was altogether changed. “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”

4. We shall not see his face until either we stand on the sea of glass, or his feet stand again on Olivet; we cannot hold him as those who “met him by the way and held him by the feet, and worshipped him;” we cannot minister to him as certain women in the days of his flesh; we cannot serve him at food like Martha, nor pour oil on his head like Mary. What, then, remains forus to do? How are we to express our love to him? We are to think of him, believe on him, pray to him, accept him for our King and submit to his laws, call on his name, take the cup of salvation and keep his memory green in our souls, show forth his death, glory in his resurrection, partake of the sacrament of the Supperit is the memorial of his death; and delight in the sabbathit is the monument of his resurrection.

5. “Come, see the place where the Lord lay,” and let the sight encourage you. Dread not death; you believe in him that conquered it. Dread not the grave; you love him who lay in it. Dread not hell; you believe in him who rescued you from it. But dread sin and depart from it;. “go and sin no more.”J.J.G.

Mar 16:19, Mar 16:20

Parallel passages: Luk 24:50-53; Act 1:9-12.

The Ascension.

I. CIRCUMSTANCES IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING. Our Lord led the apostles out “as far as to Bethany,” on the eastern slope of the mount of Olives, a mile, or somewhat more than a mile, below the summit of the ridge, whence they afterwards returned by the way across the mount to Jerusalem. The middle summit of Olivet, Jebel-et-Tur, is, however, the traditional place of ascent. He has led ourselves further than to Bethany, for he has led us all our life till now; while all the way by which he has led us has been strewn with blessingsblessings temporal and spiritual. When he had led them as far as to Bethany ( , or , as far as towards Bethany, or the descent that led down to the village, or over against it), he lifted up his hands and blessed them. The high priest of the Aaronic order had three things to dooffer Sacrifice, make intercessions, and bless the people in the name of the Lord. What a beautiful benediction was put into his lips and pronounced upon the people, “The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace”! Better and more beautiful, if that be possible, are the blessings which our great High Priest invokes on our behalf and commands upon us. Of these we have a specimen in his intercessory prayer, as contained in the seventeenth chapter of St. John.

II. THE PARTING. “He was parted from them,” or “stood apart from them (),” as it is expressed by St. Luke. Amid certain cheerful tones one sorrowful note is struck, one sad word occurs, one painful sentiment is expressed. Some find the motto of this world in the words, “Man weeps;” others write it in the words, “We part; “a yet higher and better authority has expressed” one words, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” This last combines the other to his world is a vale of weeping and a place of parting. What tongue could tell the painful partings that from time to time take place? Who could count the bitter tears that are shed? Those partings ofttimes wring the stoutest heart and wet the manliest cheek. At the railway station, or before going on board the emigrant ship, many a sorrowful separation we have all seen. The separation caused by death usually lasts the longest, and is, therefore, in proportion sorrowful. Yet it is not all pain in the parting of a Christian; this passage suggests an element of pleasure. When our Lord was parted from his disciples, he was carried up to heaven; when the Christian is parted by death from friends, loving and beloved, he sleeps by Jesus, and them that so sleep the Lord will bring with him. The day, moreover, is coming when Christian friends, parted by death, shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with one another, and with our Lord.

III. THE ASCENSION ITSELF. The expressions employed to describe our Lord’s ascension are, “He was received up into heaven,” St. Mark; “Carried up into heaven,” St. Luke; while in Acts we read

(1) that “he was taken up,” an expression similar to that of either Gospel; and again,

(2) that “he went up” or “he went” (Revised Version). Here, then, we have the power of the Father and the Son. As he rose by his own and his Father’s power, he ascended by the same. Further, it may be implied that he went up with joy- fullness to those realms of glory whence he had descended while the Father welcomed him home, and took him to that paternal bosom where he had been before all worlds. It must have been a splendid sight to witness. Some time ago we stood where many thousands were assembled to see an aeronaut ascend. With gradual ascent the aerial machine rose; upward and upward it glided; higher and higher still it mounted, while majestically and magnificently it moved. At length a silvery cloud received it, and screened it from the view; again, on emerging from the cloud, it pursued its way along the sky till it dwindled to a dark spot in the distance, and then passed out. of sight. How grand, we thought, must have been the sight, apart from every other consideration, of our Lord’s ascent from that spot where his feet last stood on Olivet! If, when our Lord was transfigured, his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment became white as the lightif on that occasion his face and figure assumed somewhat of heavenly splendorequally or more resplendent and heavenly, we may well suppose, was his appearance as he rose from earth in his journey through the sky. The glory of heaven was round about him; that glorified body shot upward with wondrous buoyancy. Enoch was translatedwe are not told how; Elijah was borne up amid a whirlwind by a chariot. of fire and horses of fire; Jesus, who had walked upon the waves, now mounts upon the winds, making the cloud his chariot and upborne on the wings of the wind. Glorious in his appearance, glorious in his motion, glorious in all the indescribable grandeur of his heavenward ascent, he proceeded on his way till a clouda bright cloud, a cloud silver-lined and beautifulcoming underneath received () him as in a chariot, and hid him from their eyes.

IV. HIS ATTENDANTS. Neither went he alone; thousands of invisible beings formed his escort and carried him aloft. To this perhaps the psalmist, foreseeing it in prophetic vision, may allude when, in the sixty-eighth psalm, he says, “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels.” No conqueror ever enjoyed such a triumph, no monarch ever had such a train. At length they reach the high battlements of heaven; the accompanying angels demand admittance; standing without the portals, they raise the voice like the sound of many waters as they say or sing, “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.” The angels within respond, making inquiry,” Who is this King of glory?” Then both, uniting in full chorus together, sing, “The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.” The Father everlasting takes him by the hand, and sets him at his side, and there he sits for ever at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

“Who is this King of glorywho?

The Lord, for strength renown’d;

In battle mighty, o’er his foes

Eternal Victor crown’d.

“Who is this King of glorywho?

The Lord of hosts renown’d,

Of glory he alone is King,

Who is with glory crown’d.”

V. THE WITNESSES OF THE SCENE. The witnesses of the scene were men on earth and angels from the skythe one to testify that he rose from earth, the other to bear witness that he entered heaven. The former fact may perhaps be expressed by the other by ; while his intermediate progress and journey between may be expressed by , imperfect, and , participleboth marking his gradual ascent. The human spectators, struck with the grandeur of the scene, stood as if riveted to the spot, and continued gazing up into heaven as though they would never be satisfied with seeing such a sight; or perhaps the surprise it occasioned was blended with sorrow, as if their Lord and Master had gone from them never to return. But two angels, apparelled in white, comforted them with the assurance that “this same Jesus, which is taken up from them into heaven,” shall come again in like manner through the riven sky visibly and gloriously. The human witnesses of the Ascension felt personally interested in the result, the angelic looked pryingly into the things connected therewith. The sorrow of the disciples was succeeded by great joy, for though they had lost his bodily presence, his spiritual presencenearer, closer, in every place, and at all timesis promised them instead.

VI. THE PLACE WHENCE HE ASCENDED. The place of the Ascension suggests a lesson of instruction and comfort. A garden on the western slope of Olivet had been the place of his sorest trial and the scene of his deepest tribulation prior to the Crucifixion; an upland on the eastern side, or near the summit of the same hill, was the place of his triumph. On one side was the dark enclosure, still noted for its sombre aspect and gloomy olives, where the Savior agonized, sweating great drops of blood, and praying for the bitter cup, if possible, to pass; on the other side was the spot whence he ascended. There, too, men and angels metmen asleep from sorrow and oblivious of sympathy, an angel ministering strength and succor to the suffering Son of God; hero men are rapt spectators, and angels swell his train. On one side of the mount were sorrow and suffering, on the other glory and triumph. May it not to some extent be the same with ourselves? The valley of Achor, which means “trouble,” has often proved the door of hope. “We glory in tribulation also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope.” Humiliation goes before exaltation; the cross precedes the crown: “If we suffer with him, we shall also be glorified together;” while our trials here shall enhance our triumph hereafter.

VII. THE PURPOSES SERVED BY THE ASCENSION. One purpose was triumph over his and our enemies. Having spoiled principalities, or reft them from him, he made a show of them openly. It was a custom of antiquity for a conqueror on the day of his triumph to have captives bound to his chariot and dragged along at his chariot-wheels. So with Christ. When he led captivity captive, he bound to his chariot-wheels sin, Satan, death, and hell. Sin he buried in his own grave, having borne its penalty. As for Satan, the old serpent, he has bruised his head, destroying his works. Death he overcame by dying, and through death he has destroyed him that had the power of it; while in him and by him we can adopt the tone of triumph and say, “O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory?” Of the grave he has said, “I will be thy destruction;” and the day is hastening on apace when the earth shall cast forth her dead. Another purpose of the Ascension is the bestowal of gifts. On the day of a triumph the conqueror distributed many and costly gifts, sometimes dealing them out deliberately, and sometimes throwing them broadcast among the multitude. We read of Julius Caesar, on the occasion of a great triumph, bestowing munificent donations on his soldiery, and distributing many gifts of grain and gold to the people as they crowded around. A greater than Caesar or Solomon is here. Jesus, on the day of his triumph, having receiving gifts for triumphal distribution, “gave gifts unto men he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Even on the rebellious he has conferred his favors,” that the Lord God might dwell among them.” From the day of his ascension until now he has lavished on his people, with unstinted generosity and most bountiful hand, the benefits of salvation and the results of his redemptive work.

VIII. PREPARATION ABOVE. Having made provision for us when he was here below, he is gone to prepare a place above. He ascended to provide a place for us; and, having prepared it for us, he is now preparing us for it. In his Father’s house are many mansions; he is gone to prepare one of those mansions for each of his followers. A mansion! Here is a word that denotes stability and implies duration. The most solid structure that ever man reared shall yield to the tooth of time. The pyramids of Egypt shall one day, we doubt not, be levelled with the sands of the desert that blow around them. The Roman Colosseum shall perish. The Parthenon of Athens shall be left without one pillar standing. St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s shall become heaps of rubbish. The castles of kings, that seem to defy decay, shall moulder. Earth itself shall be removed, and its everlasting hills shaken. But all the many mansions in glory shall be durable as the throne of God himself, and stable as the pillars of the universe.

“O Lord, thy love’s unbounded

So full, so vast, so free!

Our thoughts are all confounded

Whene’er we think on thee:

For us thou cam’st from heaven,

For us to bleed and die,

That, purchased and forgiven,

We might ascend on high?

Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary

Mar 16:1. Had bought sweet spices Mr. West observes, that St. Mark, having written his gospel for the use of the Gentiles, who were strangers to the Jewish customs and religion, (as may be inferred from several little explanatory notes dropped up and down in his gospel,) in order to give these strangers a perfect intelligence of the fact related in this chapter, it was necessary for him to begin his account with that circumstance of the women’s having bought spices to anoint the body of Jesus; that they might understand what business carried them so early to the sepulchre, and see by the preparations made by those women for the embalming of the body of Jesus, and the little credit given by the apostles to the reports of those who had seen our Lord on the day of his resurrection, that his rising from the dead was an event, not in the least expected by any of them, and not believed by the apostles, even after such evidence as Jesus upbraided them for not assenting to: from all which it was natural for them to conclude, that this fundamental article of their faith was neither received nor preached, but upon the fullest conviction of its truth. See Observations on the Resurrection, p. 33 and the notes on Matthew 28.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Mar 16:1-8 . See on Mat 28:1-8 . Comp. Luk 24:1-11 .

. .] i.e. on Saturday after sunset . See Mar 16:2 . A difference from Luk 23:56 , which is neither to be got rid of, with Ebrard and Lange, by a distortion of the clear narrative of Luke; nor, with Beza, Er. Schmid, Grotius, Wolf, Rosenmller, and others, by taking as a pluperfect . For examples of used of the lapse of an intervening time (Dem. 541. 10, 833. 14; Act 25:13 ; Act 27:9 ), see Raphel, Polyb. p. 157; Wetstein in loc.

They bought aromatic herbs ( , Xen. Anab. i. 5. 1; Polyb. xiii. 9. 5) to mingle them with ointment, and so to anoint the dead body therewith ( .). This is no contradiction of Joh 19:40 . See on Mat 27:59 .

Mar 16:2 f. ] with the genitive . Comp. Herod. ix. 101, and see generally, Krger, 47. 10. 4.

.] on the Sunday . See on Mat 28:1 .

. ] after sunrise ; not: when the sun rose (Ebrard, Hug, following Grotius, Heupel, Wolf, Heumann, Paulus, and others), or: was about to rise (so Krebs, Hitzig), or: had begun to rise (Lange), which would be , as is actually the reading of D. A difference, from Joh 20:1 , and also from Luk 24:1 ; nor will it suit well even with the strengthened by ; we must conceive it so, that the sun had only just appeared above the horizon.

] in communication with each other. But of a Roman watch they know nothing.

] The stone was rolled into the entrance of the tomb, and so closed the tomb, Joh 20:1 .

Mar 16:4 . ] Wassenbergh in Valckenaer, Schol. II. p. 35, would transpose this back to Mar 16:3 after , as has actually been done in D. Most expositors (including Fritzsche, de Wette, Bleek) proceed thus as respects the meaning; holding that brings in the reason for Mar 16:3 . An arbitrary view; it refers to what immediately precedes. After they had looked up (their look was previously cast down) they beheld (“contemplabantur cum animi intentione,” see Tittmann, Synon. p. 120 f.) that the stone was rolled away; for (specification of the reason how it happened that this perception could not escape them after their looking up, but the fact of its having been rolled away must of necessity meet their eyes) it was very great . Let us conceive to ourselves the very large stone lying close by the door of the tomb . Its rolling away, however, had not occurred while they were beside it, as in Matthew, but previously; so also Luk 24:2 ; Luk 24:23 ; Joh 20:1 . As to at the end , comp. on Mat 2:10 .

Mar 16:5 . ] Mark and Luke (who, however, differ in the number : ) relate the angelic appearance as it presented itself ( ); Matthew (who, however, places it not in the tomb, but upon the stone), as that which it actually was ( ). On the form of a young man assumed by the angel, comp. 2Ma 3:26 ; Joseph. Antt. v. 8. 2 f., and Gen 19:5 f.

. ] on the right hand in the tomb from the entrance, therefore to the left hand of the place where the body would lie.

Mar 16:6 . Simple asyndeta in the lively eagerness of the discourse.

Mar 16:7 . ] breaking off , before the summons which suddenly intervened, Khner, II. p. 439; Ellendt, Lex. Soph. I. p. 78 f.

] to His disciples and (among these especially) to Peter . Comp. Mar 1:5 ; Act 1:14 ; and see Grotius. The special prominence of Peter is explained by the ascendancy and precedence, which by means of Jesus Himself (Mat 16:18 ) he possessed as primus inter pares (“dux apostolici coetus,” Grotius; comp. also Mar 9:2 ; Mar 14:33 ), not by the denial of Peter, to whom the announcement is held to have given the assurance of forgiveness (Theophylact, Euthymius Zigabenus, Victor Antiochenus, Calovius, Heumann, Kuinoel, Lange, and others), which is assumed with all the greater arbitrariness without any indication in the text, seeing that possibly Peter might have concluded just the contrary.

] recitative, so that and apply to the disciples as in Matthew.

] Mar 14:28 . It relates to the whole of what precedes: . . . and . . The latter was indirectly contained in Mar 14:28 .

The circumstance that here preparation is made for a narrative of a meeting together in Galilee, but no such account subsequently follows , is an argument justly brought to bear against the genuineness of Mar 16:9 ff. That the women did not execute the angel’s charge (Mar 16:8 ), does not alter the course of the matter as it had been indicated by the angel; and to explain that inconsistency by the fact that the ascension does not well agree with the Galilean meeting, is inadmissible, because Mark, according to our passage and Mar 14:28 , must of necessity have assumed such a meeting, [183] consequently there was nothing to hinder him from representing Jesus as journeying to Galilee, and then again returning to Judaea for the ascension (in opposition to de Wette).

Mar 16:8 . ] explicative, hence also has found its way into codd. and vss. (Lachmann, Tischendorf).

] The suggestion that we should, with Grotius, Heupel, Kuinoel, and many more, mentally supply: on the way , is devised for the sake of Luk 24:9 ; rather is it implied, that from fear and amazement they left the bidding of the angel at Mar 16:7 unfulfilled. It is otherwise in Mat 28:8 . That subsequently they told the commission given to them by the angel, is self-evident; but they did not execute it.

. . .] Hom Il. vi. 137; Herod. iv. 15; Soph. Phil. 681; also in the LXX.

[183] It is characteristic of Schenkel that he assumes the Gospel to have really closed with ver. 8, and that it is “mere unproved conjecture” (p. 319) that the conclusion is lost. Such a supposition doubtless lay in his interest as opposed to the bodily resurrection; but even ver. 7 and Mar 14:28 ought to have made him too prudent not to see (p. 333) in the absence of any appearances of the risen Lord in Mark the weightiest evidence in favour of the early composition of his Gospel, whereas he comes to the unhistorical conclusion that Peter did not touch on these appearances in his discourses. See Act 10:40 f., and previously Act 2:32 , Act 3:15 .

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

PART FIFTH

The Resurrection of the Lord. The Great Victory, and the Appearance of the Victor in the Company of the Apostles, to bring to Completion the New Church. His Ascension (Last Withdrawal) to complete His Conquest of the World

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FIRST SECTION

THE RISEN ONE AS CONQUEROR ON BEHALF OF THE CHURCH; OR, THE INTRODUCTION OF THE BELIEF IN THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. THREE EASTER MESSAGES: THE ANGEL, THE WOMAN, THE TWO MEN

16:113

(Parallels: Mat 28:1-15; Luk 24:1-35; Joh 20:1-18)

________
1. The Resurrection. The Angelw Message, and the Women. Mar 16:1-8

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 from1 the door of the sepulchre? (4And when they looked [up], they saw that the 5stone was rolled away,) for it was very great. 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. 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 intoGalilee: 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 [trembling and ecstasy held them]: neither said they anything to any man; for2they were afraid.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

See the parallel passages in Matthew and Luke.This portion, considered in itself, is manifestly a fragment; for no treatise, especially no Gospel, can conclude with . Upon the critical question, as to the authenticity of the following part, compare the Introduction. In this section, we have followed the remarkable division of the Pericope; but we would point out that this part might most properly be united with the following, under the common idea with which we have designated the section. Mark gives the day of the resurrection in such a way as to supplement the other Gospels. The early morning is termed by him the sunrising. He is the most accurate in the account of the women who came to anoint Christs body, stating their number to be three, and giving their names. He agrees with Luke, in saying that the women came for the purpose of embalming the Lords body. The representation of the moment of the resurrection, and the revelation to the women as they were returning from the grave, of which Matthew gives the details, is omitted by him; and we find here, moreover, but a brief notice of the meeting of the risen Lord with Mary Magdalene. He alone remarks upon the anxiety of the women, as to how the stone was to be rolled from the door of the sepulchre. Only one angel, according to his account, appears to the women; and the same is true of Matthew. This was the first appearance, whereas Luke and John relate a later appearance (see Matthew). In describing the return of the women from the grave, the Evangelists differ the most from one another. Matthew states: And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy, and did run to bring His disciples word. Luke similarly. Mark, on the contrary: And they said nothing to any man; for they were afraid. The circumstances, however, are different. These women who were afraid, are Mary the mother of James, and Salome, who had gone into the grave after Mary Magdalene had hurried forth on finding the grave empty. The women, however, who departed quickly with great joy to declare what had taken place to the disciples, form a larger group, composed of those who had been the first at the grave with the materials for embalming, and of those who had followed them. (See Matthew.) Mark omits this fact in order to introduce the separation of Mary Magdalene from the other two women. And yet he makes it appear that the first impression produced on the women was a mingling of fear and .

Mar 16:1. And when the Sabbath was past.That is, on Saturday evening, after sunset. Luke says, 23:56: After their return (when they came back), they prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day, according to the commandment. It is not said, and thereafter, but, and of course rested; so that it is intended as a special explanation of the preceding. We have no contradiction, accordingly, between Luke and Mark, as Meyer would make out. The antecedent embalming, Joh 19:39, is not excluded by this. Neither is the fact excluded, that some of the women purchased the spices as early as Friday evening, before sundown; only the two Maries had remained too long at the grave to do so, and hence they could not make their purchases till the Sabbath had passed. (See Langes Leben Jesu, ii. 3, p. 1623.)Spices, .Aromatic herbs to mix with ointment. Meyer. The are not necessarily dry substances. The ointments were seldom simplicia (e. g., the nard); they were generally composed of various substances (Job 41:22; Plin. 29, 8),of olive oil (that much-praised product of Palestine), and various fragrant, especially foreign (Eze 27:22), vegetable extracts,namely, oils and resins, such as nard and myrrh. Such ointments were, in part, very expensive, and special articles of luxury. Amo 6:6. Winer.

Mar 16:2. When the sun had begun to rise.We translate thus somewhat singularly, because De Wette (and, following him, again Meyer) maintains that can only mean, when the sun had risen, not, as it was rising.3The words, very early, immediately preceding, contradict this view. But between the beginning of the sunrise and its ending is a considerable interval, as between eve and evening; and according to this distinction has Mark conceived of the matter, as he previously distinguished the two evening seasons. The sunrise, accordingly, had begun: oriente sole. Meyer discovers in this passage not only a discrepancy between Mark and John, who indeed says it was still dark, but in a certain measure between the statements of the Evangelist Mark himself (very early, when the sun had risen).Bezas conjecture, ., is quite unfounded.

Mar 16:3-4. From the door of the sepulchre… when they looked up… rolled away… it was very great.These are all accurate statements, which are characteristic of Marks clear view of things. The stone was lying in the hollow cut deep into the rock, so as to form the door, and must accordingly be rolled forth from this recess outwards; hence rolled away. The rock-tomb, however, itself lay upon a height; hence the women saw the stone when they looked up. That upward glance, accordingly, does not form a mere contrast to the supposed circumstance, that before this their eyes were cast down to the ground. And because the stone was very great, they could even from a great distance see it lying. This latter explanation of Meyer, respecting the stone, is to be preferred to the reference (by Cod. D., and Wessenberg) of the clause, for it was very great, to the clause, who shall roll us away the stone?although this conveys a natural meaning.

Mar 16:5. A young man.The angel is described in these terms, because of his external appearance. Similarly does Luke express himself: Two men in shining garments. The facts, as they occurred in point of time, must be distinguished in the following way: First, the appearance of one angel in the tomb, who showed himself to the two Maries after Mary Magdalene had hurried forth to inform Peter and John (Mark); then, two angels who manifested themselves to her upon her return (John). These two appearances of the angels are given only generally by Luke, (they appeared to the women which came with him from Galilee.) Finally, we have the appearance of the angels before the tomb upon the stone, which was seen by the larger group of women who assembled in the garden at a later period (Luk 24:1 :And certain with them). This construction commends itself, if we adopt the view that Lukes account is not designed to give an exact description. The first point then is, that there are three women who are witnesses: Mary Magdalene hastens back to tell the disciples, and the other two Maries see an angel in the sepulchre. The second point to be considered is, that the Magdalene sees two angels in the tomb, then the Lord, while the two Maries wait irresolutely for the other women, or go to meet them. The third point is, that the assembled women, among whom also is Johanna, first see the angel upon the stone (or two angels,one of them in the sepulchre); then, as they are returning, the Lord Himself.

Mar 16:6. Be not affrighted.In the liveliness of the words, we find by asyndeton the copulatives omitted.

Mar 16:7. And Peter.Especially. Meyer (following De Wette): Because of his superiority, not because Peter as denier required a mark of forgiveness (as is the common opinion). But the superiority of Peter had ceased for a time. It must be first, according to John 21, restored to him. So it is, accordingly, a gracious token to unfortunate Peter.He goeth before you. introduces the message.As He said unto you.See Mar 14:28. Upon the apparent contradiction between this announcement, that Jesus would precede the disciples, and His appearing unto them so shortly after, consult the commentary on Matthew. The first message applied especially to the Galilean disciples in a body. They, as such, first saw the Lord in Galilee again. Secondly, it was in a more special sense a preparation of the disciples for the approaching appearance of the Lord, which was by no means excluded by the message. And thirdly, the return of the disciples to Galilee was delayed, contrary to the wish of the Lord: first, through their own unbelief; secondly, through the unbelief of Thomas. See Leben Jesu, ii. 3, pp. 166456.

Mar 16:8. They trembled and were amazed. The term is intended without doubt to express the idea, that, even when out of the sepulchre, their former feelings held fast possession of them. These feelings were the opposing sentiments of trembling and , which latter cannot be possibly conceived of as horror. It is the parallel to the phrase in Matthew: With fear and great joy. The ecstasy indicates always, that one is not master of oneself; and here it indicates such a state of feeling, in opposition to the extreme measure of fear, . It is a state of transition from trembling and amazement; and while this play of feeling continues, men find it impossible to act.Neither said they anything to any man.De Wette maintains that this is contradicted by Matthew and Luke. It certainly does not mean simply, that they said nothing to any one by the way (Grotius), nor yet to any man beyond the circle of the Apostles; but, nevertheless, there is no contradiction. The intention of Mark was to lay hold of the fact of their indecision, and to unite it to the two following manifestations of hesitating unbelief. The women did not act upon the message of the angels, the individual disciples did not act upon the womens message, the assembled Apostles did not act upon the message of the men and of the disciples who had been met upon the way to Emmaus. The intention of our history is this, to bring out prominently the barriers which unbelief throws up, by which the ever-increasing urgency of the pressing messages is repelled. In the first instance, the weak faith of the two Maries prevented them from fulfilling their mission. The Magdalene met them in this state, and they did not allow themselves to be cheered by her information till they had met the other women (see Luke), and with them had seen the Lord. Now, their message was naturally a new and different one. Meyer distinguishes thus: They related the message at a later period, but it is self-evident that they had not fulfilled it. We distinguish thus: They did not fulfil their original commission, but, at a later period, the related, along with the other women, the earlier and later occurrences in one united narrative.They were afraid.This can only mean: The occurrence was so new to them, great, unheard-of, that they ventured not in the full confidence of faith to publish it, and that they, still more, did not expect to find any faith among the disciples.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. Consult the parallels in Matthew.

2. The entire chapter in its one central idea: Christ risen in perfect certainty and in the might of His resurrection, the destroyer of all unbelief in His people, and thereby the destroyer of the kingdom of darkness throughout the world; or, Christ appearing in His triumphal glory, able to redeem to the uttermost by that unlimited power which He acquired through His victory.
3. The three grand divisions of the chapter arethe Risen One as Conqueror for the Church, in the Church, with the Church.

4. The contrast in the chapter: The annunciations of the resurrection of the Lord to the Church, by the angels, by the women, by individual disciples, are not sufficient to overcome fully the unbelief of the disciples; the circle of disciples becomes a believing Church only when Jesus Himself reveals Himself personally in their midst. And this is, indeed, the thought underlying the entire Gospel of Mark, which is founded upon the mission of Peterof that Peter whom man would and will make the head of a new Church in which, by the tradition of an Apostle, angel-voices, holy women, and visions to women, should be made to represent Christ Himself.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

Upon the whole chapter, consult the superscription and the Doctrinal Reflections.Upon the Section, Mar 16:1-16 : The Church has not arrived at the full belief in a risen Saviour by even the most glorious messages, but by the personal revelation of the Risen One Himself.Upon the Section up to Mar 16:13 : The three Easter-messages of Jesus to His Church in their progressive effect: 1. Through the angels to the women; 2. through the women to the amazed disciples; 3. through the two amazed disciples to the assembled company.Upon the Section before us: The [Jewish] Sabbath is passed away, the [Christian] Sunday has appeared; or, a new arrangement of the periods of rest and labor has been made by Christ. Man proceeds no more to the holy day from his labor, but from the holy day to his labor. 1. So is it in the life of the glorified Christ: first sitting at the right hand of God, then ruling, then coming again. 2. So is it in the life of the Church: first Sunday, then the consecrated working-day.4 3. So in the life of the believer: first justification, then sanctification. Conclusion: In this form, Christianity is the beginning (the principle) of the glorified world.Our conversation is in heaven.The walk of the three women to the grave is a symbol of the separation between the old and the new world in the history of the Passover: 1. The three women with their solicitude [Mary Magdalene in the deepest emotion; the others, two mothers of five Apostles, two aunts of Jesus of Nazareth, calmer, quieter]; their unconsciously-entertained hopes of life, and their ointments for the dead corpse. 2. The rising sun, but the heavy stone of their anxiety. 3. The angel appears, but the Lord has disappeared. 4. The resurrection of Christ declared, in the distant prospect of His re-appearance, out of the mouth of the grave. 5. The delightful commission to proclaim these good tidings; but their souls are oppressed by the overmastering feelings of fear and joy.And Peter [Peter could never forget this addition, and hence Mark records it].How the sinner ever thinks of the word which shows that the Saviour thought of him.The first Easter-message, a message from the Prince of Life given by angelic lips to the women who wished to anoint the dead.This message is not carried to its destination; but in the contending feelings of the women, between their fear and joy, is left unfulfilled.Why the female disciples, even now, do not come up to that evangelizing faith which the message enjoins: 1. They are not yet able to give themselves up to that obedience of faith, because the fact overcomes their feelings [could not believe for joy]. 2. They cannot yet give themselves up to the confidence of faith, because their feelings amid the signs of the fact are not yet stilled [they cannot believe for fear; they miss the Lord, whom they have not seen; and they are still afraid of finding among the disciples no faith to receive their great news]. 3. They cannot yet give themselves up to the peace of faith, because these conflicting feelings are contending in their hearts.As Christ is elevated above the angels, so is the certainty of the resurrection elevated above the testimony of the angelic appearance.Since Christ died, a new heavenly activity is demanded, which lies far above all the visions of the old economy.

Starke:Nova Bibl. Tub.:What does not love do, when it is strong?Through woman was life lost at first; by women must it be first sought, found, and revealed.(The stone.) Hindrances in the way of salvation.Men often make to themselves unnecessary anxieties: before they actually meet them, the Lord has helped them already.If we look with believing eyes into Christs grave, all our anxiety falls into it; for Christs resurrection is our resurrection.God will comfort the penitent, and will make their anguished hearts joyful again.Christs heart is as compassionate after, as before, His resurrectionGods promises pass certainly into fulfilment, and that too more gloriously and sooner than their mere form would lead one to expect.Osiander:Untimely fear often hinders from fulfilling ones office.

Braune:No shrine is made of the grave, and no worship from the contemplation of it; but the women are bidden to carry the good news and to awaken faith.Weak sentimentalism avails nothing in the kingdom of God which has been established in the earth by the death of Jesus.Brieger:The resurrection, which is also a birth, is a mystery, like every birth. It is also an act of Gods omnipotence, like every other birth.If we are because of sin related to death, which is so foreign to our being, much more are we related to life.Heubner:The morning of the resurrection of Jesus: 1. Distinguished by heaven itself; 2. bringing a glorious reward to Jesus Himself; 3. fearfully condemnatory as regards His foes; 4. joyfully quickening as regards the disciples of Christ.Dietzsch:The mingling of fear and hope which the thought of death and immortality is wont to awaken in us.Schultz:The first witnesses of Christs resurrection: 1. They were strong [their love is manifested in their going to the grave]; 2. they were weak [their sorrow, their fear].Thiess:The cross of Calvary illumined by the rays of the Easter-sun.Rautenberg:Easter at the graves: 1. The stone of the curse is rolled away; 2. angels inhabit them; 3. the dead are risen.

Footnotes:

[1][Mar 16:3.Codd. A., B., Tischendorf read ; i. e., upwards from the descending entrance. With this corresponds the reading in B., L., Tischendorf.]

[2][Mar 16:8.Codd. B., D., Lachmann, Tischendorf read instead of .]

[3][The English version agrees with Langes: At the rising of the sun.Ed.)

[4]Sonntglicher Werketag: a secular day into which the spirit of Sunday is carried.

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

CONTENTS.

CHRIST’s Resurrection, and his Appearance to Mary Magdalene and to others. The LORD giveth his Commission to his Apostles; and returned unto Glory.

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.

Reader! let us pause at the very entrance on this precious chapter, with which the HOLY GHOST is pleased that Mark should finish his Gospel. Every word is big with events, in recording the wonderful history of our LORD’s resurrection, and may well merit the closest attention of his people. The sabbath was past, we are told, and the LORD of the sabbath (Mar 3:28 .) had rested from his own works. Heb 4:10 . and that blessed scripture but little understood, yet most highly significant, was now to be immediately accomplished. Jer 31:26 . Those godly women, still unconscious of the great things in which they themselves were so highly interested, had bought sweet spices, (and so had Nicodemus, Joh 19:39 .) with intention of embalming the body of JESUS. Reader! behold how the LORD was pleased to keep those whom he loved in ignorance for a while, of a subject which when made known, filled their hearts with a joy unspeakable and full of glory. Let you and I, from hence learn to estimate our mercies, and desire with Paul, to know CHRIST, and the power of his resurrection. Phi 3:10-11 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Mar 16:1

Geiler of Kaysersberg said on this text: ‘If thou desirest, like the three holy women, to anoint the dead Lord, thou must anoint Him inwardly, that is, thou must remember how for thy sake God died and for thy sake was raised again; thou must be willing to do what thou knowest to be the will of God and pleasing unto Him, for this ointment is nothing else but thy resolve to do God’s will and that of none other. If thou hast thus spiritually anointed Christ our Lord in His own Person, thou must anoint Him also in His members…. Thou must anoint the saints by giving them honour, by speaking of them, by contemplating their holy lives and by invoking them.

References. XVI. 1. R. M. Benson, The Life Beyond the Grave, p. 12. XVI. 1-4. A. J. Parry, Phases of Christian Truth, p. 266. XVI. 1-13. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture St. Mark IX.-XVI. p. 248. XVI. 1-14. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xli. No. 2408. XVI. 2, 3. A. G. Mortimer, Jesus and the Resurrection, p. 74.

Mar 16:3

The Israelites, marching up to the edge of the Red Sea till the waves parted before their feet, step by step, are often taken as an illustration of what our faith should do advance to the limit of possibility, and then the seemingly impossible may be found to open.

But there is another illustration in the New Testament, more sacred and striking the women going to the sepulchre of our Lord. With true woman’s nature they did not begin to calculate the obstacles till on the way. On the road reason met them with the objection, ‘Who shall roll us away the stone?’ And faith itself could not help them, but love did. A bond stronger than death drew them on, and ‘when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away’.

We may bless God that He can put into men’s hearts impulses stronger than reason, and more powerful even than faith, such impulses that, if they are going to Himself, they shall find that He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think.

Dr. John Ker’s Thoughts for Heart and Life, p. 101.

References. XVI. 3. R. H. McKim, The Gospel in the Christian Year, p. 240. F. E. Paget, Helps and Hindrances to the Christian Life, vol. i. p. 168. XVI. 3, 4. C. Gore, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lii. 1897, p. 21. S. Baring-Gould, Village Preaching for a Year, vol. i. p. 300. XVI. 4. W. Howell, Evans, Sermons for the Church’s Year, p. 113. XVI. 4-8. R. M. Benson, The Life Beyond the Grave, p. 63. XVI. 5. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture St. Mark IX.-XVI. p. 25. XVI. 5, 6. Ibid. p. 274. XVI. 6. W. P. Balfern, Glimpses of Jesus, p. 259. S. Baring-Gould, Village Preaching for a Year, vol. i. p. 279; see also 2nd Series, p. 201. H. J. Wilmot-Buxton, Bought With a Price, p. 94.

Mar 16:7

After attending a Quaker’s meeting in London, at which he heard Rebecca Collins speak, Locke wrote to thank her for the experience His letter closes with the remark, ‘Woman, indeed, had the honour first to publish the resurrection of the Lord of Love why not again the resurrection of the Spirit of Love? And let all the disciples of Christ rejoice therein, as doth your partner, John Locke’.

References. XVI. 7. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture St. Mark IX.-XVI. p. 284. J. S. Maver, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lxiv. 1903, p. 318. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxxiv. No. 2060. XVI. 8. J. M. Neale, Sermons Preached in Sackville College Chapel, vol. i. p. 341. XVI. 9. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture St. Mark IX.-XVI. p. 302. J. Grierson, Scenes and Interviews with the Risen Saviour, p. 42. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xi. No. 625. vol. xiv. No. 792. XVI. 9-11. R. M. Benson, The Life Beyond the Grave, p. 93. B. F. Westcott, The Revelation of the Risen Lord, p. 15. XVI. 9-12. J. E. Rattenbury, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lxxiv. 1908, p. 246. XVI. 10. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xliii. No. 2518.

Our Lord Appearing in the Country ( Second Sunday After Trinity )

Mar 16:12

I. ‘He appeared in another form.’ If we only had eyes to see it, how many ways there are in which He appears to us!

1. He appears to us in the shape of the poor, for He was Himself so poor that He had not where to lay His head; and He will say at the end of the world, ‘Inasmuch as ye did it unto them, ye did it unto Me’.

2. He taught His disciples by the flowers: He would teach us by the flowers also. ‘Consider the lilies of the field.’

3. Our Lord has left us another lesson. ‘Learn a parable of the fig-tree: when his branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it’ that is the Day of Judgment ‘is nigh, even at the doors.’ All the beauty of the green leaves, and of the woods and of the flowers ought to make us look forward to that Last Day, which will be so terrible a day for all, and should make us ask, ‘If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?’ Yes, and they make us look beyond the Day of Judgment to the kingdom that is laid up for God’s true servants hereafter. For see how we are told of the Tree of Life that bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month; and the river of the water of life, clear as crystal; and the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.

II. Our Lord may appear to us in a thousand different ways, may teach us a thousand different lessons, and yet, like these two disciples, our eyes may be holden, that we should not know Him. Why? Our Lord Himself teaches us. ‘Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.’ If we are not trying to be like Him, purifying ourselves, as St. John says, even as He is pure, neither shall we see Him.

If we may see Christ, when we will, in this world, so also we may do work for Him, where we will, in this world.

III. ‘He appeared in another form, as they went into the country.’ But we desire, as St Paul says, a better country: that is, an heavenly. And if, of God’s great goodness, we are ever permitted to enter into that land, it will be indeed in a different form that our Lord appears to us there. Not in outward signs, but eye to eye, face to face, as a man speaketh to his friend. That will be the sight of all sights; that will be the happiness of all happiness.

J. M. Neale, Sermons Preached in Sackville College Chapel, vol. II. p. 9.

References. XVI. 12. B. F. Westcott, The Revelation of the Risen Lord, p. 41. J. Parker, Christian World Pulpit, vol. li. 1897, p. 264. J. M. Neale, Readings for the Aged (3rd Series), p. 103. XVI. 12, 13. R. M. Benson, The Life Beyond the Grave, p. 387. XVI. 14. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. 1. No. 2890. R. M. Benson, The Life Beyond the Grave, p. 408. J. Grierson, Scenes and Interviews with the Risen Saviour, p. 150. B. F. Westcott, The Revelation of the Risen Lord, p. 59. XVI. 14, 15. R. Glover, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lix. 1901, p. 292. XVI. 15. S. Martin, Rain Upon the Mown Grass, p. 126. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture St. Mark IX.-XVI. p. 308. A. M. Fairbairn, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xlvii. 1895, p. 305. J. Parker, ibid. vol. xlix. 1896, p. 177. J. Johnson, ibid. vol. lvii. 1900, p. 324. J. Shaw Banks, ibid. vol. lxiii. 1903, p. 347. Ambrose Shepherd, ibid. vol. lxvii. 1905, p. 297. F. W. Atkin, ibid. vol. lxxiii. 1908, p. 284. C. E. Jefferson, The Character of Jesus, p. 121. Phillips Brooks, The Mystery of Iniquity, p. 346.

The Evangel to Creation

Mar 16:15-16

The Gospel according to Mark is that which preeminently reveals Jesus as the Servant of God. It is interesting to remember that the book of the Old Testament which reveals the Servant of God is the prophecy of Isaiah. To that prophecy Mark made reference in the very first sentences of his Gospel; when introducing the herald of Messiah he declared that he came in fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah, which foretold the sending of a messenger to prepare the way of the Lord.

In the messages of the ancient Prophet there are evidences of his almost overwhelming sense of the polluting effect upon the whole earth of the sin of man. Perhaps this is most pointedly and clearly declared in the twenty-fourth chapter. When we turn to the Gospel of Mark we find that he chronicled the words in the commission of Jesus which reveal the fact that the ultimate purpose of His mission was that of the redemption and renewal of the whole creation through the salvation of individual men.

In our consideration of this aspect of the commission we shall again seek to discover the deposit, the debt, and the dynamic.

I. First, then, as to the deposit, that particular truth committed to the Church, for the proclamation of which she is held responsible. This is only suggested by one inclusive word, which, standing alone, is characterized by indefiniteness. The word ‘Gospel’ is inclusive, but it needs explanation if we would understand the nature of the deposit suggested.

What then is ‘the Gospel’? It is the good news that the Lord is risen. It may be affirmed that this is a narrowing of the intention of the great word in this commission; that nothing is said of the teaching of Jesus, the life of Jesus, the cross of Jesus. As a matter of fact all these are involved in resurrection, and become parts of the Gospel because of the resurrection. If we only have the teaching of Jesus, we have no Gospel. If we only have the account of His perfect life, we have no Gospel. If we only have the Cross, we have no Gospel. All these become part of the Gospel because of its central truth, which is that of the resurrection. The deposit then, the essential and central truth referred to in this phase of the commission, is that of the actual resurrection of Jesus from among the dead. The resurrection of Jesus was the demonstration of His perfect victory over all opposing forces; and of the fact that His victory enabled Him to baptize such as believe in Him into union with His life.

If the first phase of the Missionary Manifesto was that of the absolute Lordship of Jesus, which the Church is to affirm and declare, the second is that of the risen Jesus Who is Renewer and Restorer of the whole creation.

This is the great glad news committed to the Church, and we have been in danger of minimizing the meaning of the Gospel. Our outlook has been appallingly narrow, and we have disastrously failed to see the application of the fact of the resurrection of Christ to the whole creation. Our failure to discover His meaning does not mean His failure to work His purposes out to final fulfilment. He is the risen Lord, and is therefore Master of death. He is also, therefore, Master of all the forces that spoil, and is able to renew everything that has been corrupted.

II. What then, in this respect is our debt? At this point the commission leaves us in no doubt. The words of Jesus are perfectly clear. ‘Go ye into all the kosmos, and herald the evangel to the whole creation.’ A natural reading of these words should immediately arrest attention by reason of the inclusive nature of the terms, ‘the kosmos,’ and ‘the whole creation’.

By translating the former ‘the world’ we have been at least in danger of thinking that our Lord’s reference was to humanity only. As a matter of fact it is a far more comprehensive term, which He interprets by the second of the phrases referred to, ‘the whole creation’. To take the first term, ‘the kosmos,’ and to trace the history of the word, is to be admitted to the larger outlook. The Greek word kosmos originally signified an ornament, or something beautiful. It was a word used entirely in the realm of art. In process of time, long before the ministry of Jesus was exercised or these Gospel stories were written, the word acquired a more spacious meaning, and was used in reference to the whole universe, because the Greek mind came to an understanding of the fact that the universe is beautiful and orderly. Then again, as the Greek mind failed to grasp the truth of the spiritual, the word passed back into a more restricted use, and was applied to the material frame in the midst of which man lives his life. In the days in which John made use of it and it was peculiarly his word among New Testament writers it referred to the earth and the heavens enwrapping it, the heaven of the atmosphere and the heaven of the stellar spaces, that system of which our planet is so small a part.

III. We pass finally to the subject of the dynamic This is no more clearly revealed than is the deposit, but it is as certainly involved. When Jesus said, ‘He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned,’ He suggested a response on the part of God to a certain attitude on the part of man. The alternative attitudes are described in the phrases, ‘he that believeth,’ ‘he that disbelieveth’. The ultimate results are described in the words, ‘shall be saved’ and ‘shall be condemned’. The dynamic phrase is ‘and is baptized’. That refers to the work of God. No man can baptize himself, or be baptized by another. Essential baptism is baptism in the Spirit. Water baptism is symbolic. In the moment in which a man believes, he is baptized by God in the Spirit, and so into the resurrection life of Jesus, and therefore he is saved. If a man disbelieve, he is not saved, but rather condemned because he does not enter into the regenerate life, seeing that he lacks baptism in the Spirit. The suggestion of these words is that as we herald the evangel of the Cross we do so in cooperation with the risen Lord, so that when men hearing the evangel believe, they are immediately baptized into living union with the living Christ, and so come into possession of the regenerative forces which being applied, produce the restoration of creation.

G. Campbell Morgan, The Missionary Manifesto, p. 57.

References. XVI. 15, 16. George Moberly, A Sermon Preached in Salisbury Cathedral, 21 July, 1872. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. x. No. 573; vol. xv. No. 900. XVI. 16-20. J. Grierson, Scenes and Interviews with the Risen Saviour, p. 247. XVI. 16. C. Perren, Revival Sermons in Outline, p. 197. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxxix. No. 2339. F. B. Woodward, Sermons (1st Series), p. 292. C. E. Shirley Woolmer, Church Times, vol. xxxix. 1898, p. 729. W. Page Roberts, Our Prayer Book Conformity and Conscience, p. 225. ‘Plain Sermons’ by contributors to the Tracts for the Times, vol. x. p. 153. J. H. Bernard, From Faith to Faith, p. 245. A. H. Bradford, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lxxiv. 1908, p. 17.

Mar 16:17

In his Development of Christian Doctrine (p. 441), Newman applies this passage to Catholicism: ‘If it were a falsehood or a corruption,’ he pleads, ‘like the systems of men, it would be as weak as they are; whereas it is able even to impart to them a strength which they have not, and it uses them for its own purposes, and locates them in its own territory. The Church can extract good from evil, or at least gets no harm from it. She inherits the promise made to the disciples, that they should take up serpents, and, if they drank any deadly thing, it should not hurt them.’

For the use of this passage at the ceremony of touching for scrofula, see Macaulay’s History of England, xiv.

References. XVI. 17, 18. W. Robertson Nicoll, British Weekly Pulpit, vol. ii. p. 357. John Wordsworth, University Sermons on Gospel Subjects, p. 15.

He Ascended Into Heaven (For Ascension Day)

Mar 16:19

It is most inspiring to read what it was that the Lord spake unto His disciples just before His Ascension, how that they were to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. But it is not of the Great Commission that we would think now, so much as of the Ascension itself. If we would understand its lessons aright we must read the Epistle to the Colossians: ‘If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things that are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God’. Since Christ is in the heavenlies, since He hath risen in His glory, therefore, be ye imitators of Christ as dear children. Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us.

I. The Ground of Hope. Christ’s Ascension means that He Whose words we love, Whose life was love, Whose name is love, is now set in the heavenlies at God’s right hand, far above all principality and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world but also that which is to come. It means this, and therefore in whatever aspect we look at it, it means a lesson of infinite hope; it means that He Who died upon the Cross for man is the Lord of man, and that the Judge of man is the Saviour of man. It means that, however deeply we have sinned in the past, in Him is power even on earth to forgive sins. It means that we can find strength in the present, because when He ascended up on high He received gifts for men, and He giveth His Holy Spirit to them that ask Him. It means that we can face the future without terror because His footsteps have illuminated even the dreary valley of the shadow of death; and since all this is involved in Ascension Day, this ( a ) forgiveness of the past, this ( b ) strength in the present, this ( c ) hope for the future, it were well for us, both as individuals and as a nation, if Ascension Day were more carefully commemorated, and if we dwelt more and more devoutly on that truth, ‘He ascended into heaven’.

II. The Root of Faith. But besides our hope, our faith must also depend on the Ascension of our Lord. If Christians dwelt more on the truth that their Lord is exalted on the throne of His Father’s glory, they would have more of the calm and the quietness and the confidence of strength. How often have Christians gone rushing up in alarm to the Ark of God because to them it seems to be tottering! Is Christ denied? Is Christ insulted? Is Christ betrayed? Well, the Christian, however sorrowful his heart may be, will not lose his calm or his courage. He believeth that the Lord is in heaven where He sitteth, that He sees it all, and that because He is omniscient and because He is eternal, He, in His own good time, will shine forth again, and for that time Christians will humbly wait.

The Ascension

Mar 16:19

The story of the Ascension of Jesus is given three times in the New Testament. It is given in the verse of my text, though candour compels the remark that the last eleven verses of this Gospel are wanting in the oldest MSS. and are probably in the nature of an appendix added to Mark’s Gospel by another hand. It is given very briefly in the concluding verses of St. Luke’s Gospel, and once again by Luke with more circumstantiality and detail in the opening chapter of the book of the Acts of the Apostles. All three accounts are marked by a certain reticence and reverent brevity.

I. The Ascension is the natural and inevitable completion of the Resurrection. When Jesus rose from the dead on the morning of the third day, it was not to resume the old life He had led before dying. You remember when Mary recognized Jesus in the garden her first impulse was to clasp her dear Lord’s feet. She thought that now Jesus had come back to them from the dead, the conditions that existed before His dying would be restored also. But Jesus gently and lovingly corrects her. ‘Touch me not,’ He said, ‘for I am not yet ascended unto the Father.’ Mary’s arms were flung in affectionate embrace around her Lord as if to retain Him, as if to say, ‘You shall never leave us more’. But Jesus had not risen from the grave simply to resume His old life, however gracious and beautiful that may have been. He had risen from the dead in order to enter into glory. His reward for becoming obedient unto death was to be exalted, and to be given a name above every name He only delayed His entrance upon this life until His disciples were convinced that He was not dead, but alive. He remained forty days with them; appearing now to one, now to another; now to two, as they walked together to a country village; now to the whole company of disciples in the Upper Room; and again in Galilee to about five hundred brethren at once. He showed them His hands and His feet; He talked with them, He ate with them, until the most incredulous were convinced, and even Thomas believed, and their doubt and despair had given way to radiant hope and dauntless courage. And having done that, ‘He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God’. What a day that must have been in heaven when Christ came back again, glorious in His apparel, travelling in the greatness of His strength!

II. When Christ left earth He was not bereaving His people. He was depriving them of a lesser good in order to bestow upon them a richer and a nobler. We have that on His own plain and unequivocal assurance.

Wherein does that expediency consist?

1. In this, primarily. Christ went away from His disciples in order that paradoxical as it may sound He might come nearer to them. He left them in bodily presence, that spiritually He might be present with them everywhere and at all times.

2. And it was expedient for us that He should go away in the second place, because He went away to take unto Him His great power and reign. The Resurrection of Christ proclaims that He is not dead, but alive. The Ascension proclaims that He not only lives, but reigns. ‘He sat down at the right hand of God,’ says the sacred writer. Now, the ‘right hand of God ‘always means in the Scriptures the omnipotent energy of God, and to sit down at the right hand of God means to be clothed with all the energy and power of omnipotence. Jesus sat down at the right hand of God. He ascended that He might reign. ‘Jesus sat down at the right hard of God,’ and His disciples went everywhere. Christ in the place of power indomitable courage in the hearts of His disciples; Christ on the throne and twelve poor men, with an audacity that was magnificent and sublime, went forth to conquer an unbelieving and hostile world.

J. D. Jones, The Gospel of Grace, p. 184.

References. XVI. 19. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture St. Mark IX.-XVI. p. 312. J. Griereon, Scenes and Interviews with the Risen Saviour, p. 333. B. F. Westcott, The Revelation of the Risen Lord, p. 173. E. W. Attwood, Sermons for Clergy and Laity, p. 182. D. Donaldson, Pulpit Discourses, Berwick Presbytery, p. 90. XVI. 19, 20. R. M. Benson, The Life Beyond the Grave, p. 616. XVI. 20. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xlii. No. 2467.

Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson

XXXI

CHRIST’S APPEARANCES AND COMMISSIONS

Harmony, pages 218-227 and Mat 28:1-15 ; Mar 16:1-18 ; Luk 24:1-43 ; Joh 20:1-21:25 ; 1Co 15:5 .

APPEARANCES BETWEEN RESURRECTION DAY AND ASCENSION

FIRST LORD’S DAY

There were five appearances of Christ on the day he rose from the dead. These five, in their order of time, were:

1. To Mary Magdalene Mar 16:9 ; Joh 20:14-18 ; Harmony, pp. 221-222.

2. To the other women Mat 28:9-10 ; Harmony, pp. 218-222.

3. To Simon Peter Luk 24:34-35 ; 1Co 15:5 ; Harmony, p. 224.

4. To Cleopas and another disciple on the way to Emmaus Mar 16:12-13 ; Luk 24:13-35 ; Harmony, pp. 223-224.

5. To ten apostles, Thomas absent; gives first commission Mar 16:14 ; Luk 24:36-43 ; Joh 20:19-25 ; Harmony, pp. 224-226.

SECOND LORD’S DAY

6. To the eleven, Thomas present Joh 20:26-29 ; 1Co 15:5 ; Harmony, p. 226.

IN THE SECOND WEEK

7. To seven disciples beside the sea of Galilee. Gives Peter a special commission Joh 21:1-24 ; Harmony, pp. 226-227.

THIRD LORD’S DAY

8. To the eleven and above five hundred brethren on the appointed mountain in Galilee, where he gives the Great Commission Mat 28:16-20 ; Mar 16:15-18 ; 1Co 15:6 ; Harmony, pp. 228-229.

9. To James 1Co 15:7 ; Harmony, p. 229.

FOURTH LORD’S DAY

10. To the eleven; gives another commission Luk 24:44-49 ; Act 1:3-5 ; 1Co 15:7 ; Harmony, p. 229.

FORTIETH DAY HIS ASCENSION

11. To the eleven and many others Mar 16:19 ; Act 1:6 ; Luk 24:50-53 ; Harmony, pp. 230-231. Here Act 1:6 shows another gathering or assembly before they ask the question. From his ascension to the close of the New Testament our Lord appears to at least four persons (not counting Peter and Cornelius) Stephen, Paul, Ananias, and John; to Stephen and Ananias once each; to Paul several times, and to John on Patmos in visions recorded in Revelation. Unquestionably the voice which spake to Peter (Act 10:14 ) was the Lord’s voice, but Peter seems not to have seen the speaker. There was an audible, but not visible interview. Except the first vision in Revelation, John’s visions of the Lord on Patmos were mainly, but not altogether, symbolic representations of the Lord. In the case of Paul three of the appearances were constructively true, but not evident, i.e., they may be proved by argument, namely, the fourth, sixth, and ninth, as enumerated below. In order of time the appearance to Ananias follows the first appearance to Paul.

APPEARANCES BETWEEN HIS ASCENSION AND THE CLOSE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 1. To Stephen Act 7:55-60 .

2. First appearance to Paul Act 9:1-9 ; Act 22:5 ; Act 26:12-20 ; 1Co 1:1 ; 1Co 9:1 ; 1Co 15:8 . and at the beginning of other letters. This was to call him to be an apostle. An apostle must have seen the risen Lord in order to be a witness of his resurrection.

3. To Ananias Act 9:10-17 .

4. Second to Paul, in Arabia. This is constructive, depending on two lines of argument:

(a) Whether we shall give precedence to Luke’s “straightway” in Act 9:20 , or to Paul’s “immediately” in Gal 1:15-17 . The author believes that Paul did not preach in Damascus until after his return to that city from Arabia that he had not yet received his gospel.

(b) But before preaching, he spent about three years of retirement and preparation in Arabia, probably at Mount Sinai, communing with the Lord; there at the site of the giving of the law studying its relations to the gospel which afterward he so clearly discloses, and receiving from the Lord directly his gospel to which reception he so often refers, as in Gal 1:11-18 ; 1Co 11:23-26 ; 1Co 15:3 .

5. Third to Paul, in the Temple Act 22:17-21 . This supposes that the Temple vision occurred on his first visit to Jerusalem after his conversion, an account of which is given in Act 9:26-29 and Gal 1:18-19 .

6. Fourth to Paul in Tarsus, or possibly Antioch 2Co 12:1-9 . This is constructive, and depends on two lines of argument:

(a) That “revelations of the Lord” in 2Co 12:1 , implies a vision of the Lord.

(b) The place of the vision is determined by the chronological argument. Reckoning back “fourteen years” from the date of the second letter to the Corinthians, about A.D. 56 or 57, and comparing Act 9:30 ; Act 11:25 , we learn where Saul was in this period, and find in Act 15:41 Cilician churches, probably established by him.

7. Fifth to Paul, in Corinth Act 18:9-10 .

8. Sixth to Paul, in Jerusalem Act 23:11 .

9. Seventh to Paul, on the ship Act 27:23-25 . This is constructive. “An angel of the Lord” would signify an angel proper. But “the angel of the Lord” often means our Lord himself. This appearance, therefore, must be counted as doubtful.

APPEARANCES TO JOHN IN REVELATION 10. Rev 1:1-3:22 . This is real. The following in the same book are mostly symbolical:

(a) The Lamb slain Rev 5:6-7 .

(b) The Rider on the white horse in converting power Rev 6:2 .

(d) The angel with the little book, probable Rev 10:1-11 .

(e) The Lamb on Mount Zion Rev 14:1 .

(f) The angel with the sickle Rev 14:14 .

(g) The Rider on the white horse, in power of judgments Rev 19:11-16 .

(h) The Judge on the throne Rev 20:11 .

(i) The Lamb, the Light of the New Jerusalem Rev 21:23 .

(j) Witness (through angel) Rev 22:12-20 .

COMMISSIONS IN HIS LIFETIME 1. To the twelve Harmony, pp. 44-45 and 71-72; Mat 9:36-38 ; Mat 10:1-42 ; Mar 3:13-19 ; Mar 6:7-13 ; Luk 9:1-6 .

REMARKS

(a) Limited to Jews Mat 10:5 .

(b) Provides for their support Mat 10:9-10 ; 1Co 9:14 .

(d) Gives authority to preach the kingdom Mat 10:7 .

(e) Foretells persecution Mat 10:17-18 .

(f) Promises protection Mat 10:28-29 .

(g) Spirit guidance in speech Mat 10:19-20 .

2. First special commission to Peter, the keys Mat 16:19 ; Harmony, p. 90.

REMARKS

(a) The gift of the keys authorized Peter to open the door of the kingdom of heaven to both Jews and Gentiles.

(b) The door to the Jews was opened by Peter in his Pentecost address Act 2:37-39 .

(c) The door to the Gentiles was opened by Peter in his address to Cornelius and his household Act 10:43-48 ; Act 11:1-18 ; Act 15:7-9 .

(d) The power to bind and loose, i.e., to declare the terms of remission, as in Act 2:38 and in Act 10:43 , and to pronounce judicially and with final authority on all matters of the kingdom, here specially given to Peter, is later given to all the apostles, as we will find in Joh 20:21-23 , and later to Paul. It was also given to the church, as we will find later in two commissions.

3. The discipline commission to the church Mat 18:15-18 ; Harmony, p. 100. Here again we find “the binding and loosing” power which holds good in heaven when the church follows the law of the Head of the church.

4. To the seventy Luk 10:1-24 ; Harmony, pp. 110-111.

REMARKS

(a) Limited to Jews.

(b) Provides for the support Luk 10:4-8 .

(d) Gives authority to preach the kingdom Luk 10:10 .

(e) Gives authority to heal the sick Luk 10:9 . Note: This and (a) were both temporary commissions.

COMMISSIONS AFTER HIS RESURRECTION

1. To the ten apostles, Thomas absent Joh 20:19-25 ; Harmony, p. 225. This commission appears in Joh 20:21-23 . REMARKS

(a) They are sent, as the Father sent Jesus, to all the world.

(b) They were inspired.

(c) They had authority to bind and loose, i.e., to declare the terms of remission of sins, and to pronounce judicially and with authority upon all matters pertaining to the church or kingdom. Harmony, p. 227.

2. Second special commission to Peter Joh 21:15-17 ;

(a) The triple form of the question here, “Lovest thou me?” is a mild rebuke of Peter’s triple denial.

(b) The triple form of the commission fits the three classes of Christians symbolized by sheep, little sheep, and lambs; the feed-ing, or shepherding required for each, suggests that the work is great enough to occupy all of Peter’s time, and conveys a mild rebuke to Peter for distrusting Christ’s provision, and his subsequent returning to his old, secular business. Peter erred in the use of the sword while Christ was living, and erred in attempting to provide for a living after Christ was risen. The suspension of Christ’s protection and provision lasted only while Christ was dead.

(c) There is nothing in either of the two special commissions to Peter to warrant his supremacy over the other apostles, and over the church, and especially no ground for a transmitted and perpetual supremacy to his so-called successors, and still less for those successors to be limited to the Roman See.

3. The great and perpetual missionary commission to the church Mat 28:16-20 ; Mar 16:15-18 ; 1Co 15:6 ; Harmony, pp. 228-229.

REMARKS

(a) This commission was given to an ecclesiastical body, as appears: From the number present. 1Co 15:6 : from its perpetuity, Mat 28:20 ; from the universality and scope of the work.

(b) The authority is plenary Mat 28:18 .

(d) The work is both evangelistic and pastoral, i.e., making disciples and then training them to do all Christ had commanded.

(e) The baptizing power is under jurisdiction of the church, as is also the keeping of the Lord’s Supper. It supposes a time when no apostle will be alive, and provides a continuous body is whom authority resides.

(f) This commission lasts till the final advent of our Lord, and throughout the Spirit’s administration.

We will now consider in detail some of his appearances after his resurrection and before his ascension, and also his commissions as we come to them. At least ten appearances are mention-ed, but there are some serious difficulties in harmonizing the testimony of all the Gospels concerning about six of these appearances. I will not stop now to point out these six and reply to them. Just now I will discuss the appearances between his resurrection and his ascension: First, to Mary Magdalene Mar 16:9 ; Joh 20:11-20 ; Harmony, pp. 221-222. All the circum-stances of this case are thrilling. A group of women had follow-ed Joseph and Nicodemus, had witnessed his burial and returned home to prepare spices and ointments for his embalming. Then, resting on the sabbath day (Saturday), they returned early on Sunday morning to embalm him. But they find the tomb empty, see the angel, hear his explanation, and report his message to the disciples. Four of these women are named: Mary Magdalene; Mary, the mother of James; Salome, and Joanna. But there were others; as Luke says, Mary Magdalene runs and tells Peter and John that the tomb is empty. She says, “They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.” And she returns with Peter and John and lingers after they have left. While she remains, the appearance of Christ to Mary takes place, as Mark states, and as is graphically described by John. It is very touching when the angels ask her why she weeps. She said, “They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.”

When I was a young preacher I preached a sermon from that text, and this was the application of the sermon: That people would go to church with a natural expectation of hearing about the Lord; the choir would sing, the pastor would preach, but there would be no Lord in the sermon; the deacons would pray, but there would be no Lord in the prayers; and they would look at the lives of the church members, and there would be no Lord in their lives. Then they would say, “They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.”

When Mary had thus said, she turned and beheld Jesus, but she did not know it was Jesus. She just caught a glimpse of him, and thought it was the gardener. She saw that somebody was there with her. Jesus said unto her, “Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou?” “She, supposing him to be the gardner, said 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!” As soon as she heard that voice, so familiar, the pathos and the manner of it which she had realized before a thousand times, her heart told her that it was the voice of the Lord. “She turns herself and saith unto him, in Hebrew, Rabboni, that is, My Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not [take not hold of me], for I am not yet ascended unto the Father, and my God and your God.” I have never been able to read that passage of Christ’s words to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils this woman whose love for Christ was unspeakable, and whose gratitude unbounded without being moved to tears.

Just here an objection comes up, for Jesus said, “I have not yet ascended to my Father.” How do you reconcile that with a previous statement that at his death the spirit went to the Father? My answer is that there is no contradiction at all. He is here referring to his ascension in the body: “I have not yet ascended to my Father,” that is, the whole Christ the divinity, soul, and body.

The second appearance is found also on page 222 of the Harmony, and it is to a group of women, Mary Magdalene, however, not included. Matthew alone gives that: “And behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then saith Jesus unto them, Fear not; go tell my brethren that they depart into Galilee, and there shall they see me” (Mat 28:9-10 ).

These women are the first to see him. I have already stated that there was a Ladies’ Aid Society organized, which ministered unto him of their substance while he lived. This is the same group of women exactly. They are still going to minister unto him of their substance, after he is dead. They had provided for his embalming; and now he appears to this group first to Mary, and second to the rest of the group.

The third case is presented on page 224 of the Harmony, Luk 24:34 : “The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.” And 1Co 15:5 : “He appeared to Cephas.” You can understand why the next appearance of Christ would be to Peter. Peter had denied him. He had been very greatly honored, and would be honored for all time. So the third appearance of the Lord was to Simon Peter.

The fourth appearance is on page 223 of the Harmony. This is very touching. It is the two men going to the village named Emmaus, about sixty furlongs from Jerusalem; and they were very sad. They had been to the crucifixion. Their Lord was dead, and while they were talking over that sad topic, a Stranger joins them. The record says, “Their eyes were holden that they should not know him.” So they did not recognize him. And he asked them what was the matter what all their sadness was about, and what they were talking about. They said, “You must be a stranger, or you would know what things have lately happened in Jerusalem.” And they told him about the death of the Lord, and when they got to their stopping place, Jesus made out as though he was going on. But they halted and asked him to take a meal with them, and when he went to ask the blessing, that mannerism of his, that peculiar, solemn way in which he broke the bread by these they knew him in a minute, and when he knew that they had recognized him, he disappeared, and then they said, “Did not our hearts burn within us, while he spake to us in the way, while he opened to us the scriptures?” He had been delivering a discourse which I would give everything in the world to have heard. He talked about the law, the prophets, and the psalms, and expounded to them every passage which referred to him, and expressed his astonishment that they were so slow to believe all these things that the prophets had foreshown of him. It was right on the surface. Why did they not see it? Why did they not see that it was necessary for Jesus to die for them? Why should they be disappointed at his death? Why should they count that everything was lost when he died? The whole topic is intensely interesting.

The fifth appearance is on pages 224-225 of the Harmony. Mark, Luke, and John each gives an account of it: “When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.” NOTE: “The first day of the week,” the very day on which he rose. This is five times in one day, all of them on that first Lord’s Day. And he “stood in their midst.” They were terrified, supposing it was a spirit, for the door was not open; it was fastened. He came in without opening the door; they thought it was a ghost, and he upbraided them on account of their unbelief and hardness of heart. They had no reason to be troubled; they had no right to have reasonings in their hearts. And then he showed them his hands, his side, and his feet. That was to show that it was the very body that was laid in the grave. They could not question the identity.

Here he gives his first commission after his resurrection. It is found on pages 224-226 of the Harmony, as follows: “When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, ‘Peace be unto you.’ And when he had said this, he showed unto them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord. Jesus therefore said to them again, ‘Peace be unto you: as the Father hath sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said unto them, ‘Receive ye the Holy Spirit; whosesoever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.’ “

We want to examine that commission. The points are as follows:

As he was sent forth by the Father on a mission to this earth for the salvation of the lost, so he now sends them forth for the same purpose. It is their business by preaching the gospel to afford an opportunity for the Spirit’s application of saving grace, which came through Jesus Christ.

The next item in this commission is that inspiration is given to these ten men. He breathed on them. That is what inspiration means, a “breathing on.” He breathed on them and said, “Receive ye the Holy Spirit.”

The third thing in his statement, “Whosesoever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.” What does that mean? Evidently, as God only can forgive sins, it was not granted to these ten men to really forgive sins. But it means that they are inspired to declare the terms of remission of sins, and not to make a mistake. When the apostles hereafter shall be asked, “What shall I do to be saved; how shall my sins be forgiven,” these men are inspired to tell just how that remission of sins may be obtained ; and whatever they say is as if God had said it to those asking. “Whosesoever sins ye retain they are retained,” that is, when they declare, as inspired men, that a man has not complied with the terms of the remission of sins, then that man has no forgiveness.

Let us take two cases to illustrate that part: The Jailer said to Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved what are the terms of salvation?” Paul said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved, and thy house,” that is, “thy house must believe also.” There he declares that whosoever believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, his sins are remitted.

“Another New Testament case is where Peter said to Cornelius, as we learn in Acts, “To him [Jesus Christ] gave all the prophets witness that through his name whosoever believeth on him shall receive the remission of sins.” No man can receive remission of sins except through Christ. The hand with which he lays hold on it is faith; faith apprehends, takes hold. In my discussion on Act 2:38 I bring out this question again, and answer a further question as to whether baptism is one of the terms essential to forgiveness of sins. The Campbellite’s answer, Dr. Mulling’ answer, and mine; I give them all, and the reader may take any one of the three he prefers. All this is found in Acts of this INTERPRETATION. Here is a summary of this first commission: (1) “As the Father hath sent me, so I send you”; they were thus to be sent; (2) they received inspiration; (3) being so sent and so inspired, they were to declare the only terms upon which the remission of sins could be obtained.

But Thomas was not present; there were only ten of the apostles present at that time. When Thomas came and they told him about It, he would not believe it. Here were ten men saying, “I tell you we have seen Jesus; he came into the room where we were; we know it was Jesus; we saw the marks of the nails in his hands and in his feet, and the spear print in his side.” Listen to what Thomas says: “That may do for you, but I won’t believe it until I put my finger in those nail-prints; I will have to see it for myself; I will have to put my finger there.” So just a week from those five appearances, and it is the Lord’s Day again, they are assembled, and Thomas is present. This is what it says, Joh 20:26-31 : “And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and see my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and put it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.” He was satisfied that this was the very Jesus, and more that this was God in man. It is quite common to preach a sermon on “Doubting Thomas.” A great many men have shown that Thomas was not such a bad case after all; that he did insist on adequate proof proof that would satisfy him, and not other people. And when that proof reached him he accepted it with all his heart, and forever. So that is the sixth time. Jesus has this rebuke for Thomas: “Because thou hast seen me thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” In other words, there is a sufficiency of testimony without seeing Jesus. You have not seen him, and yet have believed, and you are as strong in your faith as Thomas was.

We note another appearance. It was on another Sunday. Jesus, before he died, made a positive appointment with all of his people, at a certain mountain in Galilee. Not only the apostles, but the women and others were there. Most of his converts were in Galilee. Here we find Peter, as I have said, in one case, acting too quickly, and in another case he acted too late. Jesus had said that while they were under his commission, and he was alive, not to take scrip or purse; not to feel that they had to provide for themselves or to defend themselves; but that while they were thus under his commission he would provide. I showed you how Peter used his sword before Christ was dead, and there he was too quick. Now, after Christ is risen, and he knows that Christ is risen, be says, “I go a fishing.” What he meant by that was this: “We have to have a living. It looks like our preaching occupation is gone, and we were by profession fishermen. I am going back to my old business.” Let one big man, the ringleader, start off, and the others, not quite so big, will follow. The rest said, “We’ll go with you.” And they went back to their old occupation, and to their old homes. They went fishing, toiled all night and caught nothing.

A back-sliding preacher makes a mighty poor farmer or anything else. If he succeeds well in a secular business it is a pretty good proof that God never called him; and if he does not succeeded, then it certainly seems that he is out of his place.

Jesus appears and shows them how to catch fish, as he had done once before. That is a repetition of the miracle that had taken place when he called them to leave that business that he might make them fishers of men. To repeat that miracle here, when they were out of that business, whatever their regular business for Christ, would bring the whole thing back to their remembrance.

And now commences a colloquy between Christ and Peter. He says to Simon, “Do you love me more than these?” Instantly the question comes up what does that pronoun “these” refer to? Does it mean these fish? If so, it means this: “Do you, Simon, love your secular business more than you love your Lord and Master?” Or that pronoun may refer to the other disciples. Simon had said, “Though all these others leave thee, I will never leave thee.” Then it means: “You professed while I was living that you had an attachment for me beyond all other men. Do you love me more than they do? If so, why are you leading them astray?” It will be noticed that Jesus puts his question three times, corresponding to the three denials of Peter, and that Peter’s heart keeps breaking and getting more and more humble, as each question is put. He is a good man. One of my old-time lady members at Waco said, “Peter is a great comfort to me; he was so impulsive and imperfect. But Paul is a trial for me. I am all the time back-sliding and repenting, yet greatly loving my Lord.”

We now come to our Lord’s commission to Peter, which is his second commission after his resurrection, and I call attention to another important thing. In the Greek language Jesus directs Peter to take care of three classes of Christians, for the Greek words differ. In the Greek New Testament we see that the words used differ in the manuscripts. The word for “sheep,” the word for “lambs,” and the word for “little sheep” differ. “Shepherd my sheep,” “feed my lambs,” and “shepherd my little sheep.” A “sheep” is an experienced Christian; a “lamb” is a young convert; and a “little sheep” is a Christian who has been converted long enough to be mature, but who is in a state of arrested development what you would call a “runt.” The majority of Christian people that I know are “little sheep,” as Paul says, “For when by reason of the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need again that some one teach you the rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of solid food” (Heb 5:12 ). It is somewhat like trying to feed them with a spoon, just as if they were babies. They have not moved up any. They can go back and tell when they were converted, but they do not grow. Paul refers to “little women” ( gunaikarion ), which our translators call “silly women.” What he means by “little women” is not the little women that Louisa May Alcott writes about in her book Little Women , i.e., “girls that soon will be women.” Paul does not mean little woman in stature, but a woman with a little soul. Her soul is so small that she loves pleasure more than God. The world is bigger to her than heaven. The pleasures and gayeties of this world are more to her than God’s service. She goes to ballrooms. She is swallowed up in fashionable parties, so that she seldom gets in touch with the Spirit of Jesus Christ. This is manifest in the church. Little women, quite small, may be worth 1,000,000; may be leaders in society, but such are little women. Such are on the pastor’s heart very heavily, and he doesn’t know what to do with them.

Jesus says to Simon, “You feed these little sheep.” In the twenty-seven years that I was pastor of the First Baptist Church in Waco, I came to know these “little sheep” well, and how to deal with them.

These apostles quit fishing and they went on to the appointment, which brings us to the next appearance of Jesus, at which he gives the third commission after his resurrection, which we will consider in the next chapter.

QUESTIONS 1. How many and what appearances on the day that Christ rose from the dead?

2. How many and what on the second Lord’s Day?

3. How many and what during the second week?

4. How many and what appearances on the third Lord’s Day?

5. What one on the fourth Lord’s Day?

6. What one on the fortieth day?

7. To whom did Christ appear between his ascension and the close of the New Testament and how many times to each?

8. How many and what commissions did Christ give in his lifetime?

9. Analyze the first commission to the twelve.

10. Analyze the special commission to Peter.

11. What is the discipline commission given to the church, and what is the meaning here of the “binding and loosing” power?

12. Analyze the commission to the seventy, and what of special note about the first and fourth of these commissions?

13. How many and what commissions after his resurrection?

14. To whom did Christ first appear after his resurrection, and what the circumstances of that appearance?

15. How do you harmonize Jesus’ statement to Mary, “Touch me not,” etc., with the fact that at his second appearance the women touched his feet, and the fact that Thomas was invited to touch his hands and his side?

16. How do you reconcile the last saying on the cross with the statement, “I have not yet ascended to my Father”?

17. To whom did he appear the second time, and what were the circumstances?

18. To whom did he appear the third time, and why to him especially?

19. To whom did he appear the fourth time, and what, in detail, were the incidents connected with it?

20. To whom did he appear the fifth time, what were the circumstances, and what important event in connection with this appearance of our Lord?

21. Analyze this commission, explaining each point in particular.

22. To whom did he appear on the second Lord’s Day, and what were the circumstances, and what was the special purpose of this appearance?

24. What was the meaning of Christ’s questions to Peter here?

25. What analysis of the second commission to Peter? (See outline of the commission.)

26. In this second commission to Peter, what is the meaning and application of Christ’s language to him, distinguishing three classes of Christians?

27. What two references to the “little sheep” by Paul, and who, especially, are Paul’s “little women”?

Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible

1 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.

Ver. 1. And when the sabbath was past ] As God on the first day of the week drew the world out of that abhorred estate of nothing, and brought light out of darkness, so did Christ, on that day, draw his people out of an estate worse than nothing, and “brought life and immortality to light by the gospel,” 2Ti 1:10 .

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

1 8. ] THE WOMEN, COMING TO THE SEPULCHRE, ARE APPRISED OF HIS RESURRECTION. Mat 28:1-10 . 2Jn 1:1-102Jn 1:1-102Jn 1:1-10 . On the general difficulties of this portion of the Gospels, and my view respecting them, see notes on Matt.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

1. . . . ] It was strictly when the Sabbath was ended , i.e. at sunset, that they bought the spices. Luk 23:55 , places it on the evening before the Sabbath; a slight but valuable discrepancy, as shewing the independence of the accounts. To suppose two parties of women (Greswell) or to take as pluperfect (Beza, Grotius, &c.) is equally arbitrary and unwarranted.

. ] This had not been done as yet. Nicodemus ( Joh 19:40 ) had only wrapped the Body hurriedly in the spices with the linen clothes.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Mar 16:1 . , the Sabbath being past; similar use of – in Act 25:13 ; Act 27:9 , and in late Greek authors; examples in Elsner, Wetstein, Raphel, e.g. , , Polyb., Hist., ii., 19. ., purchased spices; wherewith, mingled with oil, more perfectly to anoint the body of the Lord Jesus. The aorist implies that this purchase was made on the first day of the week. Lk. (Luk 23:56 ) points to the previous Friday evening. Harmonists (Grotius, e.g. ) reconcile by taking . as a pluperfect. “After sunset there was a lively trade done among the Jews, because no purchase could be made on Sabbath” (Schanz).

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Mark Chapter 16

Mar 16:1-8 .

Mat 28:1-8 ; Luk 24:1-11 ; Joh 20:1-10 .

The resurrection not only witnesses the power of death overcome and the perfect condition of man before God, suitable to heaven, but, as regards things here below, it is for him that believes the true solvent of all difficulties. Jesus never was vindicated thoroughly till the resurrection. There was, of course, a rich and mighty testimony before; but it was one which might be gainsaid even by those who saw the miracles – not rightly, but through the power of Satan. Even the practical infidel, the sensual man, could say that his brethren would believe if one came to them from the dead. But we shall find that the unbelief of men is beyond even resurrection, unless there be the grace of God giving it effect.tid=45#bkm167-

In this chapter we have the women coming to the grave of Jesus with love, but no intelligence of resurrection, and, consequently, in grievous perplexity. They had “bought aromatic spices “tid=45#bkm167a- that they might come and anoint Him. The Lord had told the disciples distinctly that He was about to rise from the dead. So small was the faith even of these saints of God that, on the very day He had prepared them to expect His rising, they were occupied with that which was only suitable to a dead Christ, not the risen and living One. “Very early, on the first [day] of the week, they came to the sepulchre when the sun had risen. And they said to one another, Who shall roll us away the stone out of the door of the sepulchre?” But it was done already. “When they looked, they see that the stone has been rolled [away],* for it was very great.” Such is the virtue of resurrection, such the power which accompanies it. The hindrance was beyond their capacity to remove; the stone that blocked up the grave was very great. But this made no difference to God; and it was now rolled away. “And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right, clothed in a white robe; and they were amazed. But he says to them, Be not amazed. Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified One; He is risen; He is not here; behold the place where they had put Him.” Thus their terror vanishes: such is the use the angels make of the resurrection of Christ. Fear is natural to man in a ruined world where sin reigns. Adam had no reason for fear till the fall; what just ground has a believer now for fear, since Christ, who died for him, is risen? He has ample grounds to judge self and its ways, but none to doubt the triumphant results of Christ’s work. The whole substance of a believer’s blessing consists of and depends on Christ, and in proportion as you mix up self in any way with Him, it is unbelief. If I allow the sense God gives me of my own badness to hinder my peace in Him, it is almost as wrong as the vain dream of my own goodness. It is all a mistake to think Christ can ever mix with the first Adam. It must be either Christ or self, both can never bean object of trust. When we have found Christ, there are certain effects produced by Him through the Holy Ghost; but they are effects, not a cause. Unbelief makes things done by us a cause, but this is invariably false.

*”Rolled away”: so AC, with later uncials, all cursives, Syr(sin), hcl, but Edd. “rolled back,” after BL.

Now the resurrection proclaims the victory. Although these women were there in presence of angels, they were really in presence of a greater than angels, whom they saw not – of Jesus risen from the dead. Even the saints are called to blessing greater than angels. Why should they be affrighted? The saints are brought into nearness to God that angels never did or can possess. The saints will reign with Christ – angels never do. Thus Satan has been totally defeated in all his thoughts and plans. If his pride was wounded at the Divine purpose of raising man above the angels, God, nevertheless, has raised man (already in Christ, soon in His body the Church), not only above angels, but so high as to unite him who believes now with Christ, the Head of all principalities and powers. Even the world will shortly see the saints glorified with Christ and sharing the same glory with Him. “The glory which Thou gavest Me, I have given them” (Joh 17:22 ). The millennium will be the display of all this, which makes the idea of such an era brought in by the Gospel so monstrously false as well as defective. It makes the glory of the bride to consist in what she is and does in the absence of the Bridegroom, instead of holding out God’s glory displayed in Christ, and the Church glorified and reigning with Him. If it was, therefore, a sight painful and unsuitable that these women, heirs of such glory, should be affrighted in presence of an angel, let us bear in mind that, though converted then, they had not yet received the spirit of adoption; and what power can there be without that? There may be the instincts of a new life but no peace nor spiritual energy. “Ye seek Jesus the Nazarene.” He knew that their heart was right.

It is beautiful to see that, as in Mark where we have the fall of Peter more fully than elsewhere, so we have the Lord’s special consideration of Peter. “Go, tell His disciples and Peter He goes before you into Galilee; there shall ye see Him, as He said to you. And they went out,* and fled from the sepulchre; and they trembled and were amazed; and they said nothing to anyone; for they were afraid.” They little knew the power of resurrection yet: they knew the fact, but not the power.

*”Quickly” (T.R.) after “went out” is feebly supported, and is rejected by Edd., after ABCD and most of the later uncials and the cursives, Old Latin, etc.

Mar 16:9-11 .

Luk 8:2 ; Joh 20:11-18 .

But now we have the scene looked at from another point of view – that is, of service: all is ruled by this great truth.* “Now when He had risen early on the first [day] of the week, He appeared first to Mary of Magdala, out of whom He had cast seven demons.” It is not only the angelic message and the proofs of His being risen; but now it is Himself seen as risen first by Mary Magdalene. There is a remarkable putting of circumstances together here. Mary Magdalene had been mentioned before; but here only it is added to her name, “Out of whom he had cast seven demons.” These two things are mentioned together. The Son of God comes, as we know, to destroy the works of the devil: He was manifested for that purpose. The defeat of Satan’s power, even before this, in the case of Mary Magdalene, was yet more confirmed by this, that the risen conqueror of Satan appeared first to her. The great fact is all that is given us here. In John’s Gospel there is the beautiful unfolding of the way in which He takes her out of Judaism. “Touch Me not,” Me says to her,” for I have not yet ascended to My Father.” Thus, henceforth the disciples were going to know Him – no more after the flesh. “But go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.” Do not be looking at Me now as a visible Messiah, destined King over all the earth. I am going to take another place in heaven, and to put you in My relationship on earth, as sons of My Father and your Father, as redeemed to My God and your God. He declares His name unto His brethren; and on that, as the basis and form of relationship, He next gathers them together and praises in the midst of His brethren. He comes there and fills them with joy. “Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord.” For Christ is not only the Object, but the Leader of praise. He communicates both the material and the strain of praise to the disciples. Christian worship is in truth His worship transferred to us, and so carried on as we worship His and our Father and God in spirit and in truth. But this theme belongs rather to John.

*As to verses 9-20 see special note at end of chapter.

Joh 20:17 . See “Exposition” of that Gospel, p. 418 ff.

Here it is simply said, “She went and brought word to those 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, did not believe.” It is very remarkable the simplicity with which the Evangelists relate the proofs of the incredulity of the disciples: there is no attempt to gloss it over. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, all tell it out plainly. They knew not the Scriptures, says John, that He must rise from the dead. They saw the fact, but did not take in its connection with the repealed counsels of God. It was believed on in the intelligence of evidence before their eyes, not yet entered into in faith, as it was soon about to be.

Mar 16:12-15 .

Luk 24:12-35 .

“After these things He was manifested in another form to two of them, as they walked, going into the country. And they went and brought word to the rest; neither did they believe them.” This is the journey to Emmaus, which is given fully and characteristically in Luke.

Mar 16:14-18 .

Luk 24:36-49 ; Joh 20:19-29 .

“Afterwards He was manifested to the eleven as they lay at table, and reproached them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him risen.” In their case it is evident that hardness of heart is laid to their door, as the root of their rejecting the testimony concerning Jesus. Yet it is to them that the Lord shortly after (the Evangelist omitting other matters which might distract) says, “Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to all the creation.” What a wonderful process for fitting those men to preach to others! It must be by being made nothing of in their own eyes. Repentance always goes with faith and humiliation; the finding out what we are, specially towards God and His word, is God’s way of making us useful to others. The sense of our own past unbelief is used of God when He sends us out to call others to believe; we can understand their unbelief and feel for them in it, having been so unbelieving ourselves. This is not man’s way in what he calls ministry, but it is God’s. “Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to all the creation.” After what you have proved of yourselves, be confident in God – not in man, but in the God who was so patient with you, and sent you testimony after testimony, till you were compelled to come in. That same God deigns to use you in His work on behalf of others, and as you have proved how persistent God has been in His goodness to you in your unbelief, so do you go on patiently in His service. “Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to all the creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; and he that believeth not shall be condemned.” It is not enough for you and for Christ’s glory that you believe: “he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” Baptism has this importance – not, of course, saving the man before God, for the essential point as to this is believing that which is unseen of men, but baptism is an open sign and witness of this before men. Thus a man stands to what he believes, and confesses it publicly. He does not say, My heart believes in Christ, but there is no need that I should say anything about it. Baptism is the initiatory testimony that one believes in Christ. It is founded upon His death and resurrection. “So many of us as were baptized unto Jesus Christ, were baptized unto His death. Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism unto death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:3 f.). Not according to the first Adam, who mistrusted God and sinned, and became a dead man; but as Christ was obedient unto death, and has brought us life everlasting righteously through His own death. Baptism acknowledges this, and is as good as saying, I renounce all I am, and every hope from man; I know the first Adam, and myself as a child of his, to be dead: all my hope is in the last Adam. When a man is really brought to this, he is a true believer, and baptism outwardly sets forth the truth of Christ. Thus baptism has a decided value as a testimony before God and men. No wonder, therefore, it is said by Peter that “Baptism [while he carefully eschews any ex opere operato efficacy in the same sentence] also doth now save us” 1Pe 3:21 ). If a man refused to be baptized through shrinking from the shame of it, he could not be owned as a Christian at all. Paul, in writing to the Gentiles, shows that the great thing is what has taken place in Christ. Peter insists upon baptism, though he expressly guards them from thinking too much about the outward act; but the grand point is the demand of a good conscience towards God by Christ’s resurrection.

Hence it is said here, “He that believeth not shall be condemned.” Unbelief was the fatal evil above all to be dreaded. Whether a man was baptized or not, if he did not believe, he must be condemned. There could be no promise of salvation, spite of baptism, if he did not believe. This makes baptism simply consequent on believing; but when we hear of condemnation, it is on the ground of not believing. Alas! millions will be condemned who have been baptized, yet so much the worse because they do not believe.

“And these signs shall follow those that have believed,. in My name they shall cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they should drink any deadly thing it shall not injure them; they shall lay hands on the infirm, and they shall be well.” There is not a word here as to time. It is not all who believe, but “those that have believed”; and, further, it is not said of those that believe even to the end of the age. Nothing of the kind is intimated. When, on the contrary, the Lord in Matthew commands them to disciple all nations, baptizing and teaching them, He vouchsafes the assurance of His presence with them to the end of the age. The Lord abides with the disciples till the age is completed – all implied in “Lo, I am with you all the days.” But it is not so with these signs of Mark. Our Lord’s word was fully accomplished to the letter in the particular epoch when these signs were given; but there was no bond of perpetuity. In this way the contrast with Matthew is striking, and the mouth of the objector or deceiver is stopped.

“In My name they shall cast out demons.” He begins with power over Satan. They were to go forth in the power of His resurrection. Although He was going away, so far from thereby losing power, they would rather gain in this respect. “Greater works than these shall he do, because I go to My Father” (Joh 14:12 ).The notion of the Jews was that all the great works were to be done when Messiah was on the earth. Not so. In His name, during His absence, His servants should cast out demons, etc. “They shall speak with new* tongues.” What a wonderful testimony of God’s grace towards all men! They were to speak now of His wonderful works (Act 2 ) in the tongues wherewith God had confounded men at the tower of Babel. This was fulfilled, first on the day of Pentecost to the Jews, then to the Gentiles in due time. “They shall take up serpents” – the outward symbol of the power of Satan in this world – that which man instinctively hates since the fall, unless he be so besotted as to worship it. “And if they should drink any deadly thing, it shall not injure them.” The power of nature, of things inanimate as well as animate, could not avail against them; but, contrariwise, “they shall lay hands on the infirm, and they shall be well.” The beneficial power of good in His name overcomes evil and banishes it.

*”New”: so Edd., after ACcorrD, etc., Syrpesch. it is omitted in CpmL, etc.

Mar 16:19-20 .

Luk 24:50-53 .

“The Lord, therefore, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat at the right hand of God.” The work was done: He sat down. With His great earthly work over, He was the great Servant who could say, “I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do.” So He sat down at the right hand of God, the place of power. “And they went forth and preached everywhere.” Is the Lord, then, inactive? Nay, “the Lord working with [them].” So true is it from the first verse of Mark to the last, Jesus is the One that doeth all things well, working for men in His life, or, rather, working for sinners; suffering for sins in death; even now working with His servants when He is gone up to heaven. He is the servant of God throughout our Gospel. Even seated at God’s right hand, He is the Servant, but “the Lord, working with them and confirming the word by the signs following. [Amen.”]*

*”Amen” has the support of Cpm, etc., and some vv., but is rejected by Edd., following ACcorr, 1, 33, Syrr. Arm.

Mar 16:9-20 . – Lachmann, usually presumptuous, did not dare even to bracket a concluding scene worthy of, and inseparable from, the Gospel to which it belongs. . . . Is the omission of B [as to see below] and some copies of the Armenian and Arabic vv., with a single Latin manuscript, is the silence of the Eusebian and Ammonian sections, with the marks in L, etc., to overthrow the vast mass of positive testimony? It seems probable that much of this, if not all, may be accounted for by the difficulty found in harmonizing the passage with others (B.T., vol. i., December, 1857). Possibly it may have been added later by the same hand; for certainly the last verse indicates a date considerably later than that which is usually assigned to the publication of this Gospel. Language can be easily imitated in so short a fragment, whereas writers would freely describe new facts with new expressions, while underneath the surface lie, in my opinion, the most indelible traces of connection with the character and aim stamped on this Evangelist by the Holy Spirit. Would this organic link have been kept up had Apostolic men, during Apostolic times, added the general compendium of the events of the resurrection with which the present Gospel concludes? (B.T., vol. vii., p. 256, April, 1869). I admit that there are certain differences between this portion and the previous part of chapter 16. But, in my judgment, the Spirit purposely put them in a different light. Here it is a question of forming the servants according to that rising from the dead for which He had prepared them. Had the Gospel terminated without. this, we must have had a real gap. . . . This wonderful Gospel of His ministry would have left off with as impotent a conclusion as we could possibly imagine . . . . . . For they were afraid: what conclusion less worthy of the servant Son of God? What must have been the impression left if the doubts of some learned men [see note tid=45#bkm168- ] had the slightest substance in them? Can anyone who knows the character of the Lord and of His ministry conceive for an instant that we should be left with nothing but a message baulked through the alarm of women? [cited in Scrivener, “Plain Introduction,” vol. ii., p. 343]. The very freedom of the style, the use of words not elsewhere used, or so used by Mark, and the difficulties of some of the circumstances narrated, tell, to my mind, in favour of its genuineness; for a forger would have adhered to the letter, if he could not so easily catch the spirit of Mark. . . . I am not aware that in all the second Gospel there is a section more characteristic of this Evangelist that the very one that man’s temerity has not feared to seize upon, endeavouring to root it from the soil where God planted it. These words are not of man. Every plant that the heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up. This shall never be rooted up, but abides for ever, let human learning, great or small, say what it will (“Introductory Lectures on the Gospels,” p. 233 ff.). The Revisers put, most undeservedly, a certain stigma on chapter 16: 9-20, because B omit these verses, L, with a break, adding a miserable compendium (see Nestle’s Greek Text “[British and Foreign Bible Society], and Bagster’s Workers’ New Testament,” p. 108), and many cursives giving them with more or less doubt. No good version of antiquity omits. But a few Fathers, on harmonistic grounds, talk of the accurate copies ending with ejfobou’nto gavr. The positive external proofs and the internal prove not only that it is inspired Scripture, but from none other than Mark himself (B.T., vol. xiii., p. 302).

NOTES ON Mar 16 .

167 Mar 16:1-8 . – The accounts of the Resurrection given by the four Evangelists have always been closely scrutinised in the service of unbelief, so that the most has been made of apparent discrepancies. The late Professor Rawson Birks, in his “Horae Evangelicae,” vol. iii., chapter iii., p. 449 f., entered into an “examination of charges of inconsistency of Mark’s account with that of one or other of the rest of the Evangelists,” to which any reader may be referred, as also to the later work of Christlieb, “Modern Doubts,” p. 468 f.

It is desirable closely to compare the four accounts, and to make sure of the right meaning of the exact expression used by each Evangelist. Something like the following scheme may aid any reader of a book like O. Holtzmann’s “Life of Jesus,” in which the different accounts are represented as inconsistent with one another.

Mary Magdalene (accompanied by “the other Mary”) visited the sepulchre whilst it was yet dark (Mat 28:1 , Joh 20:1 ). The word used by Matthew refers, not to morning, but to evening twilight – “as it began to grow dusk” – i.e., on the Sabbath evening which preceded the morning of the resurrection. See its like use in Luk 23:54 , where Wellhausen remarks that in the Syriac liturgies the expression bears the same sense.

Mary Magdalene goes to tell Peter and John, who come and go again (Joh 20:3-10 , Luk 24:12 – omit “then” of A.V.), but Mary Magdalene on her return remains, and sees JESUS (Mar 16:9 , Joh 20:11 f.). The other Mary, it seems, in whose company she revisited the sepulchre, carried information to Salome (Mar 16:1 ).

Then other women (Luk 24:10 ) come, who see the angels and flee, saying, whilst on their flight, nothing to anyone until they meet JESUS, whose words rally them, so that they deliver their message to the eleven as to Galilee (Mar 16:5-8 , Mat 28:5-10 , Luk 24:9 ). Cp. Bp. Chase, Camb. Essays, p. 393.

Mary Magdalene delivers the message confided to her by JESUS to the disciples in general as to the Father (Joh 20:17 , Joh 20:18 , Mar 16:9-11 ).

Luk 24:13-35 (cf. Mar 16:12 , Mar 16:13 ) tells us of the interview between JESUS and the two journeying to Emmaus, and verses 36-49 (Mar 16:14 f.) of His appearance to the eleven, which was on two consecutive Sundays (Joh 20:19-29 ). Within the next five weeks the disciples must have gone to Galilee, and returned to Judea for the Ascension scene recorded by Luke.

And so, if Mark’s “Salome” is set against Luke’s “Johanna,” the common-sense explanation is that Luke must have included Salome among “the others” he speaks of in the same verse (Luk 24:10 ).

Again, in verse 5 here, “a young man.” Against this “critical” writers use Luke’s “two men” (Luk 24:4 ). The women were trembling. Only one of the angels, presumably, was spokesman; to him their attention was attracted.

167a , bought (not, as A.V., on the Friday evening). See Blass, p. 202.

Mar 16:7 . – “He goes before you into Galilee” (so Mat 28:7 ). But for O. Holtzmann (as for Wernle, p. 16) there is a difficulty in the fact that Luke, who tells us about appearances in Judea, says nothing about Galilee in this connection. Throughout the Gospels of Matthew and Mark Galilee is prominent. The Divine design of the Gospels here, as always, comes to our aid (see the “Lectures on Matthew,” p. 562 f.).

168 Mar 16:9-20 . – The textual criticism of the closing verses of Mark has been fully discussed by Tregelles, Scrivener, Burgon, Westcott and Hort, Sadler, Salmon, and others. A recent statement will be found in Swete’s Introduction to his edition of Mark.

They appear in AC and fifteen other uncials, all cursives, and versions except Syrsin. D has as far as v. 15, whilst Syrcm shows vv. 17-20. Hippolytus quotes verse 19, Irenaeus verse 20. Their place in the Gospel has been recognised by Wetstein and Bengel among the older scholars: by Scheiermacher, De Wette, Bleek, Strauss, Hilgenfeld, Olshausen, Ebrard, Ellicott, Salmon, Wace, etc., among the more recent – in particular by Scrivener and Burgon. Scrivener deals with the external evidence in his “Introduction,” pp. 337-344, fourth edition; Burgon with the internal in his, chapter 9. Salmon writes: “We have no evidence that any writer anterior to Eusebius remarked that there was anything abrupt in the conclusion of St. Mark’s Gospel, or that it gave no testimony to our Lord’s resurrection” (p. 146). He, too, discusses the internal evidence, holding that it favours reception of the verses; Morison, the same emphatically, calling the question as to these verses a “romance of criticism, which must, as time goes on, yield to sober truth” (lxxiii).

The following scholars, amongst others, have been more or less adverse to the belief that Mark was the writer: Tischendorf, Tregelles, Westcott and Hort, B. Weiss and Zahn.

Tregelles, while questioning that Mark was the writer, treats the verses as authentic and a part of canonical Scripture. He compares them with the last chapter of Deuteronomy (“Printed Text of the New Testament,” p. 246 f.).

By those English scholars who do not defend Mark’s authorship they are supposed to have been written by Aristion, spoken of by Papias as “a disciple of the Lord.”

Dr. Hort’s views will be found in “Introduction to Greek New Testament,” Appendix, pp. 28-51.

Wright suggests that Mark’s Gospel was not copied in his lifetime, and would therefore be little used, thus “narrowly escaping extinction” (Synopsis XIV., cf. Burkitt, p. 260 f.).

Professor Sanday writes: “The most probable view, I think,” regarding these verses, “is that they were written to make good a loss through the frayed end of a roll” (Bampton Lectures, p. 380).

Zahn’s opinion, that the book remained uncompleted, he rests on the critical canon that, where two mutually exclusive texts, the origin of each of which may be a shorter, well-attested text, compete with this, the shorter must be regarded as the original recension (“Introduction to the New Testament,” vol. ii., p. 227).

Pfleiderer (i. 395) compares these verses with verses 58-60 of the “Gospel of Peter,” which has a like abrupt ending. See also Dean Robinson’s lecture on that apocryphal work (p. 29).

So much for the views of those not defending the verses. Since the appearance of the Revised Version, it has been discovered that they are included in Tatian’s “Diatessaron,” of the early part of the second century. This later phase of the question may have led to some modification of the case against them.

W. Kelly to the end of his life shared Burgon’s conviction as to the inordinate respect in which the most ancient copies have in general been held, whilst feeling, perhaps yet more strongly than the late Dean of Chichester, that the text was really tampered with here, as was always the lecturer’s belief with regard to another dozen verses in the fourth Gospel (Joh 7:53-8:11 ).

EDITIONS OF AUTHORS USED

N.B. – Foreign works existing in English translations are recorded under the titles of such; all are cited in the notes by English titles.

BRITISH.

ABBOTT, DR. E. A.: Art. “Gospels” in Encyclopaedia Britannica,

9th ed., vol. x. (1879).

Art. “Gospels” in Encyclopaedia Biblica, “Descriptive and Analytic” (1901).

ADENEY, PRINCIPAL: Theology of the New Testament (1894).

ANDERSON, SIR R.: The Bible and Modern Criticism (1902).

Pseudo-Criticism (1904).

BEET, Dr. A.: The Last Things (1905).

A Manual of Theology (1906).

BENNETT, PROFESSOR: The Mishna as illustrating the Gospel (1884).

A Primer of the Bible (1897).

BERNARD, T. D.: Progress of Doctrine in the New Testament

(Bampton Lectures, 1864; 5th ed., 1899).

BIRKS, T. R.: Horae Evangelicae (1852, 1892).

BRUCE, DR. A. B.: The Synoptic Gospels (1897).

The Kingdom of God (1899).

BURGON, DEAN: The Last Twelve Verses of the Gospel of St. Mark (1871).

BURKITT, PROFESSOR: The Gospel History and its Transmission (1906).

CARPENTER, PROFESSOR: The First Three Gospels (1904).

CLIFFORD, DR. J.: The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible (1892).

DARBY, J. N.: Irrationalism of Infidelity (1853; reissue, abridged, 1890).

Synopsis of Books of the Bible

(included in Collected Writings, 1867-1883, but also published separately).

The Bible: is it a Revelation of God, and is it inspired of God? (1882).

Inspiration and Interpretation (in vol. ix. of Collected Writings).

DAVIDSON, A. B.: Art. “Prophecy”

in Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible, vol. iv. (1903).

DRIVER, PROFESSOR S. R.: Art. “Son of Man”

in Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible, vol. iv. (1903).

EDERSHEIM, DR. A.: Life of Jesus the Messiah, 4th ed. (1887).

The Temple: its Ministry and Services in the Time of Christ (1900).

ELLICOTT, Bishop: Historical Lectures on the Life of our Lord (1876).

FAIRBAIRN, PRINCIPAL: The City of God (1883).

The Place of Christ in Modern Theology (1893).

Studies in the Life of Christ (9th ed., 1896).

The Philosophy of the Christian Religion (1902).

FARRAR, DEAN: History of Interpretation (1886).

The Bible: its Meaning and Supremacy (1897).

The Life of Lives (1900).

The Life of Christ, memorial ed. (1903).

FIELD. Dr. F.: Notes on the Translation of the New Testament

(Otium Norvicense, Pars 3a, 1899).

GARDNER, PROFESSOR p.: Exploratio Evangelica (1899).

GLOAG, DR. P.: Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels (1895),

GORE, BISHOP: Lux Mundi, Essay VIII., 12th ed. (1891).

GRESWELL, E: Dissertations, vol. i. (1837).

HORT, DR. F. J. A., with WESTCOTT: New Testament in Greek, Introduction (1891).

The Christian Ecclesia (1897).

HORT, SIR A. F.: The Gospel according to St. Mark (1902).

HORTON, DR. R. F.: Revelation and the Bible (1892).

KELLY, W.: Lectures Introductory to the Study of the Gospels (1874).

Lectures on the Gospel of Matthew (1896).

Exposition of the Gospel of John (1898).

LUCKOCK, DEAN: Footprints of the Son of Man according to St. Mark (1886).

MARTINEAU, DR. J.: The Seat of Authority in Religion (1890).

MASON, DR. A. J.: The Faith of the Gospel, 3rd ed. (1889).

MENZIES, PROFESSOR A.: The Earliest Gospel (1901).

MOORHOUSE, Bishop: The Teaching of Christ (1891).

MORISON, PROFESSOR: Practical Commentary on the Gospel of St. Mark,

3rd ed. (1882).

NEWMAN, F. W.: Phases of Faith (1850).

The Hebrew Jesus (1895).

PLUMPTRE, DEAN: Commentary on St. Mark’s Gospel

(Bishop Ellicott’s Commentary on New Testament, 1884).

ROBERTSON, Bishop: Regnum Dei –

Bampton Lectures on the Kingdom of God (1901).

ROBINSON, DEAN: Lectures on the Gospel of Peter (1892).

The Study of the Gospels (1902).

Some Thoughts on Inspiration (1905).

RUSHBROOKE, W. G.: Synopticon (1880).

SADLER, M. F.: The Gospel according to St. Mark (1884).

SALMON, DR. G.: Introduction to the New Testament, 7th ed. (1894).

SALMOND, PRINCIPAL: Arts. “Mark” and “Eschatology” in

Hastings’ Dictionary (1900).

The Century Bible: Mark (1903).

SANDAY, PROFESSOR: The Oracles of God (1891).

Bampton Lectures on Inspiration (1893).

Art. “Gospels” in Smith and Fuller’s Bible Dictionary (1893).

Art. “Son of God” in Hastings’ Dictionary (1902).

Outlines of the Life of Christ (1905).

SCRIVENER, DR. F. H.: A Plain Intro. to the Criticism of the N. T., 4th ed. (1894).

STALKER, PROFESSOR: The Christology of Jesus – Synoptic Gospels (1899).

STANTON, PROFESSOR: Art. “Gospels” in Hastings’ Dictionary, vol. ii. (1899).

STRONG, DEAN: A Manual of Theology (1903).

SWETE, PROFESSOR: The Gospel according to St. Mark, 2nd ed. (1902).

THOMSON, ARCHBISHOP: Art. “Gospels” in Smith’s Bible Dictionary (1863).

Introduction to Gospels in Speaker’s Commentary on N. T., vol. i. (1878).

THOMSON, W. M.: The Land and the Book, 3 vols. (1881-1886).

TREGELLES, DR. S. P.: Account of the Printed Text of the New Testament (1854).

TRENCH, ARCHBISHOP: Studies in the Gospels (1867).

Notes on the Parables, 15th ed. (1881).

Notes on the Miracles, 13th ed. (1886).

WESTCOTT, Bishop: Introduction to the Study of the Gospels, 4th ed. (1872);

Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)

Mark

THE INCREDULOUS DISCIPLES

Mar 16:1 – Mar 16:13 .

It is not my business here to discuss questions of harmonising or of criticism. I have only to deal with the narrative as it stands. Its peculiar character is very plain. The manner in which the first disciples learned the fact of the Resurrection, and the disbelief with which they received it, much rather than the Resurrection itself, come into view in this section. The disciples, and not the risen Lord, are shown us. There is nothing here of the earthquake, or of the descending angel, or of the terrified guard, or of our Lord’s appearance to the women. The two appearances to Mary Magdalene and to the travellers to Emmaus, which, in the hands of John and Luke, are so pathetic and rich, are here mentioned with the utmost brevity, for the sake chiefly of insisting on the disbelief of the disciples who heard of them. Mark’s theme is mainly what they thought of the testimony to the Resurrection.

I. He shows us, first, bewildered love and sorrow.

We leave the question whether this group of women is the same as that of which Luke records that Joanna was one, as well as the other puzzle as to harmonising the notes of time in the Evangelists. May not the difference between the time of starting and that of arrival solve some of the difficulty? When all the notes are more or less vague, and refer to the time of transition from dark to day, when every moment partakes of both and may be differently described as belonging to either, is precision to be expected? In the whirl of agitation of that morning, would any one be at leisure to take much note of the exact minute? Are not these ‘discrepancies’ much more valuable as confirmation of the story than precise accord would have been? It is better to try to understand the feelings of that little band than to carp at such trifles.

Sorrow wakes early, and love is impatient to bring its tribute. So we can see these three women, leaving their abode as soon as the doleful grey of morning permitted, stealing through the silent streets, and reaching the rock-cut tomb while the sun was rising over Olivet. Where were Salome’s ambitious hopes for her two sons now? Dead, and buried in the Master’s grave. The completeness of the women’s despair, as well as the faithfulness of their love, is witnessed by their purpose. They had come to anoint the body of Him to whom in life they had ministered. They had no thought of a resurrection, plainly as they had been told of it. The waves of sorrow had washed the remembrance of His assurances on that subject clean out of their minds. Truth that is only half understood, however plainly spoken, is always forgotten when the time to apply it comes. We are told that the disbelief of the disciples in the Resurrection, after Christ’s plain predictions of it, is ‘psychologically impossible.’ Such big words are imposing, but the objection is shallow. These disciples are not the only people who forgot in the hour of need the thing which it most concerned them to remember, and let the clouds of sorrow hide starry promises which would have turned mourning into dancing, and night into day. Christ’s sayings about His resurrection were not understood in their, as it appears to us, obvious meaning when spoken. No wonder, then, that they were not expected to be fulfilled in their obvious meaning when He was dead. We shall have a word to say presently about the value of the fact that there was no anticipation of resurrection on the part of the disciples. For the present it is enough to note how these three loving souls confess their hopelessness by their errand. Did they not know, too, that Joseph and Nicodemus had been beforehand with them in their labour of love? Apparently not. It might easily happen, in the confusion and dispersion, that no knowledge of this had reached them; or perhaps sorrow and agitation had driven it out of their memories; or perhaps they felt that, whether others had done the same before or no, they must do it too, not because the loved form needed it, but because their hearts needed to do it. It was the love which must serve, not calculation of necessity, which loaded their hands with costly spices. The living Christ was pleased with the ‘odour of a sweet smell,’ from the needless spices, meant to re-anoint the dead Christ, and accepted the purpose, though it came from ignorance and was never carried out, since its deepest root was love, genuine, though bewildered.

The same absence of ‘calm practical common sense’ is seen in the too late consideration, which never occurred to the three women till they were getting near the tomb, as to how to get into it. They do not seem to have heard of the guard; but they know that the stone is too heavy for them to move, and none of the men among the disciples had been taken into their confidence. ‘Why did they not think of that before? what a want of foresight!’ says the cool observer. ‘How beautifully true to nature!’ says a wiser judgment. To obey the impulse of love and sorrow without thinking, and then to be arrested on their road by a difficulty, which they might have thought of at first, but did not till they were close to it, is surely just what might have been expected of such mourners. Mark gives a graphic picture in that one word ‘looking up,’ and follows it with picturesque present tenses. They had been looking down or at each other in perplexity, when they lifted their eyes to the tomb, which was possibly on an eminence. What a flash of wonder would pass through their minds when they saw it open! What that might signify they would be eager to hurry to find out; but, at all events, their difficulty was at an end. When love to Christ is brought to a stand in its venturous enterprises by difficulties occurring for the first time to the mind, it is well to go close up to them; and it often happens that when we do, and look steadily at them, we see that they are rolled away, and the passage cleared which we feared was hopelessly barred.

II. The calm herald of the Resurrection and the amazed hearers.

Apparently Mary Magdalene had turned back as soon as she saw the opened tomb, and hurried to tell that the body had been carried off, as she supposed. The guard had also probably fled before this; and so the other two women enter the vestibule, and there find the angel. Sometimes one angel, sometimes two, sometimes none, were visible there. The variation in their numbers in the various narratives is not to be regarded as an instance of ‘discrepancy.’ Many angels hovered round the spot where the greatest wonder of the universe was to be seen, ‘eagerly desiring to look into’ that grave. The beholder’s eye may have determined their visibility. Their number may have fluctuated. Mark does not use the word ‘angel’ at all, but leaves us to infer what manner of being he was who first proclaimed the Resurrection.

He tells of his youth, his attitude, and his attire. The angelic life is vigorous, progressive, buoyant, and alien from decay. Immortal youth belongs to them who ‘excel in strength’ because they ‘do his commandments.’ That waiting minister shows us what the children of the Resurrection shall be, and so his presence as well as his speech expounds the blessed mystery of our life in the risen Lord. His serene attitude of sitting ‘on the right side’ is not only a vivid touch of description, but is significant of restfulness and fixed contemplation, as well as of the calmness of a higher life. That still watcher knows too much to be agitated; but the less he is moved, the more he adores. His quiet contrasts with and heightens the impression of the storm of conflicting feelings in the women’s tremulous natures. His garments symbolise purity and repose. How sharply the difference between heaven and earth is given in the last words of Mar 16:5 ! They were ‘amazed,’ swept out of themselves in an ecstasy of bewilderment in which hope had no place. Terror, surprise, curiosity, wonder, blank incapacity to know what all this meant, made chaos in them.

The angel’s words are a succession of short sentences, which have a certain dignity, and break up the astounding revelation he has to make into small pieces, which the women’s bewildered minds can grasp. He calms their tumult of spirit. He shows them that he knows their errand. He adoringly names his Lord and theirs by the names recalling His manhood, His lowly home, and His ignominious death. He lingers on the thought, to him covering so profound a mystery of divine love, that his Lord had been born, had lived in the obscure village, and died on the Cross. Then, in one word, he proclaims the stupendous fact of His resurrection as His own act-’He is risen.’ This crown of all miracles, which brings life and immortality to light, and changes the whole outlook of humanity, which changes the Cross into victory, and without which Christianity is a dream and a ruin, is announced in a single word-the mightiest ever spoken save by Christ’s own lips. It was fitting that angel lips should proclaim the Resurrection, as they did the Nativity, though in either ‘He taketh not hold of angels,’ and they had but a secondary share in the blessings. Yet that empty grave opened to ‘principalities and powers in heavenly places’ a new unfolding of the manifold wisdom and love of God.

The angel-a true evangelist-does not linger on the wondrous intimation, but points to the vacant place, which would have been so drear but for his previous words, and bids them approach to verify his assurance, and with reverent wonder to gaze on the hallowed and now happy spot. A moment is granted for feeling to overflow, and certainty to be attained, and then the women are sent on their errand. Even the joy of that gaze is not to be selfishly prolonged, while others are sitting in sorrow for want of what they know. That is the law for all the Christian life. First make sure work of one’s own possession of the truth, and then hasten to tell it to those who need it.

‘And Peter’-Mark alone gives us this. The other Evangelists might pass it by; but how could Peter ever forget the balm which that message of pardon and restoration brought to him, and how could Peter’s mouthpiece leave it out? Is there anything in the Gospels more beautiful, or fuller of long-suffering and thoughtful love, than that message from the risen Saviour to the denier? And how delicate the love which, by calling him Peter, not Simon, reinstates him in his official position by anticipation, even though in the subsequent full restoration scene by the lake he is thrice called Simon, before the complete effacement of the triple denial by the triple confession! Galilee is named as the rendezvous, and the word employed, ‘goeth before you,’ is appropriate to the Shepherd in front of His flock. They had been ‘scattered,’ but are to be drawn together again. He is to ‘precede’ them there, thus lightly indicating the new form of their relations to Him, marked during the forty days by a distance which prepared for his final withdrawal. Galilee was the home of most of them, and had been the field of His most continuous labours. There would be many disciples there, who would gather to see their risen Lord ‘five hundred at once’; and there, rather than in Jerusalem which had slain Him, was it fitting that He should show Himself to His friends. The appearances in Jerusalem were all within a week if we except the Ascension, and the connection in which Mark introduces them if Mar 16:14 be his seems to treat them as forced on Christ by the disciples’ unbelief, rather than as His original intention. It looks as if He meant to show Himself in the city only to one or two, such as Mary, Peter, and some others, but to reserve His more public appearance for Galilee.

How did the women receive the message? Mark represents them as trembling in body and in an ecstasy in mind, and as hurrying away silent with terror. Matthew says that they were full of ‘fear and great joy,’ and went in haste to tell the disciples. In the whirl of feeling, there were opposites blended or succeeding one another; and the one Evangelist lays hold of one set, and the other of the other. It is as impossible to catalogue the swift emotions of such a moment as to separate and tabulate the hues of sunrise. The silence which Mark tells of can only refer to their demeanour as they ‘fled.’ His object is to bring out the very imperfect credence which, at the best, was given to the testimony that Christ was risen, and to paint the tumult of feeling in the breasts of its first recipients. His picture is taken from a different angle from Matthew’s; but Matthew’s contains the same elements, for he speaks of ‘fear,’ though he completes it by ‘joy.’

III. The incredulity of the disciples.

The two appearances to Mary Magdalene and the travellers to Emmaus are introduced mainly to record the unbelief of the disciples. A strange choice that was, of the woman who had been rescued from so low a debasement, to be first to see Him! But her former degradation was the measure of her love. Longing eyes, that have been washed clean by many a tear of penitent gratitude, are purged to see Jesus; and a yearning heart ever brings Him near. The unbelief of the story of the two from Emmaus seems to conflict with Luke’s account, which tells that they were met by the news of Christ’s appearance to Simon. But the two statements are not contradictory. If we remember the excitement and confusion of mind in which they were, we shall not wonder if belief and unbelief followed each other, like the flow and recoil of the waves. One moment they were on the crest of the billows, and saw land ahead; the next they were down in the trough, and saw only the melancholy surge. The very fact that Peter was believed, might make them disbelieve the travellers; for how could Jesus have been in Jerusalem and Emmaus at so nearly the same time? However the two narratives be reconciled, it remains obvious that the first disciples did not believe the first witnesses of the Resurrection, and that their unbelief is an important fact. It bears very distinctly on the worth of their subsequent conviction. It has special bearing on the most modern form of disbelief in the Resurrection, which accounts for the belief of the first disciples on the ground that they expected Christ to rise, and that they then persuaded themselves, in all good faith, that He had risen. That monstrous theory is vulnerable at all points, but one sufficient answer is-the disciples did not expect Christ to rise again, and were so far from it that they did not believe that He had risen when they were told it. Their original unbelief is a strong argument for the reliableness of their final faith. What raised them from the stupor of despair and incredulity? Only one answer is ‘psychologically’ reasonable: they at last believed because they saw. It is incredible that they were conscious deceivers; for such lives as they lived, and such a gospel as they preached, never came from liars. It is as incredible that they were unconsciously mistaken; for they were wholly unprepared for the Resurrection, and sturdily disbelieved all witnesses for it, till they saw with their own eyes, and had ‘many infallible proofs.’ Let us be thankful for their unbelief and its record, and let us seek to possess the blessing of those ‘that have not seen, and yet have believed!’

Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mar 16:1-8

1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so 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 to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. 5Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. 6And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. 7″But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.'” 8They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Mar 16:1 “When the Sabbath was over” The ancient Israelites started their days at twilight (i.e., evenings), following Gen 1:5; Gen 1:8; Gen 1:13; Gen 1:19; Gen 1:23; Gen 1:31. However, the Romans (and Greeks) had adopted a Babylonian method of dividing the day and night into twelve divisions. These divisions were not of equal length because of seasonal changes in the length of light/dark periods. Mark 15 uses several of these time markers (i.e., third hour, Mar 15:25; sixth hour, Mar 15:33; ninth hour, Mar 15:34).

This phrase appears to refer to the ancient Israelite method and would, therefore, be 6 p.m. Friday until 6 p.m. Saturday for the Sabbath.

“Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome” See Special Topic following.

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE WOMEN WHO FOLLOWED JESUS

“brought spices. . .anoint Him” Although these women had seen Joseph and Nicodemus prepare and place the body of Jesus in a tomb, apparently because of the time limitations (i.e., between 3 – 6 p.m.) something of the normal Jewish burial procedures may have been left out (possibly the aromatic candles or some particular type of spices), and these women were going to properly finish the traditional procedures.

SPECIAL TOPIC: BURIAL SPICES

Mar 16:2 “Very early on the first day of the week. . .when the sun had risen” All the Gospels record a slightly different time.

1. Mat 28:1 has “at dawn”

2. Luk 24:1 has “at early dawn”

3. Joh 20:1 “while it was still dark”

Apparently these women left their home while it was still dark, but by the time they arrived (possibly they had to buy the spices) at the tomb it was already light.

Mar 16:3 “They were saying to one another” This is an Imperfect tense. They kept worrying about and asking each other over and over again as they walked to the tomb.

“‘Who will roll away the stone'” They were already well on their way with the spices before they thought of the large stone which sealed the tomb. Mark records nothing of the guard and the seal of Mat 27:62-66.

This stone was round and shaped to fit into a sloping groove dug just in front of the rock vault’s opening. It was relatively easy to roll into the trench, but very difficult to remove.

Mar 16:4 “Looking up” Apparently they were very downcast, looking at the ground in mourning.

“the stone had been rolled away” From Mat 28:2 it seems that the stone was knocked out of its groove by an earthquake (caused by an angel, cf. Luk 24:4; Joh 20:12) and it was lying on its side.

“although it was extremely large” Grave robbing was a common occurrence because of the value of the spices and other burial objects. The location and type of the vault as well as the size of the stone would show it was a rich man’s tomb (cf. Isa 53:9).

Mar 16:5 “Entering the tomb” Joh 20:11 has Mary outside the tomb looking in, but Luk 24:3 confirms that, at least at some point, the women went in.

“they saw a young man sitting at the right” Normally it is Matthew that has twotwo Gerasene demoniacs, two blind men in Jericho, etc.but here it is Luke and John that have two angels while Mark and Matthew only have one.

In the Bible angels are usually depicted as males, except in Zec 5:9-10.

“wearing a white robe” A much fuller account of his clothing is found in Mat 28:3 (cf. Luk 24:4 has “in dazzling apparel”).

Mar 16:6 “Do not be amazed” This is a Present imperative with the negative particle, which usually means to stop an act already in process. Humans are always awed and frightened at the physical manifestations of the spiritual realm.

“‘Jesus the Nazarene'” See fuller note at Mar 14:67.

“who has been crucified” This is a perfect passive participle (cf. Mat 28:5). This has the definite article and may be a title, “the Crucified One” (cf. 1Co 1:23; 1Co 2:2; Gal 3:1). When we see Jesus He will still have the marks of the crucifixion, which have become a badge of honor and glory (cf. 1Co 15:4 and Rev 5:12). Jesus is the only Person of the Trinity with a physical body.

“He has risen” The resurrection is the central pillar of the Christian faith (cf. 1 Corinthians 15). This shows God’s approval of Jesus’ life and sacrifice. This is a recurrent theme of Peter (cf. Act 2:24-28; Act 2:32; Act 3:15; Act 3:26; Act 4:10; Act 5:30; Act 10:40; 1Pe 1:13; 1Pe 3:18; 1Pe 3:21, and Paul, Act 13:30; Act 13:33-34; Act 13:37; Act 17:31; Rom 4:24; Rom 8:11; Rom 10:9; 2Co 4:14). This is confirmation of the Father’s acceptance of the Son’s substitutionary death (cf. 1 Corinthians 15). Theologically all three persons of the Trinity were active in Christ’s resurrection: the Father (Act 2:24; Act 3:15; Act 4:10; Act 5:30; Act 10:40; Act 13:30; Act 13:33-34; Act 17:31); the Spirit (Rom 8:11); and the Son (Joh 2:19-22; Joh 10:17-18). See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE RESURRECTION at Mar 8:31.

“behold here is the place where they laid Him” This refers to one of several rock ledges in Joseph’s tomb. Joh 20:6-7 describes this burial place and how the linen burial cloths were lying.

Mar 16:7 “But go, tell His disciples and Peter” Why is Peter singled out? How thoughtful and tender our Lord (through the angel), that He would single out the backslidden and hurting Peter! Peter remembers!

“He is going ahead of you to Galilee” Jesus had prearranged a meeting with His disciples in Galilee after His resurrection. The disciples did not clearly understand the theological implications of this event (cf. Mar 14:28; Matt. 28:32; 28:7,10; John 21; 1Co 15:6). I think this was the time and place of the Great Commission.

Mar 16:8 “for trembling and astonishment had gripped them” Mat 28:8 adds with “great joy.”

“they said nothing to anyone” Was this temporary or did they not obey the angel’s message of Mar 16:7? Joh 20:1-10 gives an account of Mary of Magdala reporting to the disciples about the grave being empty, but no angel’s message!

“for they were afraid” This Gospel ends so abruptly and on such a negative note that apparently ancient scribes tried to add some type of summary ending to it.

Mar 16:9-20 I am committed to inspired Apostolic writings as the true word of God, the only source for faith and practice. However, these verses are not inspired, possibly even heretical (drinking poison, handling snakes). I refuse to comment on them! For a full discussion of the textual problem see Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary On the Greek New Testament, pp. 122-126.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

when the sabbath was past: i.e. the weekly sabbath. This was three nights and three days from the preparation day, when He was buried. See App-156.

had bought. Before the weekly sabbath (Luk 23:56; Luk 24:1).

sweet spices = aromatics.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

1-8.] THE WOMEN, COMING TO THE SEPULCHRE, ARE APPRISED OF HIS RESURRECTION. Mat 28:1-10. Luk 24:1-12. Joh 20:1-10. On the general difficulties of this portion of the Gospels, and my view respecting them, see notes on Matt.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Chapter 16

And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome [so we get these two Marys, who was, of course, standing afar off watching the crucifixion with them] had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, [and he was] clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted [frightened]. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted [Don’t be frightened]: ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold [this is] the place where they laid him. 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 ( Mar 16:1-7 ).

So, here we find that first Easter morning the women coming to the sepulchre. As we go back to the previous chapter and they rolled the stone unto the door of the sepulchre, we realize that behind that sepulchre there did lie a dead concept of God. For Jesus came to reveal the Father unto man. Man had lost sight of God. Man had so many false concepts of God. Even those who studied the scriptures had developed false concepts of God, and Jesus came to reveal the truth of God to man. “No man has seen the Father at any time but the only begotten Son that is in the bosom of the Father, He hath demonstrated, or declared Him, made Him known.” To Philip, He said, “Have I been so long a time with you, Philip? Haven’t you seen Me? If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.” He came to reveal the Father and He revealed a God of love, a God of compassion, a God who is sensitive and cared about the needs of man. For you see, Jesus said, “If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.” And if you think of Jesus, you see how He went about doing good, how He went about helping those that were oppressed, opening the eyes of the blind, giving strength to those that were lame, giving life to those who were dead. “If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.” You’ve seen the desires of the God for man. But man had rejected that concept of God. They rejected that concept of a God of love, and with cruel hatred, they crucified Jesus and placed His body in the sepulchre and rolled the stone over the door of the sepulchre. And behind the stone, that dead concept of God.

Also behind that stone there lay a dead religion. For Jesus had brought to man a new religion that was different from all other religions. For man’s religions all had man reaching out to God. But Jesus declared that God was actually reaching out to man. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” All of the religions had the specified works whereby man might become worthy of God. Jesus said, “The work that God is interested in is that you just believe on Him who He has sent.” And rather than specifying the works whereby you might be approved of God, He told of the work that God had done for man. And that man’s salvation rested not on his works, but upon God’s work and man’s faith in God’s work. But they rejected that religion, a religion that taught of redemption. The Greek said redemption was impossible; once a man went bad, there was no hope of redeeming him. It is interesting that our penal system is beginning to recognize this fact. A tremendous volume . . . two volumes have been written by psychologists who have been in a study for fifteen years on the rehabilitation program of our correctional institutions. They used to be called penal institutions; now they’re correctional institutions after the sociologists got into the game. And you know, “man’s problem is only his environment, and all you have to do is give him the right environment and he’ll do right.” And so, these two sociologists or psychologists studied for fifteen years the case history of over 1,000 inmates back in Illinois, and made detailed studies of the whole process of their incarceration and all. And of those over 1,000 men that were studied in this particular study that was made, only one man was rehabilitated through the modern correctional institutions. Only one man! And when he was released, he was very sick and died shortly afterwards. The only successful case. This book is shaking up the whole judicial, police and penal institutions. I mean, it’s damning evidence against the philosophies and the concepts. In fact, it almost agrees with the Greek philosophy that redemption is impossible: “Once a man has gone bad, there’s no hope.”

But Jesus said there was hope. He said, “I’ve come to redeem. I’ve come to seek and to save that which was lost.” And He brought really a hope to man, but they rejected that and they crucified Him. And behind the stone there was a dead hope of redemption. But they came early the first day of the week. And what did they find? The stone was rolled away. Why? To let Jesus out? Nope! They didn’t have to roll the stone away to let Him out; He could have passed right through. He was in His new body. Later on He passed right through the walls into the house where they were visiting. So obviously, the stone wasn’t rolled away to let Him out. It was rolled away to let them in, so they could see what God had done.

Interesting to me, that as they were on their way, they were worried among themselves as to who would roll away the stone. So typical of worry, because in reality, they were worried about something that they never needed to worry about. And so much of your worry is about things you don’t need to worry about. Because by the time you arrive at that scene, God has already preceded you there and taken care of it. And that’s what they discovered. Who’s going to roll away the stone? They were worried about how they were going to get the stone away. But by the time they got there, God had preceded them and had already rolled it away. Those stones that you’re worried about this week, how you’re going to roll them away, don’t worry about them. God’s going to precede you there and by the time you get there, He’s going to have the whole thing all covered, taken care of. Worry is a needless expenditure of time and energy. The Lord surely doesn’t want us to worry.

So, the good news!

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 ( Mar 16:8 ).

Now the angel that was there said, “Go tell the disciples and Peter.” Where was Peter the last time we saw him? In the depths of despair because of his failure. The last time Jesus looked at Peter was when the rooster had crowed and Peter had fulfilled the prophecy of Jesus and had denied Him three times. “And when the cock crowed, Jesus looked at Peter and Peter went out and he just wept bitterly.” He had so miserably failed. Jesus said, “All of you are going to be offended tonight because of Me.” Peter said, “Lord, if they are all offended, I’ll never be offended.” Jesus said, “Oh, Peter, before the cock crows you will have denied Me three times.” “I’ll never deny You! Though they kill me, I wouldn’t deny You.” And the little girl came up and said, “Aren’t you with Him?” “No, I don’t know Him, don’t know what you’re talking about.” “Surely you’re one of them. I’ve seen you.” “Oh, no, not me.” And those that were around began to say, “Why, you must be! You’re a Galilean. You’ve got the accent of a Galilean.” He began to curse and swear and say, “I don’t know the Man.” And the rooster crowed, and Jesus looked at Peter. “Failure! Failure! I’ve failed You, Lord! I’ve failed You, God! Oh, Lord, I’m a failure!” “And he went out and was weeping bitterly.” That’s the last time we saw him.

Now as the first message of the resurrected Lord, there was a special little addendum, “Tell Peter.” “You know, I’m not through with you, Peter. Sure, you failed, but hey! I’m risen, Peter. It’s going to be a new game, a new life…Go tell the disciples and Peter.” The Lord’s special interest in Peter, and following it, it’s interesting, the special way by which was restored by Jesus.

And it might be noted that there are those certain scholars that say that this part of the gospel of Mark should not be in the record, from verse nine to the end. That this was added by some other writer later on and was not a part of the original, but was added by someone who was copying the scriptures at a later date. Their authority for this is that this particular portion of Mark’s gospel is not found in two of the ancient manuscripts: the Siniaticus and the Vatican, which are two of the oldest manuscripts that are in existence today. And because from verse nine to the end of the sixteenth chapter of Mark are not in these particular two manuscripts, it’s declared to be spurious. The Kodus Siniaticus dates back to about the year 400 and it is one of the oldest manuscripts that we do have, full type of manuscripts. Now there are little koduses and all which predate this, but it’s one of the oldest fuller type manuscripts that we have. It was found on Mount Sinai there in the St. Catherine’s monastery by Tichendorf. And it is true that this is not in that particular manuscript. However, in the vast of majority of manuscripts it does exist. Manuscripts that, admittedly, are written later. However, two church fathers, Iraneous and Hipolatus, both quote from this particular part of Mark’s gospel. The interesting thing is, both Iraneous and Hipolatus lived between the years 200 and 300. So they were quoting from older manuscripts, no doubt than the Siniaticus. Because they died before the Siniaticus was ever copied or made. So the strong evidence is that this does belong in the gospel of Mark, that it was deleted for whatever reason from the Siniaticus and from those manuscripts, the Vaticanus, that originated in Alexandria Egypt. But all of the manuscripts that come out of the area of Antioch, the Syriac, the Eastern and all…all have this last portion of the gospel of Mark. So, there are hundreds of manuscripts with the last portion of the gospel of Mark, omitted from two, but yet quoted by church fathers who predate the manuscript of the Siniaticus. So, they’ve got to be quoting from something that they had as a record prior to the Kodus Siniaticus. So I accept it as genuine.

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 ( Mar 16:9 ).

John will give us a more full account of His appearance to Mary.

And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept ( Mar 16:10 ).

Now, this is the third day after and they’re still mourning and weeping. I mean, it was a wipeout. You can be sure. All of their hopes were pinned in Jesus. They were hoping for the kingdom to be established by Him. And they’re devastated that He was crucified, and they’re still weeping and mourning three days later. And Mary came and she said, “I’ve seen Jesus. He was there. He appeared to me in the garden.” And they said, “Ah, go on! Hysterical women!”

And after that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country ( Mar 16:12 ).

In Luke’s gospel he’ll tell us more fully about the two men on the road to Emmaus to whom Jesus appeared, and we’ll study that in Luke.

And they went [came back] and told it unto the residue [rest of the disciples]: neither believed they them [but they wouldn’t believe them]. Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them [He read them the riot act] with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen ( Mar 16:13-14 ).

You know, in a sense it’s sort of comfortable that these guys were such skeptics. It’s all the more proof of the risen Christ. Of course, tremendous proof in just their changed lives. Look at them before the resurrection and after the resurrection, and the changed lives testify of the resurrection.

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature ( Mar 16:15 ).

Now the commission is to all the world; originally Jesus sent them out to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Now the commission is to the whole world.

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned ( Mar 16:16 ).

That’s what I told you before; you can either believe or not believe. He that believes and is baptized will be saved. He that believes not will be damned. I mean, the Bible doesn’t really mince much words. In John we read, “He that hath the Son hath life; he that hath not the Son of Life shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” You’re in one of two boats. You either believe or don’t. You’re either saved or damned.

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 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 ( Mar 16:17-18 ).

Now, these signs are given in context of going into all the world and preaching the gospel to every creature. As they’re preaching the gospel to every creature, yes, they will be speaking in new tongues, new languages. I think of the tremendous translation work of the Wycliffe Society today, casting out devils. That’s a task that the missionaries find quite common. It isn’t as common here in the United States because of the powerful Christian influence. But you get into some of the foreign lands, and demonology becomes a very heavy issue.

Taking up serpents ( Mar 16:18 );

You remember when they were building a fire on the island after the shipwreck, and a poisonous asp fastened on Paul? And the natives said, “Wow! He must really be a wicked man. Because even though he escaped the judgment of the storm and the shipwreck, yet the gods aren’t going to let him live.” And they waited for Paul to roll over in convulsions and die. And after awhile Paul just shook the thing off into the fire. And after awhile when nothing happened to Paul and he didn’t go into convulsions and die, they said, “He must be a god.” And they were ready to worship him as a god. There are those cults today who foolishly gather rattle snakes and they get into some kind of a spiritual frenzy, speaking in tongues and all, and then they take the rattlesnakes and they begin to pass them around the circle. Down in the hills of Kentucky, there are quite a few of these snake handlers. And actually, they are not all in Kentucky; there were some people over in Long Beach who were involved in this cult. So it’s close to home.

Another radical pastor took poison around and had each one of his board members drink the poison to prove their faith, whether or not they had enough faith to serve on the board of the church. Some of the board members did not have enough faith, and the pastor was charged with second-degree murder. When Satan took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple, he said unto Him, “Jump! For it is written, ‘He will give His angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways, lest at any time you dash your foot against the stone.'” And Jesus said, “It is written again, ‘Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.'” The Lord never intended anybody to deliberately put themselves into jeopardy to prove anything. He doesn’t expect you to go out and take up rattlesnakes to prove that you have faith, or to drink poison to prove that you have faith. “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” You are not to do any foolish rash act to make a proof of your faith.

So then, after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat at the right hand of God ( Mar 16:19 ).

Henceforth you will not see the Son of Man until you see Him sitting at the right hand of the throne in glory.

And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following ( Mar 16:20 ).

Now, there is an order in the scripture, and the signs are never to be used as gimmicks, as extravaganzas, as a spectacular display to draw attention of people. The signs in the scripture were used to confirm the truth of what they were declaring. And those today who are going around advertising miracle services, “Come and see a miracle! Come get your healing!” and who are going around advertising and are using signs, miracles and wonders as a tool to draw people’s attention or to draw the crowd, are not following the scriptural pattern. That was not the purpose. The purpose of the signs and the wonders were to confirm the truth of the message that they were declaring that Jesus was risen from the dead. The signs followed, not preceded. And any time you put the signs up front and make the big thing over signs, you are reversing God’s order. The big thing was the proclaiming of God’s truth. That was foremost, that was first. The signs only confirmed that what they were proclaiming was indeed truth.

Next week, we start the gospel of Luke.

Father, we thank You for the power of Jesus Christ. And we thank You, Lord, that through Him we have life and that more abundantly. Lord, help us as we go forth this week to share that life in Jesus. That His light might shine forth through us, that those who are in darkness may see the light, might come to the light and be saved. Thank You, Lord, for Your Word, a lamp unto our feet, a light unto our path. May we walk in its light. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

What shall I do with this man Jesus who is called the King of the Jews? You’ve got to determine that yourself. You’re the judge. But you’re also the plaintiff, you’re judging yourself. If you haven’t received Him, you have rejected Him. If you haven’t confessed Him, you have denied Him. If you don’t believe in Him, you’re lost. I would encourage you tonight to confess Jesus as your Savior, to believe in Him, to submit your life to the King. Bow before His throne, kiss His scepter. You’ll find that to serve Him is to reign in righteousness and in love and peace. Maybe tonight you’d like to make your commitment to Jesus Christ. I would encourage you to go back to the prayer room. And there, just get on your knees before the Lord and just ask God to take over your life. Give Him the loose ends, the broken pieces. You’ll be amazed how He can put it together and make something worthwhile out of you. For Jesus declared that redemption was possible. That’s why He came, to seek and to save those who are lost.

God bless you, fill you with His love, with the power of His Spirit. And may you be obedient to His commission as you go into your world and declare His gospel to those around you. By your life that you live and by the opportunities He gives for you to speak. May the Lord make it a very profitable week to you spiritually as you grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. “

Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary

Mar 16:1-2. 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. And very early in. the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher at the rising of the sun.

Their love made them prompt. Their affection was about to attempt a needless, and, indeed, impossible thing; yet I do not doubt that it was acceptable before God. Oh, that we had such hove that even the dead body of the Christ should be so dear to us that we should be ready at great expense to anoint it! I fear that, nowadays, even his living Word is not valued as it should be. How few, therefore, should we be likely to find who would have cared for his dead body! These holy women had had cause enough to love their Lord, and they showed that their hearts were full of affection for him even after he had been taken from them.

Mar 16:3. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher?

A question that has puzzled many other people concerning many other things perplexed these holy women, yet there was no reason for the question to be raised at all. Peradventure, some of you are at this time distressed when there is no cause for distress, and in fear where no fear is. It was so with these women, who said, one to another, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher?

Mar 16:4. And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.

And, therefore, hard to roll away; and, therefore, the more easily seen when it was rolled away; and, therefore, the greater cause for joy that it was rolled away. In the greatness of our troubles there may often be space for the greater display of the goodness of God; a great trial may be nothing more than the prelude of a great joy. Do not dread the foaming billows, for they may wash you ashore; it is the worst that they can do, and it is the best also. The stone at the door of the sepulcher was very great, but it was rolled away, so that it mattered not to the women how great it was.

Mar 16:5. And entering into the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.

An angel had been allowed to assume the appearance of a man; that usually seems to be the way in which angels appear to men. I suppose there is, after all, a great kinship between angels and men; otherwise, angelic beings would not so constantly assume that form when they appear to men. At the sight of the young man clothed in a long white garment, these good women were affrighted.

Mar 16:6-7. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye such Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. 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.

Make sure, beloved, that you know the truth for yourselves, and then hasten to tell it to others. I pray you, run not without knowing what your errand is to be; but I also pray you, when you have an errand for the Lord, do not tarry, but, Go your way, tell his disciples. It was very thoughtful of this angel to say and Peter, thus linking with the disciples the name of him who had most glaringly transgressed, and denied his Master,

Mar 16:8. And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulcher; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they anything to any man; for they were afraid.

But, after this, they summoned up courage, and did tell the story of their Lords resurrection.

Mar 16:9-13. 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. And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.

Unbelief is very hard to kill, even in hearts that are right with God; so we need not wonder that divine grace is required to expel unbelief from the hearts of the unregenerate.

Mar 16:14. 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.

The story of our Lords appearance to the disciples is more fully told by Luke in the twenty-fourth chapter of his Gospel, to which let us turn.

This exposition consisted of readings from Mar 16:1-14; Luk 24:32-44.

Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible

Mar 16:1. , they [had] bought) On the day before the Sabbath they prepared the sweet spices, Luk 23:56; Luk 24:1. Therefore it must have been then also that they had bought them: for on the day following the Sabbath they could not have bought them so early in the morning. Accordingly, either must, by Hyperbaton [the transposition of words contrary to the natural order.-See Append.], be joined with they come [], Mar 16:2; or else the sense is, the Sabbath having been kept in the interim, viz. between the preparation and the first day of the week.-, sweet spices;-, they might anoint) There is a Synecdoche [see Append.] in both words.[11] They were wishing to sprinkle the body with the sweet spices, and to anoint it with ointments, or else to mix together the sweet spices and ointments.

[11] The , sweet spices, including also ointments: the , anoint, including also the mixing together of sweet spices and ointments.-ED. and TRANSL.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Mar 16:1-8

19. THE VISIT OF THE WOMEN TO THE SEPULCHER

Mar 16:1-8

(Mat 28:1-8; Luk 24:1-11; Joh 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 (Joh 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.” (Mat 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” (Luk 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 (1Co 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.”]

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

How completely all His disciples had missed the meaning of His teaching concerning His own resurrection may be gathered from this story. The women were bringing spices to embalm His body. In spite of their failure, He provided for their reception when they came to the tomb. They found a heavenly visitor.

Mark gives us a very condensed account of the Lord’s sojourn on earth after His resurrection. There is a very beautiful revelation of His grace and love in appearing first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.

There is a calm dignity about Mark’s account of the ascension, which is a very appropriate ending to this Gospel of the Servant. He “sat down at the right hand of God.” The Servant of all has taken the place of Chief of all. And yet His triumph is not cessation of activity, for as they go forth to preach the Word everywhere, in obedience to His parting instruction, He works with them, and gives the signs which confirm the truth of their message. Thus the last manifestation of the grace which has been so conspicuous is that He sends us forth to carry on His work; and He is with us.Luk 1:1-80

Luke brings us face to face with the Son of Man and the Saviour of the world. The apostle first gives an account of how he did his work. He then tells of Gabriel’s visit to Zacharias announcing the birth of the Herald of the Lord, following it immediately with the august account of the coming of this same Gabriel to Mary, and the great annunciation. Her reception of that announcement was in faith and submission to the divine will. Thus we see her co-operating in the purpose of God.

Luke records the first two songs of the new dispensation, the first being a salutation by Elisabeth of Mary as the mother of the Lord, and the second the great Magnificat of Mary herself.

The faith of Zacharias, which had trembled in the presence of the divine promise, was restored when he wrote on the slate the name of the babe. This was a return from the point of unbelief, and the exercise of will in the appointed way.

This chapter ends with the third song of the new era, and it takes the form of a prophetic benediction from the lips of a priest of the chosen people. It was a song of salvation, and has within it truth -deeper than most likely the singer then understood.

Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible

AN ANGEL ANNOUNCES THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS

16:1-8. With the end of the Sabbath, the women, who are the only ones left to perform the service, bought the spices necessary, and came at sunrise to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. On the way, they discussed among themselves whom they should get to roll away the heavy stone from the entrance of the tomb. But they found it removed, and on entering, they saw a young man seated at the right clothed in a long white robe. Naturally, they were amazed, but he tells them that there is no reason for their amazement; that Jesus whom they are seeking, the Nazarene, the crucified, is not there, he is risen! And he points them to the place where they had put him, in proof. But he bids them announce to the disciples, and especially to Peter, that he is going before them into Galilee, and that they will see him there, as he had told them on the night of the betrayal. The effect of this on the women was fear and amazement, such that they fled from the place and were restrained by their fear from telling any one.

1. -they bought spices. Lk. says that they bought the spices on the day of his crucifixion, and rested on the Sabbath. As the day closed at sunset, they may have bought the spices that evening. They went to the tomb at sunrise, which would not allow time to buy them in the morning. -anoint. The process was not an embalming, which was unknown to the Jews, but simply an anointing.

2. * () 1 , -And very early, the first day of the week, they come to the tomb, the sun having risen. Not at the rising of the sun. AV.

, instead of , Tisch. RV. (Treg. marg. WH.) L 33, Memph. , without , Treg. WH. B 1. Insert before , Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. BKL 33, 69.

3. -they were saying to each other.2 The impf. denotes what they were saying on the way.

4. -the stone has been rolled back; for it was very great. The greatness of the stone is really the reason of their question, but he adds to the question the way that it turned out, as a part of the one event, before he introduces the explanation.

, instead of , Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. and practically all sources.

5. . -having entered into the tomb. Mt. says that the angel was sitting on the stone outside.1 Lk., that there were two angels, who appeared to the women, not on their first entrance into the tomb, but in the midst of their perplexity at not finding the body of Jesus.2 J. speaks of only one woman, Mary Magdalene, who came to the sepulchre, and got no farther than to see the stone rolled away, when she turned back and told Peter and John, who came immediately and found the tomb empty. Mary meantime had returned and saw two angels in the sepulchre, and then Jesus himself.3

-a young man. This is the form which the angel took. -they were utterly amazed. in composition means utterly, out and out.

6. . -Jesus the Nazarene, the crucified. Mt. omits .4 Lk. makes the angels ask, why seek the living among the dead?5 The exact language is not preserved in such cases. The statement common to all the narratives is, that the one whom they are seeking is not there, but is risen. , -see, the place.6

7. , -but go, tell his disciples and Peter. Peters name is not mentioned separately because his denial puts him out of the group of disciples, but it specifies him among the disciples as the one whose faith, having been most shaken, needs most the restoring effect of this announcement. -he goes before you into Galilee. This is in accordance with our Lords prediction in 14:28. -as he told you. He has not told them directly that they will see him, but that is implied in the rest of the statement, that he will rise and will go before them into Galilee. This does not absolutely rule out the appearances in Jerusalem, which are narrated in v. 9-20, but it makes it probable that they were not included in the scheme of this book. We can scarcely think of a writer recording this language who had in his mind several appearances in Juda before they went into Galilee. And especially, it is quite improbable that the promise should be of appearances in Galilee, and that the appearances themselves in the same account should be all in Juda.

8. . -and having gone out, they fled from the tomb; for trembling and amazement possessed them. is a transport of wonder, and amazement that carries men out of themselves, makes them beside themselves. -for they were afraid. This shows the state of mind that produced the -. Mt. says that great joy, as well as fear, entered into their feelings.1 Here probably our Gospel ends. What follows comes evidently from a later hand, and is intended to remove the abruptness of the ending of the original. All that Mk. tells us therefore of the resurrection is the announcement of it by the angel, and the promise that Jesus would appear to his disciples in Galilee, showing that this appearance is included in the scheme of this book, though not narrated by it. The appendix contains no account of this appearance in Galilee, but only of appearances in Jerusalem and its vicinity. This confinement of the appearances of Jesus to Galilee is common to this Gospel with Mat_2 Lk., on the other hand, records only appearances in Jerusalem and its neighborhood, and while his narrative does not so definitely exclude appearances in Galilee, as Mt. and Mk. do appearances in Juda, it certainly leaves that impression.

Omit , quickly, before , Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. and most sources. , for, instead of , and, after , Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. BD, mss. Lat. Vet. Vulg. Memph. Pesh.

THE APPENDIX

Verses 9-20 are omitted by Tisch., double-bracketed by WH., inserted in the Revisers Text, but with a space between it and the preceding passage, and Treg. inserts in the same space . WH., in their Notes on Special Passages, pronounce against the genuineness. This is done primarily on the authority of B, one ms. Lat. Vet. and mss. of the Arm. and th. versions. L, 274 marg., the ms. of Lat. Vet. mentioned above, Harcl. marg. and th.mss. m and a give what is known as the Shorter Conclusion, as follows: -And they reported briefly to Peter and those in his company all the things commanded. And after these things Jesus himself also sent forth through them from the east even to the west the holy and incorruptible message of eternal salvation. L virtually closes the Gospel with v. 8, and gives this shorter ending as current in some places, and then the longer ending as also current. The testimony of Eusebius, Victor, and Jerome is that these verses were to be found in some mss., but not in the oldest or best. They are not recognized in the Ammonian sections nor the Eusebian canons. And there is an ominous lack of reference to them in those passages of the Fathers which treat, for instance, of baptism, the resurrection, and the ascension. It is very true that this external evidence is not enough by itself, though it is always to be remembered that B are the most important witnesses to the text.

But the internal evidence for the omission is much stronger than the external, proving conclusively that these verses could not have been written by Mk. The linguistic differences alone are enough to settle this,-enough to show, even if we had Mk.s autograph, that they were not original with him, but copied directly from another source. is used in the passage five times in a way quite unknown to the Synoptics, but common to the fourth Gospel. is used three times, but does not occur elsewhere in the Gospel. This is the more remarkable, as it is in itself so common a word, and the occasions for its use occur on every page. In this section, it is the favorite word for going. , as a designation of the disciples, is another unfamiliar expression. , as a verb of seeing, does not occur elsewhere in Mk., and is infrequent elsewhere, but is used twice in this passage. In fact, it is the only verb for seeing in the passage. also occurs twice in this passage, but not elsewhere in this Gospel. () is a phrase not found in Mt. or Mk. It occurs a few times in Lk., and constantly in Jn. is another expression used to denote succession of events, not found elsewhere in Mk. occurs only here in the N.T. occurs elsewhere in the N.T. only in Luk 4:35. is a good Pauline word, and is found once in Jas., but only here in the Gospels. is found in Pauls epistles and in Heb., but not elsewhere in the Gospels. occurs twice in 1 Tim., and once in 1 Pet., but not elsewhere in the Gospels. To sum up, there are in all 163 words in this passage, and of these, 19 words and 2 phrases are peculiar, not occurring elsewhere in this Gospel. There are 109 different words, and of these, 11 words and 2 phrases do not occur elsewhere in this Gospel. Of these, the use of , , and , would of themselves constitute a case, being, from the frequency of their use, characteristic and distinctive in this vocabulary, while the entire disuse of these common words is a peculiarity of the rest of the Gospel.

But the argument from the general character of the section is stronger still. In the first place, it is a mere summarizing of the appearances of our Lord, a manner of narration entirely foreign to this Gospel. Mark is the most vivid and picturesque of the evangelists, abbreviating discourse, but amplifying narration. But this is a mere enumeration. The first part of the chapter, relating the appearance of the angels to the women, is a good example of his style, and is in marked contrast to this section.

But a graver objection arises from the character of the that are promised here to follow believers. The casting out of demons, and the cure of the sick, belong strictly to the class of miracles performed by our Lord. They are miracles of beneficence performed on others. And in the speaking with tongues, possibly we do not get outside of that sphere. But we do have an anticipation of the new conditions of the apostolic era and of the charismata which distinguish its activity from our Lords, that is, to say the least, unexampled in the teaching of Jesus. Moreover, this refers either to the speaking with foreign tongues of the day of Pentecost, or to the ecstatic speech which St. Paul calls speaking with tongues in 1 Cor. If the former, then it is not repeated. And if the latter, then St. Paul depreciates it, and for good reasons. Either would be against our Lords selection of it here as a representative miracle. But the taking up serpents, and the drinking of deadly things without harm, belong strictly to the category of mere thaumaturgy ruled out by Jesus. Our Lord does not exempt himself nor his disciples from the natural consequences of their acts. The very principle of his kingdom is, that he and they shall take their place in the ordinary conditions of human life, and shall there be exposed, not only to the ordinary dangers of that life, but to the extraordinary perils incident to an uncompromising righteousness in an evil world, and without any miraculous safeguards. But here, that miraculous safeguarding is promised as the condition distinctly supplanting the ordinary.

But the most serious difficulty with this passage is, that it is inconsistent with the preceding part of the chapter in regard to the place and time of the appearances to the disciples, following Lk.s account, whereas the first part accords with Mt.s very different scheme. The angels tell the women that Jesus precedes them into Galilee, and will be seen by his disciples there. But the appearance to Mary Magdalene was on the day of the resurrection, and near the tomb. The appearance to the two on their way into the country was evidently that to the disciples going to Emmaus, also on the day of the resurrection. And that to the eleven as they were reclining at table, was evidently also identical with that recorded in Luk 24:36 sq., and was therefore in Jerusalem, and on the evening of the resurrection. Immediately after this, in both accounts, comes the ascension, and leaves no time for appearances in Galilee. In St. Matthew, on the other hand, there are no appearances in Juda, except that to the women on their way from the sepulchre. They have received from the angels the same message as in Mar 16:7, that Jesus precedes them into Galilee, and in accordance with this, the disciples go there, and Jesus appears to them on the mountain. Plainly, then, the first verses of our chapter are framed on Mt.s scheme of the Galilean appearances, and v. 9-20 on Lk.s scheme of appearances in Juda. And the two are mutually exclusive. On the other hand, the ending of the Gospel, with these verses omitted, is abrupt. But if this abruptness were foreign to Mk.s manner, it would not show that this ending is genuine, only that the difficulty was felt by copyists, one of whom supplied this ending, and another the shorter ending. The existence of the two is presumptive proof of the original omission. But really, the brevity of this ending is quite parallel to the beginning of the Gospel, the beginning and ending being both alike outside the main purpose of the evangelist. It is not strange therefore, but rather consonant with Mk.s manner.1

VARIOUS APPEARANCES TO THE DISCIPLES

9-20. The first appearance is said to be to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. Then there is the appearance in another form to two of the disciples on their way into the country. Both of these reports were brought to the disciples, and were received with incredulity. The third appearance is to the eleven as they were reclining at table, when Jesus rebukes their lack of faith and their spiritual obtuseness, and gives them his final instructions and promises. They were to go into all the world, and proclaim the glad-tidings to all creation. He who believes their message and is baptized will be saved; and he who disbelieves will be condemned. Moreover, believers were to be accredited by certain signs done in his name. They were to cast out demons, speak with tongues, handle serpents and drink poisons with impunity, and heal the sick with the laying on of hands. After this discourse, the Lord was taken up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And the disciples went out everywhere with their message, the Lord helping them, and confirming their word with the promised signs.

9. , -And having arisen early on the first day of the week, he appears first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. This is not a callida junctura, and could scarcely have been written by Mk. himself, with what he had just written in mind. The identification of Mary Magdalene, after she had been mentioned three times in the preceding narrative, is especially inconsistent. -this is the only case of the use of this prep. in describing the casting out of demons, and it is as strange as it is unexampled. This appearance to Mary Magdalene is given in J. 20:14. The story of the different appearances, in this paragraph, though taken from different gospels, is told by the compiler in his own manner, with some marked variations, and in all cases in a condensed form. The incident of the seven demons is from Luk 8:2.

, instead of , Treg. WH. RV. CDL 33. It should be remembered that B do not contain this paragraph.

10. -this unemphatic use of reminds us of the fourth Gospel, but is foreign to Mk. And yet, in this paragraph, it is found in v. 10, 11, 20. The use in v. 13, while it is more or less emphatic, is foreign to Mk.s style. -Here is a more striking anomaly. For this word, though it occurs here three times, v. 10, 12, 15,-in fact, is the staple word for going,-is not found elsewhere in Mk., though it is so common a word, and the occasions for its use are so frequent. This makes the striking feature, that this common word is dropped from Mk.s vocabulary, and suddenly appears here. The other evangelists use it constantly. -to those who had come to be (associated) with him. This paraphrase for his disciples is also unknown to Mk., and to the other evangelists. -weeping. This word is also a word occurring only here in this gospel, but that does not count, as it is about the rate of its use in the other books of the N.T.

11. Mark agrees with Luke that the first report of the resurrection was disbelieved.1 Mt., however, states that the message of Jesus was acted upon, and so implies their belief in the report of the resurrection.2 This appearance to Mary Magdalene is condensed from J. 20:11-18. The verbal anomalies are in the use of , , and . is used twice in the paragraph here, and in v. 14, and nowhere else in Mk. is found here and in v. 16 (twice in Lk.), and nowhere else in Mk.

12, 13. This appearance to the two on their way into the country is condensed from Lk.s account of the appearance to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus.3 It differs from that in its account of their non-recognition of Jesus, and of the reception given to their story. Instead of the , in another form, Lk. attributes their failure to recognize him to the fact that their eyes were restrained from knowing him. And instead of the unbelief of their story told here, Lk., on the contrary, says that the eleven met them with the story of Christs actual resurrection () and his appearance to Peter.4 The verbal peculiarities are in the use of and . is found in Lk., is very frequent in J., but is not found in Mt. and Mk.

14. This appearance to the eleven on the evening following the resurrection is given in both Lk. and J.5 It differs from both accounts again in the matter of Jesus reproach of their unbelief of the stories of his resurrection. In Lk. it is not this for which he chides them, but for their idea, in spite of their acceptance of those stories, that his present appearance was that of a ghost. J. records only their gladness.6 The verbal peculiarities are in the use of , and . is found in the other gospels, but not elsewhere in Mk.

Insert after , Treg. (Treg. marg. WH.) RV. AD, mss. Latt. Memph. Syrr. Add , from the dead (Treg. marg. WH.) AC* X Harcl.

15. These last words in Mt. are given on the mountain in Galilee.1 In Lk., the farewell is said at Bethany.2 These instructions in Lk. are given, the same as here, at the supper in Jerusalem, but they are separated from the ascension and the final words.3 -to all creation. Every creature, AV., would require the omission of the article. The two elements prominent in these instructions, the preaching and the baptizing, are common to Mt. and Mk.

16. We have here a group of things common to the apostolic teaching, but new to the Gospels. This is the first mention of baptism since the baptism of John. In the fourth Gospel even, it is not mentioned after the early Judan ministry of our Lord.4 Then, while faith is enjoined in Jesus teaching, it is nowhere, in the Synoptics, singled out as the condition of salvation, as, of course, baptism is not, since it is not mentioned at all. In fact, if one should gather up into a single statement our Lords teaching about the condition of salvation, the necessary attitude of men towards the word, it would be obedience. This statement inaugurates and prepares the way for the apostolic teaching.

17, 18. Of the signs promised here, the healing, and the casting out of demons, are characteristic of our Lords activity; the speaking with tongues is new, and belongs to the apostolic period; and the taking up of serpents and drinking poisons with impunity is absolutely foreign to our Lords principle.5 The verbal peculiarities are in the use of (?), and , the former occurring only here in Mk., and the latter only here in N.T.

, instead of , Treg. WH. CL. , Act 2:33 ( ). There is a meaning of closeness of attendance which makes much more individual and probable. Omit , new, after , Treg. WH. RV.marg. CL Memph. Insert. , and in their hands, before , Treg. (Treg. marg. WH.) C* and 2 LM marg. . Grk. 1, 22, 33, Memph. Cur. Harcl.

THE ASCENSION

19. -after speaking to them. This can refer only to the words spoken by our Lord at the supper in Jerusalem. If it had been after the entire event, and not a part of the event coming after the discourse, something less specific than this would have been given as the mark of time. The ascension therefore, according to this, was on the evening after the resurrection. So Lk., even supposing that the omission of (Tisch. omits, and WH. RV.marg. double bracket) is accepted.1 Mt., however, gives the appearance to the disciples on a mountain in Galilee.2 -and sat down on the right hand of God. This belongs to the creed, not to history.

Insert after , Treg. (Treg. marg. WH.) RV. CKL 1, 22, 33, 124, mss. Lat. Vet. Vulg. Syrr. Memph.

20. The Lord helps the disciples in their subsequent work. This statement is introduced to show how both command and promise were fulfilled in the missionary activity of the disciples. The verbal peculiarities are in the use of , , , , and . is not found elsewhere in Mk. (once in Lk.). , , , are not found elsewhere in the Gospels. They belong to the vocabulary of the Pauline Epistles.

Omit at the end, Treg. WH. (Tisch.) Act 2:1, Act 2:33, mss. Latt. Syrr.

THE RESURRECTION

Mk. does not himself recount any appearance of the risen Lord. But he makes the angel at the tomb announce the resurrection, and promise that the Lord would meet his disciples in Galilee. The difficulty with this part of the history is that Mt. and Mk. give one version of it, Lk. another, the Acts still a third, and 1 Cor. a fourth. The account in Acts coincides with Lk. in regard to the final appearance, but, in regard to the time, differs from it more radically than either of the others, while Paul differs from them all in regard to the persons to whom Jesus appeared. But these differences of detail do not invalidate the main fact. The testimony of Paul is invaluable here. He writes his account about a.d. 58, and we know that he had had intercourse with both Peter and John, and James, who are named by him as among those to whom Jesus appeared after his resurrection. This first-hand testimony to the fact of the resurrection entirely outweighs any discrepancy in the details. It puts the latter in the class of varieties of account which do not invalidate nor weaken the historicity of any record. There is a false impression made by the unusual consistency of the Synoptical Gospels which weakens unduly their testimony in the parts where they show more independence and variety. Of course, Mt. and Mk., on the one hand, and Lk., on the other, give independent and varying accounts of the resurrection. But the variety is caused by the independence; it is no greater than the ordinary variations of independent narratives, and it does not therefore invalidate the main fact of the resurrection. But the Synoptical Gospels, in the main, in their record of the public ministry of Jesus, are interdependent, and so there is an unusual sameness about them. This should not weaken their testimony, when they become independent, and so variant.

THE ASCENSION

The result of textual criticism is to render it doubtful if there is any account of the ascension of our Lord in the Gospels. Mt., Mk., and J. contain no account of it. And the passage in Lk. which gives it is put in the column of doubtful passages, being omitted by Tisch., and double-bracketed by WH. RV. On the other hand, there is no doubt that Lk. means by the , he was parted from them, a final separation from the disciples on that first day following the resurrection. And this brings it directly into conflict with the account of the forty days in Acts. Moreover, the story in Acts is the only one that relates, or even implies, a visible ascent. The in Lk., and in Mk., though their presence in the originals is impossible in Mk., and doubtful in Lk., can be traced back to first century sources through the old Latin and Syriac versions, so that they can be taken as witnesses to the event. But neither of them can be taken as independent witnesses to a visible ascent. That is supplied by the account in Acts.

1 is a purely Hebrew phrase, using the cardinal for the ordinal, and the plural for the week. Win. 37, 1.

AV. Authorised Version.

Tisch. Tischendorf.

RV. Revised Version.

Treg. Tregelles.

marg. Revided Version marg.

WH. Westcott and Hort.

Codex Sinaiticus.

L Codex Regius.

Codex Sangallensis

33 Codex Regius.

Memph. Memphitic.

B Codex Vaticanus.

1 .Codex Basiliensis

K Codex Cyprius.

69 Codex Leicestrensis.

2 On this reciprocal use of the reflexive pronoun, see Thay.-Grm. Lex.

1 Mat 28:2.

2 Luk 24:4.

3 J. 20:1-14.

4 Mat 28:5.

5 Luk 24:5.

6 On this use of as an interjection,-in this case not governing the noun which follows,-see on 15:35.

1 Mat 28:8.

2 Mat 28:10, Mat 28:16-20.

D Codex Ephraemi.

Lat. Vet. Vetus Latina.

Vulg. Vulgate.

Pesh. Peshito.

Harcl. Harclean.

1 See Introduction.

C Codex Bezae.

1 Luk 24:11.

2 Mat 28:10, Mat 28:16.

3 Luk 24:13-34.

4 Luk 24:16, Luk 24:34.

5 Luk 24:36-49, J. 20:19.

6 Luk 24:34, Luk 24:37, J. 20:20.

A Codex Alexandrinus.

Latt. Latin Versions.

Syrr. Syriac Versions.

X Codex Wolfi A.

1 Mat 28:16-20.

2 Luk 24:50, Luk 24:51.

3 Luk 24:47-49.

4 J. 3:26, 4:1, 2.

5 See Note on the Appendix.

M Codex Campianus.

1 Luk 24:51-53.

2 Mat 28:16-20.

Fuente: International Critical Commentary New Testament

the Power of His Resurrection

Mar 16:1-20

In the dim light the women brave the dangers of an Eastern city and hasten to the grave. How often we seek Christ in the grave of old experiences or of dead and empty rites; and how often we cherish fears for which there is no occasion! In the grave where Christ had lain a young man was sitting, arrayed in a glistening robe; so out of death comes life. And one result of the Saviors resurrection has been that myriads of noble youths, clothed in garments of purity, have gone forth to shine like the dewdrops of the morning sparkling on the bosom of the earth. Gods angels are always young. We who are the children of the Resurrection in the life of eternity will grow always younger, as here our bodies are ever growing older. The ministry of Galilee and Jerusalem is at an end, but the spirit of the Master goes forth to new victories in the Acts of the Apostles. Note the mighty power of faith, the signs that follow its manifestation in simplicity and purity; demons cannot resist it, serpents are rendered harmless, and healing streams flow from contact with it. Let us keep our eyes fixed on the risen Christ sitting at the right hand of God, and believe that he is ever working by our side and confirming our words, Heb 2:4.

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

The Resurrection (Mar 16:1-8)

The last sabbath of the law that God ever recognized had drawn to a close. During that old covenant rest day no one on earth knew whether redemption had been accomplished or not. The Jews observed the rest although their hands were red with the blood of the servant of Jehovah. They had insisted on His death, and in so doing had fulfilled their own Scriptures without realizing it. Now the first day of a new week and of a new dispensation had dawned.

Several godly women who were last at the cross were first at the tomb on that wondrous Easter morn. As the first streaks of light shone across the sky three women with broken hearts-Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the less, and Salome-left their homes and wended their way toward the garden tomb in which the body of Jesus had been placed. They intended to anoint and embalm that precious body in the Jewish manner.

As the sun rose higher they came in sight of the tomb. Coming closer, the women wondered who would move the great stone blocking the entrance. This stone was probably like a large millstone fitted into a slot cut in the limestone on an incline so that it could be readily rolled down the groove to cover the door. But it would take considerable strength to roll it back and up again. None of the disciples were on hand to do this service. They mourned the death of Jesus and evidently thought there was nothing now that they could do to change things for the better.

But as the women came closer they were astonished to see that the stone was rolled back already and the entrance plainly revealed. Their first thought, we know from other accounts, was that the tomb had been rifled by the enemies of Jesus and the body stolen and carried elsewhere.

On entering the sepulcher they beheld a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment. His presence filled the women with a strange alarm. Little did they understand at the moment that this young man had been present at the creation of the universe when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy (Job 38:7). The man possessed eternal youth, for he belonged not to earth but to Heaven. At once he reassured them and told them not to be afraid. He added, Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

The dark night of death was not the end of the service of our blessed Lord. For Him the path of life led out of the tomb up to the glory where, at the Fathers right hand, there are pleasures forevermore. His soul was not left in Hades-the unseen world-nor did His precious body see corruption in the sepulcher (Psalm 16). Isaiah had declared by the Spirit of prophecy, When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand (Isa 53:10). So He who was delivered for our of fences was raised again for our justification (Rom 4:25). Because His death had met every claim of the justice of God against us, His resurrection was the divine declaration of our justification from all things.

With wondering eyes the women gazed on the empty crypt where only the graveclothes remained. The angel (for such he was) commanded them to go their way and tell the disciples and Peter that Jesus was going before them into Galilee to that meeting place of which He had told them before He was crucified. There He would manifest Himself to them. So the women hastened toward the city, but they were afraid to tell anyone what they had seen and heard.

There is something peculiarly touching about the two words and Peter (Mar 16:7). Peter must have spent the time of his Lords entombment in grief and agony of soul as he pondered his denial. He would not feel worthy any longer to be called one of His disciples. But the special message, and Peter, would be the assurance that Jesus loved him still and counted him as one of His own.

Jesus Appears to Many (Mar 16:9-14)

He appeared first to Mary Magdalene. One of the women evidently lingered in the garden and Jesus Himself appeared to her. There seems to be no Scriptural evidence that this Mary was ever a dissolute immoral woman, as so many have supposed. Down through the centuries magdalene has been synonymous with harlot because many have sought to identify Mary of Magdala with the woman in the city who came into the Pharisees house and washed the feet of Jesus with her tears of repentance (Luk 7:37-39). But there seems to be no proof that the two are identical. What we are told in Mark 16 is that Jesus had cast seven demons out of Mary. Her love was great because her deliverance had been so great. Many an otherwise respectable woman has been demon-controlled at times. It is not necessary to suppose that demon possession implies unchastity.

Jesus revealed Himself to Mary in the garden in such a way that all her doubts were gone (Joh 20:11-18). She hastened to tell His disciples, who were mourning and weeping over the death of their Lord, that He was indeed risen from the dead. Though she confidently affirmed that she had seen and talked with Him, they did not believe that He who had died was alive again. Mark did not mention the visit of John and Peter to the tomb, and their corroboration of the story of Mary.

Mark told us in few words that which Luke described so fully- the meeting of Jesus with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (see Luk 24:13-35). From the words He appeared in another form (Mar 16:12) some have drawn the erroneous conclusion that after resurrection Jesus no longer possessed the identical body in which He was crucified. Other Scriptures forbid such a thought. The Gospel of Luke tells us that the eyes of the two disciples were blinded to Jesus true identity. He had not assumed a different body. As the two sat with Him at supper He revealed Himself to them. They returned to Jerusalem and told the eleven that they had seen Him; but again we read, Neither believed they them. It was difficult to convince the apostles that Jesus had overcome death.

Jesus had foretold again and again His rising from the dead after three days; but His disciples were dull of hearing and failed to comprehend the meaning of His words. Therefore the resurrection was unexpected, and it took them some time to accept so marvelous a fact. Only the cleare st demonstration of His resurrection convinced them of the truth.

The last appearance that Mark mentioned took place as the disciples were partaking of their evening meal. Whether Mark was referring to the same occasion as that mentioned in Luk 24:36-43 and Joh 20:19 we may not be able to decide. In all probability the appearance recorded in Mar 16:14 was either on the first evening following Jesus resurrection when Thomas was absent, or another time when he was there. As some were still unbelieving, the Lord upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart. They had not accepted the testimony of the women and of Cleopas and his companion, who only confirmed what Jesus Himself had told them would take place. This rebuke seems to fit in with the occasion when Thomas was absent, for all doubt seems to have gone from the others when Thomas first saw the risen Lord. But it is important to keep their original unbelief in mind as we go on to consider what He told them afterward.

Christs Final Command (Mar 16:15-20)

The great commission was not given at one time only, but on several occasions, and in each instance there are differences that are of deep interest. In Mar 16:15-18 Jesus set forth His program of world evangelization in no uncertain terms. Preach the gospel to every creature. The disciples were to carry the good news of an accomplished redemption not only to Israel, to whom the message of the kingdom had been largely confined during the Lords earthly ministry (Mat 10:6), but into all the world. Every barrier was to be thrown down so that the river of grace might flow out to all.

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. Those who received the message in faith were to witness to it by being baptized, thus declaring themselves openly as His disciples. There was no saving virtue in the ordinance itself, but it was the expression of subjection to Christ. Those who refused to believe would be condemned. Note that He did not say, He that is not baptized shall be condemned.

These signs shall follow them that believe. These signs were what Paul calls the signs of an apostle (2Co 12:12). These miraculous powers were given to the authoritative messengers to accredit them as Christs representatives (Act 4:30-33; Act 5:12). But the signs were not displayed by any who did not believe, and even among the twelve some doubted (Mat 28:17). It is a mistake to suppose that these powers were automatically passed on to those who believed the messengers. That is not the thought. Such gifts were granted to some who became witnesses publicly (1Co 12:7-11), but the bestowal of gifts was according to the sovereign will of God.

The Gospel of Mark does not tell us how much time elapsed between the giving of this commission and the ascension of Christ. Other records indicate that nearly forty days transpired. At the appointed time the man Christ Jesus was received up into glory (1Ti 3:16), where He now shares the Fathers throne (Heb 1:3).

They went forththe Lord working with them. All that His servants accomplish for Him is actually done by Him as He works in and through them in the energy of His Holy Spirit. We are told that the disciples preached every where. We know from the book of Acts that they were slow in doing this. It was some time before they could divest themselves of their Jewish prejudices in order to be free to go into all the world and make known the good news to the Gentiles. But as time went on they understood more fully the mind of the Lord and so went everywhere as He had commanded them.

The book of Acts and the history of missions attest to the authenticity of the post-resurrection appearances of Christ and the giving of the great commission. The work of world evangelization is in progress still, and will not be completed until all men everywhere have heard the message of the grace of God. Interest in missions is not an elective in Gods university of grace. It is something in which every disciple is expected to major. We who are saved have been entrusted by our risen Lord with the glorious privilege of carrying the gospel to the whole world. It is for this very purpose we have been left in this world. As far as our own salvation is concerned, we were as secure as God could make us the first moment we trusted in Christ. We could have been taken home to Heaven immediately. But in the infinite wisdom of God we have been kept down here that we might be witnesses to His saving grace and that through us many more might be brought to share the blessings that are ours in Christ. Had the church been faithful to its commission, the body of Christ might long since have been completed and the Lords return hastened, for it is due to His concern for the salvation of men that He seems to delay (2Pe 3:9).

After Mark recorded the great commission, he did not go on to describe the ascension, but he closed his account with the risen Lord as the servant still working with His followers as they go forth in obedience to His Word.

Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets

Mar 16:3

I. In spite of the many warnings our Lord had given, that on the third day He would rise again, the last thing these women expected to find was an empty grave; and when they reported to the Apostles that they had so found it “their words seemed to them as idle tales.” As little, at that time, would they have comprehended that the stone was not removed to let Him out who was the Almighty, Everliving God, as that it was removed in order to let them in, in order that their love might be rewarded by their being made the first witnesses of the Resurrection. “Who will roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? “It was the question of weak faith and strong love-of a faith which was not in advance of that which prevailed around them, but of a love which would have removed mountains rather than not accomplish the work to which it had devoted itself.

II. To us there is no dimness. We stand in the fulness of light, and are called to walk as children of light. When our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the grave He deprived death for ever of that dreadful sting with which he can now wound none save those who wilfully remain in their sins, unrepentant and so unforgiven. He rolled away the door of our sepulchre when He rose triumphant from His own. All power is given Him in heaven and in earth. He will not fail us if we seek Him truly. “And this,” saith He, “is the will of Him that sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.”

F. E. Paget, Helps and Hindrances to the Christian Life, vol. i., p. 168.

Consider:-

I. Who rolled away that stone. Who had right and authority to roll it away? I am not speaking now of mere physical power. Man was utterly incompetent, morally speaking, to roll away the stone from the door of the sepulchre, and had he done it, it would have been useless. Had angels any authority or right to do it? They did it instrumentally, but was man responsible to angels? Were angels to decide whether the work was done, whether Jesus had met every jot and tittle of the law’s requirements, penalties, and precepts? Christ was not responsible to angels. He had nothing to do with them. He passed by the race of angels. Therefore angels were not competent. Was Christ competent Himself to roll away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? He said He had power to lay down His life, and power to raise Himself up again; but had He official power? No: He had not. He was not responsible to Himself; He did not come on His own account-He came on His Father’s account: He was responsible to His Father. The Resurrection was of the Father, and the Ascension was of the Father; had the Father not been satisfied, the tomb had never been opened; and afterwards, had the Father not been satisfied by the righteousness of Christ, heaven’s gate had not been opened. The angel of the Lord, by the authority of the Father, rolled away the stone from the door of the sepulchre.

II. What followed in reference to the risen Christ, and in reference to His own people. (1) He came forth from the grave with power, the power of endless life, and the power of conferring that endless life. (2) Christ rose that you and I might rise. The Resurrection of Christ is a pledge to those who are believers and risen in heart, that all else should follow. As it is impossible that Christ, having accomplished the work of redemption, should not rise and dwell with the Father, so it is equally impossible that you and I, if we are believers in the Saviour, bound up with Him by living faith, should not ascend and be glorified pillars of that Temple by-and-by, to go out no more for ever.

C. Molyneux, Penny Pulpit, new series, Nos. 296, 297.

Mar 16:3-4

The facts of our religion-which, if supernatural is historical-are, when rightly appreciated, so many moral forces for the soul, incorporating ideas which give courage and gladness, and containing principles which are at the root of conduct and life. Pre-eminent among them is the event of the Resurrection, and I say faith in this event is the one and only force that adequately enables us to roll away the stones that encounter us in the struggles of life; and that what St. Paul calls the “power” of the Resurrection, is for all of us, not least for the young-who have their great opportunites, and untold possibilities in front and unexhausted-the mighty secret of a steady triumph over temptation, difficulty, and sorrow.

I. The Resurrection is a power to heal conscience. Christ died; and if He had only died, while we should have been grateful for an unparalleled sacrifice, we should have mourned over its uselessness. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and in that Resurrection by the mighty hand of God we see His sacrifice accepted, and death tasted for every man; and peace ensured, and life eternal given. Sin on the conscience is one great stone which the Resurrection rolls away. Sin in the will is another. His grace helps us to hate what is evil, and to resist coarse and degrading instincts, and to practise self-control, and to carry the burdens of the weak, and to regard gifts and faculties as opportunities both of kindness and virtue.

II. The Resurrection is also a power to ennoble duty. In the light of the Resurrection life is seen to be worth living, for the stone of a purposeless and brief existence is rolled away; and with its new aims and responsibilities, and functions and motives, this life on earth has a new meaning and force. Now we may make ties, for death cannot dissolve them; now we may scatter the seeds of goodness, since we shall not be sowing them on the waves of a remorseless sea; now, as we rear our children, and win our friends, and grasp our duties, and pursue our studies, the chilling taunt does not come to mock us: “You are all of you but as the shadows on the mountain-side.” Now we feel it worth while to try for humbleness and purity, for great tasks and meek virtues; for steady effort and patient love. All shall not be in vain; all shall have its sure and happy recompense if Jesus is Lord and Christ.

III. Again, the Resurrection is a power to explain death. Death is the one great fact that casts its ghastly shadow over the world, chilling youth, saddening age, and, like a black wall on the horizon, overshadowing for manhood the grand activities in front. But is it the end of our journey, or only a stage in it? The Resurrection shows us that death is only an event in life, not the abrupt closing of it. In the world to which we go there will be leisure enough in the great spaces of eternity to mellow and develop in that light, which needeth not the sun or moon to lighten it, the germs of thought and action which we sowed here; if there is no waste in the domain of nature, there is none in the sphere of spirit, and the continuity of eternal life, apparently interrupted by our physical dissolution, shall be reunited and carried on under new conditions of perfection in the glory of the world to come.

IV. Once more, the Resurrection is a power to console sorrow. Have you observed that it was a “young man” whom the women beheld, sitting at the right hand in the tomb, and clothed in a white garment. Surely that gives the attractive and invigorating suggestion that the life to come will be a period of perpetual youth, with a grand enthusiasm which shall never be chilled by disappointment; youth, with time enough in front for perfecting its plans; youth, which no taint of corruption shall soil with the least stain of imperfection, and which in an ever-growing goodness shall have the image and fruition of God.

Bishop Thorold, Oxford and Cambridge Journal, May 6th, 1880.

References: Mar 16:3.-R. W. Evans, Parochial Sermons, vol. i., p. 63; J. C. Hare, Sermons in Herstmonceux Church, p. 175; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. vii., p. 231; G. Brooks, Five Hundred Outlines, p. 303. Mar 16:3, Mar 16:4.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iii., p. 268; vol. iv., p. 120; Three Hundred Outlines on the New Testament, p. 41; Bishop Thorold, Church of England Pulpit, vol. ix., p. 241.

Mar 16:5

Perpetual Youth.

I. The life of the faithful dead is eternal progress towards infinite perfection. The life of man, being under the law of growth, is in all its parts subject to the consequent necessity of decline. But the perfect life of the dead in Christ has but one phase-youth. It is growth without a limit and without decline. To say that they are ever young is the same thing as to say that their being never reaches its climax, that it is ever but entering on its glory.

II. The life of the faithful dead recovers and retains the best characteristics of youth. The perfect man in the heavens will include the graces of childhood, the energies of youth, the steadfastness of manhood, the calmness of old age; as on some tropical tree, blooming on more fertile soil, and quickened by a nearer sun than ours, you may see at once bud, blossom, and fruit-the expectancy of spring, the maturing promise of summer, and the fulfilled fruition of autumn-hanging together on the unexhausted bough.

III. The faithful dead shall live in a body that cannot grow old. The glorious and undecaying body shall then be the equal and fit instrument of the perfected spirit, not as it is now, the adequate instrument only of the natural life.

A. Maclaren, Sermons preached in Manchester, 2nd series, p. 190.

Mar 16:6

The Dead and their Future State.

The memory of the dead seems intended to serve as a kind of ladder for the living, whereon they may ascend from things seen to things unseen. As we grow older, and more imbued with the spirit of this world, it seems ordained that thoughts of death and the dead should grow proportionately stronger, so as to imbue us with the spirit of another world. As age brings us more and more within the danger of the infection of this world, death presses his keen antidote closer and closer to our lips.

I. Hopes concerning the dead are necessarily connected with opinions concerning the life after death; or, in other words, concerning the states commonly called heaven and hell. The great law of retribution upon which is based all the teaching of Christ is not to be violated, but to find its supreme fulfilment in the day of decision. Each man is to receive the things that he hath done in the flesh. What things we shall thus receive the senses cannot reveal to us. But if we confine ourselves to statements of probabilities, not about things but about the proportions of things, we seem to be within the province of sober reason.

II. Proceeding in this way we infer that it is improbable that the present diversity of human beings shall be hereafter merged in one monotonous identity. It seems more consistent with what we know of God’s laws here, as well as with what we glean from the utterances of Christ Himself, to believe that the seeds sown below-instinct with choice natures from the first, and exposed to diverse influences of earth, and rain, and air, and sunshine-should not all blossom into the selfsame flowers, with every leaf and petal, every hue and streak, precisely similar. More likely that every present cause will be reproduced in some future effect. But, it may be urged, this continuity of cause and effect before and after death is a source of terror as well as of consolation. If we are to reap hereafter what we have sown here, how full of fear should be the harvest for many of us? Yes, this is a legitimate and wholesome fear; and the present tendency to put aside, as unworthy and unreasonable, the belief in a future judgment and punishment has been caused, in part perhaps, by a misconception of the means of judging and punishing. For judgment is not the mere utterance of an arbitrary verdict backed by brute force. To judge is to separate between truth and falsehood, between righteousness and unrighteousness; and the ideal judgment is that verdict which is pronounced by the judge with such a force of correction that the offender himself anticipates its utterance and confesses its justice. Such judgments and such punishments as these, what sane man can pronounce irrational, or afford to laugh at even as possibilities? What? Because we no longer confuse metaphor with literalism, because we cease to apprehend tangible flames in a material pit, does it follow that God’s laws of cause and effect are to be suspended?-that spiritual seed is to produce no spiritual fruit?-that sin shall cease to bring forth sorrow, and ill-doing to breed remorse? We blaspheme God when we degrade His just mercy into a weak connivance at imperfection, as if for the sake of a little family circle He would put a veto on His Divine law of retribution, and nullify the fundamental principles of redemption, for the purpose of giving a few select favourites a pass into Paradise. Not in the seventh heaven of heavens, not in the bottom-most abyss of hell, can we hope to escape from law, or banish the presence of love. But do law and love preclude punishment? And does punishment cease to be awful because it is spiritual? How weak and sterile must be that man’s imagination who can realise none but material punishment, and has never learned to dread a spiritual hell!

III. It may seem a paradox to speak of the fear of hell as being hopeful; but yet it is certain that, if you give up all fear of the future, you will inevitably end in giving up all hope also. It is not right nor reasonable that you should expect for yourselves, or for the great majority of your infinitely diversified and imperfect fellow-creatures, that, when you die, you will all immediately be transmuted into one identical perfect image. If you expect this, you expect what is not just, and you form a conception of an unjust and undiscriminating God. But if your conception of God is thus lowered your faith in Him is lowered also; and thus all your hopes of eternal communion with Him become pallid and faint. If we may be permitted without irreverence to use that phrase, we might say that, for those who really love God as a Father, there can be no hesitation in trusting both themselves and all the multitude of the human dead since the creation of the world to the uncovenanted mercies of God. And if, indeed, we have at any time realised, however faintly, but for one moment in our lives what it must be to be admitted into the circle of the eternal mercies, and into communion with the Everlasting Love, can it seem, even to the best and purest of us, other than the highest privilege-after long and various stages of waiting, and working, and suffering-at last, clinging like a child to the border of the garment of the Holy One of God, to be drawn in with Him into some inferior corner of the abode of the Presence, where one may sit down as it were upon sufferance, well pleased to catch a far-off glimpse of the splendour of the unapproachable throne?

E. Abbott, Church of England Pulpit, Nov. 1st, 1879.

There is a triumphant scorn, amounting almost to sarcasm, in the way in which that young man, sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment, addressed the three women that came early to the holy sepulchre at the rising of the sun. “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.”

I. I suppose that, to an angel’s mind, “He is risen” would not express more wonder than the assertion of any of the processes of Nature. It could not-and the angel knew it-it could not be otherwise, for Christ could not but rise. “It was not possible,” St. Peter says, “that He should be holden of it.” Now remember that is not spoken about the soul; of that it would be obvious; but of the body-it could not choose but rise. The whole doctrine of the Resurrection is a doctrine of the body. The future and eternal life of the soul was known almost universally before Christ. The heathen knew and talked of it. But with very few exceptions, indeed, neither Jew nor Gentile knew anything of the coming to life again of the body till Christ rose. He was the Firstfruit of that science.

II. It is in the nature and constitution and obligation of every human body that it must rise. When you bury a body you simply, and you literally, sow a seed. You were born to rise-as much made to rise as any seed which you ever put into the ground. Resurrection is not properly a miracle. It is a grand, loving provision of the Counsel of God. And when we say of Christ, or say of any man, “He is risen,” we only assert the necessary consequence of human being.

III. In the sight of God every believer is so united with Jesus Christ, that his whole being-his body, soul, and spirit-is a member of the body of Christ. In Christ, his Head, He died and suffered punishment upon the Cross. In Christ, his Head, he is buried. In Christ, his Head, he rises again at the last day. Therefore, where Christ goes he goes; whither Christ ascends he ascends; where Christ is he is. So that, in that He is risen, the whole Church is risen. And if so be you are a real living member in the mystical body of Christ, your resurrection and eternal life is so sure, that actually, in the mind of God, it was done that day when the angel said of you-of you, as you were then in the mystical body of Christ, “He is risen.” It is an absolute, historical past.

J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 5th series, p. 94.

Mar 16:6-7

The Address of the Angel to the Women at the Sepulchre.

These verses naturally divide themselves into two heads. The first head includes the information as given to the women; and the second, the commission with which they were charged. Note:-

I. The soothing character of the language which the angel employs; and the indirect yet forcible manner in which he recognises the devotedness which the women had displayed. “Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified.” They had no need to be terrified at the glories of an angel, who could not be alienated by the indignity heaped on their Lord. They, who had come seeking the crucified Nazarene in the grave, were not unworthy to hold converse with celestial beings themselves.

II. But the women needed more than the quieting of those fears which the apparition of the angel had naturally excited. They wanted information as to the disappearance of Christ’s body, and this was quickly furnished; for the heavenly messenger went on to say, “He is risen; He is not here; behold the place where they laid Him.” There is something remarkable in the reasoning-if such it may be called-which is employed by the angel. He calls on the women to behold the place where their Lord’s body had lain, as though its mere desertion were evidence enough of the fact of resurrection. And so in real truth it was, to all at least who, like the women, knew and considered the character and circumstances of the disciples of Christ, The supposition would be absurd to them, and should be absurd to ourselves, that men situated as were the disciples, and who had displayed a timidity which could hardly be reconciled with affection for their Master, should have devised and executed a plan which would have been bold in the boldest, and which could scarcely have succeeded under the most favourable circumstances, and with the most copious appliances.

III. The commission with which these women were entrusted. The glad tidings of Christ’s resurrection were not for themselves alone; the angel directed them to hasten at once and give intelligence of the glorious fact. As the first news of Death came by a woman, so by a woman came the first news of the Resurrection. Sinner and sinful must always merge in the preacher of the Gospel; seeing that through men and not through angels is the appointed instrumentality. When Mary Magdalene was sent with a message to the Apostles it may have been designed as evidence that previous guiltiness disqualifies no one for office of preacher. He may but discharge it with greater fidelity on the principle laid down by our Saviour Himself: “To whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.”

H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 2,187.

References: Mar 16:6.-S. Clark, Christian World Pulpit, vol. iii., p. 268; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. vii., pp. 228, 239; G. Brooks, Five. Hundred Outlines, p. 85; Church of England Pulpit, vol. viii., p. 211.

Mar 16:7

Love’s Triumph over Sin.

I. Notice the loving message with which Christ beckons the wanderer back. If we try to throw ourselves back into the Apostle’s black thoughts, during the interval between his denial and the Resurrection morning, we shall better feel what this love-token from the grave must have been to him. His natural character, as well as his love for his Master, ensured that his lies could not long content him. They were uttered so vehemently because they were uttered in spite of inward resistance. Overpowered by fear, beaten down from all his vain-glorious self-confidence by a woman-servant’s sharp tongue and mocking eye, he lied; and then came the rebound. The same impulsive vehemence which had hurried him into the fault, would swing him back again to quick penitence, when the cock crew, and that Divine face, turning slowly from before the judgment-seat with the sorrow of wounded love upon it, silently said, “Remember.” We can fancy how that bitter weeping, which began so soon, grew more passionate and more bitter when the end came. We can understand how wearily the hours passed on that dreary Saturday. In his sorrow come the tidings that all was not over, that the irrevocable was not irrevocable, that perhaps new days of loyal love might still be granted, in which the doleful failure of the past might be forgotten. Think of this message (1) as a revelation of love that is stronger than death; (2) of a love that is not turned away by our sinful changes; (3) of a love which sends a special message because of special sin; (4) of a love which singles out a sinful man by name.

II. Notice the secret meeting between our Lord and the Apostle. What tender consideration there is in seeing Peter alone, before seeing him in the companionship of the others. And may we not regard this secret interview as representing for us what is needed on our part to make Christ’s forgiving love our own? There must be the personal contact of my soul with the loving heart of Christ, the individual act of my own coming to Him, and as the old Puritans used to say, “my transacting with Him.”

III. Notice the gradual cure of the pardoned Apostle. He was restored to his office, as we read in the supplement to John’s Gospel. In that wonderful conversation, full as it is of allusions to Peter’s fall, Christ asks but one question: “Lovest thou Me?” So the third stage in the triumph of Christ’s love over man’s sin is, when we, beholding that love following towards us, and accepting it by faith respond to it with our own, and are able to say: “Thou knowest that I love Thee.”

A. Maclaren, Sermons preached in Manchester, 2nd series, p. 58.

References: Mar 16:7.-Christian World Pulpit, vol. vi., p. 187; Outline Sermons to Children, p. 151; J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 7th series, p. 315. Mar 16:8.-J. M. Neale, Sermons in Sackville College, vol. i., p. 341.

Mar 16:9

Our Risen Lord’s Love for Penitents.

I. Marvellous was the acceptance of penitence by the Cross; but, if possible, more marvellous yet at the Resurrection. At the Cross the outcast and penitent was equalled to the holy and the pure; at the Resurrection she was even preferred, Holy Scripture does not tell us how or when the Redeemer healed her sorrows, whose very soul the sword had pierced at His Crucifixion: it does say of the penitent, that to her Jesus appeared first. He who had passed by all the angel-hosts, and took not their nature, but ours, the last of His fallen creatures, passed by her through whom He took that nature to comfort her who had most degraded it. His mother, doubtless, He comforted by His Spirit; the penitent He comforts by His very Presence and His words. Oh, wondrous condescension of redeeming love! who rose early in the morning to seek her who, late though she had loved Him, then sought Him early; and as an earnest of His yearning tenderness for penitents first revealed His risen glories to a penitent, made her an apostle to Apostles, a comforter to His brethren.

II. The mercy of the Resurrection was even fuller than the mercy of the Cross which it completed. The mercy at the Cross was acceptance; the mercy at the Resurrection was not acceptance only, but enlarged grace, heavenly visitations, to be known by name to Jesus, called as His own, spoken to in the heart, to have one God with the Man Christ Jesus, one Father with the co-eternal Son. At the Cross Jesus promised that the penitent should be with Him; in the Resurrection Himself cometh, victorious over hell and death and Satan, to be with the penitent. Thou needest not, then, to sit down in weariness and hopelessness, whatever, of early years, thou hast lost, whatever grace thou hast forfeited, though thou hast been in a far country, far away in affections from Him who loved thee; and wasting on His creatures, nay, sacrificing on idol-altars with strange fire, the gifts which God gave thee that thou mightest be precious in His own sight. He who called Magdelene in her calleth thee. Be thy soul to thee as a empty tomb where Christ’s lifeless body was once buried by thy sins, and now is not; be it that thou see nothing but darkness, feel nothing but the chillness and damp of the tomb, catch no ray of light, look again and discover no trace of Him, yet despair not. Mourn His absence, desire His Presence. The very desire is His Presence. He will appear unto thee by some comfort in prayer; by some secret stillness of the soul, or ray of light, though but for an instant; or by some thrill of joy on one steadfast purpose, henceforth to have no other object but to win Christ, to know nothing save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

E. B. Pusey, Sermons for the Church’s Seasons, p. 340.

References: Mar 16:9.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iii., p. 230; G. E. L. Cotton, Sermons in India, p. 125; Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xi., No. 625; vol. xiv., No. 792; Ibid., Evening by Evening, p. 198. Mar 16:9-11.-Homilist, new series, vol. iii., p. 619; H. M. Luckock, Footprints of the Son of Man, p. 386. Mar 16:10.-Spurgeon, My Sermon Notes: Gospels and Acts, p. 86. Mar 16:11-13.-A. B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve, p. 493. Mar 16:12.-T. T. Shore, Church of England Pulpit, vol. ii., p. 221; F. W. Brown, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xiv., p. 408; J. M. Neale, Sermons in Sackville College, vol. ii., p. 9; W. Meller, Village Homilies, p. 168. Mar 16:12, Mar 16:13.-R. C. Trench, Studies in the Gospels, p. 324. Mar 16:14.-Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. ii., p. 219; Homiletic Quarterly, vol. i., p. 197; A. B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve, p. 502.

Mar 16:15

Christ’s Commission to His Apostles.

Introduction.- These words present four objects:-Work, Workmen, a Field for Work, and the Divine Master of the workmen.

I. Work. The work is preaching the Gospel. The power of speech is a wondrous faculty of man, lifting him above all speechless creatures, and placing him near to that God by whose word the heavens were made, and who created all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. Speech is reason’s younger brother, and “a most kingly prerogative of man.” It is a conduit through which a man’s thoughts, and purposes, and feelings, flow out to his fellows. It is a window through which you may see into another’s spirit. It is a key by which you may unlock the door of another’s heart. It is a hammer by which you may break the purposes and the resolutions of others; and a fire by which you may ignite the passions of one man or of many; and by which you may consume the wood, hay, and stubble, of false notions and of erroneous opinions.

II. Look at the Workmen. Eleven are specially addressed. Judas is not here. Where is he? But who are these? They are all the children of Abraham concerning the flesh, and have been brought up under the various religious institutions of the Holy Land. This was, to some extent, education for their work, especially for their work among their own people. They had been taken from the least refined of the provinces of the Holy Land, and from the people whom the southerners despised for their illiterateness and coarseness; from the district, however, in which Jesus Christ had Himself been brought up. This gave them sympathy with the common people, if not influence over them. They were men of ordinary secular occupations; several were fishermen, one was a tax-gatherer. There was not a priest among them, not a scribe, not a ruler. The acceptableness of their work and their success would be entirely independent of riches, or of high rank, or of elevated position, in any respect.

III. Look at the Sphere of their Toil. The dispensations of Divine mercy had for centuries been chiefly, if not entirely, confined to one people and to one land. God’s priests ministered exclusively to the people in this land. God’s prophets spoke almost entirely to the people in this land. But now preachers of a glorious Gospel are to leave this people and this land, and are to go into all the world. They are to begin their work in Jerusalem, and are to heap coals of fire upon the heads of the enemies of their Master, but Jerusalem is not to detain them. They are to labour in Juda, and Samaria, and Galilee; but they may not tarry for life there, they are to go to the uttermost parts of the earth. The world is the sphere of these workmen’s work. The world without the limitations of country, or of climate; the world without the distinctions of barbarism, and civilisation, and bondage, and freedom; the world irrespective of the boundaries of the world’s kingdoms; the world as they saw it, Egypt, and the Isles of the Sea, and Greece, and Rome; the world as Jesus saw it, with America in His eye, although yet undiscovered; as He saw it from north to south, and from east to west.

IV. The Master of the Workmen. He who saith, “Go,” came into the world. He who saith, “Go ye,” Himself came; came not by deputy or proxy, but Himself came. He is the manifestation of the love of God; the Christ who died for the ungodly; the Jesus who was born to save, and whom God hath exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour. He who saith, “Go unto the world to every creature,” is the propitiation for the sins of the world.

S. Martin, Rain upon the Mown Grass.

The Church of the Future.

If the Gospel is to be universal; if, in other words, Christ’s ideas of human nature and human duty, and Divine nature and activity, are to become universal; it is because they have in them an adaptation to every stage and development of humanity, as to manner and customs-from the lowest dawn of intelligence clear through to the time when we shall have scoured the heavens, and shall have understood the liturgy of every star, and when we shall know around and around the horizon everything that is within its bounds.

Consider what the realm of the Gospel is.

I. It is universal, universal in respect to time, universal in respect to place, and universal in respect to conditions. That which constitutes the marrow of the Gospel fits itself to human nature and human want everywhere and always. It declares (1) that all men are imperfect by ignorance, by infirmity, by weakness, and by voluntary wrong; (2) it assumes the universal adaptability of men to increment, to development, or increased knowledge; (3) it declares that God is a being setting Himself forth, in so far as a disclosure is made of His Nature, as the sun is set forth. The sun is to the world the centre of all life. God is the Sun; or, to take away the figurative construction of it, God is the Father.

II. The simplicity of the Gospel is only such in appearance. It has taken hold of the great root-facts of human existence, human nature, and human destiny. It emphasizes them. It does not organise a church. Christ never organised a Church, nor did He ever leave a plan on which the Apostles should organise a Church. Why should He have done so? The moment you bring men together with a common purpose it is a part of their very nature and competency to develop an organisation according to their want. Give to men a sense of their superiority; let them feel the swell of possible manhood; let them come under the consciousness of God’s presence and love; let the same feeling be developed in them that God has toward them-and the social principle will make its own terms and gatherings. So as fast as men need this or that mode of worship they can supply it for themselves. There is no need of supplying it for them. The vast baggage which religion has brought down through the ages has been one of the great hindrances to the spread of the Gospel, and it will be one of the great hindrances to the spread of the Gospel to the end of time. Until you can take away sanctity from churches, from ordinances, from man-made creeds, and from every external observance, you have the Gospel in chains: it is not free; it is in bondage.

H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xx., p. 25.

References: Mar 16:15.-C. Girdlestone, Twenty Sermons, 3rd series, pp. 303, 317; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. vii., p. 285; A. B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve, p. 536. Mar 16:15, Mar 16:16.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. x., No. 573; vol. xv., No. 900; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. iv., p. 225. Mar 16:15-20.-H. M. Luckock, Footprints of the Son of Man, p. 391.

Mar 16:16

We must all tremble when we hear those awful declarations in the Athanasian Creed, respecting the Catholic faith, such as, “Which faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.” And some are offended, and wish these sentences were not there. But if it sounds severe and uncharitable for the Church to speak in this way, then, no doubt, the same must be said of the Church of God in old times; and we shall find just the same difficulty with the Bible itself. The Old Testament, wherein we have the figure or pattern of God’s Church set before us, is full of things quite of the same kind; of things that sound at first to unthinking men in these days as severe and uncharitable. Yet, surely, those ways, which we read of in the Old Testament, are the ways of God, and He is the same yesterday, and today, and for ever;” and all those things were “written for our learning.” Why does God put into our mouths, in His house of prayer, such dreadful words respecting others, our fellow-creatures, perhaps no worse than ourselves?

I. These things might, indeed, appear to us quite irreconcilable with all that we know of God’s lovingkindness, might seem to be great difficulties and stumbling-blocks if taken by themselves; but when they are set by the side of another vast and overwhelming doctrine, which is the very last of all that the heart of man is willing to believe, yet is the great foundation of all revealed truth, then we see that all things wonderfully agree together, and support each other. The doctrine I mean is this, that the wicked shall be cast into hell, and all the people that forget God; that a great part of mankind will have to depart into a place of everlasting fire, notwithstanding all the lovingkindness and infinite mercy of Almighty God to us.

II. Since, therefore, the Holy Scripture is so full throughout of what would sound to men of these days, if it were not there, as so severe, and awful, and uncharitable, it is quite consistent; with this, that the voice of the Church also should speak out in so very fearful and strong a manner, so as to offend weak and carnal men, respecting the Catholic Faith. The Church, like a kind mother, calls aloud to her child when she sees it sporting on the brink of a great precipice. The danger was all there before, but she declares it. Fire will burn, and water will drown, and he who falls over a precipice will be killed, although no one warned him, and, as it were, pulled him back rudely and forcibly from destruction: and so we find that the eternal danger is imminent respecting our not holding rightly the Catholic faith, although the Church of God did not, in mercy, ring it, as it were, aloud in our ears.

Plain Sermons by Contributors to “Tracts for the Times,” vol. x., p. 153.

References: Mar 16:16.-J. Keble, Sermons from Easter to Ascension Day, p. 425; Spurgeon, Evening by Evening, p. 281. Mar 16:17, Mar 16:18.-W. F. Hook, Sermons on the Miracles, vol. ii., p. 281.

Mar 16:18

The Safety and Helpfulness of Faith.

I. Consider the safety which Christ offers. Notice it is a safety, not by the avoidance of deadly things, but by the neutralizing of them through a higher and stronger power. There is no such idle promise as that if a man believes in Christ a wall shall be built around his soul, so that the things out of which souls make sin cannot come to him. The Master knew the world too well for that. His own experience on the hill of His temptation was still fresh in His memory. He knew that life meant exposure, that sin must surely beat at every one of these hearts-nay, that the things, out of which sin is made, temptation, moral trial, must enter into every heart; and so He said, not, “I will lead you through secluded ways, where none but sweet and healthy waters flow;” but, “Where I lead you, there will be the streams of poison. Only if you have the vitality, which comes by faith in Me, your life shall be stronger than the poison’s death; if you drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt you.” One thing we see immediately in such a promise, one condition which belongs to its fulfilment. It is that only in the higher action and mission lay the safety from the lower influence; and, therefore, that the lower influence was to be powerless over the disciples only as they met it incidentally in the direct pursuance of their higher task. Only those temptations which we encounter in the way of duty, in the path of consecration-only those-has our Lord promised us that we shall conquer. He sends us out to live and work for Him. The chances of sin, which we meet while that Divine design of life, the life and work for Him, is clear before us, shall not hurt us. When we forget that design, our arm withers, our immunity is gone.

II. He “shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Safety and helpfulness. He shall be safe, and he shall save others too. These two things go together, not merely in this special promise of the Saviour, but in all life. Safety and helpfulness. So is the whole world bound into a whole, so does the good that comes to any man tend to diffuse itself, and touch the lives of all, that these two things are true. First, that no man can be really safe, really secure that the world shall not harm and poison him, unless there is going out from him a living and life-giving influence to other men. And, second, that no man is really helping other men unless there is true life in his own soul. Both of these seem to me to be great and ever-present truths. “They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” If I read these words spiritually; if I make them a promise and a prophecy of that wonderful power which, in all times in all religious, spiritual life has had to extend itself, like fire, from any one point which it has already occupied, to everything within its reach which is inflammable, which is capable of the same burning life; it seems to me that the way in which the promise is fulfilled to us is by the clothing of the believing life with two qualities, which are expressed by these two words-Testimony and Transmission. (1) Life-giving lives bear testimony by the very fact of their own abundant life. They show the presence, they assert the possibility of vitality. And very often this is what souls, whose spiritual life is weak and low, need to have done for them. (2) Transmission: the highest statement of the culture of a human nature and of the best attainment that is set before it is, that as it grows better it grows more transparent, and more simple-more capable, therefore, of simply and truly transmitting the life and will of God which is behind it. On a life of obedience and faith God shines as the sun shines on a block of crystal, sending its radiance through the willing and transparent mass, and lighting it all into its utmost depths.

Phillips Brooks, Twenty Sermons, p. 333.

Mar 16:19

I. I suppose that our first impressions are to consider the Ascension of our Lord as the very greatest event connected with His appearance on earth. To our own mind, undoubtedly, nothing could be so solemn, so exalting, as the changing this life for another; the putting off mortality and putting on immortality; and all this we connect with the thought of the removal from earth to heaven. And had Christ been as we are, His Ascension would have been spoken of very differently from what it is now; and the account of His Resurrection would have been justly deemed incomplete without it. But to Christ, if I may so speak, His Resurrection was natural, it was His death that was the miracle of His love. Surely, as we need not to be told that Lazarus died again after his resurrection, as we know that it follows, of course, because he was a man and no more; so we need not be told that Christ, after His Resurrection, ascended into heaven. We know that it follows, of course, for the dwelling of the Most High God is not in earth, but in heaven.

II. But we are told that He did ascend: and we are told it chiefly for the sake of two things that are told us with it. The one is contained in the text, “He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God;” the other is in the Acts of the Apostles: “Ye men of Galilee,” said the angel to the Apostles, who were watching Him as He was taken up from them, “why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner, as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” In these two things consists, as it seems to me, the great usefulness of the account of our Lord’s Ascension. He is gone away, to come again in like manner as we saw Him go into heaven. And when shall that coming be? We can only answer in His own words: “Watch, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” No speculation can be vainer than to inquire about the time of that coming, which is known to the Father only. But be the period long or short, our Lord has given us wherewithal to occupy ourselves till He does come: He has furnished us with a means whereby, for ever calling to mind His parting from us, we may look more anxiously for the hour of His return. He has given every man his work, and He has told us continually to break the bread and drink the cup of Christian communion, that we may show forth His death till He come.

T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. iii., p. 54.

Mar 16:19-20

Christ’s Work for Man and with Man.

In one sense the Ascension was the end of Christ’s emptying Himself for us of His glory; the end of His suffering, of His slow waiting while the will of God wrought itself out. The end had come. The great exaltation had succeeded. He had ascended up into the heaven where He was before.

I. But in another and higher sense it was not the end, and it is of great moment that we thoroughly realise this for the strengthening of our hearts in this our time of trouble. His work was not yet finished; rather, we may say, it had reached a grander stage of development than ever before. That sitting of His at the right hand of the Father was not a negative repose. Still the mystery of those words which He gave them-“My Father worketh hitherto”-still these were being fulfilled, although He had ascended up into heaven again, still He was doing, still He is doing, a work for man and with man.

II. A work for man. He sketches it out in many sayings to His disciples, “I go to prepare a place for you;” “In My Father’s house are many mansions.” These mansions in which humanity was not; those mansions in which the blessed spirits were, but to which a child of Adam had never yet mounted, to them He, the second Adam, the Head of the human family, ascended up that He might draw His brethren after Him. On His throne of mighty power He makes intercession, He pleads His death on Calvary. He presents in Himself the whole human family acceptable to the Father, because He is one with Him. “He ever liveth to make intercession for us,” presenting each one of us who thus believes in Him as precious before the throne of His Father.

III. He is working not only for, but with, us. He has but imported into His work all the might of His omnipotence. He is at the right hand of power, and yet He is with us, beside us. As this is true of each separate soul, so is it true in the great world-history. All things have been ordered by Him for the elect’s sake. While man is left free, each one to do as He will-a true free agent, and, therefore, truly responsible-that hand of power is shaping and moulding events. Ordering all things as the tide of time surges under His eye; each soul in that mighty tide moves as he will, yet the whole tide sways at His bidding, and the earth performs His will. While the ascension of our blessed Lord is, in one sense, the end, in another and yet higher sense it is the beginning, the opening of the true kingdom of grace descending upon us with the Holy Ghost. Again, this presence of Christ is ever present to the soul, and is comfort to the afflicted. Thou hast a great temptation; thou hast fallen, but thou hast the Lord beside thee, and thou mayest lay thy burden upon Him, and thy tempted, weary, fainting soul may rest itself upon the Love which is beside thee.

Bishop Wilberforce, Penny Pulpit, new series, No. 542.

References: Mar 16:19.-H. J. Wilmot-Buxton, The Life of Duty, vol. ii., p. 253; J. Keble, Sermons from Ascension Day to Trinity Sunday, p. 104. Mar 16:20.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. i., p. 253.

Fuente: The Sermon Bible

PART V. THE SERVANT HIGHLY EXALTED. RISEN AND ASCENDED; HIS COMMISSION TO HIS SERVANTS AND WORKING WITH THEM

Chapter 16

1. The Resurrection and His Manifestation. (Mar 16:1-13. Mat 28:1-8; Luk 24:1-35; Joh 20:1-18.)

2. The Commission. (Mar 16:9-18. Luk 24:36-49; Joh 20:19-29.)

3. The Ascension. (Mar 16:19-20. Luk 24:50-53)

1. The Resurrection and His Manifestation. Mar 16:1-8

Again we notice the brevity of Marks account of the Resurrection of the Lord. The resurrection of Him who saved and toiled so patiently, who was cast out of His own city and suffered and died on the cross, was the fullest vindication of His person. A still greater vindication lies in the future, when He returns in power and glory. By His resurrection He was declared the Son of God (Rom 1:4). Had He not risen in the same body He had taken on in incarnation, His death on the cross would have no more power for redemption than the death of any other human being (1Co 15:12-20). His resurrection is also the completest proof that His work on the cross is accepted by God. The women last mentioned at the cross are the first at the tomb. In the first eight verses the Lord Himself is not mentioned as being seen. The stone rolled away, the empty tomb and the angels words declare that He is risen indeed. In Mark, Peter is specially mentioned, but go your way, tell His disciples and Peter. Peters denial is described by Mark in the fullest way. How fitting that he should record the divinely sent message to Peter. What comfort and peace it must have brought to sorrowing Peter.

Higher criticism declares that the proper ending of the Gospel of Mark is Mar 16:8. They disputed the genuineness of Mar 16:9-20. Another hand, they claim, added later these verses. That spurious translation, which goes under the name of The Twentieth Century New Testament (wholly unsatisfactory) also gives this portion as a late appendix. It is not. Mark wrote it and some of the best scholars have declared that it is genuine. How foolish to assume that the blessed document, which begins with the sublime statement The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God could end with they were afraid! The trouble with these critics is that they approach the Word of God with doubt and reject its inspiration.

2. The Commission. Mar 16:9-18

To her who came to the tomb very early in the morning He appeared first. Mary Magdalene had been under the control of demons in a most awful way. She is there as a trophy of His Power over Satan; as the mighty victor over Satan He appeared first to her. Knowing Him and His power as well as the risen One, He sends her forth with the glad message. This is fully given in the Gospel of John. The disciples did not believe. Then He appeared to the disciples on the way to Emmaus so fully reported in Luke. Even then they did not believe their testimony. He appeared unto the eleven as they were at meat and at that time He gave them the commission. But before He upbraided them with their unbelief. How it must have humbled them. And such weak, unbelieving, doubting men the perfect Servant sent forth to preach the Gospel to every creature. The commission differs in many ways from that given in the Kingdom Gospel of Matthew. In Mark the Kingdom is not in view, the Servant has served, He has given His life for a ransom and upon that the good news goes forth. The message is to be believed and faith confessed. He that believeth not shall be damned. Signs were to follow them (but not all) that believe and signs did follow. Signs were never universal, not even in the days of the Apostles. The Lords own sovereign will is over this.

3. The Ascension. Mar 16:19-20

The Gospel of Matthew makes no record of the ascension. If we had only Matthew we would think the Lord still on the earth even as some day He will be earths glorious King. The Holy Spirit gives through Mark a brief Word on the Return of the Servant-Son to the Glory from where He had come. The Servant who had stooped so low is lifted so high. There at the right hand of God He has taken His place–the Man in Glory. The work is finished. But the word work appears once more in this Gospel. And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the Word with signs following. Nowhere else in the Gospels is the statement given that the risen One works with His servants. How fitting that the Holy Spirit put it at the close of the Gospel of the Servant. He came from God to take the Servants place; He served on earth; He sacrificed Himself for our sins, and now as His servants go forth to serve in His name He still works with them. What joy it ought to be for all who love and adore Him to be obedient to such a Lord, who was such a Servant on earth and whose delight is still to serve.

Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)

CHAPTER 76

When the Sabbath was Past

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. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 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. 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. 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. 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.

(Mar 16:1-8)

As God on the first day of the week drew the world out of that abhorred estate of nothing, and brought light out of darkness, so did Christ, on that day, draw his people out of an estate worse than nothing, and “brought life and immortality to light by the gospel” (2Ti 1:10). That is how John Trapp began his commentary on the passage before us. It is bursting with rich gospel truths and practical spiritual lessons. Here are seven things set before us in this passage. May God the Holy Spirit write them upon our hearts.

1.The sabbath is past.

That is the first thing we read in this chapter. And when the sabbath was past (Mar 16:1). Without question, this means that the old, Jewish sabbath was past. It was now, Sunday morning, the dawning of the first day of the week. But it was not accidental that our Lord was raised from the dead on this particular day. The resurrection of Christ from the dead declares that the Old Testament law of sabbath keeping is now past and the day of grace has dawned!

Look at Mat 28:1. This is a very remarkable verse of Scripture. In our Authorized Version it reads, In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. A better translation would be, And in the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the sabbath, came Mary. In fact, Youngs Literal Translation reads, And on the eve of the sabbaths, at the dawn, toward the first of the sabbaths, came Mary the Magdalene, and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre. This is what Mat 28:1 means: When the Lord Jesus Christ died at Calvary and rose again, the old sabbath of the law ended and the new sabbath of grace began.

Christ fulfilled the law for us. Christ is the end of the law. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law. In Christ we are dead to the law. Language could not be clearer. We are not under the law, but under grace. One of the most beautiful pictures of this is found right here in Mar 16:1. Here the Holy Spirit tells us that the sabbath is past.

We keep no legal sabbath day, because God strictly forbids it (Col 2:16-17); and we keep no legal Sabbath, because we keep the blessed sabbath of faith. Christ is our Sabbath. We rest in him. You cannot rest in him if you try to keep a legal sabbath; and you cannot labor under the yoke of the law if you rest in him. Either you are working, or you are resting. You simply cannot do both at the same time.

The sabbath is past, because the Lord of the sabbath (Mar 2:28) has rested from his works (Heb 4:10). All who come to Christ keep that rest by faith that was symbolized and typified by the legal sabbath of the law (Mat 11:28-30; Jer 6:16). We rest in him. He is our Sabbath.

And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun (Mar 16:2). The words translated here the first day of the week, as in Matthew 28, would be more accurately translated the first of the sabbath. As the first day of the world was called the first day (Gen 1:5), so the day of our Lords resurrection is here called the first of the sabbath. As that day was the beginning of the creation of God, so this day, when the Sun of Righteousness arose with healing in his wings (Mal 4:2), was the beginning of the new creation of grace, the beginning of glorification, and the beginning of everlasting rest for Gods elect.

2.There is no power in all the world like love to make us bold and courageous.

A mothers love will cause a timid, little woman to fight a huge, armed man in defense of her child. A husbands love will cause him to leap into death itself to protect his wife. Well did the wise man say, Love is strong as deathMany waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.

Yet, God the Holy Spirit here sets before us a love that exceeds the love of a husband for his wife. It even exceeds the love of a mother for her child. Here we see a little band of three women going early in the morning to the tomb of the Lord Jesus to honor him and take care of his dead body.

“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. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun” (Mar 16:1-2).

Try to understand how significant this is. These women came in the early hours of the morning, before the sun was up, to the tomb of a man who had been publicly condemned as a common malefactor, one who had been despised and rejected by the entire nation, and was buried, with his tomb sealed, and his body under the guard of specially appointed soldiers.

What gave these women such courage, such boldness? These dear ladies had tasted the Lords pardoning mercy. Their hearts were filled with love for him who died for them. They felt a great sense of gratitude to him. They felt that they owed him a great debt of love, a debt they could never pay. They believed the Lord; and, believing him, they loved him. For Christ, they were willing to hazard their own lives. They were willing to do so, not because he commanded them to do so, but simply because they loved him. They could not do much; but they must do what they could. So they came to the Lords tomb.

Why do we see so little of this strong love for Christ today? Why is it that we meet with few today who are moved by such strong love for Christ that they are willing to hazard their lives for him? So few who are willing to face any danger, make any sacrifice, and walk into raging storms and roaring fires for Christs sake? There is only one answer. It is that in this day there seems to be a prevailing, terribly low sense of debt and obligation to the Son of God. A low sense of sin will always produce a low sense of grace. A low sense of debt will always produce a low sense of duty. A low sense of forgiveness will always result in a low sense of love (Luk 7:47).

It is the love of Christ which constrains believers to serve and honor him (2Co 5:14). It is the love of Christ experienced in the soul that inspires redeemed sinners to devote themselves to their Savior and to one another. Grace experienced causes gratitude to be exercised. Tasting the love of Christ makes people loyal to Christ. Faith makes men faithful. A sure hope in Christ causes saved sinners to live for the honor of Christ.

3.Most of our fears are needless fears.

As they walked to the tomb on that early Sunday morning, these women were filled with fears concerning things they thought they might face; but all their fears were needless. That which they feared did not come to pass. They expected trouble they never had to face.

“And they said among themselves, who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great” (Mar 16:3-4).

How much like these fearful women we are! Most of our worrying and anxiety arises from things we fear may happen, but never do happen. We tend to anticipate troubles that never come to pass. We all tend to carry tomorrows troubles. But, usually, our doubts, and fears, and unbelief prove to be utterly groundless. Our Lord taught us better (Mat 6:25-34).

How foolish our worrying is! I do not remember ever pacing the floor, worrying about anything that actually came to pass. Let us ever be confident of the Lords presence, provision and protection. Trust his providence. The lions we fear are on Gods chain. The dark giants that terrify us are just shadows of darkness.

Be not dismayed whateer betide.

Beneath His wings of love abide.

Through days of toil when heart doth fail,

When dangers fierce your path assail,

God will take care of you.

All you may need He will provide,

Nothing you need will be denied,

No matter what may be the test,

Lean, weary one, upon His breast,

God will take care of you.

4.The angels of God are our friends.

“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. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted (Mar 16:5-6).

When Mary Magdalene and her friends came into the tomb, they saw an angel in the form of a man, and were frightened by him. But the angel quickly calmed their fears.

This may, at first, seem insignificant. After all, the Lord no longer speaks to men by angels (Heb 1:1-3). Angels no longer appear to men in visible form. But there is a day coming when we will again see them, hoards of them all at once. When Christ comes again to judge the world, he will come with his holy angels. But when we see them, Gods elect will have no reason to fear these majestic, holy beings.

The Scriptures tell us that the angels will gather together Gods elect from the four corners of the earth. The angels will gather the wheat into the barn and bind up the tares for the burning. Those whom the angels take shall be carried up to heaven, to glory, to honor, and to immortality. Those whom the angels leave behind shall be left to shame and everlasting contempt. The angels of God rejoice in heaven when Christ gathers in his sheep, one by one (Luke 15). The angels visit our assemblies to learn about redeeming love and saving grace (Eph 3:10). The angels of God are ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who shall be the heirs of salvation (Heb 1:14). The angels of God are our friends and companions in the kingdom of Christ (Heb 12:22-24).

I am sure we will never know, as long as we live in this mortal state, what great friends the angels of God are to us. But when we rise from our graves, we will see the angels themselves and be embraced by them as friends to our souls. We will spend eternity in the company of those blessed spirits.

5.The justice of God has been manifestly satisfied by the sacrificial, sin-atoning death of the Lord Jesus Christ, our all-glorious Substitute.

Hear the words of this angel to these women, and understand, child of God, that we now have nothing to fear, not even from God himself. “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” (Mar 16:6).

Our Saviors name is Jesus, Jehovah who saves. He is Jesus of Nazareth, a real man, just like you and me. This man, who is himself God, was crucified, slain under the curse of Gods holy law, bearing our sins in his own body on the tree, and suffering all the horrid wrath of God against our sins as our Substitute!

That One who bore our sins in his own body on the tree is now risen from the dead, risen because he accomplished our justification, risen because justice is satisfied and the sin he bore in his own body on the tree he has effectually put away forever by the sacrifice of himself! The stone, rolled against his tomb to seal it by the hand of the law, was rolled away by the hand of God; and the Lord God himself declares to every believing sinner, Fury is not in me (Isa 27:4).

The risen Christ declares that believing sinners have no reason to be afraid of God. On the contrary, by faith in Christ, by the merit of his blood, God himself bids us come to him freely, even boldly, with full assurance of acceptance in and with his dear Son (Heb 10:18-22).

6.The grace of God is immutable.

Look at verse seven. Here is immutable grace, immaculate mercy, infinite, indestructible love. “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.” Tell his disciples who have forsaken him, and Peter who has denied him that he goes before them; and tell them that he will meet them in Galilee, just like he said he would. In a word, tell them that they are all pardoned, that all is forgiven. Because Gods grace is free, because he paid their debt, because he put away their sin, there is no breach between him and them!

This is not the way of men! I think that our views of God and his grace are weakest right here: None of us have any idea how exceedingly willing he is to forgive iniquity, transgression, and sin! At this point, we all think that God is such a one as ourselves. What shameful unbelief! We forget that He delighteth in mercy (Mic 7:18-20). His forgiveness is free, full and forever.

7.He who is God our Savior is faithful and true a God to be trusted!

Read Mar 16:7 again, and you will see this clearly. “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.” Our Saviors name is Faithful and True. What he has promised, he will do. He will go before you, child of God, all the days of your life. He has gone before you into great sorrow, into the tomb, and into heaven! Robert Hawker wrote

The first thing the Lord Jesus had respect to, when he arose from the dead, was to send his Angel to comfort his disciples with the assurance of his love, while he informed them of his resurrection. His almighty power, by which he arose from the dead (Rom 1:4), and his altered state made no alteration in his love. He is still the same Jesus, and the same brother as before. Oh! for grace to have this always in remembrance!

Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible

Mary

(See Scofield “Mat 1:16”)

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

when: Mar 15:42, Mat 28:1-10, Luk 23:54, Luk 23:56, Luk 24:1-12, Joh 19:31, Joh 20:1-10

Mary Magdalene: Mar 15:40, Mar 15:47, Luk 24:10, Joh 19:25

sweet: Mar 14:3, Mar 14:8, 2Ch 16:14, Joh 19:40

Reciprocal: Gen 50:2 – embalmed Son 4:14 – the chief Mat 13:55 – and his Mat 26:12 – General Mat 27:56 – Mary Magdalene Luk 8:2 – certain Act 1:14 – with the

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

LOVE AND FAITH were clearly there, but as yet their faith was dull and unintelligent as to His resurrection. Even the devoted women were full of thoughts as to the embalming of His body, as the opening verses of this chapter show. But this dullness of theirs only enhances the clearness of the proofs that ultimately overwhelmed them with the conviction of His resurrection. At the rising of the sun on the first day of the week they were at the sepulchre only to find that the great stone blocking its entrance had been rolled away. They entered to find no sacred body, but an angel, in appearance like unto a young man.

Matthew and Mark speak of an angel: Luke and John speak of two. This presents no difficulty of course, since angels appear and disappear at will. The angel who appeared as a young man… clothed in a long white garment to the affrighted women had appeared a little before to the keepers as one with a countenance like lightning, and his raiment white as snow, so that a kind of paralysis fell upon them. He was one thing to the world and quite another to disciples. He knew how to discriminate, and that these women were seeking Jesus, though they thought Him to be still in death. Ignorant they were, yet they loved Him; and that made all the difference.

The angelic testimony however did not accomplish much for the moment. It impressed the women right enough, but mainly in the way of fear and trembling and amazement. It did not produce that calm assurance of faith which opens the mouth in testimony to others. They could not yet take up the words, I believed, therefore have I spoken (Psa 116:10; 2Co 4:13). Presently they would share in this spirit of faith, which was possessed by both Paul and the Psalmist, but that would be when they came into touch with the risen Christ for themselves.

Scripture clearly indicates that angels have a ministry to perform on behalf of saints-as witness, Heb 1:14. Their ministry to saints is infrequent, and usually alarming to those who receive it, as was the case here. However their message was very definite. He is not here, was the negative part of it, and that the women could verify for themselves. The positive word was, He is risen. That they could not verify, for the moment, and hence it does not seem to have very deeply impressed them.

There follows, in verses Mar 16:9-14, a brief summary of the three striking appearances of the risen Lord, accounts of which in more detail are given to us in the other Gospels.

First comes that to Mary Magdalene, which is given us so fully in Johns Gospel. She was the first to actually see the Lord in resurrection: Mark puts this fact beyond doubt. This is significant as showing that the Lord thought in the first place of the one whose heart was perhaps more devastated by the loss of Him than any other. In other words, love had the first claim on His attention. In result, she did indeed believe, and therefore she was able to speak in the way of testimony to others. But, even so, her words had no appreciable effect. The others did indeed love the Lord, for they mourned and wept, and the very depth of their grief rendered them proof against any testimony which fell short of an actual sight of Himself.

Second, comes His appearance to the two going into the country, which is given to us in Luke with such detail. These had not denied Him like Peter, but they had so lost heart that they were drifting aimlessly away from Jerusalem, as if wishful now to turn their backs on a place filled for them with broken hopes and a most tragic loss and disappointment. Their sight of the risen Christ reversed their footsteps and brought them back to their brethren with the glad tidings. Even that however did not overcome their unbelieving dejection. It is just as well for us that it was so. Resurrection carries us outside the present order of things, and His resurrection is a fact of such immense import, that it must indeed be established by multiplied evidence of an unimpeachable sort.

Third, His appearance to the eleven. This may possibly not be one of the occasions that are given us in more detail in Luke and John, for it says, as they sat at meat, or, more literally, lay at table. Take the account in Luke for instance-He would hardly have asked, Have ye here any meat? if they had been reclining at a meal. The presence of food would have been too obvious. It may therefore have been an occasion not noticed in the other Gospels. On this occasion He brought home to them their unbelief as a matter of reproach, and yet notwithstanding He gave them a commission.

It is remarkable how the commissions, that are recorded in the four Gospels, differ the one from the other. That which is stated in Act 1:3, would prepare us for this. Many times during the forty days He appeared to them, speaking of things pertaining to the kingdom of God. During this time He evidently presented to them their commission from different points of view, and Mark gives us one of them. We may well wonder that, having had to upbraid them for their unbelief, He should send them forth to preach the Gospel so that others should believe. Yet, after all, the one who through hardness of heart has been stubborn in unbelief is, when thoroughly won himself, a valuable witness to others.

The scope of this Gospel commission is the largest possible. It is all the world, and not merely the little land of Israel. Moreover it is to be preached to every creature, and not to the Jew only. It is, in other words, for everybody everywhere. The blessing that the Gospel conveys is spiritual in nature, for it brings salvation, when faith is present and baptism is submitted to. We must not transpose the words, baptized and saved, and make it, He that believeth and is saved shall be baptized.

In no scripture is baptism connected with justification or reconciliation, but there are other scriptures which connect baptism with salvation. This is because salvation is a word of large content, and includes within its scope the practical deliverance of the believer from the whole world system, whether Jewish or Gentile in character, wherein once he was embedded. His links with that world system are to be cut, and baptism sets forth the cutting of those links-in one word, dissociation. He who believes the Gospel, and accepts the cutting of his links with the world that held him, is a saved man. A man may say he believes, and even do so in reality, yet if he will not submit to the cutting of the old links, he cannot be spoken of as saved. The Lord knows them that are His of course, but that is another matter.

When it is a question of damnation, (or condemnation), baptism is not mentioned. This is very significant. It shows the ground on which condemnation rests. Even if a man is baptized, if he does not believe, he will be condemned. The outward ordinance is plainly prescribed by the Lord, but it can only be administered as faith is professed; and profession, as we know only too well, is not synonymous with possession. Salvation is not effective apart from faith. Peter may tell us that, Baptism doth also now save us (1Pe 3:21), but note that it is us, and the us are believers.

A good deal of controversy has raged around verses Mar 16:17-18. The miraculous things mentioned are connected by some with the preachers of the Gospel, and it is asserted that they ought to be in full manifestation today. Two or three things may be helpfully noted.

In the first place, the things are to follow not them that preach, but them that believe.

In the second place, the Lord asserts that these signs will follow, apart from any previous conditions on the part of the preacher. There is no stipulation that he must experience a special baptism of the Spirit, such as is often urged. If men believe, these signs shall follow; so says the Lord. All that could be deduced from their absence would be that no one has really believed.

In the third place, certain words do not appear in the statement, which some seem mentally to read into it. It does not say, that these signs will follow all that believe, in all places, and for ad time. If it did we should be shut up to the conclusion that hardly anybody today has believed the Gospel: we have not even believed it ourselves!

These words of our Lord have of course been fulfilled. We can point to four things out of the five occurring, as recorded in the Book of Acts. The fifth thing, the drinking without harm of some deadly thing, we have no record of, yet we have not a shadow of doubt that it happened. He said it would, and we believe Him. His word is enough for us. He gives the signs according to His own pleasure, and as He sees they are needed.

The two verses that close our Gospel are exceedingly beautiful. We remember that it has set before us our Lord as the great Prophet, who has brought us the full Word of God, the perfect Servant, who has fully accomplished His will. All has been related with striking brevity, as becomes such a presentation of Himself. And now at the close, with the same brevity, the end of the wonderful story is set before us. The Lord having communicated to His disciples all that He desired, He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

On earth He had been cast out, but He is received up into heaven. His works on earth had been refused, but now He takes His seat in a place which indicates administration and power of an irresistible sort. But it is put that He was received up, and thus what is emphasized is, that both His reception and His session are due to an act of God. The perfect Servant may have been refused here, but by the act of God He takes the place of power, where nothing shall stay His hand carrying out the pleasure of the Lord.

The last verse indicates the direction in which His hand is moving during the present time. He is not as yet dealing with the rebel earth in righteous government: that He will do when the hour strikes for it, according to the purpose of God. Today His interests are centred in the going forth of the Gospel, as He had just indicated. His disciples did go forth, preaching without boundaries or limitations, but the power that gave efficacy to their words and labours was His, and not theirs. From His lofty seat on high He wrought with them, and gave the signs which He promised, as recorded in verses Mar 16:17-18. He gave these signs to confirm the word, and that confirmation was specially needed at the outset of its proclamation.

Though the signs of verses Mar 16:17-18 are but rarely seen today, signs do still follow the preaching, signs in the moral and spiritual realm-characters and lives that are wholly transformed. The perfect Servant at the right hand of God, is working still.

Fuente: F. B. Hole’s Old and New Testaments Commentary

Chapter 24.

The Visit to the Sepulchre

“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. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.”-Mar 16:1-4.

Love in Action.

The greatest thing in the Christian Religion, at any rate on its practical side, is love. Our Lord Himself summed up all the Commandments in the commandment to love God and love one’s neighbour. The Apostle Paul declared that love was the fulfilling of the Law. Now there is, as it seems to me, a theory and a practice of Christian love. When it comes to the theory, it is all set out for us in that matchless, exquisite hymn on love in 1 Cor. xiii. There is no more familiar passage in the whole of sacred writing. We are quite aware of what Christian love is like; it never fails; it hopeth, believeth, endureth all things; it rejoiceth not with iniquity but rejoiceth with the truth; it outlasts prophecy and tongues; it is greater than either faith or hope. That is the theory of Christian love. But where shall we look for illustration of the practice of it? We have all of us sadly to confess we are better at the theory than we are at the practice of love. But if I were asked to give an example of Christian love in action, I should point to these holy women who ministered to Christ in Galilee; who watched Him die upon the Cross; who followed Him to the tomb and beheld where Joseph and Nicodemus laid Him; who very early on the first day of the week came with the spices they had prepared to anoint His dead body.

The Endurance of Love.

Here, for example, is love in its patient endurance. “An angel declareth the Resurrection of Christ to three women”-so the paragraph is summed up in our A.V. But as far as the women themselves are concerned, “Love never faileth,” is the aptest title. “Many waters cannot quench love,” says the writer of the Song of Songs, “neither can the floods drown it.” No! If floods could drown it and many waters could quench it, the love of these women would have been quenched and drowned clean out of existence. For what deep waters of affliction they had been through; and what floods of sorrow had surged up against them! They had seen Christ made a gazing stock. They had seen Him branded as a criminal. They had seen Him die a slave’s death. And they had hoped it was He Who should redeem Israel! They had hoped that it was He Who was to sit on David’s throne! The Cross therefore shattered all their expectations. But amid the wreckage and ruin only one thing remained unshaken and unimpaired, and that was love. Faith had gone, hope had gone, but love endured. “When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices that they might come and anoint Him.” They did all that for a dead Jesus, a Jesus Who by dying had falsified every hope and expectation. “Love never faileth.”

Love in its Lavishness.

And here is love in its lavishness. “Love is kind,” says the Apostle. A commentator suggests that the word indicates the self-abandonment of kindness. Love is always lavish, uncounting in the deeds of kindness which it does. And that characteristic of love I find illustrated in the action of these holy women. You will notice that two out of the three who are mentioned as paying this early visit to the sepulchre are also mentioned in the last verse of the preceding chapter as having beheld where Christ was laid. That is to say, they watched His burial. They were there watching and weeping when Joseph and Nicodemus paid the last tender rites of reverence and affection to His body. And therefore they must have noticed Nicodemus’ lavish offering of spices. He brought, John says, a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds’ weight-enough, says one of the commentators, to cover the whole body and the floor of the tomb. “More,” says another “than was used in the funerals of the richest men.” And yet, though they had seen all that, I read here that “Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices.” “Bought spices!”-although Nicodemus had already lavished a hundred pounds’ weight upon the Lord’s body. It looks a work of supererogation. Judas would have said of the action of these women, what he said of the action of Mary at the Bethany feast, “Whereunto is this waste?” But “Love is kind.” Love is literally “self-abandoned” in its kindness. Love never calculates; love never economises: love never bargains. Love is open-handed, free, generous, lavish. Love never asks what other people have done; love always wants to know how much it can do itself. “What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits towards me?” is its cry. And that was the kind of love these women showed when they bought spices to add to Nicodemus’ bounteous provision.

Love in its Eagerness.

And here also is love in its eagerness. These women seized the first available opportunity of rendering their offices of reverent love to the body of the Lord. They were awake while the rest of the world slept. It was “very early” on the first day of the week, says St Mark, that they set out for the tomb. It was at “early dawn,” says St Luke. It was “yet dark,” says St John. The probability is that the first signs of the approach of the sun lit up the sky as they neared the tomb, but it was dark when they sallied forth. They could not wait for daylight to come, such was their loving haste to reach the grave. The Greeks did well to picture Love as a boy with wings. For that is the characteristic of love: it is swift, speedy, eager. Do you know what it is to have been absent for weeks and to have travelled far from your loved ones? Then you know this also, that when you have set your face homewards, ocean greyhounds and express trains do not travel swift enough for your love. Love is a winged creature-swift, eager, impatient. And so it was with these women. Had they been professional anointers, had it been a mere matter of business with them, they would have waited for business hours, they would have waited till the day had fairly come. But love reckons nothing of hours. Love is always hasting. “How am I straitened,” said the Lord of His work, “till it be accomplished.” And the same pressure and constraint was on these women. “Very early on the first day of the week,” while it was yet dark they were on the way to the tomb. It was the winged eagerness of love.

Love in its Disinterestedness.

Loving Christ for Himself.

And here, too, is love in its disinterestedness. “Love,” says the Apostle once more, “seeketh not its own.” That is a mark of real love, it lavishes itself expecting to get nothing back. There is no such thing as a selfish love. It is a contradiction in terms. You might as well talk of a white black, or a sunny night. Love is the antithesis of selfishness. Selfishness looks in; love looks out. Selfishness thinks only of its own things; love thinks of the things of others. Selfishness asks, “What shall I get?” Love asks, “What can I give?” We talk in our familiar speech of what we call “cupboard love.” And by “cupboard love,” we mean the show of affection where we stand to gain by it. Such a thing is not unknown. People will sometimes pay a great deal of attention to other people by whom they expect to profit. The fuss folk make of rich relations, for example, has passed into a proverb. But “cupboard love” is not love at all. It is selfishness masquerading as love. It is Satan appearing as an angel of light. For this is the mark of genuine love, it is disinterested, unselfish, “it seeketh not its own.” Do you remember our Lord’s advice as to the people to be invited to our feasts? “When thou makest a feast,” said Jesus, “call the poor, the lame, the maimed, the halt, the blind.” There would be genuine love and kindness in such an invitation; it would reveal a really unselfish desire to make the world a happier and brighter place, “for they cannot recompense thee.” And that is the mark of love, it never expects to be paid back. We do not really love Christ until we love Him for Himself. We do not love Him until we love Him not with the thought of gaining aught, or seeking a reward. Supposing there were no heaven to gain or hell to shun, how should we feel to Christ then? Do you remember that little poem of Richard Watson Gilder, called The Song of a Heathen?

“If Jesus Christ is a Man,

And only a Man, I say

That of all mankind I will cleave to Him,

And to Him will I cleave alway.

If Jesus Christ is a God,

And the only God-I swear,

I will follow Him through heaven and hell,

The earth, the sea, and the air.”

Jesus Christ anyhow, anywhere, everywhere, through good report or evil report, whether for loss or gain, Jesus Christ for His own sake, that is the only real, genuine love. Now, the love of these women was exactly of that unselfish and disinterested kind. They brought the spices which they had prepared, to anoint a dead Jesus. They did this kindly service to One from Whom there could be no prospect of a return, not a word of thanks, not even a smile They did it not with the hope of reward, but just because they loved Him, with a pure devoted and unselfish love.

Self-Examination. As to Endurance in Love.

Here, I say, we get the love of that chapter, 1 Cor. xiii., in action. The beautiful theory is here reduced to still more beautiful and glorious practice. And in the light of all this, I have been putting questions to my own soul as to the nature and quality of the love which I profess to have. And as I put them to my own soul so would I also address them now to those who shall read this chapter. (1) First of all, then, as to this matter of endurance. “Love never faileth.” What about my love? What about yours? Has it never failed? Is it burning as strongly and brightly as it did on the day on which its flame was first kindled? “I have this against thee,” was the message of the angel to the Church at Ephesus, “that thou didst leave thy first love.” “Because iniquity shall be multiplied, the love of many shall wax cold,” said our Lord Himself. “The love of many shall wax cold.” That solemn word has been fulfilled in the experience of multitudes of people. The glow and ardour and enthusiasm of their early devotion have died down. “Demas has forsaken me.” “Ye did ran well!” They had lost their first love. Disappointment, delay, hardship, difficulty had weakened it, smothered it, almost entirely destroyed it. But the mark of a real, vital, heart-felt love is this, it holds on. Through delay, difficulty, hardship, temptation, it holds on: through shame and insult and rejection, through the Cross and the Grave it holds on. Our love is often sorely tried, does it hold on? For that is the mark of a genuine love-it never faileth, it hopeth, believeth, endureth all things.

-As to Love’s Lavishness.

(2) And then what about the matter of love’s lavishness? Giving is of the very nature of love, and the giving is always without stint or measure. It scorns the love of nicely-calculated less or more. “Love is kind,” it is self-abandoned in its kindness. Well, what about our love? Our love to Christ, I mean. Is it lavish? Is it without stint? Is it self-abandoned? I do not want to judge harshly or to speak unkindly, but I ask myself sometimes whether there is very much sign of an abandoned love in a fact like this, that we spend more on Christmas cards than all the Churches put together spend on the work of extending the Kingdom of Christ. That is to say, we spend more on wishing our friends the greetings of the season than we do on helping our Lord to see of the travail of His soul. And that is typical of our general attitude. We are free in spending on our own pleasures; we grudge the money we give to Christ. But money is not the only, or even the best, gift we can offer Him. What about our personal service? How much of that have we given Him? You know, when a person loves a man or a cause he never thinks any trouble too great to advance that man’s or that cause’s interest. Think, for example, of the zeal men will show and the labour they will undertake to win success for their candidate and party at election times! Christian folk scarcely show that kind of abandoned zeal, do they? Yet surely the cause of Christ is better worthy of labour and sacrifice than the cause of a party. Have we made sacrifices? Have we been lavish of time and money and labour in the holy cause of Christ?

-As to Love in its Disinterestedness.

(3) And then what of that quality of disinterestedness? Our religion has a good deal to say about rewards and punishment. It is perfectly true that the man who in the enthusiasm of his love leaves all and follows Christ is no loser. The Christian life is not impoverishment, but enrichment. The disciple gets a hundredfold even in this life, and in the world to come life everlasting. And it is perfectly true that the man who turns his back on Christ and lives for self and sin, dooms himself to eternal loss. And yet, we can scarcely call ourselves Christian at all, if we only follow Christ for the sake of avoiding punishment or winning the reward. We are only genuine Christians when we follow Christ for love. Love is never prudent, love is passionate. Love “seeketh not its own.” Here is the root of all genuine discipleship and service, “The love of Christ constraineth me.”

I have been inviting you to look within, to examine your own hearts to see whether this lavish, unfailing, self-sacrificing love dwells within them. The examination is bound to be a humbling one. But it is well to be humbled and ashamed, if it leads us to make this our daily and hourly prayer:

“More love, O Christ to Thee, more love to Thee,

This is the prayer I make on bended knee,

More love, O Christ, to Thee, more love to Thee.”

Fuente: The Gospel According to St. Mark: A Devotional Commentary

The Wanderer’s Return

Mar 16:1-9

INTRODUCTORY WORDS

The question of waxing lukewarm is one which is prominent before the minds of the churches. There are none, so far as we know, who believe it is impossible for a believer to wander away from God. There are many who realize to their sorrow that a large percentage of church members have wandered away. To say that all of these are saved would certainly be wrong. To say that none are saved would be just as erroneous. Christians may, and do wander.

1. To wander from God is possible, but not necessary. The Lord Jesus Christ has made all provision for a victorious and overcoming Christian life. Temptations come to us from three viewpoints. They come from the flesh; they come from the world; they come from the devil.

If we walk in the Spirit we are told that we will not fulfill the works of the flesh. We are also told that with the shield of faith we may quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. So far as the world is concerned, the Book tells us, “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”

In all things we may be more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. It was Charles H. Spurgeon who said something like this: “If Jesus Christ died to save us from the penalty of sin, and then left us as dupes to the power and dominion of sin, then His was a puerile salvation.”

God has told us in just so many words that “Sin shall not have dominion over you.” Let the wanderer therefore cease to condone his wanderings. There are too many who excuse their sins. Some we fear are even proud of their evil ways.

2. Wandering from God is not only possible, but it is probable. It is probable because people are trying to meet the issues of life in their own strength. It is probable because sin still holds a certain sway in the unyielded life. It is probable because the world is fascinating, beautifully draped and decked, and many believers have never left its portals behind them. They are doing what Pharaoh wanted Moses and the Children of Israel to do: to serve him in his land. Or they are doing another thing Pharaoh said: “Go not too far away.”

3. The heart of Jesus Christ toward the deserter. Here is a vital consideration. When a believer wanders from his Lord, does the Lord scratch his name off the Book of Life? Does He cast him off forever? Quite the contrary is true.

In the Book of Ezekiel, the Lord distinctively teaches that He is against the shepherds of Israel because His sheep wandered away from the fold and were scattered upon the face of the earth and none did seek after them.

In the case of Peter, we have a very striking message as to Christ’s attitude toward one who, step by step, left Him and went away. “We trust that as the story of Peter’s restoration is brought out, we will discover first of all the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ toward those who wander; and secondly, the methods of the Lord Jesus Christ in seeking to reclaim the stumbling, fallen brother. We think of Peter sometimes as a “model” deserter. If so, Christ is a model Restorer to those who fall away. There was not one moment from the time that Christ first rebuked Peter when He said, “Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny Me thrice,” until Peter’s restoration was fully adjusted, that the Lord did not yearn after His own.

We must remember that the love of God is an everlasting love. When Jesus Christ first called Peter He said unto him, “Thou art Simon * * thou shalt be [a rock].” The Lord spoke knowing all about the day when Peter would curse and swear. Christ thus took Peter for better, not for worse.

So does the Lord take every one of us. He says, “No man is able to pluck you out of My hand.” Our Lord is able to save unto the “completion” those who come unto God by Him. That completed work of grace may demand much of chastisement, but God will bring His trusting children back again.

I. I HAVE PRAYED FOR THEE (Luk 22:31-32)

Before Peter wandered the Lord said unto him, “Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.”

1. Peter’s defection was foreseen by the Lord. It was for this cause that the Lord forewarned Peter. He let Peter know that Satan had been making request that he might prove him. The Lord has told us the same thing. It is written, “Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”

There is not one of us who is not subject to the winds that blow, to the rains which fall, and to the floods which come. All of us are beset of the enemy of our souls. Paul wrote of Satan these words: “We are not ignorant of his devices.”

2. The Lord; told Peter that He had prayed for him. Here was Peter’s security. Christ prays for us; He ever liveth to make intercession for us. In this statement of our Lord He puts Himself over against the wiles of the devil. He said unto Peter: “Satan hath,” then He said, “I have.” He did not tell Peter what to do. He said that He was doing it. What comfort in these words! Satan is stronger than we. We dare not go forth to meet him in our own strength, but the Lord will meet him for us; we can go forth and meet him in the Name of the Lord.

3. Christ’s objective in His prayer for Peter. Christ did not desire that Satan should not tempt Peter. He did, however, desire two things: (1) That Peter’s faith might not fail. (2) That Peter, when converted, might strengthen his brethren. The Lord saw that Peter’s sifting would prove beneficial. Peter needed just the sifting that God was permitting.

Christ said that Satan would sift him as wheat. When wheat is sifted it is the chaff that is thrown away, not the wheat. This is seen, also, in the fact that the Lord said, “When thou are converted,” that is, “When thou art changed,” or “When thou are sifted and hast turned, strengthen then thy brethren,” How could Peter have strengthened the saints unless he himself had been sifted and purified?

II. THE LORD LOOKED ON PETER (Luk 22:61)

It was just after Peter had cursed and sworn, saying that he knew not the man, that the Lord turned and looked on Peter. What we want to do is to consider the part which that look had in Peter’s restoration.

1. The look considered. Will each of us try to imagine the scene: Peter cursing, the Lord looking. Perhaps, it would be easier for us to paint the face of Peter when he cursed and swore, than to paint the eyes and countenance of Christ as He looked on Peter.

Would you paint Christ’s face with scorn upon His lips, and a frown upon His face? Do you think that the look of the Lord Jesus Christ was the look of condemnation, and criticism? Let us think of it from another viewpoint.

Was the look of the Lord Jesus a look of love? of pathos, mingled with pity? Was the look the expression of Christ’s tender compassion?

2. Peter’s reaction considered. Perhaps, the best way to discover the “look” which Christ gave to Peter, is to discover the response of Peter to that look. Did Peter resent what Christ had done? Certainly, if the Lord had looked upon Peter with reproach and with ironic condemnation Peter was just in the mood to resent it. Yet, Peter went out and wept bitterly. The look must have been one of love, for it is love that breaks the heart. Have we not been taught that we must overcome evil with good? Carping criticism never got us anywhere. Sarcastic looks never lifted a soul up into the light.

The church needs to learn the message of Christ’s look upon Peter. When the sheep has wandered, has slipped and broken its leg, the shepherd will not cuff it; he will tenderly rescue it and bind its wounds. The man on the Jericho road did not need to be criticized; he needed some one to pour in oil and wine, some one to bind up his wounds, some one to place him on a beast, some one to take him to an inn.

III. TELL HIS DISCIPLES AND PETER (Mar 16:7)

1. Peter’s tears. Three sad and bitter days had passed upon Peter’s head. After he had cursed, and the Lord had looked upon him, Christ went forth to Pilate’s judgment hall, on to the whipping post, on to the hill of Calvary.

It was on the Cross that Jesus died. At the foot of that Cross, and about it, there stood many acquaintances, and many friends of our Lord. Among them was John, the beloved disciple; Mary, the mother of Jesus; and Peter.

2. Peter discomforted. Peter, still weeping, crestfallen, heartbroken, stood apart beholding the dying of the Lord. We remember how he said that he was an eye-witness of Christ’s sufferings.

From that Cross Christ spoke to the thief, saying, “To day shalt thou be with Me in paradise.” From that Cross Christ said, John, “thy mother.” “Woman, * * thy son.” However, from that Cross there was not one word for Peter. When the last loud cry had come from the lips of the dying Saviour, and He had yielded up His spirit, Peter turned away without a word of consolation.

Why was this? It was because the Lord knew that Peter must suffer for his unfaithfulness. It is an evil thing, and bitter, when we forsake the Lord, our God, and turn to our own way. Christ, in justice to Peter and Peter’s future, could not too rapidly pass over his sins.

3. Peter’s joy. Three days followed with Peter dwelling in a total eclipse. To him those were days of self-condemnation and of deepest repentance. One of the most remarkable statements of the Bible is that which we now consider, the angel knowing both the heart of Jesus, and the sin of Peter, said, “Go * *, tell His disciples and Peter that He goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see Him.”

Did you ever dash, by train, from the darkness of a tunnel into the blazing light of the noonday sun? So did Peter dash that morning. He had thought himself excommunicated, disowned; he had felt that he had lost his bishopric. Now, with the words “and Peter” before him, new hope touched his spirit. In after years he wrote: We were “begotten * * unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

IV. THE LORD HATH APPEARED TO SIMON (Luk 24:34)

When Peter received the message from his Lord he was indeed rejoiced. In the meanwhile he had rushed out to the tomb, and had gone in, had seen the linen clothes lying, and the napkin folded by itself at the head of the tomb. He, with John, had seen and believed. This, and the word from the angel, brought joy unspeakable and full of glory into the heart of the Apostle. He wanted to be alone, and he went off somewhere to pour out his prayer of confession, his effulgence of joy before God. It was there, when he was isolated and alone that the Lord appeared to him.

1. We have here suggested the all-seeing eye of Christ. The Lord did not make inquiry as to where He might find Peter. He simply appeared where Peter was, appeared unheralded, and unannounced. We take it, therefore, that the Lord, in His omniscience, had followed Peter every step of the way, and had read every thought of the Apostle during the three days of his sorrow.

2. It is significant that the Lord appeared to Simon. Simon was his name “in the flesh.” It was to the Peter who had failed his Lord, to the one who had followed afar, who had warmed himself at the enemies’ fire, cursed and swore, it was even unto him that the Lord appeared.

3. What happened there? The Bible does not tell us. The Lord let the curtain drop over that sacred scene. We can easily imagine Peter’s exultant cry as he saw the Lord standing by his side. We can hear his confession as he acknowledged all that he had done, and made bare unto the Lord the agony of those three fateful days and nights. We can also imagine the words of the Master as He spoke unto Peter His forgiveness, and assured him of His love.

V. LOVEST THOU ME MORE THAN THESE? (Joh 21:15)

The Lord did not need to ask Peter if he loved Him more than he loved his fish. Long since had Peter left his fish and his all to follow his Lord. When the Lord spoke to Peter and said, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me more than these?” He must have meant, “Lovest thou Me more than the other Apostles love Me?”

1. Getting back to the place from whence he had fallen. Peter’s first downward step had been his boastful claim to superiority over the other disciples. Christ had said, “All ye shall be offended because of Me.” Peter had replied, “Though all shall be offended, yet will not I.” He had in this not only boasted of his own prowess, but he had discounted the fidelity of the others. Peter had lifted himself to a pedestal above the other Eleven. Now, after his folly had been fully revealed, and he had learned of his own weakness, the Lord quickly asked him, “Simon, lovest thou Me more than these?” “Art thou better than John, James Thomas, Bartholomew, Thaddaeus, and the rest?”

2. Demanding a public confession. In that sequestered spot where the Lord had appeared to Simon He had, beyond a doubt, forgiven him. Peter now must be restored, not only to his Lord, but to his rightful heritage among those who had followed with him during three blessed years.

We, who have sinned publicly, and in the sight of men, must confess and be restored publicly in the sight of men. Peter’s response to the Lord was simple, and yet most illuminating. He said unto Him, “Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I love Thee.” He did not say, “I love Thee less than the other disciples.” Neither did he say, “I love Thee more than the others.” He just said, “I love Thee.” Jesus had said “more than these.” When we get back to God we are not after superiority over our brethren.

VI. FEED MY LAMBS (Joh 21:15-17 last clauses)

Peter was not only forgiven, and not only restored to his place among the Eleven, but he was given back his work. We have often heard of the story of the bird of the broken pinion, and how it never soared as high again. However, the author of that hymn has recently changed it to read, “he soared as high again.”

To Peter, the one who warmed himself at the enemies’ fire, Christ said, “Feed My lambs.” To Peter, the one who cursed and swore, and had denied his Lord, Jesus said, “Feed My sheep.”

With what power did Peter preach the Word at Pentecost, the man who had denied his Lord before a maid, as he stood, afterward, and faced the leaders of the Sanhedrin, plainly said, “Ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain” the Lord. When Peter and John were threatened by the council, Peter was not slow to say, “We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”

The fearful had become the fearless; the weak had become the strong. The deserter had become the defender of the faith. The expression of our Lord, “Feed My lambs” and “Feed My sheep” placed Peter in the role of a shepherd.

The Lord seemed to be saying to Peter, “Now, that thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” Three times Peter had denied his Lord; three times the Lord had laid upon him the feeding of His lambs and His sheep.

VII. FOLLOW THOU ME (Joh 21:22)

After Peter was restored to the Lord, and to his work, the Lord outlined, in brief, the deeper cause of discipleship that would fall upon him.

1. He spoke of the days of Peter’s youth. He said, “When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest.” In these words there was a suggestion of Peter’s self-asserted and headstrong impetuosity. Peter, however, now had lost that boastful spirit. He had, as it were, taken his own hands off the reins and turned himself over to Christ.

2. He spoke of the days of Peter’s old age. He said, “When thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.” “This spake He signifying by what death he should glorify God.” Profane history tells us that Peter died by crucifixion. This is, at least, in line with what Christ said, “Thou shalt stretch forth thy hands.”

3. He gave the command: “Follow Me.” It was after Christ laid before Peter the cause of his obedience that He said, “Follow Me.” The Lord did not suggest a rosy future, with flowery beds of ease. He plainly told Peter that sorrow, death, and martyrdom awaited him. Then He said unto him, “Follow Me.”

Peter did not say, “I would pity myself, I would spare myself, Lord.” He did, however, turn to John, and then he said to Jesus, “What shall this man do?” The Lord gave Peter a gentle rebuke, “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou Me.”

In the Christian life we must never walk by comparison. We must not do something because some one else does it. Our standard must not be what will John do, or what will anyone do. We must ask, “What does Christ tell me to do?” We thank God that from that day henceforth Peter followed his Lord. We do not assert that he did not make any mistakes. We do assert that he went the full length with Christ.

One of the Bible’s most beautiful pictures is the statement that Christ made to the disciples: “Ye which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Perhaps, even more beautiful than this is a statement that was revealed unto John after Peter had doubtless suffered martyrdom. The statement was, “And the walls of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb,”

Thus, through all eternity, there shall be kept before the gaze of all Heaven, the names of the men who left ail and followed Christ. It might be added that Judas lost his bishopric, but another was chosen by God to take his place.

AN ILLUSTRATION

BILLY SUNDAY’S CONVERSION

The story of “Billy” Sunday’s conversion is told by him as follows, taken from one of his sermons in the “Philadelphia North American”:

One time, twenty-nine years ago, I walked down a street in Chicago in company with some ball-players who were famous in this world, and we went into a saloon. It was Sunday afternoon and we ‘tanked’ up. We walked on down the street to a vacant lot and sat down on the curbing. Across the street a company of men and women were playing on instruments-horns, flutes, and trombones-and the others were singing the gospel hymns that I used to hear my mother sing back in the log cabin in Iowa, and back in the old Methodist church where I used to go to Sunday School. And God painted on the canvas of ray recollection and memory a vivid picture of the scenes of other days and other faces. I sobbed and sobbed, and a young man stepped out and said, ‘We are going down to the Pacific Garden Mission. Won’t you come down with us? I am sure you will enjoy it.’ I arose and said, ‘Good-by, boys,’ and turned my back on them. Some of them laughed and some of them mocked me. * * I went to the mission, liked it, and went again and again. Then one dark and stormy night. I groped my way, out of darkness into the arms of Jesus Christ, and I fell on my knees and cried, ‘God be merciful to me, a sinner!'”

Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water

The word sabbath is singular in number and Thayer defines it, “The seventh day of each week.” It corresponds with our Saturday which also is the seventh and last day of each week.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

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.

[That they might come and anoint him.] “What is that, that is allowed as to the living [on the sabbath day], but as to the dead it is not? It is anointing.”

Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels

LET us observe, in this passage, the power of strong love to Christ. We have a forcible illustration of this in the conduct of Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, which Mark here records. He tells us that they had “bought sweet spices” to anoint our Lord, and that “very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher, at the rising of the sun.”

We may well believe that it required no small courage to do this. To visit the grave in the dim twilight of an eastern day-break, would try most women, under any circumstances. But to visit the grave of one who had been put to death as a common malefactor, and to rise early to show honor to one whom their nation had despised, this was a mighty boldness indeed. Yet these are the kind of acts which show the difference between weak faith and strong faith-between weak feeling and strong feeling towards Christ. These holy women had tasted of our Lord’s pardoning mercies. Their hearts were full of gratitude to Him for light, and hope, and comfort, and peace. They were willing to risk all consequences in testifying their affection to their Savior. So true are the words of Canticles: “Love is strong as death-many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.” (Song of Son 8:6-7.)

Why is it that we see so little of this strong love to Jesus among Christians of the present day? How is it that we so seldom meet with saints who will face any danger, and go through fire and water for Christ’s sake? There is only one answer. It is the weak faith, and the low sense of obligation to Christ, which so widely prevail. A low and feeble sense of sin will always produce a low and feeble sense of the value of salvation. A slight sense of our debt to God will always be attended by a slight sense of what we owe for our redemption. It is the man who feels much forgiven who loves much. “To whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” (Luk 7:47.)

Let us observe, secondly, in this passage, how the difficulties which Christians fear, will sometimes disappear as they approach them. These holy women, as they walked to our Lord’s grave, were full of fears about the stone at the door. “They said among themselves, Who shall roll away the stone from the door of the sepulcher?” But their fears were needless. Their expected trouble was found not to exist. “When they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away.”

What a striking emblem we have in this simple narrative, of the experience of many Christians! How often believers are oppressed and cast down by anticipation of evils, and yet, in the time of need, find the thing they feared removed, and the “stone rolled away.” A large proportion of a saint’s anxieties arise from things which never really happen. We look forward to all the possibilities of the journey towards heaven. We conjure up in our imagination all kind of crosses and obstacles. We mentally carry to-morrow’s troubles, as well as to-day’s. And often, very often, we find at the end, that our doubts and alarms were groundless, and that the thing we dreaded most has never come to pass at all. Let us pray for more practical faith. Let us believe that in the path of duty, we shall never be entirely forsaken. Let us go forward boldly, and we shall often find that the lion in the way is chained, and the seeming hedge of thorns is only a shadow.

Let us observe, thirdly, in this passage, that the friends of Christ have no cause to be afraid of angels. We are told, that when Mary Magdalene and her companion saw an angel sitting in the sepulcher, “they were affrighted.” But they were at once reassured by his words: “Be not affrighted: ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified.”

The lesson at first sight, may seem of little importance. We see no visions of angels in the present day. We do not expect to see them. But the lesson is one which we may find useful at some future time. The day is drawing near when the Lord Jesus shall come again to judge the world, with all the angels round Him. The angels in that day shall gather together His elect from the four winds. The angels shall gather the tares into bundles to burn them. The angels shall gather the wheat of God into His barn. Those whom the angels take they shall carry to glory, honor, and immortality. Those whom they leave behind shall be left to shame and everlasting contempt.

Let us strive so to live, that when we die we may be carried by angels into Abraham’s bosom. Let us endeavor to be known of angels as those who seek Jesus, and love Him in this world, and so are heirs of salvation. Let us give diligence to make our repentance sure, and so to cause joy in the presence of the angels of God. Then, whether we wake or sleep, when the archangel’s voice is heard, we shall have no cause to be afraid. We shall rise from our grave, and see in the angels our friends and fellow-servants, in whose company we shall spend a blessed eternity.

Let us observe, lastly, in this passage, the exceeding kindness of God towards his backsliding servants. The message which the angel conveys is a striking illustration of this truth. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were bid to tell the disciples that “Jesus goeth before them into Galilee,” and that “there they shall see him.” But the message is not directed generally to the eleven apostles. This alone, after their late desertion of their master, would have been a most gracious action. Yet Simon Peter who had denied his Lord three times, is specially mentioned by name. Peter, who had sinned particularly, is singled out and noticed particularly. There were to be no exceptions in the deed of grace. All were to be pardoned. All were to be restored to favor-and Simon Peter as well as the rest.

We may well say when we read words like these, “this is not the manner of man.” On no point perhaps are our views of religion so narrow, low, and contracted, as on the point of God’s exceeding willingness to pardon penitent sinners. We think of Him as such an one as ourselves. We forget that “he delighteth in mercy.” (Mic 7:18.)

Let us leave the passage with a determination to open the door of mercy very wide to sinners, in all our speaking and teaching about religion. Not least, let us leave it with a resolution never to be unforgiving towards our fellow men. If Christ is so ready to forgive us, we ought to be very ready to forgive others.

Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels

Mar 16:1. When the Sabbath was past. After sunset on Saturday.

Bought spices. Luk 22:56 does not necessarily imply that the preparation of spices took place on Friday, before the beginning of the Sabbath. Even if most of the women began the preparations at that time, these three were not thus engaged. The two Maries sat over against the sepulchre late on Friday (Matthew), and Salome had probably rejoined her sister Mary. (See on chap. Mar 15:47.) The resting on the Sabbath is expressly affirmed by Luke.

Anoint him. Nicodemus (Joh 19:39-40) had done this in a necessarily hasty manner. See on Mat 27:59.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

The Lord of life was buried on the Friday, in the evening of that day on which he was crucified, and his holy body rested in the silent grave all the next day, and some part of the day following. Thus arose he again the third day, neither sooner nor later; not sooner, lest the truth of his death should have been questioned, that he did not die at all; and not later, lest the faith of his death should failed.

Accordingly when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene getting the other women together, she and they set out before day to visit the holy sepulchre; and about sun-rising they get to it, intending with their spices and odours farther to embalm their Lord’s body.

Here observe, 1. That although the hearts of these holy women did burn with an ardent zeal and affection to their crucified Lord, yet the commanded duties of the sabbath are not omitted by them; they keep close, and silently spend that holy day in a mixture of grief and hope. A good pattern of sabbath sanctification, and worthy of our Christian imitation.

Observe, 2. These holy women go, but not empty-handed, she that bestowed a costly alabaster box of ointment upon Christ whilst alive, has prepared no less precious odours for Saviour’s corpse. But what need of odours to perfume a body which could not see corruption? True, his holy body did not want them, but the love and affection of his friends could not with-hold them.

Observe, 3. How great a tribute of respect and honour is due and payable to the memory of these holy women, for their great magnanimity and courage; they followed Christ when his cowardly disciples left him, they accompanied him to the cross, they followed his hearse to the grave, when his disciples durst not appear; and now, very early in the morning, they go to visit his sepulchre, fearing neither the darkness of the night, nor the presence of the watchmen.

Learn hence, That courage is the special gift of God; and if he gives it to the feebler sex, even to timorous and fearful women, it is not in the power of men to make them afraid.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Mar 16:1. Mary Magdalene, &c., had bought sweet spices These Galilean women, who had waited on Jesus in his last moments, and attended his body to the sepulchre, observing that his funeral rites were performed in haste, (the body being rolled in nothing but a mixture of myrrh and aloes, brought by Nicodemus, Joh 19:39,) agreed among themselves to come, when the sabbath was passed, and embalm their dead Lord, by anointing and swathing him in a proper manner. Accordingly, as soon as they had seen him laid in the sepulchre, and the entrance into it blocked up by a great stone, they returned to the city, and bought what other spices were necessary for that purpose. And very early in the morning they came unto the sepulchre See note on Mat 28:1. At the rising of the sun It appears, upon comparing the accounts given by the other evangelists, that they set out while it was yet dark, and came within sight of the sepulchre, for the first time, just as it grew light enough to discern that the stone was rolled away. But by the time Mary had called Peter and John, and they had viewed the sepulchre, the sun was rising.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

P A R T E I G H T H.

OUR LORD’S RESURRECTION, APPEARANCES

AND ASCENSION. JUDA AND GALILEE.

TIME, FORTY DAYS. SPRING AD. 30.

CXXXIV.

ANGELS ANNOUNCE THE RESURRECTION TO

CERTAIN WOMEN. PETER AND JOHN

ENTER THE EMPTY TOMB.

(Joseph’s Garden. Sunday, very early.)

aMATT. XXVIII. 1-8; bMARK XVI. 1-8; cLUKE XXIV. 1-8, 12; dJOHN XX. 1-10.

c1 But a1 Now late on the sabbath day, b1 And when the sabbath was past, con the first day of the week, {aas it began to dawn toward the first day of the week,} cat early dawn, dwhile it was yet dark, cometh {acame} dMary Magdalene early aand the other Mary bthe mother of James, and Salome, cunto the tomb, bringing {bbrought} cthe spices which they had prepared. [ Luk 23:56.] ato see the sepulchre. bthat they might come and anoint him. a2 And behold, 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. 3 His appearance was as lightning, and his raiment white as snow: 4 and for fear of him the watchers [the Roman soldiers on guard] did quake, and became as dead men. [The angel sat upon the stone that the Roman guards might make no attempt to reclose the tomb.] b2 And very early on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb when the sun was risen. 3 And they were saying among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the tomb? c2 And they found the stone rolled away from [739] the tomb. b4 and looking up, they see {d [Mary Magdalene] seeth} bthat the stone is rolled back: {dtaken away from the tomb.} for it was exceeding great. c3 And they bentering into the tomb, {centered in,} and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. [John mentions Mary Magdalene alone, though she came with the rest of the women. As she was the one who reported to John and Peter, he describes her actions, and makes no mention of the others.] d2 She runneth therefore, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we know not where they have laid him. [Though Mary came with the other women, she departed at once, while the others tarried, as the sequel shows. The narrative proceeds to tell what happened to the other women after Mary had departed.] c4 And it came to pass, while they were perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel: bthey saw a young man sitting on the right side, arrayed in a white robe; and they were amazed. c5 and as they were affrighted and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, {bhe athe angel} answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye; cBe not amazed: afor I know that ye seek Jesus, bthe Nazarene, who hath been crucified: cWhy seek ye the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but {afor} he is risen, even as he said. cremember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 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. 8 And they remembered his words [For the words referred to, see Mat 17:22, Mat 17:23. The angel continues his speech as follows], aCome, bbehold, the place where they laid him! asee the place where the Lord lay. [Here is a double wonder, that men should put the Son of God in a grave, and that he should consent to be put there.] b7 But {a7 And} go quickly, and tell his disciples, [740] band Peter, aHe is risen from the dead; and lo, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: bas he said unto you. alo, I have told you. [The women were told to hasten, for the disciples were not to endure their sorrow a moment longer than was needful. Peter was mentioned by name that he might know that he was not cast off for his denial. The Lord appeared to some chosen few in Juda, but the large body of his disciples were to see him in Galilee; see Psa 16:10, Isa 53:10, and many other passages set forth the resurrection of our Lord; his own words, too, had plainly foretold it, yet among the disciples it was so much beyond all expectation that the prophecies had no meaning until made clear by the event itself. Yet these are the men whom the Jews accused of inventing the story of a resurrection!]

[FFG 739-742]

Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)

Mark Chapter 16

The last chapter is divided into two parts-a fact that has even given rise to questions as to the authenticity of Mar 16:9-20. The first part of the chapter, Mar 16:1-8, relates the end of the history in connection with the re-establishment of that which has always been before us in this Gospel -the relationship of the Prophet of Israel, and of the kingdom with the people (or at least with the remnant of the chosen people). The disciples, and Peter, whom the Lord individually acknowledges in spite (yea, in grace, because) of his denial of his Master, were to go and meet Him in Galilee, as He said unto them. There the connection was re-established between Jesus in resurrection and the poor of the flock, who waited for Him (they alone being recognised as the people before God). The women say nothing to any others. The testimony of Christ risen was committed only to His disciples, to these despised Galileans. Fear was the means employed by the providence of God to prevent the women speaking of it, as they would naturally have done.

Mar 16:9-20. This is another testimony. The disciples do not appear here as an elect remnant, but in the unbelief natural to man. The message is sent to the whole world. Mary Magdalene, formerly possessed by seven demons-the absolute slave of that dreadful power-is employed to communicate the knowledge of His resurrection to the companions of Jesus. Afterwards Jesus Himself appears to them, and gives them their commission. He tells them to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. It is no longer specifically the gospel of the kingdom. Whosoever throughout the world believed and joined Christ by baptism should be saved: he who believed not should be condemned. It was a question of salvation or condemnation-the believer saved, he who refused the message condemned. Moreover, if any one was convinced of the truth but refused to unite with the disciples confessing the Lord, his case would be so much the worse. Therefore it is said, he who believeth and is baptised. Signs of power should accompany believers, and they should be preserved from that of the enemy.

The first sign should be their dominion over evil spirits, the second, the proof of that grace which went beyond the narrow limits of Israel, addressing itself to all the world. They should speak divers languages.

Besides this, with respect to the power of the enemy, manifested in doing harm, the venom of serpents and poisons should have no effect upon them, and diseases should yield to their authority.

In a word, it should be the overthrowal of the power of the enemy over man, and the proclamation of grace unto all men.

Having thus given them their commission, Jesus ascends to heaven, and sits at the right hand of God-the place from which thus power shall come forth to bless, and from which He will return to put the poor of the flock in possession of the kingdom. Meanwhile, the disciples occupy His place, extending their sphere of service unto the ends of the earth; and the Lord confirms their word by the signs that follow them.

Fuente: John Darby’s Synopsis of the New Testament

CHAPTER 29

THE RESURRECTION

Mar 16:1. And the Sabbath passing away, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, purchased aromatics, in order that, having come, they may embalm Him. The city of Magdala, in the land of Dalmanutha, stands on the northwestern coast of the Galilean Sea, and was immortalized by the nativity and residence of the most heroic and spiritual female disciple of our Lord, cognomened Magdalene, designative of her city. I saw it frequently while sailing over that beautiful sea on the track of my Lord, and visited it once. The other Mary here mentioned, and second in prominence only to Mary Magdalene, was the mother of the Apostle James, surnamed the Less. Salome was the honored mother of James the Greater and John the beloved apostle. The hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes, furnished by Nicodemus at the time of His hurried interment on Friday evening, was only a noble beginning of that rich and royal embalmment with which they proposed to honor the One they all loved as no tongue could tell.

It is pertinent here to observe, that the disciples failed to discriminate between the prophecies appertaining to His two advents, mixing them up heterogeneously, and applied them all to His first coming; therefore we hear them certifying frequently that when Christ comes, He will abide forever (Dan 7:14), which was currently enunciated by the prophets. Consequently when they all see that He is dead, the result is that they give up all hope of His Christhood but still believing that when the Messiah comes, He will abide forever. However, they still believe that He is a prophet, and the greatest of all the prophets who have ever lived upon the earth, having such power as none of His predecessors ever wielded, but unfortunately, venturing too far permitted His enemies to get the advantage of Him, and consequently lost His life in the bloom of youth, at the early age of thirty-three with the Jews, thirty being majority and fifty maturity.

Though now under the awful collapse of blighted hopes and perished aspirations, yet they love Him as no tongue can fell; and feeling assured that He is the greatest prophet God ever sent to Israel, they are determined to compliment Him with the most honorable interment, embalming His body after the Jewish method, and sparing no expenditure in procuring an abundance of the most valuable Oriental antiseptics.

History says all the apostles, and these prominent, holy women so frequently mentioned, were at the house of Rabbi Amos, a friend of Jesus in the metropolis, and were all engaged in silent mourning, alter the Jewish method of mourning for the dead seven days. Naught is heard through the long, dreary night but sighs, groans, and sobs. As deepest grief is silent, their sorrow was too great for utterance. They also spent the ensuing day and night in silent mourning, the inviolable sanctity of the Sabbath being their only guarantee against the cruel arrest, imprisonment, and execution which would, it was apprehended, certainly follow quickly the ensuing week.

Mat 28:2-4. And, behold, there was a great earthquake; for the angel of the Lord, having descended from heaven, coming, rolled away the stone from the door, and sat upon it. And his countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. And from fear, the keepers did quake, and became like corpses. When the great archangel, whose countenance was like lightning, his pinions like rainbows, and his feet like pillars of fire, came sweeping down from heaven, old Earth trembling and quaking, and touched the great stone, secured by the seal of the Roman Empire, it rolled away as if struck with a score of battering-rams; meanwhile those gigantic Roman soldiers, who delighted in the thunder of the battle-field, fell in their tracks on all sides, pale and motionless as dead men. And now, the Conqueror of Mount Calvary, vacating the sepulcher, walked out, as free as a bird of paradise.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

Mar 16:1-8. When the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene came very early in the morning to the sepulchre. See on Luk 8:2. All the circumstances mentioned in these eight verses claim particular notice. The women who came in two companies were five or six in number. Their errand was to do the decencies performed to illustrious persons. Their sole difficulty on the road was the rolling away of the stone. This, to their surprize, they found removed. They knew nothing of the guards watching on the spot, or their fears would have been insuperable. On looking into the sepulchre they saw a young man in a white robe, as worn by the jews at their feasts. They looked, but they saw not the body of Jesus. They heard the consoling words of this stranger, who said that Jesus was risen. He also knew the promise of the Saviour, that after he had risen he would meet the brethren in Galilee, and make them witnesses of his resurrection. He commissioned them to go and tell his disciples, and Peter by name, who was now of all the apostles the most disconsolate. All these are facts, pursuant to the prophecies that went before. They are all realities, and not visions.

Mar 16:12. He appeared in another form unto two of them, as they went into the country. This interesting circumstance is related at large in Luk 24:13-34.

Mar 16:14. He upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. Du Pin, from Jeromes second dialogue with the Pelagians, gives us here another verse, which was found in some copies, and particularly in the Greek. They answered him by saying, this age is the essence of iniquity and incredulity, which obstructs by means of unholy spirits the embracing of true virtue; the age towards which thou discoverest thy righteousness.

Though Jerome mentions this reply, he has not thought proper to introduce it into the Vulgate version.

Mar 16:15. Preach the gospel to every creature. See on Rom 10:15. , to preach, to publish, to proclaim, is derived from , a herald, one who cries aloud. Thus it is in Theodotian, on Dan 3:4. , the herald cried with full voice or strength, as in Rev 5:2. There are moments when preachers should do the same. Why should the heralds of princes cover the heralds of the Lord with silence and shame. How can the people be persuaded that we ourselves believe, unless we sometimes raise our voice, and utter the fulness of our hearts. Never was mission so exclusive and glorious, so majestic and sublime, as that given to Christs servants. Our Lord speaks here with majesty like himself; he speaks according to the prophets, who with one voice had published righteousness to the heathen. Agreeably to this, every man should say to his brother, Know the Lord, till all shall know him from the least to the greatest. Agreeably to this, we are enjoined to train up our children in the nurture and fear of the Lord; for the Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Thus the Lord sent his disciples forth clothed with full power, and according to his promises the Roman world believed. By and bye the fulness of the gentiles shall be brought in; for God in his secret counsel seems to have hitherto sentenced them to the vanity of idols.

Mar 16:16. He that believeth with an honest heart, so as to embrace the Saviour in all the glory of his person and offices, shall be saved. He will then confess him openly by baptism, and bear his reproach. While on the other hand, he that believeth not shall be damned. All the Latin versions have the word, condemned. It is so used in our version, to designate the present state of unregenerate men. They are now condemned, and the execution may soon follow. Rom 5:16. Like Moses to Israel, our Lord here sets life and death before the people. Calvin in his later years wrote his commentary on the new testament in French: on this verse, he says, il signifie que les rebelles en rejettant le salut qui leur est presente, attirent sur eux une plus griefve punition. It signifies, that the rebels who reject the salvation which is presented to them, draw upon themselves a more grievous punishment. Ed. fol. Geneve, 1563.

Mar 16:17. These signs shall follow them that believe. As a tender family in infancy needs the fostering care of the mother, the infant church no less required the special endowments of the Holy Spirit. But the gifts, whether of prophesying, of healing, or of tongues, were restricted to persons specially endowed. Do all speak with tongues? Have all gifts of healing? Are all workers of miracles? 1Co 12:29. Of the existence of such endowments, we find no father of the primitive church that ever doubted. In all their multifarious writings, and in all the various countries where they lived, they speak the same things: and though the age of infancy be gone, we must not limit the Holy One of Israel. In these ages he helps our infirmities, and hears prayer in a most remarkable manner.

Mar 16:18. They shall take up serpents and it shall not hurt them. A few years ago, an aged Moravian minister wrote to his friends, that while in South America he one day on coming home, saw a serpent six feet long on the top of his hut, which, on seeing him, descended, and bit him on the breast, yet no harm followed. Isa 11:8-9.

Mar 16:19. After the Lord had spoken to them he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. The subject of Christs ascension is more fully recorded in Act 1:6-11, where suitable improvements will be found.

Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Mar 16:1-8. The Women Find the Tomb Empty.The true gospel of Mk. ends with the strange discovery made by the women when they visited the tomb early on the first day of the week. This can hardly be the original ending. Indeed the last sentence is not complete. It runs in Gr. ephobounto gar (for they feared), and though sentences ending with the particle gar (=for) are not unknown in Gr., e.g. in Philostratus, yet as the end of a chapter or a book such a sentence is intolerable, and the verb they feared calls for an object, perhaps the Jews. Moreover, this story of the women is clearly intended to lead up to other stories of appearances in Galilee to Peter and the Twelve, which are not narrated (see especially Mar 16:7). Either Mk. never completed his book or its original ending has been lost.

The historicity of this story has been questioned, sometimes on account of the haziness of detail, but more often on account of the difficulty of believing in the miracle of the empty tomb. For an ingenious but not altogether convincing attempt to save the historicity while denying the miracle see Lake, The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, pp. 246f. But the issue cannot satisfactorily be discussed on the interpretation of the story in isolation (see further the Introduction to 1 Corinthians 15).

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

(Mark 16) THE RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION

(Vv. 1-3). FOR THE THIRD time these three devoted women – Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome – come before us. Apparently they had already bought sweet spices to anoint the Lord’s body when the sabbath was past. Unbelief thought to find the Lord’s body in the grave, and ignorance would seek to retain it there. But the Spirit of God delights to take the precious from the vile, and dwell upon their devoted love that led them to purchase the spices and come to the grave at the rising of the sun.

On the way to the grave they say to one another, “Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?” To the reasoning mind of the natural man, there is still a great stone at the grave of Christ. Alienated from God, fallen man finds insuperable difficulty in the truth of resurrection. The Greek philosophers, as indeed the philosophers of today, may profess belief in the immortality of the soul, but they refuse to accept the resurrection of the body. It is pleasing to the mind of man to think that his soul lives on after it has left the body, but if the body is to be raised it is evident that the power of God must be put forth, and the thought of being dependent upon the God that men hate, is repugnant to the mind of man. Leave God out and resurrection is impossible, bring in God, and His power, and all difficulties vanish – the stone is rolled away.

(Vv. 4-7). Coming to the grave these devoted women find that God had been before them, and the stone is rolled away; not indeed that the body of the Lord might leave the grave, but that disciples might enter in and see that the place where He had been laid is empty. No stone, however great, could hold the body of the Lord in the grave.

Entering the grave they are at once confronted with a heavenly messenger to assure their hearts, and calm their fears, as he tells them, “Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified; He is not here; behold the place where they laid Him.” They were seeking Jesus, and this being so, in spite of much ignorance and unbelief, all would be well. What are we seeking? Is Jesus the object of our hearts? As one has said, “It is the consecration of the heart to the Lord that brings light and intelligence to the soul” (J.N.D.). How often our blindness to truth and inability to distinguish between right and wrong can be traced to our lack of the single eye that has Christ as the One Object. We often seek our own will, and exaltation, rather than “seek Jesus” and His glory. The measure in which we “seek Jesus” is the measure in which we get light. We may seek many things that are good in themselves but short of Jesus: we may seek souls, seek service, the good of man, and the welfare of the saints; but, if we “seek Jesus” all else will fall rightly into its place and we shall find light for our path. Seeking Jesus, these women receive light from heaven and are sent on a service for the Lord.

They were to deliver this message to “His disciples and Peter.” It is touching to notice that in the gospel that so fully gives the details of Peter’s grievous fall, we have this special mention of the name of Peter. Had the message been simply to the disciples, Peter might have said, “It cannot include me, I am no longer a disciple. Any such thought is dispelled by the special mention of Peter’s name. The disciples are to learn that though they had all forsaken the Lord and fled, and though Peter had denied Him, yet the Lord’s heart of love is unchanged towards them, and, as in the days of His life here, so now in resurrection, He will “go before” His disciples to lead the way, and they will “see Him,” and all will come to pass “as He said.” May we not say, in a wider sense, that in spite of the ruin of the church in responsibility, the scattering and failure of God’s people, the time is coming when He will gather all His sheep together around Himself, our risen and glorious Lord, and we shall see Him face to face, and every word He has uttered will be fulfilled.

(V. 8). They had seen the empty tomb, they had listened to the angel, but Jesus they had not seen; as we read in the gospel of Luke, “Him they saw not.” Apart from Christ, Himself, the great stone rolled away, the empty sepulchre, the vision of angels, only leave us trembling and amazed.

(Vv. 9-11). Now we learn that already the Lord had appeared to Mary Magdalene out of whom He had cast seven demons. The one who was a witness to the Lord’s power over demons, now becomes a witness to His power over death. She carries the glad news that the Lord is risen to the disciples as they mourned and wept. Alas! though they heard the message, they believed not.

(Vv. 12-13). The brief reference to the Lord’s appearance to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus tells that neither was their witness believed.

(Vv. 14-18). Finally we have the record of the Lord’s appearance to the eleven, as they sat at meat. The Lord upbraids them for their unbelief which is traced to the hardness of their hearts. Cannot much of our unbelief be traced to the hardness of our hearts that, so often are unresponsive to His love and unimpressed by His word?

In spite, however, of this exposure of their hearts, the Lord immediately sends them forth to preach to others. We might think that such unbelief and hardness of heart would be a proof that they were entirely unfitted for the service of preaching to others. But this very exposure of their hearts in the presence of the Lord was a preparation for service. It is when we find out something of the true character of our hearts, and learn our own nothingness, that God can take us up for blessing to others.

They were to go into all the world and present the gospel to every creature. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be condemned.” It would be contrary to the truth to deduce from this passage that baptism has any saving power before God, for the essential truth is believing the gospel. Therefore, it is not said, “He that believeth not, and is not baptized shall be condemned.” As one has said, “Unbelief was the fatal evil above all to be dreaded. Whether a man was baptized or not, if he did not believe, he must be condemned.” Baptism has this importance that it is the open sign before men of the faith before God. The man who professes to believe and yet refuses to be baptized is practically seeking to hide his profession of faith in order that he may keep in with the world. We may well question the reality of that man’s faith. The true believer will confess his faith by separating from the world. Baptism is the sign of death, the great separator. By being baptized the believer leaves the world to come into the Christian sphere on earth amongst God’s people.

The Lord tells His disciples that signs should follow them that believe. In Christ’s name they would cast out demons, speak with tongues, and heal the sick. It is to be noticed that the Lord does not say that these signs would follow an that believe, or that they would continue for all time. It is well to distinguish between the sign-gifts referred to by the Apostle in 1Co 12:29-30, and the nourishment gifts of Eph 4:11. The sign-gifts in Corinthians were given to the early church for a public testimony, to attract the attention of an unbelieving world. The gifts for the nourishment of the body came from the ascended Head. Seeing that the church has entirely broken down in responsibility, the Lord ceases to call attention to a ruined church by outward and miraculous signs. But though the church is shorn of her outward ornaments, the Lord does not cease to love and nourish His body; thus the gifts of Ephesians go on to the end.

(Vv. 19-20). Having given His commission to His disciples, the Lord was received up into heaven to take His place on the right hand of God. His work on earth as the perfect servant is finished. Nevertheless, He works with His disciples, confirming the word they preached with signs following.

Fuente: Smith’s Writings on 24 Books of the Bible

CHAPTER XVI.

1 An angel declareth the resurrection of Christ to three women. 9 Christ himself appeareth to Mary Magdalene: 12 to two going into the country: 14 then to the apostles, 15 whom he sendeth forth to preach the gospel: 19 and ascendeth into heaven.

Ver. 1. And when the Sabbath was past: that is to say, at the beginning of the night before the Lord’s day. “After a sad week comes the radiance of a happy day,” says the Scholiast.

Mary of Jacob (Vulg.), i.e., Mary, the mother of James the Less and Jude, as the Arabic version gives it, and the wife of Cleopas.

And Salome: the wife of Zebedee, and mother of James and John.

That coming they might anoint Jesus. According to the custom of the Jews, says Theophylact; that the body might be preserved sweet. Spices are of a drying nature. They did not realise the dignity of Christ’s Divinity, nor His resurrection. But they loved Him very tenderly, both as a man and a prophet, although now dead.

Ver. 6. Who was crucified: He is risen; He is not here. “The angel is not ashamed of the cross,” says Theophylact, “for in it is the salvation of men.” The Interlinear says, “The cross’s bitter root is gone; the flower of life with its fruits, which lay in death, has arisen in glory.”

Go, tell His disciples. “The women are bid,” says the Interlinear, “to announce it to the apostles, because as by a woman (Eve) death was announced, by a woman it might be told that life had risen again.”

And Peter. “That him whom a woman had made deny, a woman might make confess,” says Druthmar. The Scholiast in S. Jerome adds that “Peter was named especially because he counted himself unworthy of being a disciple, because he had thrice denied his Master.” And S. Gregory (Hom. 21, in Evang.) says, “If the angel had not named Peter, he would not have dared to come among the disciples. He is called, therefore, by name, that he might not despair.”

Ver. 8. For a trembling (of body) and fear (of mind) had seized them. Theophylact says, “, that is, stupor, at the sight of the angel had come on them.” But this astonishment was mingled with intense joy. For they were astounded and were glad at the wonderful things which they heard, even that Jesus their beloved was risen from the dead.

For they were afraid. Not only because of the vision of angels, but also “on account of the Jews,” says Euthymius, “lest they should appear to have themselves stolen away Jesus; lest they should kill them when they heard that they had proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus: as shortly afterwards the Jews placed Mary Magdalene, Martha, and Lazarus in a ship without oars or sail, and sent them to what would have been certain destruction had not God brought them in safety to Marseilles.”

Ver. 9. Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven devils. Mark adds this to show the power of repentance and love. With these was Magdalene the sinner so inflamed, that she deserved first to see Christ risen again, that from her sinners might learn not to despair, but vehemently to love; for so they shall surpass the Holy Innocents in grace and glory. So Bede, “Because where sin abounded, grace hath superabounded.” Bede adds, “A woman was the beginner of transgression. A woman first tasted death, but in Magdalene woman first saw the resurrection, that woman might not bear the perpetual guilt of transgression among men.” See what is said on Luk 8:2.

Ver. 12. He appeared in another shape: Arabic, garment, i.e., of a traveller, as they were going into the country: Arabic, to the village; Gr. into the field, i.e., to a country-house at Emmaus. For, as S. Austin says (Consens. Evang.), “under the name of country not only villages, but towns and boroughs outside the capital, which was the mother city of all, were wont to be called.” These disciples, therefore, were going from Jerusalem into the country, that is, into the neighbouring small town of Emmaus. This place was made a famous city by the Romans, and called Nicopolis, as a monument of their victory in the capture of Jerusalem. This appearance of Christ is the same as that related by S. Luke (Luk 24:13), as is plain from the circumstances, which are the same in both cases. So commentators generally. Euthymius alone thinks they were different, because Mark adds that the Apostles did not believe them when they told them that Christ was risen, whilst Luke intimates the contrary, that they did believe. But the answer is easy, that some believed, but others did not believe.

Ver. 13. Neither did they believe them. This happened by the permission and providence of God. “For this their incredulity was not so much their weakness as it was to become our strength,” says S. Gregory. “For the resurrection itself was made manifest to them by many proofs, when they doubted of it. And when we read and acknowledge these things, what else is it but to be confirmed by their doubting?”

Ver. 14. At length He appeared to the eleven as they were at table. The Vulgate has novissime, last of all: Gr. . This was the last appearance of Christ on the day of the resurrection, for S. Mark only relates those appearances which took place on that day. You may say, But if so, He did not appear to the Eleven, but to the Apostles, for S. Thomas was absent. Wherefore Maldonatus thinks that this appearance was that which took place on the Sunday after the resurrection, when Thomas was present. But I say that they are here called the Eleven, although Thomas was absent, because the college of the Apostles after the treachery of Judas was reduced to eleven. That is why they are here called the Eleven, although Thomas was absent. Thus the Decemvirs were called by that name when gathered together, although one or two might be absent.

They did not believe. S. Jerome (lib. 2, cant. Pelag.) writes that in some Greek codices there is found added after these words as follows: “And they had content, saying, Substance is that world of iniquity which by means of evil spirits suffers not the true power of God to be apprehended: therefore now reveal Thy righteousness.” But the Church has expunged all this, for it savours of the heresy of Manes and Montanus.

Ver. 15. And He said unto them, Go ye into the whole world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He said this not on Easter day, when He appeared to the Eleven as they sat at meat, but afterwards, when He showed Himself to them and others on a mountain of Galilee, as it is in S. Matt. xxviii. 16, &c. Or it may be that He committed this chief and peculiar office of preaching the Gospel to the Apostles more than once.

Go ye into the whole world, that is to say, not into Juda only, as ye have done hitherto, but up and down in all directions throughout the world. For it does not seem probable that a few Apostles should have traversed and converted the whole world, especially because in America, lately discovered, no traces of the faith of Christ have been found.

Every creature, i.e., to all nations, as it is in Mat 28:19.

Ver. 16. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be condemned. This saying of Christ is abused to support their heresies, 1st, by the Lutherans, to prove that faith alone without good works is sufficient to salvation. But I reply that the meaning of Christ, as Euthymius, Theophylact, and others have observed, is, he that believeth, &c., i.e., “he that, believing in Christ and receiving His baptism, has been washed from his sins, imbued with the grace of God, and sanctified, he shall be saved,” understand, “if he die in that state, retaining the grace of God even unto death.” But it is impossible for the baptized to continue in this state of grace if they do not those good works which the law of Christ commands. Also, in the name of faith, or faith and babtism, as the prime requisites, and which, at the beginning of the Church were chiefly to be inculcated upon the Gentiles, all other things consequent upon them must be understood, such as hope, charity, and good works, as I have shown at length in the introduction to S. Paul’s Epistles.

2nd The Anabaptists infer from this saying of Christ that little children must not be baptized, because they cannot believe. But I answer, Christ is here speaking of adults. For only adults are able to believe, and all the preceding words apply to adults only. That little children ought to be baptized is plain from the perpetual tradition and practice of the Church, and from the words in S. John iii. 5, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, unless any one be born of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

S. Augustine adds, and reiterates in various passages, that these words of Christ do refer to infants also in a measure, for as they sinned by the will of Adam, not their own, so likewise they believe by the faith of the Church, in their parents, or those who present them for baptism, not by their own.

3rd The Calvinists gather from these words of Christ that baptism is not necessary for salvation, but that faith only is sufficient, because of it alone, they say, Christ subjoins, But he that believeth not shall be condemned. I reply that under the word believe, i.e., faith, baptism must be understood, which is the sacrament of faith, as well as all the other things which spring from and follow faith, as I have just said. For Mark, studying brevity, left it to the reader to gather from what he had said immediately previous, that these must be understood, or shall not be baptized. For otherwise the antithesis would be imperfect. To complete it we must read as follows, He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not, or is not baptized, shall be condemned, For that baptism is necessary for salvation is plain from the words of Christ in S. John iii. 5, already cited.

Ver. 18. They shall take up serpents. From the places which they infested, and as Euthymius says, “They, shall destroy them, or even take them up in their hands without harm,” as S. Paul did the viper. Therefore the Arabic translates, They shall take up serpents in their hands.

And if they shall drink any deadly thing. They shall drink poison unharmed, as the Apostles and many Saints have done.

They shall lay their hands upon the sick, &c. Observe that these signs were necessary in the Primitive Church for proving and strengthening the faith of Christ. Wherefore at that time almost all believers wrought miracles, at least of certain kinds; as, for example, the expulsion of devils from energumens. This is plain from Justin’s Dialogue against Trypho, Tertullian (Apolog.), Lactantius, and others. Many also at that time received in baptism the gift of tongues. See Act 10:47, &c.

Mystically: S. Bernard (Serm. de Ascens.) says, “The first work of faith which worketh by love is compunction of heart, by which, without doubt, devils are cast out when sins are rooted out of the heart. After that they who believe in Christ speak with new tongues when old things depart but of their mouth, and for the time to come they speak not with the old tongue of our first parents, who declined unto words of wickedness in making excuses for their sins. But when by compunction of the heart, and confession of the mouth, the former sins have been blotted out, in order that men may not backslide, and their latter end be worse than the beginning, it is needful that they take away serpents, that is, extinguish poisonous suggestions, &c. If they shall drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them. This is, when they feel the stings of concupiscence, they shall not consent. They shall lay their hands upon the sick, and they shall recover. This is, they shall cover their evil affections by good works, and by this medicine they shall be healed.”

Ver. 19 He was taken up into heaven. By His divinity communicating to His body the qualities of lightness and fleetness.

“O kingdom of eternal blessedness, where youth never groweth old, where beauty never waneth, nor love groweth cold, where health knows no sickness, where joy never decreaseth, where life hath no end” (S. Augustine, in Solil. c. 39).

END OF VOL. III

Fuente: Cornelius Lapide Commentary

MARK CHAPTER SIXTEEN

THE RESURRECTION ANNOUNCED

Mar 16:1 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. 2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. 3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? 4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 5 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. 6 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.

There is much discussion about what day the Lord was crucified. I did a study long ago on the topic and came to the conclusion that it was on Wed. and that He rose Saturday or Sunday morning very early. The key is that He was raised from the dead, not what day he was killed however some feel that this is a very important issue. There are explanations that make fairly good sense that He was crucified on Friday, though I reject that thought.

It is easily proven that he was indeed in the grave for three days and three nights as was prophesied. It is for this reason that I hold to the Wednesday conclusion rather than the Friday theory. It was said that He would be in the grave three so three would indicate three twenty-four hour periods. This makes the best sense of all the information we are given. More on the topic can be found in my “Mr. D’s Notes on Lots of Other Things.”

The women knew of the stone covering the entrance and were concerned about it as they went to the tomb to add spices to the Lord’s body for burial. This would show that the women had not understood all that the Lord had taught them either. They were taking spices for a corpse and they were going into a grave looking for the same. They had no understanding of the resurrection. If anyone should have known it would have been the apostles, but surely these that were so devoted to him would have known, but they did not.

Upon entering the tomb they are confronted with a young man who was likely an angel. He tells them not to be afraid for he sensed that they feared their situation. He then tells them that the Lord has been raised from the dead and shows them where His body had been prior to the resurrection.

Mat 28:1 tells us that it was dawn on Monday. “Now late on the sabbath day, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.”

Verse two of Matthew tells us for certain that this man was an angel and that he was the cause of the women’s fear. “And behold, 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. 3 His appearance was aslightning, and his raiment white as snow: 4 and for fear of him the watchers did quake, and became as dead men.”

Now this passage mentions another earthquake. It would seem that some of those involved with the Lord’s trial/crucifixion would have wondered at these “natural” occurrences and wondered if they were related to their actions.

This was a supernatural event related to the raising of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. Some might wonder if the Lord rose at the rolling away of the stone or prior to that event. It is possible that the body was in the grave till that point but there is nothing to show that the Lord’s spiritual presence was not up and out of there long before. When we die, our body is separated from our spiritual so there is nothing to indicate that the Lord’s experience was any different than ours.

Whether the body was taken to heaven or whether it was reunited, as ours will be, with His spiritual being we are not told. I suspect that His spiritual was active external from the grave and that His body was glorified as ours will be at the rapture. We go to be with the Lord spiritually while our body goes to the grave, yet it is a seed for our glorified body in some manner. All this seems consistent – Christ’s experience was as ours will be.

Imagine the confusion in their minds. They found their “Messiah” but He was killed. They come to anoint Him and He is gone, raised from the dead. Even if they really grasped what raised from the dead meant, what total confusion. All that He said must have been running through their minds to try to make sense of the whole situation.

The raising of Lazarus should have given them indication of things to come when the Lord spoke to them of things coming toward them in the future. It seems that they missed all of this information or just did not know how to put it all together.

Now if it had been me I would have had to add frustration to the mix. You know, I have my day planned, this twenty minutes is set aside to anoint the guy, and now He isn’t here – where is he how long is it going to take to find Him and what is He going to want me to do, my day is now a total mess. Nothing is going to work out.

I would think, however, that their confusion and shock soon turned to excitement and joy over His being alive even if they had no idea what was going on.

Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson

A. The announcement of Jesus’ resurrection 16:1-8 (cf. Matthew 28:1-8; Luke 24:1-8; John 20:1)

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

The Sabbath ended with sundown Saturday evening. The women did not come to the tomb until Sunday morning (Mar 16:2, cf. Mat 28:1). Why did Mark refer to the Sabbath at all? Probably he did so to clarify that Jesus had been in the tomb for some time.

The women Mark mentioned coming to the tomb were the same ones he said observed Jesus on the cross (Mar 15:40-41). Two of them had already visited Jesus’ tomb late Friday afternoon (Mar 15:47). However there were several other women who accompanied them now (cf. Luk 24:10).

Women Who Visited the Tomb Easter Morning

Mat 28:1	Mark 16:1	Luk 24:10	Joh 20:1
Mary Magdalene	Mary Magdalene	Mary Magdalene	Mary Magdalene
The other Mary =	Mary the mother of James	Mary the mother of James
	Salome
		Joanna
		others

They went to anoint Jesus’ corpse with spices. The Jews did not practice embalming. [Note: Hiebert, p. 408.] These women simply wanted to honor Jesus by making His corpse as pleasant smelling as possible. Perhaps Mary of Bethany’s example had encouraged them to make this sacrifice for Him (cf. Mar 14:3-9). Obviously they did not understand that Jesus would rise from the dead.

"In the final scenes, in Jerusalem, the little people [i.e., the minor characters in Mark’s story] exemplify especially the teaching about being ’servant of all.’ Earlier, Jesus served others. Now in his time of need others serve him: Simon the leper receives him in his house; a woman anoints him with ointment worth a worker’s annual salary; Simon Cyrenean takes up his cross; Joseph takes his body from the cross and buries him; and a group of women go to the tomb to anoint him after his death. These actions are acts of service done for Jesus by people who courageously sacrifice or risk something-money or arrest or reputation-to carry them out. . . .

"Thus, the little ones serve throughout as ’foils’ for the disciples. . . .

". . . the little people actually fulfill the functions expected of disciples. Because the disciples of John had buried John’s corpse, the reader expects the same of Jesus’ disciples. Instead, the little people do what might have been expected of the disciples . . ." [Note: Rhoads and Michie, pp. 132-33.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16:1-18 (Mar 16:1-18)

CHRIST RISEN

“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 anyone 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. And 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 which had seen Him after He was risen. And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned. And these signs shall follow them that believe: in My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they 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.” Mar 16:1-18 (R.V.)

THE Gospels were not written for the curious but for the devout. They are most silent therefore where myth and legend would be most garrulous, and it is instructive to seek, in the story of Jesus, for anything similar to the account of the Buddha’s enlightenment under the Bo tree. We read nothing of the interval in Hades; nothing of the entry of His crowned and immortal body into the presence chamber of God; nothing of the resurrection. Did He awake alone? Was He waited upon by the hierarchy of heaven, who robed Him in raiment unknown to men? We are only told what concerns mankind, the sufficient manifestation of Jesus to His disciples.

And to harmonize the accounts a certain effort is necessary, because they tell of interviews with men and women who had to pass through all the vicissitudes of despair, suspense, rapturous incredulity, [11] and faith. Each of them contributes a portion of the tale.

From St. John we learn that Mary Magdalene came early to the sepulcher, from St. Matthew that others were with her, from St. Mark that these women, dissatisfied with the unskillful ministrations of men (and men whose rank knew nothing of such functions), had brought sweet spices to anoint Him Who was about to claim their adoration; St. John tells how Mary, seeing the empty sepulcher, ran to tell Peter and John of its desecration; the others, that in her absence an angel told the glad tiding to the women; St. Mark, that Mary was the first to whom Jesus Himself appeared. And thenceforth the narrative more easily falls into its place.

This confusion, however perplexing to thoughtless readers, is inevitable in the independent histories of such events, derived from the various parties who delighted to remember, each what had befallen himself.

But even a genuine contradiction would avail nothing to refute the substantial fact. When the generals of Henry the Fourth strove to tell him what passed after he was wounded at Aumale, no two of them agreed in the course of events which gave them victory. Two armies beheld the battle of Waterloo, but who can tell when it began? At ten o’clock, said the Duke of Wellington. At half past eleven, said General Alava, who rode beside him. At twelve according to Napoleon and Drouet; and at one according to Ney.

People who doubt the reality of the resurrection, because the harmony of the narratives is underneath the surface, do not deny these facts. They are part of history. Yet it is certain that the resurrection of Jesus colors the history of the world more powerfully today, than the events which are so much more recent.

If Christ were not risen, how came these despairing men and women by their new hope, their energy, their success among the very men who slew Him? If Christ be not risen, how had the morality of mankind been raised? Was it ever known that a falsehood exercised for ages a quickening and purifying power which no truth can rival?

From the ninth verse to the end of St. Mark’s account it is curiously difficult to decide on the true reading. And it must be said that the note in the Revised Version, however accurate, does not succeed in giving any notion of the strength of the case in favor of the remainder of the Gospel. It tells us that the two oldest manuscripts omit them, but we do not read that in one of these a space is left for the insertion of something, known by the scribe to be wanting there. Nor does it mention the twelve manuscripts of almost equal antiquity in which they are contained, nor the early date at which they were quoted.

The evidence appears to lean toward the belief that they were added in a later edition, or else torn off in an early copy from which some transcribers worked. But unbelief cannot gain anything by converting them into a separate testimony, of the very earliest antiquity, to events related in each of the other Gospels.

And the uncertainty itself will be wholesome if it reminds us that saving faith is not to be reposed in niceties of criticism, but in the living Christ, the power and wisdom of God. Jesus blamed men for thinking that they had eternal life in their inspired Scriptures, and so refusing to come for life to Him, of Whom those Scriptures testified. Has sober criticism ever shaken for one hour that sacred function of Holy Writ?

What then is especially shown us in the closing words of St. Mark?

Readiness to requite even a spark of grace, and to bless with the first tiding of a risen Redeemer the love which sought only to embalm His corpse. Tender care for the fallen and disheartened, in the message sent especially to Peter. Immeasurable condescension, such as rested formerly, a Babe, in a peasant woman’s arms, and announced its Advent to shepherds, now appearing first of all to a woman “out of whom He had cast seven devils.”

A state of mind among the disciples, far indeed from that rapt and hysterical enthusiasm which men have fancied, ready to be whirled away in a vortex of religious propagandism (and to whirl the whole world after it), upon the impulse of dreams, hallucinations, voices mistaken on a misty shore, longings which begot convictions. Jesus Himself, and no second, no messenger from Jesus, inspired the zeal which kindled mankind. The disciples, mourning and weeping, found the glad tidings incredible, while Mary who had seen Him, believed. When two, as they walked, beheld Him in another shape, the rest remained incredulous, announcing indeed that He had actually risen and appeared unto Peter, yet so far from a true conviction that when He actually came to them, they supposed that they beheld a spirit (Luk 24:34; Luk 24:37). Yet He looked in the face those pale discouraged Galileans, and bade them go into all the world, bearing to the whole creation the issues of eternal life and death. And they went forth, and the power and intellect of the world are won. Whatever unbelievers think about individual souls, it is plain that the words of the Nazarene have proved true for communities and nations, He that believeth and is baptized has been saved, He that believeth not has been condemned. The nation and kingdom that has not served Christ has perished.

Nor does any one pretend that the agents in this marvelous movement were insincere. If all this was a dream, it was a strange one surely, and demands to be explained. If it was otherwise, no doubt the finger of God had come unto us.

[11] Can anything surpass that masterstroke of insight and descriptive power, “they still disbelieved for joy” — Luk 24:41.

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary

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