Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 16:4
And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
4. And when they looked ] But as they drew nearer amidst the glimmering light, the earth quaked beneath their feet (Mat 28:2), and looking up they saw that all cause of anxiety was removed, for the stone was already rolled away. Observe the force of the expression “ when they looked ”. It means when they “ looked up; ” an accurate and graphic detail.
for it was very great ] About this fact there could be no doubt. The stone which had closed the entrance was “ very great,” and even at a distance on looking up to the height, on which the rock-tomb lay, they could see it was not in its place, but had changed its position.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 4. For it was very great] This clause should be read immediately after the third verse, according to D, three copies of the Itala, Syriac, Hier., and Eusebius. “Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? for it was very great. And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away.” They knew that the stone was too heavy for them to roll away; and, unless they got access to the body, they could not apply the aromatics which they had brought to finish the embalming.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And when they looked,…. Towards the sepulchre, as they came near it:
they saw that the stone was rolled away; they perceived it lay at some distance from the door of the sepulchre, which doubtless was very grateful, and matter of rejoicing to them:
for it was very great; these words are to be read, in connection with the preceding verse; for they are not a reason, why when they looked towards the sepulchre, they saw the stone rolled, because it was a very large one, and so easily to be seen at a distance; but a reason why they were so thoughtful and concerned, who should roll it away for them, it being so big, that they could not think that they were able to do it themselves.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Looking up they see ( ). With downcast eyes and heavy hearts (Bruce) they had been walking up the hill. Mark has his frequent vivid dramatic present “behold.” Their problem is solved for the stone lies rolled back before their very eyes. Lu 24:2 has the usual aorist “found.”
For (). Mark explains by the size of the stone this sudden and surprising sight right before their eyes.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And when they looked,” (kai anablepsasai theafousin) “And glancing up,” as they came to or approached the tomb, lifting up, fixing their eyes in startled surprise.
2) “They saw that the stone was rolled away:” (hoti anakekulistai ho lithos) “That the stone already was rolled back,” off of and away from the door entrance to the tomb, as a job done by the angels of the Lord, Mat 28:2.
3) “For it was very great.” (en gar megas sphodra) “Because it was exceedingly great,” considered too large and heavy for women to remove or roll away.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(4) For it was very great.The words have been explained as giving the reason for their previous question, but it seems more natural to see in them St. Marks explanation of his having used the word rolled away instead of saying, simply, taken away or removed.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. For it was very great This clause seems to render a reason for the query of the women, and would, therefore, be naturally appended to the preceding verse.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And looking up they see that the stone is rolled back, for it was very large.’
On reaching the tomb what a surprise they received. The stone had been rolled back. Possibly their first thought was that Mary had found help and had arranged for it to be moved.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mar 16:4. And when they looked, &c. ‘, lifting up their eyes. The reader will observe, that the parenthesis at the end of this verse, is an instance of the same mode of expression as that remarked in the latter part of the note on Ch. Mar 11:13.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
Ver. 4. And when they looked ] Or, as some read it, when they looked up; for till now they may seem either to have gone plodding on with their eyes downward, or else to have looked on one another, as people use to do when they are conferring.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Mar 16:4 . , looking up , as they approached the tomb; suggestive of heavy hearts and downcast eyes, on the way thither. : this clause seems out of place here, and it has been suggested that it should be inserted after in Mar 16:3 , as explaining the women’s solicitude about the removal of the stone. As it stands, the clause explains how the women could see, even at a distance, that the stone had already been removed. It was a sufficiently large object. How the stone was rolled away is not said.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
looked = looked up. Greek. anablepo. App-133.
saw = see (implying attention, surprise, andpleasure). Greek. theoreo. App-133.
was = had been.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Mar 16:4. , for) The particle intimates both the reason why the women were in anxiety [Mar 16:3], and the reason why they perceived that the stone must have been rolled away with an unusually great power.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
they saw: Mat 28:2-4, Luk 24:2, Joh 20:1
Reciprocal: Mat 27:60 – a great Mar 15:46 – and rolled
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
4
Mat 28:2 says the angel rolled the stone away from the sepulchre.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mar 16:4. Looking up. They may have been looking down before, absorbed in their conversation; the tomb was probably above them, cut horizontally in the face of the rock at a slight elevation.
They see that the stone is rolled back. Possibly rolled up, as if it had rested in a hollow at the door of the tomb.
For it was exceeding great. This does not mean that the greatness of the stone was the reason of their anxiety and questioning, although this was doubtless true, but that its size enabled them to notice the position even in the early morning. A vivid touch peculiar to Mark. An angel had removed it (Mat 26:2).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
16:4 And when they {a} looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
(a) When they cast their eyes toward the sepulchre.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Mark apparently included this story to impress the reader with the supernatural element represented by the angel. The women would have said to one another, "Who rolled the stone away? It must have been someone very strong." When they entered the antechamber of the tomb, they would have thought, "Who is this young man (Gr. neaniskos)? He must be very unusual." He appeared as a youth, but his strength and his unusual dress indicated that he was an angel (cf. Mar 9:3). He terrified the women.
"It may be suggested that the purpose of the angel’s presence at the tomb was to be the link between the actual event of the Resurrection and the women. Human eyes were not permitted to see the event of the Resurrection itself. But the angels as the constant witnesses of God’s action saw it. So the angel’s word to the women, ’He is risen’, is, as it were, the mirror in which men were allowed to see the reflection of this eschatological event." [Note: Cranfield, The Gospel . . ., pp. 465-66.]