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1–8. Resurrection of Christ. – 9–11. The appearance of the risen Christ to Mary Magdalene and her speech to the disciples with the news of the resurrection of Christ. – 12–13. The appearance of Christ to two disciples and the latter's announcement of the news of the resurrection among the apostles. – 14–18. The appearance of Christ to the twelve apostles and His promises to believers. – 19–20. The Ascension of Christ and a note on the missionary activities of the apostles. Mark 16:1. When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene and Mary of James and Salome bought spices to go and anoint Him. Mark 16:2. And very early, on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb, at sunrise, Mark 16:3. and they say among themselves: Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us? Mark 16:4. And, looking, they see that the stone has been rolled away; and he was very big. Mark 16:5. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in white clothing; and were horrified. Mark 16:6. He says to them: do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, crucified; He has risen, He is not here. This is the place where He was laid. Mark 16:7. But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you. Mark 16:8. And they went out and ran from the tomb; They were seized with trepidation and horror, and they did not say anything to anyone, because they were afraid. In the story of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Evangelist Mark has some features compared to Matthew. He mentions three women who went to anoint the body of Christ, and Matthew mentions two. The names of these three women are the same as those named in Mark 15:40. Only the second Mary is not called the mother of James, but simply the mother of Jacob. One evangelist Mark (and even Luke) says that the women went in order to “anoint the body of Christ with spices,” i.e. with fragrant ointments, which they bought after the Sabbath had passed. Obviously, for their part, they wanted to anoint the body of Christ as much as possible, although they probably knew that Joseph, who buried Christ, had already taken care of this. Then they did not have time to do this, since the Sabbath rest had already arrived. Now they could do this, since by Saturday evening shops were allowed to open, and a new day began. “And very early...at the rising of the sun” (verse 2). It was so early that the sun was just beginning to rise (ἀνατείλαντος – present participle, which clearly denotes a very early time, cf. John 20:1; Luke 24:1). The sky turned a little white (St. Augustine). The same idea is expressed by the Evangelist Matthew in the expression: “at dawn” 17. “Entering into the tomb” (verse 5). The tomb was a fairly large room, where two or three people could enter at once. "Young man..." i.e. Angel (cf. Matthew 28:2). "On the right side". This is not the Angel that the Evangelist Matthew mentions: he sat on a stone rolled away from the tomb and, therefore, outside the tomb. "They were horrified." Obviously, the sight of an Angel in a white robe created terror in the women. Perhaps the evangelist wants to say that they were horrified by the absence of Jesus’ body in the tomb. “And Peter” (verse 7). This mention of Peter is quite natural in the Gospel of Mark, written from the words of the Apostle Peter. Perhaps the Angel really ordered first of all or especially to inform about the resurrection to the disciple most distressed by the death of Christ. “As He spoke to you” (see Mark 14:28). The Lord said this to His disciples, but the women, obviously, were not without hope of seeing Him in Galilee. “Trembling and horror” (verse 8). Evangelist Mark is not talking about a feeling of joy at all; which, according to Matthew, along with fear, the myrrh-bearers experienced at this time. In the same way, Evangelist Mark emphasizes the fact that they did not say anything to anyone because of the fear that had taken hold of them. In this he again differs from Matthew (Matthew 28:8). It seems that the best way to resolve this contradiction in the stories of the two evangelists is by considering that the evangelists have different women in mind: one speaks about those who told, the other about those who remained silent 18 . Mark 16:9. Having risen early on the first day of the week, Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom he cast out seven demons. Mark 16:10. She went and told those who were with Him, weeping and mourning; Mark 16:11. but when they heard that He was alive and that she had seen Him, they did not believe it. See “On the Authenticity of the Conclusion to the Gospel of Mark.” The Evangelist Matthew (and also Luke) does not speak about this appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene. Only the Evangelist John describes it in much greater detail (John 20:11–18). "First". The Evangelist obviously contrasts this phenomenon with the two described further (verses 12 and 14). “From which he expelled” seven, i.e. there are a lot of "demons". Probably, this Mary, for the healing she received, became the most zealous follower of Christ. "To those who were with Him." This means not only the apostles, but also other believers (cf. Acts 1:21). “They didn’t believe it.” It is clear that the apostles were afraid of being misled, since women, from their point of view, were not strong enough witnesses to the truth of the resurrection. It might also seem strange to them why Christ appeared not to them, but to women. On the other hand, the Evangelist Mark makes it clear that unbelief did not remain in the souls of the apostles as something permanent, this is evidenced by the fact that he used an aorist here (ἠπίστησαν), showing that the action denoted by the verb did not have continuation, but was, so to speak, temporary (one-time). Mark 16:12. After this he appeared in a different form to two of them on the road when they were going to the village. Mark 16:13. And they returned and told the others; but they didn’t believe them either. What the Evangelist Mark so briefly reports here, Luke describes in all details, is the appearance of Christ to two disciples on the way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13 et seq.). "In a different form". Christ changed His appearance (ἑτέρα μορφή). “And they didn’t believe them.” Evangelist Mark highlights this new manifestation of the criticism of the apostles in relation to the witnesses of the resurrection of Christ, probably in order to show that if in the end the apostles believed in the resurrection of Christ, then this faith was justified by their own experience, that it did not appear to them as something that came from the outside. But how can we reconcile with this message of the Evangelist Mark the message of Luke, who says that the apostles at that time already believed in the resurrection of Christ (Luke 24:34)? It can be assumed that the apostles found it strange how the Lord could simultaneously appear both in Jerusalem and on the road to Emmaus. They could not understand that the Lord now has a special body, different from the previous one, capable of overcoming the boundaries of space (cf. Luke 24:37). This was the essence of their unbelief in this case... Mark 16:14. Finally, he appeared to the eleven themselves, who were reclining at the supper, and reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who saw Him risen. Mark 16:15. And he said to them: Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16:16. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; and whoever does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:17. These signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; Mark 16:18. they will take snakes; and if they drink anything deadly, it will not harm them; They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. “Finally” (verse 14) – more correctly: “later” (ὕστερον). This phenomenon, which occurred during the disciples’ meal, was, of course, not the last. But since the Evangelist Mark wants to finish his Gospel here, he dates the following words of Christ, which He spoke just before His separation from the disciples on the Mount of Olives, to the time of this appearance. Luke (Luke 24:36–49) and John (John 20:19–23) speak about the same phenomenon. “I reproached them for their lack of faith,” i.e. because they did not believe the news of His resurrection communicated to them by the women and the two disciples. Now, of course, the apostles are already believers in the risen Christ. “Go ye into all the world... all creation” (verse 15). The first word with which Christ addresses the apostles here destroys the restrictions that He previously (Matthew 10:5) expressed regarding the missionary activity of the apostles. From now on, after the completion of redemption, the entire human race (creation) is called to enter the Kingdom of Christ (there is no talk of a “foolish creature” here, as the verb “preach” used here shows: a foolish creature cannot be “preached”). “Whoever believes...” (verse 16). Secondly, Christ spoke to the apostles about the conditions of salvation for those who would listen to their preaching. Those who wish to be saved at the final judgment (cf. Mark 8:35, 10:26, 13:13–20) must accept with faith the Gospel offered to them and be baptized as a sign of their faith in Christ. On the contrary, whoever does not believe and, therefore, does not accept baptism, will incur condemnation from the Supreme Judge and perish. Thus, the main task of the apostles will be to preach to people and instill in them faith in Christ. It is not directly stated that they should baptize at the same time, but this should be implied here. After all, they had already performed baptism before (John 4:2). “These signs will follow those who believe...” (verse 17). The apostles, from their own experience, must have known that believing in the risen Christ is not an easy matter: they twice revealed their disbelief in this fact. Therefore, the Lord promises, thirdly, to send special miraculous signs to believers that will strengthen them in their faith. These miracles will be performed by both the apostles and ordinary believers. The latter, seeing how their preachers work miracles, will be convinced of the truth of their message by God. “In My Name”, i.e. By my strength (cf. Mark 9:38, etc.). “With new tongues” (cf. Acts 10:46, 19:6; 1 Cor. 12:10), i.e. languages ​​they did not know before. “Take up serpents” (verse 18). For an example of this, see Acts 28:3–6 and the story of Moses (Exodus 4:2–4). “They will drink a deadly thing...” According to some legends, in Ephesus, according to others, in Rome, the Apostle John the Theologian was forced by the persecutors of Christianity to drink a cup of poison, which did not harm his health at all... “They will lay hands on the sick” (cf. Acts 28:8ff; Heb.6:2; 1 Cor.12:9; James 5:14). Mark 16:19. And so the Lord, after talking with them, ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. Mark 16:20. And they went and preached everywhere, with the Lord’s assistance and strengthening the word with subsequent signs. Amen. “After talking with them...” Not immediately after the conversation at the table (verse 14), but 40 days after His resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven (see Acts 1:2-11) and sat down at the right hand of God, i.e. and upon His ascension he received power equal to the power of God the Father. But through this He became a source of miraculous powers for His apostles, who went, according to the command of Christ, to preach the Gospel throughout the world, performing miraculous signs where necessary (cf. 1 Cor. 1:6, 2:4). At the beginning of April, the sun in Jerusalem rises at 6 o'clock (Lagrange). Gaudet makes the assumption that the message of Mark (verse 8) and the message of Luke (Luke 24:9) refer to different moments in time: the first - to the very first moment after the return of the myrrh-bearers, and the second - to the time when Mary Magdalene appeared to the apostles. You might be interested in: