Mark 16
The Resurrection
16:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought aromatic spices so that they might go and anoint him.
The Sabbath was the last day of the Jewish week.
16:2 And very early on the first day of the week, at sunrise, they went to the tomb.
On the first day of the week (Sunday), three women went to anoint the body of Jesus with spices.
16:3 They had been asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?”
The stone weighed over 200 pounds. The three women would not be able to move the heavy stone.
16:4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled back.
Pilate sent 12-16 soldiers to guard the tomb. They placed a Roman seal on the tomb, warning of capital punishment to anyone who broke the seal. An angel came during the night, scared away the soldiers, and removed the stone. The angel did not remove the stone to let Jesus out. He removed the stone so that everyone could observe that Jesus was no longer in the tomb. He was resurrected from the dead. His tomb was empty.
The Sanhedrin bribed the soldiers to make the false claim that the disciples had stolen the body while the soldiers were sleeping. Sleeping on guard duty was the death penalty for soldiers. Also, how could the disciples move the 200 pound rock without waking up the soldiers? How did the solders know that the disciples stole the body if they were asleep? The satanic world system comes up with silly reasons not to believe in the resurrection of Christ.
16:5 Then as they went into the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.
The three women saw an angel. Common angels look like men. They do not have wings. There are female angels recorded in the Bible.
16:6 But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has been raised! He is not here. Look, there is the place where they laid him.
The angel was waiting for the women to arrive. He was preparing a wonderful surprise for three of Jesus’ most loyal followers. He announced the resurrection of Christ to three loyal followers of Christ. Being an angel must be a fun job!
16:7 But go, tell his disciples, even Peter, that he is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you.”
Jesus had already told the disciples to meet Him in Galilee. This was His second request. Peter denied Christ three times, so He was invited specifically by name.
16:8 Then they went out and ran from the tomb, for terror and bewilderment had seized them. And they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
The women ran away, because they were afraid. They remained silent about their observation.
16:9 Early on the first day of the week, after he arose, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had driven out seven demons.
Many Bible scholars claim that Mark 16:9-20 does not exist in most ancient manuscripts. This is a lie. It was found in 618 ancient manuscripts. It was not found in two ancient manuscripts. Satan uses modern theologians to attack the validity of the Scriptures. See the appendix below for more detailed manuscript information on this issue.
Not all of Mark’s gospel is written in chronological order, but he does record the resurrection appearances of Jesus in chronological order. Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene.
16:10 She went out and told those who were with him, while they were mourning and weeping.
Mary Magdalene spread the news of the resurrection to others who were mourning and weeping the death of Jesus.
16:11 And when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.
The hearers did not believe the report of Mary. Mary had once been possessed by seven demons. She was a woman. Mosaic Law required the testimony of two witnesses. The Holy Spirit had not opened their eyes as of yet. Mary was not believed.
16:12 After this he appeared in a different form to two of them while they were on their way to the country.
Luke gives the details of the two men who were walking on the road to Emmaus. Jesus accompanied them without their knowledge.
16:13 They went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.
God now provided two male witnesses, but even the disciples did not believe them.
16:14 Then he appeared to the eleven themselves, while they were eating, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen him resurrected.
The disciples were given more light. They were told by Jesus Himself that He would be resurrected from the dead. Even the disciples could not believe in the resurrection unless the Holy Spirit opened their eyes and ears.
16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
This is the great commission. Notice that Jesus was speaking directly to His eleven disciples. He was not speaking to modern day Christians. This was the personal mission for the eleven disciples who were living in that day. Some of these details were recorded in the Book of Acts.
16:16 The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned.
When one believes, he is baptized with the Holy Spirit immediately at his conversion. Many denominations, cults, and isms falsely teach that one must be water baptized to be saved. The only condition for salvation is grace alone by faith alone in Christ alone. God by his grace changes the heart and the person believes in Christ alone for salvation. It is easy believenism, but tough and rewarding discipleship. Some choose to remain a baby Christian or carnal Christian their entire lives. They do not lose their salvation, but they do lose eternal rewards in their eternal life.
16:17 These signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; 16:18 they will pick up snakes with their hands, and whatever poison they drink will not harm them; they will place their hands on the sick and they will be well.”
These were sign gifts of the early church, but they disappeared after the temple destruction of 70 A.D. If modern charismatics believe that all of the spiritual gifts of the early church are still around, then they need to drink poison and prove it.
16:19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
Jesus ascended into heaven as the Prince. He currently sits at the right hand of the Father, waiting to take over control over all of the earth. Jesus will not return until the Jews cry out, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”
16:20 They went out and proclaimed everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through the accompanying signs.
The Lord allowed the apostles and their legates to proclaim the gospel all over the entire Roman world. The apostles were given the ability to perform sign gifts in order to authenticate that their message was from God.
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Appendix: The Manuscript Evidence of Mark 16:9-20
The liberal attack on the Bible has trickled even into the teachings of many conservative, evangelical Bible scholars. Like their liberal counterparts, many modern scholars believe that Mark 16:9-20 was not part of the original text. They believe that the text was added later by possibly another scribe. Two of the most ancient Greek manuscripts terminate Mark’s gospel with Mark 16:8, even though this ending is lacking in any kind of logical conclusion.
Many Bible scholars claim that Mark 16:9-20 does not exist in most ancient manuscripts. This is a lie. It was found in 618 ancient manuscripts. It was not found in two ancient manuscripts. Satan uses even modern conservative theologians to attack the validity of the Scriptures.
Most modern versions are based on 45 manuscripts out of 5255 manuscripts. These 45 texts are less than 1% of all available manuscripts. This is why liberals can say that this portion of Mark is not part of the Scriptures because they reject 5210 of the 5255 manuscripts. Liberals get away with this kind of “scholarship” because Christians are too lazy to investigate their claims. If a popular teacher says he likes the ESV, then millions will flock to it without even checking the source. This kind of blind following leaves Christians ignorant.
Mark 16:9-20 is found in 620 ancient manuscripts. It is not found in 45 ancient manuscripts. Here is a partial list of where Mark 16:9-20 is found:
Byzantine Text (450-1450 A.D.)
A 02 - Alexandrinus - Fifth century
C 04 - Ephraemi Rescriptus - Fifth century
D 05 - Bezae Cantabrigiensis - Fifth century
K 017 - Ninth century
Q 026 - Fifth century
W 032 - Fourth/fifth century
X 033 - Tenth century
Delta 037 - Ninth century
Theta 038 - Ninth century
PI-041 - Ninth century
28 (Minuscule) - Eleventh century
33 (Minuscule) - Ninth Century
137 - (Minuscule) - Twelfth Century
138 - (Minuscule) - Eleventh Century
565 - (Minuscule) - Ninth century
700 - (Minuscule) Eleventh century
892 - (Minuscule) - Ninth century
1010 - (Minuscule) - Twelfth Century
1110 - (Minuscule) - Eleventh Century
1210 - (Minuscule) - Eleventh Century
1215 -- (Minuscule) - Thirteenth Century
1216 - (Minuscule) - Ninth Century
1217 - (Minuscule) - 1186 A.D.
1221 - (Minuscule) - Eleventh Century
1582 - (Minuscule) - 948 A.D.
Here is a partial list of where Mark 16:9-20 is omitted:
Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus - Fourth century
B 03 - Vaticanus - Fourth century
304 - Minuscule Twelfth century
2386 - (Minuscule) - Eleventh Century
Here is a list of church fathers who quoted or mentioned Mark 16:9-20:
2nd Century - Justin Martyr - Irenaeus - Tertullian
3rd Century - Hippolytus - Vincentius at the Seventh Council of Carthage 258 A.D. - Acta Pilati - Apostolical Constitutions
4th Century - Eusebius - Macarias Magnes - Aphraates - Didymium - The Syriac Acts of the Apostles - Epiphanius - Leontius - Ambrose - Chrysostom - Jerome - Augustine
5th Century - Leo - Nestorius - Cyril of Alexandria - Victor of Antioch - Patricius - Marius Mercator
6th Century - Gregentius - Prosper - John of Thessalonica - Hesychius - Gregentius - Modestus, Bishop of Jerusalem
Here are some early Bible versions which contained Mark 16:9-20:
2nd Century - Old Latin and Peshitta Syriac versions, Tatian’s Diatessaron
3rd Century - Coptic and Sahidic versions
4th Century - Curetonian Syriac and Gothic versions, Syriac table of Canons
5th Century - Armenian version (some copies), Philoxenian Syriac
6th and 7th Centuries - Georgian and Ethiopic versions
In conclusion, Mark 16:9-20 is contained in 99% of the ancient manuscripts, but modern Christians are too lazy to check out the sources. Instead, they follow the leading of their pastors, who keep them in ignorance.