Mark 16:1-8--The Resurrection

Mark 16:1-8
English Standard Version
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The Resurrection
16 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 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.” 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

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As I did with the crucifixion, I want to include some hymns and spiritual songs to go with the passage today to help you reflect on what happened in this passage and lead you to worship.  Some will be "traditional," some will be "modern", and others will be songs that you've probably never heard in church before but are from some of my favorite artists.

​The Sabbath had passed, meaning that it was early on Sunday morning (both for Jews and Gentiles).  Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome (three of the women that were at the cross, watching Jesus's crucifixion and who had been following Him for quite some time) brought the spices to pack around the body to cover up the smell of death and decay.  They got up to do this before the sun had come up on the first day of the week (before dawn on Sunday morning) and quickly went to the tomb.  All the way there, they were asking one another how they would get the stone removed that had been rolled in front of the entrance to the tomb (I don't think they knew anything about the tomb being sealed by Pilate or the Roman guard being posted there--they just knew that Joseph had sealed the entrance before they left on Friday night).

When they got to the tomb, the stone had been rolled away.  The author reminds us that the stone was very large--too large for any man to have moved by himself, but then we are immediately told that they see a "young man" sitting on the right side, dressed in all white.  They didn't know at first, but this was one of the angels that God had sent to roll the stone away and help explain to the woman what they were about to see.  The tomb was empty!  Where was the body? Had someone come and stolen it?  While all the other women are looking at the tomb and the angel, Mary Magdelene turned around in the other direction to weep and she saw Jesus--she was the first that He appeared to.

The other women were given a message, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid Him. 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."  They quickly ran back to tell the disciples what they had seen and been told, and Mary Magdelene tried to tell them that she had actually seen the Risen Lord, but they did not believe her at first.  Peter and John decided to go to the tomb for themselves to investigate--the gospel of John tells us quite a bit about it as it seems they raced each other to see who would get there first.  Eventually, the disciples would listen to the instructions the angel gave, and they would all go back to Galilee where Jesus would meet them once again.  1 Corinthians 15 tells us that He appeared to many hundreds of people and some as individuals and some as groups.  At the time that letter was written, most of the people were alive and could be interviewed (and I'm sure people like Luke did interview them).  All of them knew that Jesus was dead and now He was alive.  It would only be later after Jesus explained it to them and the Holy Spirit was living within them that they come to a fuller understanding of what this meant for them--they too who were dead in their trespasses and sins could be made alive in Christ through the power of His Resurrection.