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Annotations & References

Mark 16

16

1And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2And very early on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb when the sun was risen.

3And they were saying among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the tomb?

4and looking up, they see that the stone is rolled back: for it was exceeding great. 5And entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, arrayed in a white robe; and they were amazed. 6And he saith unto them, Be not amazed: ye seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who hath been crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold, the place where they laid him! 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter, He goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. 8And 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.

9Now 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 demons. 10She went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11And they, when they heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, disbelieved.

12And after these things he was manifested in another form unto two of them, as they walked, on their way into the country. 13And they went away and told it unto the rest: neither believed they them. 14And 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 that had seen him after he was risen.

15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. 16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned. 17And these signs shall accompany them that believe: in my name shall they cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; 18they 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.

19So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken unto them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen.

What is Mark 16 about?

Very early on the first day of the week, the women come to the tomb with spices and find the stone rolled away and a young man in white who tells them, "He is risen; he is not here." The risen Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene, to two disciples on the way, and to the eleven, rebuking their unbelief and commissioning them to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He promises that signs will follow those who believe, and is received up into heaven to sit at the right hand of God, while the disciples go forth to preach everywhere with the Lord working through them. So Mark's account closes as it began, with the good news of the Son of God—now crucified, risen, and reigning—carried to the nations, the very message that reached his Roman readers and reaches the world still.