He rises from death
16
📚 And when the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought sweet-smelling spices, so that they could come and anoint him. 16:1 This was a custom in preparing a body for burial. Evidently these women did not believe Jesus would rise from the dead.⚜
2 📚And very early in the morning on the first day of the week, they arrived at the tomb just as the sun was rising. 3 📚And they said among themselves, “Who will roll the stone away from the door of the tomb for us?”
4 📚And when they looked, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 📚And going into the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a long white robe sitting on the right side, and they were frightened.
6 📚And he said to them, “Do not be afraid. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen. He is not here. See the place where they put him. 7 📚But go your way. Tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he said to you”.
16:7 The Lord Jesus had a special message for Peter who had denied Him. He did not want him to despair or think he was no longer regarded as a disciple. The Lord is sometimes most loving and considerate to those who have sinned the worst.⚜
8 📚And they went out quickly and ran from the tomb, for they were gripped by trembling and amazement. They did not say anything to anyone, because they were afraid.
He appears to His believers and instructs His disciples
9 📚Now after Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he first appeared to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10 📚And she went and told those who had been with him, while they were mourning and weeping. 11 📚And when they heard that he was alive, and had been seen by her, they did not believe it.
16:11 They should have believed in Christ’s resurrection even without this witness. Christ Himself had told them He would rise from the dead (Mark 9:31; Matt 16:21; 17:22-23). But they persisted in their unbelief even after other witnesses spoke to them (v 12,13. See Luke 24:13-32). This is evidence that they were not credulous, superstitious people willing to believe anything without evidence.⚜
12 📚After that he appeared in another form to two of them as they walked along, going out into the countryside. 13 📚And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.
14 📚Afterwards he appeared to the Eleven as they sat at the table, and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
16:14 The “Eleven” were the 12 chief disciples minus Judas Iscariot (Matt 27:5). Observe that these disciples were flesh and blood, as we are, and had their faults and proneness to unbelief, as we all have. And they deserved the Lord’s rebuke, just as we.⚜
15 📚And he said to them, “Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to all creation.
16:15 This gospel is described in 1 Cor 15:1-8. Christ commands His disciples (then and now) to preach it to everyone on earth – Matt 28:18-20; Luke 24:47-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8. Since Jesus died for all, He wants all to hear what He did (2 Cor 5:14-15; 1 Tim 2:6; 1 John 2:2). Every believer must do what lies in his or her power to see that all the world hears the gospel.⚜
16 📚He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned.
16:16 Note on baptism at Matt 3:6. Salvation is by faith (John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47; Acts 16:31; Rom 1:17; 3:22, 25; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-9), plus nothing. Baptism is not essential for salvation, but those who trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour should be baptized and publicly acknowledge their faith. If a person says he believes Christ, and yet refuses to be baptized we have reason to doubt the genuineness of his faith. Notice Jesus does not say “whoever is not baptized” will be condemned, but “whoever does not believe”. Compare John 3:17-18. “Condemned” here must mean condemned to hell.⚜
17 📚And these signs will follow those who believe: They will drive out demons in my name; they will speak with new tongues; 18 📚they will pick up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover”.
16:17-18 This does not mean that every one of these signs will accompany every single believer throughout this whole age of grace. It is a matter of plain fact that many genuine believers have not experienced a single one of these, and this passage speaks of “those who believe”, not of those who have exceptional faith or are more spiritual than other believers. It seems that these verses mean this: These signs would accompany the body of believers as a whole. Or it may mean these signs would be seen in the ministry of the apostles to whom Jesus spoke.
On snakes see Luke 10:19; Acts 28:3-5 (this is not to say that anyone should deliberately pick up serpents to show what faith they have. Compare Matt 4:6-7).
There is no record in the New Testament of anyone being poisoned. This does not mean there were no cases in those days which remained unrecorded.
On healing of the sick see Acts 28:8-9; Jam 5:14-15.
We must understand that these signs were not given that men might show off their power or impress others with their godliness. We should understand also that these signs are in God’s hands, and He may grant them or withhold them any time, any place He chooses. Some of these signs listed here in Mark are not found in the lists of spiritual gifts in Rom 12:6-8 and 1 Cor 12 chapter. See notes in those places.⚜
He ascends to heaven
19 📚So then, after the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was received up into heaven, and sat at the right hand of God.
16:19 Luke 24:50-51; Acts 1:9-11; Ps 110:1. The right hand was the place of honor and authority. Compare Matt 28:18; Phil 2:9.⚜
20 📚And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the Word with the signs following them. Amen.
16:9-20 Some scholars say that these verses were not an original part of Mark’s Gospel but were added later by someone else. It is true that some ancient copies of manuscripts do not contain these verses. However, others do have them, and there is no proof that the original Gospel did not have them. The author of these notes believes that whether Mark wrote these concluding verses, or someone else wrote them, God’s Spirit inspired them and they are to be counted as a part of His Word.⚜
16:20 Verses 17,18; Heb 2:4.⚜