This post accompanies my video reading of Mark 16 on the Circular Grace YouTube channel.
The Tomb is Empty!
My personal reflection is going to focus on the testimony of the empty tomb. It should come as little surprise that this testimony comes under significant secular attack. To fully and truly believe in Jesus, we have to believe that His body was resurrected. To believe anything else is to believe that Jesus was merely a man and not God. Those who deny that Jesus is fully God and fully man do not possess a saving faith in Jesus Christ. For absolute clarity on this we can look to Romans 10:9 (NIV)
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
It's fairly clear why the evil deceiver would spin a web of lies around the Gospel accounts to try and discredit them. From the very beginning his evil scheme was to temp God's creatures to question God's truth and we know that he succeeded and man fell into sin. Do you remember the words he used when tempting Eve not to believe God's command to not eat of the tree because she would die? (Genesis 3:4 (NIV)
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.
I find it interesting that in the beginning it was a woman who was first tempted not to believe and she went on to tempt Adam to sin. Here in the Gospel we see the woman proclaiming Gods truth to the men and they do not initially trust the testimony of the women. The men only believe when God reveals the truth to them personally.
Isn't that true for each of us? We don't believe because we are told or when something is explained to us in a convincing way. We believe when God reveals the truth to us personally. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
On some level the confusion that exists in the heart of those who don't believe is understandable. God hasn't revealed the truth to them and so they are blinkered, in the dark and susceptible to evil deception. People who touched Jesus, walked with Him and witnessed His almighty miracles still chose not to believe. They turned away from the truth before their own eyes. They seeing only darkness and tempted by the lusts associated with their sinful lives.
It's not surprising therefore that there are people who cling to imagined discrepancies in the Gospel accounts. This has been the case when some secular readers look at the four Gospel accounts. Each a different witness to the empty tomb and the encounters with angels who relay a message about the Risen Jesus.
In keeping with the general clipped style of narrative, Mark provides us with a summary telling of the resurrection story in his Gospel. We get the key facts that deliver a full Gospel message but we don't always get rich description and context from John Mark. This is the case with what happens at the tomb. We are simply told about a young man who speaks to the women.
5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
We know from scripture that we may encounter angels without realising because they appear in human forms. Hebrews 13:2 (NIV)
2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
There is clearly something remarkable however about this young man clothed in a white robe because he has evoked the fear of God in the women. On this occasion, the angel is not hiding his identity, his power and proximity to God is felt on an emotional level. The angel reassured the woman and delivers a tender message of hope and joy for all mankind. Mark 16:6 (KJV)
6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
In this short clipped verse we are given the testimony of the empty tomb. All four Gospels share the same story. Jesus was crucified, Jesus died, He was placed in a tomb and the tomb was found empty. A messenger from God declares He has risen. All four Gospel's testify to the presence of angels communicating with the women at the tomb. Each Gospel tells the same story but with varying levels of detail and description.
As believers the truth of scripture is revealed to us by God. In the same way as our faith is God given. We are called to have faith in the Word of God and our only access to His Word is Holy scripture. Therefore as tempting as it may be to question differing accounts of the same story it is more faithful to understand that each Gospel provides a truthful account from a different perspective.
The fact is, the tomb was empty because Jesus was resurrected by God. It was understandably an incredibly emotional, chaotic and confusing time for all present. If you or I had been there and was subsequently asked to write down what we witnessed, I guarantee our accounts would differ. If a third party were to read our accounts alongside each other I'm confident they'd pick up on the fact we each gave different specific details leaving out things the other mentioned. I'm also sure that the basic story we each told would be the same.
Let's take a look at what the published commentaries have to say.
Enduring Word Commentary
This verse by verse commentary will provide a deep understanding of this chapter and its well worth reading. I've chosen this snippet because it really highlights why we should have immense joy in the knowledge that Jesus was resurrected.
i. The resurrection means that we have assurance of our own resurrection: For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:14).
There is a good section on what understanding we should take away from our belief in the resurrection. Here's a link to read more
https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/mark-16/
Blue Letter Bible
I was interested in why the truth was revealed to the women first and this commentary provided some lovely observation that the women became apostles to the apostles in this beautiful and special circumstance when the angel gives them a message from God.
He orders them to give speedy notice of this to his disciples. Thus they were made the apostles of the apostles, which was a recompence of their affection and fidelity to him, in attending him on the cross, to the grave, and in the grave.
I also liked the explanation given as to why the men didn't believe the testimony of the women.
2. They could not give credit to the report she brought them. They heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her. The story was plausible enough, and yet they believed not. They would not say that she made the story herself, or designed to deceive them; but they fear that she is imposed upon, and that it was but a fancy that she saw him. Had they believed the frequent predictions of it from his own mouth, they would not have been now so incredulous of the report of it.
I sometimes complain that these commentaries are a little hard going but on this occasion it seems to be a clear read. Jump in if you would like more context on any of the verses in this chapter.
https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mhc/Mar/Mar_016.cfm
Bible Ref Commentary
This is always an easy to read and understand commentary. I loved the straight to the point opening that confirms everything we should take away.
Jesus has finished His three years of ministry and training for His disciples. He has faced the cross and taken the sins of the world. Now He has risen, just as He said He would.
I really like this commentary generally but did I find a discrepancy? I'd be interested in your thoughts. This is from the concluding paragraph of the commentary.
Mark 16:16–20 is not found in the other Gospels, but most the promises are fulfilled in the book of Acts. The disciples do cast out demons (Acts 19:11–12), speak new tongues (Acts 2:1–11), survive serpent bites (Acts 28:1–6), and heal the sick (Acts 3:1–10). The Scriptures have no record of a disciple surviving poison, although extra-biblical accounts do. The use of this passage to encourage handling snakes and drinking poison is tragic, and entirely contrary to orthodox Christian teachings.
I recall that Paul was bitten by a viper and thought logically that would have counted as 'taking up serpent's' and surviving the snakes poisonous venom. Mark 26:18 . Here in Acts 28:3 (NIV) Paul takes a viper from the fire.
Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand.
Maybe I've misunderstood. I'll continue to think about it. In the meantime, here's the link to this commentary.
https://www.bibleref.com/Mark/16/Mark-chapter-16.html
Thank you for reading along. Until next time, have a blessed week with the Lord!
I loved thinking about the angels in this chapter. I imagine they must have been with Jesus at His resurrection. I imagine unimaginable hosts of them all glorifying His Holy name. I wonder that they guarded His Holy body. We're not told and so all we can do is wonder in awe but they were most certainly there. I need to try and get my head around the time between Jesus' death and resurrection. Definitely a distant future post but I recall what Jesus said to the man crucified with Him.
"And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." Luke 24:43 (KJV)