Mark 16:1
Ver. 1. And when the sabbath was past,.... "In the end of it", as Matthew says, Mt 28:1; not "when it was the sabbath", as the Arabic version reads; for it was not lawful to buy spices, and anoint with on the sabbath day; See Gill on "Mt 28:1".
Mary Magdalene, and Mary, [the mother of James,] and Salome; who was the wife of Zebedee, and the mother of the other James and John:
had bought sweet spices; or "brought", as the Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions read; for though the women might have bought some on the preparation day, the day before the sabbath, the same evening that Christ was buried, Lu 23:56, yet, they might buy more for the same purpose, after the sabbath was over: for this there was a particular market at Jerusalem {d}; for we are a told, that
"there were there three markets, one by another; in the first of which were sold, all kinds of precious things, silks, and embroidered work; in the second, various kinds of fruits and herbs; and in the third, all kinds of spices.''
That they might come and anoint him; with those sweet spices, as was the manner of the Jews: hence we read {e} of, Mytm lv Mymvbh, "the spices of the dead"; which were used to expel an ungrateful savour: this they did, out of affection to Christ, but seemed to have no faith in his resurrection, though he had told them of it, which they had forgot. The Vulgate Latin reads, "that they might anoint Jesus"; the Ethiopic version, "anoint his body": but the Arabic thus, "anoint the sepulchre"; his body being anointed before, and wound up by Joseph and Nicodemus; and therefore they came to strew the sepulchre with spices and ointments, and give it a sweet perfume. Though it seems most likely, that they came to anoint his body; for this was one of the things which was customary in Israel to do to dead men, as Maimonides {f} observes, Mymvb ynmb wtwa Nyko, "they anoint him with various sorts of spices".
{d} Jechus Haabot, p. 24. Ed. Hottinger. {e} Misn. Betacot, c. 8. sect. 6. & Barrenors in ib. T. Hieros. Beracot, fol. 12. 2. {f} Hiichot Ebel, c. 4. sect. 1.
Mark 16:2
Ver. 2. And very early in the morning, the first day of the week,.... See Gill on "Mt 28:1".
They came to the sepulchre at the rising of the sun; of the sun of righteousness, as Mr. Mede observes; or rather, of the natural sun: for though it was dark when they set out, and when it dawned towards the first day, yet by that time that they all got to the sepulchre, the sun was rising; the Jews say {g}, that
"from the ascending of the morning, or break of day, until the sun rises, is an hour and a half.''
And so much time may very well be allowed the women, from their setting out, to their coming to the sepulchre. Moreover, they say {h}, that
"from the hind of the morning, to the time the east is enlightened, a man may walk four miles, and from the time that the east is enlightened, hmxh Untv de, "until the sun rises", four miles.''
But women must not be thought to walk so fast: let it be observed, that Christ, who is called the hind of the morning, Ps 22:1 (title, "Aijeleth Shahar"), and the morning star, Re 22:16, rose at this time.
{g} Piske Tosaphot in Pesach. art. 44. {h} T. Hieros. Beracot, fol. 2. 3. Bereshit Rabba, sect. 50. fol. 45. 2.
Mark 16:3
Ver. 3. And they said among themselves,.... Either before they set out, or as they were going along:
who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? Which they saw was placed there by Joseph, or his orders: this was the only difficulty they had, that they were aware of; for they seem to know nothing of the sealing of the stone, and of the watch that was set to guard the sepulchre: things which were done on the sabbath day, on which they rested: for had they, in all likelihood they would never have attempted to have gone to it; the guard of soldiers would have been a sufficient discouragement: but all their concern was, how, and by whom, the stone should be rolled away, that lay at the door of the sepulchre; and perhaps their concern might be, not only on account of the largeness of the stone, as being too much for them to remove, but because such a stone defiled by touching it, according to the Jewish traditions {i}.
{i} Misn. Oholot, c. 2. sect 4.
Mark 16:4
Ver. 4. And when they looked,.... Towards the sepulchre, as they came near it:
they saw that the stone was rolled away; they perceived it lay at some distance from the door of the sepulchre, which doubtless was very grateful, and matter of rejoicing to them:
for it was very great; these words are to be read, in connection with the preceding verse; for they are not a reason, why when they looked towards the sepulchre, they saw the stone rolled, because it was a very large one, and so easily to be seen at a distance; but a reason why they were so thoughtful and concerned, who should roll it away for them, it being so big, that they could not think that they were able to do it themselves.
Mark 16:5
Ver. 5. And entering into the sepulchre,.... For the sepulchres of the Jews were made so large, that persons might go into them: the rule for making them is this {k};
"he that sells ground to his neighbour to make a burying place, or that receives of his neighbour to make a burying place, must make the inside of the cave four cubits by six, and open in it eight graves; three here, and three there, and two over against them: and the graves must be four cubits long, and seven high, and six broad. R. Simeon says, he must take the inside of the cave six cubits by eight, and open within thirteen graves: four here, and four there, and three over against them; and one on the right hand of the door, and one on the left; and he must make, rux, "a court", at the mouth of the cave, six by six, according to the bier, and those that bury; and he must open in the midst of it two caves, one here and another there. R. Simeon says, four at the four sides; R. Simeon ben Gamaliel says, all is according to the nature of the rock.''
Now it was in the court that the women entered, where the bier was to be put down by the bearers; and where they could look into the sepulchre, and the several caves and graves in it, and what were in them. So Maimonides says {l},
"they dig caves in the earth, and make a grave on, the side of the cave, and bury in; it.''
And there being a door into one of these caves, persons might enter in, and see where the graves were, and the bodies lay.
They saw a young man; an angel; as angels used to appear in the form of men: nor is this any contradiction to John's account, who says there were two angels, one at the head, and another at the feet,
Joh 20:12; since Mark does not say there was no more than one; besides, John relates what Mary Magdalene saw, when alone, and Mark what all the women saw:
sitting on the right side; from whence we learn, on what side of the door of the sepulchre Christ was laid, according to the above description of one:
clothed long white garment: See Gill on "Mt 28:3"; which was as white as snow:
and they were affrighted; at the sight of him; not expecting such a vision, but to have seen, the body of their Lord.
{k} Misn. Bava Bathra, c. 6. sect. 8. {l} Maimon. Hilch. Ebel, c. 4. sect. 4.
Mark 16:6
Ver. 6. And he saith unto them, be not affrighted,....
See Gill on "Mt 28:5",
See Gill on "Mt 28:6", where the same things, and almost in the same words, are said as here.
Mark 16:7
Ver. 7. But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter,.... Peter is particularly mentioned, not as distinct from the apostles, or as if he was not one of them, having sinned in the manner he had done; much less because he was the chief of them; but to comfort him in his great sorrow, on account of his fall; and to encourage him to meet Christ with the rest of his disciples, who might be both afraid and ashamed, because he had so basely denied him: this is a kind intimation, in favour of Peter; none of the other evangelists observe it; but this Gospel being published, as is thought by some, under the direction and examination of Peter himself, he was careful to relate every thing, that either aggravated his own crime, or illustrated the grace of God, and love of Christ towards him. The Persic version puts Peter first, rendering it, "say to Cephas and the rest of the disciples"; all copies, and other versions, put him last:
that he goeth before you into Galilee, there shall ye see him;
See Gill on "Mt 28:7";
as he said unto you, as in Mr 14:28.
Mark 16:8
Ver. 8. And they went out quickly,.... Out of the sepulchre, into which they had been, to see where Christ lay, as invited by the angel, Mr 16:6. The word "quickly", is not read in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic versions: "which when they heard"; that is, when they heard the angel's and instructions, immediately they went out:
and fled from the sepulchre; as surprised and affrighted:
for they trembled and were amazed; at what they saw and heard, and yet this dread and fear were mixed with joy at the news of Christ's resurrection, as Matthew relates, Mt 28:8.
Neither said they any thing to any man; they met with by the way, till they came to the disciples; to whom they told all, otherwise they would not have acted according to the angel's orders
for they were afraid; not only affrighted with what they had seen and heard, but the were afraid to tell any but the disciples of these things, for fear of the Jews; lest they should be thought to have stolen the body of Christ, and so be taken up on that account, and punished.
Mark 16:9
Ver. 9. Now when [Jesus] was risen early the first [day] of the week,.... Though the word "Jesus" is not in the text, it is rightly supplied; for of the rising of no other, can the words be understood; and so the Persic version supplies "Messiah", or "Christ"; that Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week, agrees with the accounts of all the evangelists, and is here expressly affirmed; the phrase, "the first day of the week", is so indeed placed, as that it may be thought to connected with the following words; as it is by some; fancying there would otherwise be a disagreement with Mt 28:1, whereas there is none;
See Gill on "Mt 28:1" though it is true also, that he did appear on that day to Mary Magdalene, it being the same day he rose from the dead. But the true reading and pointing are as here placed; and the phrase belongs to, and points out the day of Christ's rising from the dead; and which ambiguity is removed in the Syriac version, which renders it, "now early on the first day of the week he rose"; and so the Persic version, "the Messiah", or "Christ, therefore on the morning of the, first day, rose from the dead": and that he rose early on that day, is clear from the women, who set out at the end of the sabbath, when that was past and over; and got to the sepulchre by the time the day dawned; and one of them, while it was dark, and all of them by break of day, at least by sunrising, and he was then risen:
he appeared first to Mary Magdalene; in the habit of a gardener, for whom she took him at first; and this was at the sepulchre, where she staid after the disciples were gone. That she was the very first person that Christ showed himself to, after his resurrection, may be concluded from hence, and from the account the Evangelist John has given, Joh 20:14, nor is there any reason to think, that before this, he appeared to his mother, of which the evangelists are entirely silent. This was a very great favour, and an high honour that was bestowed upon her; and who had received large favours from him before:
out of whom he had cast seven devils, see Lu 8:2. And if she had been a very wicked person, as she is commonly thought to be, and very likely she had been, since Satan had such a power over her, as to lodge seven devils in her, it is an instance of abounding grace, that Christ should heap up favours on such an one; and she should be the first that he should appear to and converse with after his resurrection.
Mark 16:10
Ver. 10. And she went and told them that had been with him,.... Not "with her", as the Persic version reads, but "with him"; that is, with Christ: she went, as she was bid by Christ, and told his disciples, what she had heard and seen; even those who had been with him from the beginning, and had heard his doctrines, and seen his miracles, and had had communion with him, and truly believed in him, and were his constant followers, and real disciples; not only Peter, James, and John, who were with him, particularly at the raising of Jairus's daughter, and at his transfiguration on the mount, and when in his sorrows, in the garden; but the rest of the eleven, and not only them, but others that were with them; see Lu 24:9.
As they mourned and wept, being inconsolable for the death of their Lord, and the loss of his presence; and also for their carriage towards him, that one among them should betray him, another deny him, and all forsake him: thus were they like doves of the valley, mourning for their absent Lord, and for their own iniquities; and in this condition were they, when Mary brought them the joyful news of Christ's resurrection from the dead.
Mark 16:11
Ver. 11. And they, when they had heard that he was alive,.... That is, the apostles, and those that were with them; when they heard the report of Mary Magdalene, that Christ was raised from the dead, and was certainly alive; or of all the women, for the Syriac version reads, "when they heard them saying that he was alive", not only Mary Magdalene, but Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women; for these all related this to the apostles, and the rest; see
Lu 24:9.
And had been seen of her; of Mary Magdalene, or "of them"; as the Syriac version reads, and as it is read in one of Beza's copies:
they believed not; the words of Mary, and the other women, for they seemed as idle tales to them, Lu 24:11, imagining they were deceived with the sight of a spectre, or apparition; and fearing the news were too good and great to be true; forgetting the words of their Lord, that he should rise again the third day, and which had been so often repeated to them; and all this through stupidity of mind, occasioned by the trouble and consternation they were in.
Mark 16:12
Ver. 12. After that,.... A little time, or some few hours after, on the selfsame day; see Lu 24:13;
he appeared in another form: it seems to have been the form, or habit of a gardener that he appeared in to Mary; since she thought him to be one, and to be the gardener that belonged to the garden, in which the sepulchre was: but now it was in another form, or habit, that he appeared; very likely in the habit of a Scribe, or doctor; since he took upon him to expound the Scriptures to the persons he appeared to; as also took bread, and blessed it, when at supper with them, Lu 24:27. According to the Jewish canons {m}
"if two persons eat together, and one of them is a Scribe, and the other an unlearned man, Krbm rpwo, "the Scribe blesses", and the unlearned man is excused.''
This is not to be understood of any change in the shape of his body, or the features of his face; for as soon as their eyes were opened, which had been before held, they knew him perfectly well: whereas, if there had been such an alteration made in him, that he could not have been known for the same, there would have been no need of holding their eyes, that they should not know him, Lu 24:16. This appearance was
unto two of them; one of them was Cleophas, or Alphaeus, which is the same, Lu 24:18; the other is by some {n} thought to be Simon Peter, from what is said in Lu 24:34 though others {o} think it was Nathanael, and others {p} Luke the evangelist, who conceals his own name, when he mentions the other; and some {q} that his name was Ammaon, which perhaps may be through mistake of the place, Emmaus, where they were going, for the name of one of them, and the appearance to them was,
as they walked, and went into the country: to a country village called Emmaus, about sixty furlongs, or seven miles and a half from Jerusalem; see Lu 24:13.
{m} T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 45. 2. {n} Lightfoot, Hor. in. v. 13. & in Luk. xxiv. 13. {o} Epiphan contra Haeres. l. 1. Haeres. 23. {p} Vid. Theophylact. in Luc. xxiv. 13. {q} Ambros in Luc. 12. 49. & 24.
Mark 16:13
Ver. 13. And they went and told it unto the residue,.... Upon their return to Jerusalem, which was on the same night, they went to the eleven apostles, and the other disciples that were with them, and related the whole affair to them; how that Jesus had joined them by the way, and discoursed much with them about himself, and expounded the Scriptures on the road; and when they came to the end of their journey, sat down at meat with them, when he was very plainly discerned, and known by them, and then disappeared; see
Lu 24:33;
neither believed they them. "These two", as the Arabic version reads; though they were men, and fellow disciples; and this was a repeated testimony, and a second set of witnesses of Christ's resurrection to them; all which aggravates their unbelief: upon sight of them they said, "the Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon", Lu 24:34; the reason of which Dr. Lightfoot thinks was this, that Peter hearing that Christ was risen, and went before them into Galilee, was eager to see him, and therefore took this journey along with Cleophas, which the rest of the disciples knew; and he returning so soon, they concluded he had seen him: but when he, and Cleophas, told the whole affair, they were as unbelieving as ever.
Mark 16:14
Ver. 14. Afterward he appeared unto the eleven,.... Apostles; for this was now the number of them, Judas being gone from them, and dead; and they were so called, though Thomas was not now with them, because their whole company consisted of this number: this appearance of Christ to them was on the same first day of the week, at evening, Joh 20:19, though it must be very late at night; for it was after the two above disciples were returned from Emmaus, where Christ and they had supped together; see Lu 24:29;
as they sat at meat; or "sat together"; being assembled together, and the doors shut fast for fear of the Jews, Joh 20:19, and so the Arabic renders it, "while they were gathered together"; and the Persic version, "who being gathered together were sitting": nor does the word necessarily signify sitting at meat; nor is it very likely that they should be eating so late at night; though it is probable they had been eating, as seems from Lu 24:41;
and upbraided them with their unbelief, and hardness of heart: not but that their hearts were very contrite for their sinful carriage to Christ; and very much humbled they were under the present dispensation: their hearts were much affected, and they were filled with sorrow and trouble for the loss of Christ; but in this point their unbelief increased by their fears, and so much prevailed, that all that were said by one, and another, made no impression on them: and a great aggravation of their incredulity, and a reason of Christ's upbraiding them in this manner were,
because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen; as Mary Magdalene, and the other women, and Cleophas, and the other disciple that was with him, who were eyewitnesses that he was risen from the dead; and such as might have been depended on.
Mark 16:15
Ver. 15. And he said unto them,.... Not at the same time, and place, as before; not on the first day of the week, on which he rose from the dead, but forty days after, just upon his ascension to heaven; see Mr 16:19; nor at Jerusalem, but in Galilee, where be appointed to meet his disciples, and did, when he gave them the following commission; see Mt 28:16.
go ye into all the world: not only into Judea, and through all the cities of it, where they had been before confined; nor only into the Roman empire, which is sometimes so called, because great part of the world was under that government; but into every known and habitable part of the whole universe, to all the nations of the world under heaven: and it is to be observed, that this command is not enjoined on every apostle separately, as if each of them was to go into all the world, and travel over every part; but that one was to go one way, and another another way; every one had his line, or that part of the world marked out for him, whither he was to steer his course, and where he was to fulfil and finish his ministry: and besides, this commission not only included the Apostles, but reaches to all the ministers of the Gospel in succeeding ages, to the end of the world; and since this, one part of the world, which was not known, is now discovered; and the order includes that, as well as the then known parts of the world, and the Gospel accordingly has been sent into it.
And preach the Gospel to every creature; not to inanimate and irrational creatures, as stocks and stones, the beasts of the field, &c.; nor to all rational creatures, as angels, good or bad; the former need not the preaching of the Gospel, and the latter are denied the blessing; but men, the offspring of fallen Adam, the objects of God's good will: these are styled "the creatures", because the chief of God's creation on earth; and are often in the Jewish writings so called; take an instance or two:
"R. Chuninn ben Dousa {r} used to say, all in whom, twyrbh, "the creatures" (i.e. men) have delight, God has delight; and in whomsoever "the creatures" (or men) have no, delight, God has no delight.''