Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:
(Mark 16:1) And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome had brought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint Him.
At the end of the last chapter, Jesus had died on the cross and Joseph of Arimathea had placed Him in his own sepulchre hewn out of rock and had placed a large stone at the entrance. That was on the day before the Sabbath. Now it was after the Sabbath when Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, who would seem to be the same Mary and same James mentioned in the last chapter, that is Mary the mother of James the Little, and also Salome came to Jesus's tomb with sweet spices with which to anoint Jesus. These were the same three women the last chapter had mentioned who followed Jesus and ministered to Him. Here they were also ministering to Him in death, a very loving gesture indeed.
(2) And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came to the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
The women came very early in the morning at sunrise to the sepulchre where Jesus had been laid. It was said to be the first day of the week, the day after the Sabbath. Jesus had been buried on the day before the Sabbath. When counted as authors of the Bible counted, this was the third day, the day before the Sabbath being the first, then the full day of the Sabbath, and now the day after the Sabbath.
(3) And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?"
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary had seen Joseph roll the large stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and knew they would not be able to move such a large stone themselves, and they asked among themselves who could move it for them.
(4) And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away; it was very large.
However, when the women reached the sepulchre, they saw that the very large stone had been rolled away from the entrance of the tomb.
(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 alarmed.
The women went into the tomb and saw a young man in a long white garment sitting there, and they were greatly alarmed.
(6) And he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He is risen. He is not here. Behold the place where they laid Him."
The young man, obviously an angel, told the women not to be alarmed. He told them he knew that they were looking to see Jesus, but He was not there; He had risen. He encouraged them to see the place where Jesus had been laid, but He was not there.
(7) "But go your way, tell His disciples and Peter that He goes before you into Galilee; there you shall see Him as He said to you."
The angel told the women to go tell Jesus's disciples that He was going before them into Galilee and that they would see Him there just as He had told them they would. Note that the angel said "His disciples and Peter." This was not intended to mean that Peter was no longer a disciple, but to say especially Peter, the same Peter who had denied Jesus three times, to comfort and encourage him.
(8) And they went out quickly and fled from the sepulchre for they trembled and were amazed, neither did they say anything to any man for they were afraid.
They women ran quickly out of the tomb trembling in fear and amazement. As they ran, they didn't say anything to anyone along the way as they were afraid.
(9) Now when risen early the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene out of whom He had cast seven devils.
After He had risen from the dead early the first day of the week, that being the third day of His being in the tomb, He appeared to Mary Magdalene first. She had been healed by Jesus when He cast seven demons from her. John tells a much longer and more beautiful story about just how Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene. In short, she had gone back to the tomb and was crying because she supposed someone had taken Jesus's body away. Jesus appeared when her back was turned and asked why she was crying. She did not recognize Him at first, supposing He was the gardener, but when He spoke her name, she knew it was Him.
(10) She went and told them who had been with Him as they mourned and wept.
The account in John stated further that Jesus told Mary Magdalene to go to His disciples, those who had been with Him, and that is what she did, finding them weeping in mourning.
(11) And they, when they had heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, did not believe.
However, when Mary Magdalene told His disciples that Jesus was alive and that she had seen Him, they did not believe her, thinking her words were idle tales (Luke 24:11) of her imagination.
(12) After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.
The account in Luke tells us this happened later the same day; Jesus appeared to two disciples as they walked and were going into the country. Luke also tells us that one of the men was Cleophas (Luke 24:18), so this evidently meant that He appeared to two of His followers, disciples, but not just to His chosen twelve apostles.
(13) And they went and told it to the rest; neither did they believe them.
Those two disciples went to the rest of Jesus's disciples to tell them they had seen Him, but they didn't believe those two, either.
(14) Afterward He appeared to the eleven as they sat at a meal, and upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He was risen.
Jesus's chosen disciples were now called the eleven, rather than the twelve, with Judas Iscariot obviously gone from them then. His chosen disciples were gathered together where they had been eating when Jesus appeared to them. He severely rebuked them for not believing the testimonies of those who had seen Him after He had risen. He called out their hardness of heart, not because they were cold and unfeeling about His torture and death, but because after all He had taught them and told them about meeting them in Galilee after He had risen and even after eye-witness accounts, they still did not consider that He had risen. Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, pointed out that this made a most significant bit of evidence to prove that Jesus's resurrection was true and not a trick of His disciples to fool the people as has been suggested. His very own chosen disciples had given up all hope after He died and did not expect a resurrection at all. Even after they were told by witnesses they had seen Jesus, it still never occurred to them to accept the fact He might have risen from the dead.
(15) And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."
Jesus then told His disciples to go forth into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, signifying there were no limitations to whom and where they preached. They were to go out all over the world and teach the Gentiles of the world.
(16) "He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who does not believe shall be damned."
Anyone, even a Gentile from the farthest reach of the earth, who believed in the gospel of Jesus and understood and accepted His gift of salvation, and was baptized as a proof of his acceptance, would be saved, but those who refused to believe and accept Jesus's gift of salvation would be condemned. I don't believe this damning or condemning was a punishment for not believing; it is a result of not believing. If one doesn't accept salvation, how then can he be saved?
(17) "And these signs shall follow those who believe; in My name they shall cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues, (18) They shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them, they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
Jesus told His disciples that certain miraculous signs would follow those who believed and accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. In His name, meaning by His will and authority, they would be able to cast out devils, speak with different languages previously unknown to them, take up serpents and drink poison with no ill effects, and lay hands on the sick and heal them. I do believe that the key here is "in My name." It is only by Jesus's will and authority that they would be able to do these things, and His will at this time was that more people be saved by witnessing those miracles. Those who might perform risky acts for the sake of their own fame and glory may not be so fortunate as to have them not be hurt. All those signs and miracles were for a time of building the church, but that is not to say that miracles don't happen today. They most certainly do! However, it is only by the will of God that such miracles occur, and we must be in tune to the Holy Spirit to know when it is God's will to perform a miracle. 1 Corinthians 12:11 tells us that the Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts, among them being the ability to perform miracles, as He wills. Christian missionaries often report on extraordinary miracles. It may be that just as with the early church, miracles are used to bring certain peoples and tribes who had no prior knowledge of Jesus, to salvation in Him. However, most of us in the world today do not need more miracles to know the truth about Jesus. As it was said in Luke 16:31 in the parable about the beggar Lazarus and the rich man: the rich man was tormented in hell and asked that Lazarus from the dead go and warn his family so that they might not go to hell. Abraham told him that they had Moses and the prophets to tell them, and if they wouldn't listen to Moses and the prophets, they wouldn't be persuaded even if one rose from the dead. And we have so much more! Jesus did rise from the dead! We have Jesus and the knowledge of His resurrection and the testimonies of millions of people since then. We don't need any more miracles.
(19) So then after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
After Jesus had spoken to His disciples and had commissioned them for their great work, He ascended into heaven and sat on the right hand of God. That last part is not to be taken literally, I don't think. To be at one's right hand is to be in the place of highest honor. When Jesus was received up into heaven, He was exalted to the highest honor of the universe.
(20) And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
The disciples went forth and preached everywhere as Jesus had commissioned them to do, and He was with them, working with them, by the Spirit of God, and confirming the word of the gospel they preached by signs and miracles. Amen, meaning firm and trustworthy.
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