Mark 16
OGCMark 16:1-13
**F. SUNDAY:
- JESUS RISEN 16:1-13
TEXT 16:1-13**
And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb when the sun was risen. And they were saying among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the tomb? and looking up, they see that the stone is rolled back: for it was exceeding great. And entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, arrayed in a white robe; and they were amazed. And he saith unto them, Be not amazed: ye seek Jesus, the Nazarene, which hath been crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold, the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, He goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. And 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. Now 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 devils. She went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, disbelieved. And after these things he was manifested in another form unto two of them, as they walked, on their way into the country. And they went away and told it unto the rest: neither believed they them.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 16:1-13
Identify the particular time the women came to the sepulchre.
What was the purpose in anointing the body?
Why did the women come to the tomb if they knew they could not roll away the stone?
Where were they that they could look up?
Describe in your own words the thoughts of the two Mary’s as they approached the open tomb.
Why especially mention Peter in the message to the disciples?
Why call Him Jesus, the Nazarene, who hath been crucified?
Why promise to meet them in Galilee? When was this promise kept?
How long were the women quiet? i.e., as indicated in Mark 16:8?
Who did Mary Magdalene tell about His resurrection? Why didn-’t they believe? Discuss.
Please read the fuller accounts of His post resurrection appearances.
What are the evidences in these accounts that show them to be genuine?
COMMENT
TIME.Sunday morning, April 9th, A.D. 30; the third day after the crucifixion and burial of the Lord. PLACE.The place of the burial was in a new made tomb, hewn out of the rock, belonging to Joseph of Arimathea. It was in a garden not far from Calvary, but the precise location of Calvary or the sepulcher is unknown to man. It is almost certain, however, that it was not where here now stands the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
PARALLEL ACCOUNTS.Matthew 28:1-8. Luke 24:1-11. Joh. 20:1-21.
INTERVENING HISTORY.Soon after the Lord’s death the chief priests came to Pilate, requesting that the bodies might be taken down before sunset, because the next day was the Sabbath. Obtaining their request, the legs of the two malefactors are broken to hasten their death; but Jesus, being found already dead, is pierced with a spear in the side. At this time Joseph of Arimathea goes to Pilate, and informing him that Jesus was already dead, asks his body for burial; and Pilate, after satisfying himself that he was actually dead, orders the body to be given him. Aided by Nicodemus, Joseph took the body, and winding it in linen cloths with spices, laid it in his own sepulcher, in a garden near the cross and shut up the sepulcher. Some women beheld where he was laid, and, returning home, prepared spices and ointments, that they might embalm him after the Sabbath was past. During the Sabbath the council obtains permission from Pilate to seal up the sepulcher, and to place a watch, lest the disciples should steal the body.S. J. Andrews.
OUTLINE.1. The Women at the Sepulcher. 2. The Angel’s Message. 3. The Risen Saviour.
ANALYSIS
I.
THE WOMEN AT THE SEPULCHER, Mark 16:1-4.
The Women Come with Spices. Mark 16:1; Luke 24:2.
Visit to the Sepulcher Sunday Morning. Mark 16:2; Matthew 28:1; Luke 24:1; John 20:1.
The Stone Rolled Away, Mark 16:4; Matthew 28:2; Luke 24:2; John 20:1.
II.
THE ANGEL’S MESSAGE, Mark 16:5-8.
The Angel in the Sepulcher. Mark 16:5; Matthew 28:2; Luke 24:4.
The Angel’s Message. Mark 16:6; Matthew 28:5; Luke 24:6.
The Women Flee from the Sepulcher. Mark 16:8; Matthew 28:8; Luke 24:9.
III.
THE RISEN SAVIOR, Mark 16:9-13.
The Lord Appears to Mary Magdalene. Mark 16:9; Matthew 28:9; John 20:14.
The Unbelief of the Disciples. Mark 16:11.
Appears to two Disciples. Mark 16:12; Luke 24:15.
INTRODUCTION
Nothing stands more historically certain than that Jesus rose from the dead and appeared again to his followers, or than that their seeing him thus again was the beginning of a higher faith, and of all their Christian work in the world. It is equally certain that they thus saw him, not as a common man, or as a shade or ghost risen from the grave; but as the Only Son of Godalready more than man at once in nature and power; and that all who thus beheld him recognized at once and instinctively his unique divine dignity, and firmly believed in it henceforth. The twelve and others had, indeed, learned to look on him, even in life, as the True Messianic King and the Son of God, but from the moment of his reappearing, they recognized more clearly and fully the divine side of his nature, and saw in him the conqueror of death. Yet the two pictures of him thus fixed in their minds were in their essence identical. That former familiar appearance of the earthly Christ, and this higher vision of him, with its depth of emotion and ecstatic joy, were so inter-related that, even in the first days or weeks after his death, they could never have seen in him the Heavenly Messiah, if they had not first known him so well as the earthly.Ewald.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
I.
THE WOMAN AT THE SEPULCHER.
Mark 16:1. When the sabbath was past. The seventh day of the week, Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. The first day of the week, Sunday, is never the Sabbath in the Scriptures, but the Lord’s day, or the first day. The Sabbath ended at sunset according to Jewish ideas. Much as these women loved the Lord they waited until the Sabbath was over before they come to the sepulcher. Mary Magdalene. We find that Mark mentions Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James, and Salome. Luke mentions Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James, and Joanna, and others with them. John mentions Mary Magdalene only. What shall we conclude from these discrepancies? Do the evangelists speak in general terms, giving the names of certain prominent members only of the party, without designing to enumerate all; or do they refer to two or more distinct parties, who visited the sepulcher at different times? The former is much the more probable. Had bought sweet spices. Consisting of myrrh, aloes and other preventives of putrefaction, and odorous perfumes. These spices had been prepared upon the previous Friday evening.Whedon. Anoint him. This had not been done as yet. Nicodemus (John 19:40) had only wrapped the body hurriedly in the spices with the linen cloths.Alford. It was customary among the Jews, as a mark of honor to the deceased, after washing the corpse, to anoint it with certain perfumes, or to enclose them in the grave-clothes in which the body was wrapped. They were sometimes also burned as an incense. The hurried burial had not permitted this anointing to be completed; it had been commenced by Nicodemus at the time of the interment (John 19:39-40). Perhaps the women were ignorant of that; perhaps they wished to add their own offerings. The aromatics employed for this purpose appear from John to have been aloes and myrrh.Abbott.
Mark 16:2. And very early in the morning. All the four accounts agree that the visit of the women was very early Sunday morning, about dawn. The spices had probably been gathered in the night, after the Sabbath had ended. Came unto the sepulcher. Salome, the wife of Zebedee, had a home in Jerusalem; Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, had her home doubtless in Herod’s palace on Mount Zion. These and the two Marys seem to have gathered the spices in concert and to have come together.
Mark 16:3. Who shall roll us away the stone? They seem not to have known of the deputation of the Jewish rulers, which had gone to Pilate, and secured the sealing of the stone and the setting of the watch over the tomb (Matthew 27:62-66). Hence, their only anxiety was how they should get the great stone removed from the mouth of the sepulcher. Keep in mind that the tomb was not a grave, but a cavity hewn in the side of the rocky cliff, with a door that was closed with a stone.
Mark 16:4. The stone was rolled away. Matthew says that an angel came and rolled it away, and that there was an earthquake; but the grave was not opened by the commotion or earthquake, but the commotion or earthquake accompanied the rolling back of the stone. It is not necessary to suppose that the resurrection accompanied the earthquake. It was not for him, to whom (John 20:19-20) the stone was no hindrance, but for the women and the disciples, that it was rolled away. Often the difficulties we picture before us in the path of duty are removed. The stone is rolled away.
II.
THE ANGEL’S MESSAGE.
Mark 16:5. And entering into the sepulchre. Mary Magdalene seeing the stone rolled away, and supposing the body had been removed by the Jews, runs to find Peter and John (John 20:1-2). The other women proceed to the sepulcher, and enter. Saw a young man. Matthew calls him an angel. Luke says that there were two who stood; i.e., appeared suddenly. Besides, they might easily have both sat and stood during the interview; might have been both outside and inside at different moments; and they might have been seen both singly and together in the sudden and shifting apparition.Jacobus. Sitting on the right side. As they entered, apparently. He might be sitting on one of the ledges or platforms which are common in the Oriental sepulchres, and which are convenient for the accommodation of the body during the process of anointing.Morison, In a long white garment. Matthew says it was white as snow, and his countenance was like lightning. The white raiment was a symbol of purity and of fellowship with God (Revelation 3:4-5; Revelation 3:18; Revelation 4:4; Revelation 6:11; Revelation 7:9-13). Affrighted. Rather filled with awe and amazement.
Mark 16:6. Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus the Nazarene, the crucified, is not a mere description of the person, but a pointed allusion to his extreme humiliation, summed up in the name Nazarene (Matthew 2:23), and terminating in his crucifixion. Behold the place where they laid him. Pointing, doubtless, to the particular cell in the wall of the tomb. This implies that the angel was in the tomb.
Mark 16:7. Tell his disciples and Peter. Observe, that as Christ’s first appearance is to Mary Magdalene (John 20:18), out of whom he had cast seven devils, so his special message is to Peter, who had denied him.Abbott. A touching commentary on our Saviour’s saying that he came to save sinners. Tell Peter, for it will be news more welcome to him than to any of them; for he is in sorrow for sin, and he will be afraid lest the joy of this good news do not belong to him.Matthew Henry. He goeth before you into Galilee. Where the Lord had promised just before his death to meet his disciples after the resurrection. Indeed (Matthew 26:32) he used almost this very language in his prediction, After I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.
Mark 16:8. Neither said they anything to any man; i.e., on their way to tell the disciples. For, says Dr. Wells, they were afraid to stay, and not to hasten all they could to the apostles. They were in a tumult of commotion, and could not pause by the way to speak to any. Observe, in their haste here to tell the story of the resurrection, an illustration of the spirit which should always actuate the disciples of Christ.
III. THE RISEN SAVIOR.
Mark 16:9. He appeared first to Mary Magdalene. This appearance is described more fully in John 20:11-17. Mary Magdalene, on finding the tomb empty, went away immediately to inform Peter and John, leaving the other women at the tomb. Soon after these had left, Peter and John arrive in haste, followed by Mary Magdalene. The disciples examine the tomb, and depart, leaving Mary near the sepulchre. While weeping there she looks in, and sees two angels, who speak with her; then, turning back, she sees Jesus himself, whom she thinks to be the gardener, for the tomb was in a garden. She recognizes him by the tone in which he speaks her name, Out of whom he had cast seven devils. Recorded in Luke 8:2.
Mark 16:10. And she went. While she was going to tell the disciples, Jesus appeared to the other women, who had started before on the same errand (Matthew 28:9-10). Possibly Mary had joined the others by this time. As they mourned and wept. It seemed to them that not only had their Friend gone, but every hope of salvation, and of the promised coming of the kingdom of God, had departed with him.
Mark 16:11. They. believed not. Perhaps the fact that he had not appeared to any of the apostles had something to do with the incredulity of the latter, for it is natural to suppose that he would first manifest himself to them. Accordingly we find that it was the testimony of Peter that convinced them (Luke 24:34). In the entire remainder of the chapter Mark gives three appearances of our Saviour which illustrate the matter of the unbelief which his resurrection had to overcome in the minds of the apostles, First of all, to Mary Magdalene, whose narrative was discredited; after that to the two from Emmaus, whose account was also disbelieved; and afterward (or rather, finally, Mark 16:14) to the whole eleven, whom he upbraided with their unbelief.
Mark 16:12. After that. This second appearance of Jesus is more fully described in Luke 24:13. The place in the country was Emmaus, some eight miles from Jerusalem. Dr. Thomson identifies Emmaus with the present Kuriet el-’ Aineb, situated on the road to Joppa, on the dividing ridge between plain and mountain.
Mark 16:13. Neither believed they them. Their skepticism affords just ground for our belief. Their testimony is the testimony of incredulous and scrutinizing witnesses. They seemed to have forgotten that he said he would rise again. It was while they were discussing the story of the two disciples who had seen him at Emmaus that the Lord appeared in their midst and upbraided their unbelief (Luke 24:36).
FACT QUESTIONS 16:1-13
Wherever Calvary was located we are sure it is not in one placewhere?
Who started the action in getting the bodies down from the cross before sunset? Why pierce the side of Jesus?
When was the watch set at the door of the tomb?
Is it ever proper to call Sunday the Sabbath?
How shall we account for the differences in the records of the evangelists as to who came to the tomb?
What was the purpose in the custom of anointing the body?
It would add reality to this account if you knew the particular fragrances from each of the perfumes and ointments. Look it up in a Bible Dictionary.
Who among the women lived in Jerusalemand could thus conveniently gather the spices?
What didn-’t the women know about the tomb? Was this providential.
How was the stone rolled away? Did the earthquake accompany the resurrection?
Jesus did not need the stone rolled away to rise from the deadwhy, then, was it?
Mary Magdalene does not go all the way to the sepulchrewhere does she go?
Show how the accounts of the appearing of two angels can be harmonized. How was the angel dressed?
What implied the angel was in the tomb?
What is a touching commentary on our Saviour’s saying that He came to save sinners?
Read Matthew 26:32 and show its connection with the words of the angel.
What is meant by the expression neither said they anything to any man? What example is in this for us?
Describe in your own words the activity of Mary at the tombi.e., from her first visit until Jesus appeared to her.
When and where did Jesus appear to the other women including Mary Magdalene?
The fact that Jesus did not first appear to the apostles affected the womenhow?
Jesus had much unbelief to overcome in the minds of His apostlesshow examples.
What was being discussed by the apostles when the Lord appeared to them in the upper room? (Cf. Luke 24:36.)
Mark 16:1-20
SUMMARY 15:1616:20
This closing section of Mark, like the corresponding section in Matthew, contains two proofs of the divinity of Jesus. The first is found in the darkness that covered the earth during three hours of his suffering. It is common, when we would make a comparison to indicate the impossibility of an undertaking, to say that you may as well attempt to blot the sun from the heavens. But this, God did, in effect, when the noonday sun was shining on the dying agonies of Jesus. It was accomplished by no natural eclipse, for the moon was on the opposite side of the globe (the moon was always full at the Passover); but it was done by the simple fiat of Jehovah. No stroke of His almighty hand since the sun was created has been more wonderful. It finds its only conceivable explanation in the fact that Jesus was dying. Was Jesus, then, an imposter? Or was he, what he claimed to be, the Son of God? Let a man stand, by imagination, for three hours amid that awful gloom, as did the Roman centurion, and then answer the question. But the crowning proof in the grand series which Mark has presented, is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. No power but God’s could have raised him from the dead, and this power could not have been exerted in behalf of a pretender. That he was raised from the dead, then, is proof demonstrative that he was all that he claimed to bethe Christ, the Son of the living God.
It has sometimes been admitted, that to prove so extraordinary an event as the resurrection of one from the dead, would require most extraordinary evidence; and certainly it would in the case of any ordinary person; but in the case of Jesus, who had wrought so many miracles in proof of his divinity, who had repeatedly declared that he would arise from the dead, and who had died amid the most astounding manifestations of the divine displeasure toward his murderers, his resurrection was an event most reasonably to be expected, and it ought to be believed on the most ordinary testimony. Indeed, after having lived as he did, and having died as he did, his failure to arise from the dead would have been the most astonishing circumstances in his wonderful career. Such a life ending in the unbroken slumber of the grave, would have been an everlasting puzzle to the world. But such a life, followed by a glorious resurrection from the dead, attains a fitting consummation, and rounds out to completeness the most extraordinary personal history known in the annals of earth or heaven. The proofs of this event, furnished by Mark, are briefly thesethat an angel appeared to a company of women in the empty sepulcher, and told them that Jesus had arisen; that he himself appeared alive that morning to Mary Magdalene; that he appeared the same day to two male disciples as they walked into the country; that he appeared afterward to the eleven as they sat at meat; and that, having given them a commission to preach salvation through him to every creature, he ascended up to heaven, and subsequently worked with the disciples by signs following, as they went everywhere preaching the Gospel. Closing his testimony in the midst of a world which at the time of his writing was being filled with these last-mentioned signs, and which was still able to disprove by living witnesses all that he had written, if it were not true, he laid his pen aside, and sent forth his graphic narrative to challenge contradiction, and to do its part in the regeneration of mankind. We thank God that it has lived and come down to us; and as we pass it on to generations which shall come after us, we smile to think of the blessings it will bear to millions yet unborn, and of the undimmed radiance with which every sentence in it will shine when the sun shall have been blotted out forever, and the harvest of God shall all be gathered in. (J. W. McGarvey)
Mark 16:14-20
**2. THE GREAT COMMISSION ACCORDING TO 16:14-20
TEXT 16:14-20**
And 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 which had seen him after he was risen. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned. And these signs shall follow them that believe: in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they 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, So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken unto them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached everywhere the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed, Amen.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 16:14-20
Is this the first and only time Jesus appeared to the eleven apostles at a meal?
Give your definition of the word upbraided.
Are unbelief and disbelief the same?
How does hardness of heart relate to unbelief? Please define hardness of heart.
Please mention at least three different persons or groups of persons who had seen Him after He was raised from the dead.
Why was there a hesitancy in believing the report of those who had seen Him?
When and where did our Lord give the commission as recorded in Mark 16:15-16?
What is meant by the word world as here usedi.e., does this refer to all the world as we know itor as the apostles knew itor as our Lord knew it?
What is included in the whole creation?
Are we to understand the gospel to be preached is something different than the faith of Jud 1:3or the whole council of God of Act 20:27? Cf. Acts 20:25; Acts 8:4.
Are we to equate Shall be saved in Mark 16:16 with the remission of sins in Acts 2:38; washing away of sins Acts 22:16; putting on Christ of Gal 3:27? Discuss.
Is a lack of baptism included in the condemnation of Mar 16:16 b? Discuss. And these signs shall accompany them that believewho is involved in them that believe? Please note in Mark 16:14 who was lacking in faith.
Read the following references and note who performed the signs: (1) Acts 8:7; Acts 16:18; (2) Acts 2:4-11; (3) Acts 28:5; (4) Acts 3:7; Acts 5:15; Acts 9:34. What is the meaning of the word sign?
Were miracles ever performed as an end in themselves or always as a means to an end?
Is there a time or place in the mind of Mark as he speaks of the ascension?
Cf. Psalms 110:1 and show its fulfillment.
Show how verse nineteen seems to be a most fitting close to the gospel of Mark.
Verse twenty summarizes the theme of which book in the New Testament.
Who went forth everywhere preaching? Who used the signs of Mar 16:17? For what purpose? Were the signs performed without faith?
COMMENT
TIME.Sometime after the resurrectionno definite time is indicated.
PLACE.At a meal of the apostlesno definite place indicated for Mark 16:19-20.
PARALLEL ACCOUNTS.There are no parallel accounts. There are some similar referencesi.e., Luke 24:36-43; Matthew 28:16-20; 1 Corinthians 15:6; Luke 24:47; Matthew 28:19; Acts 1:9.
OUTLINE.1. The place of the great commission, Mark 16:14. 2. The great commission, Mark 16:15-16. 3. The promise of signs to confirm the commission, Mark 16:17-18. 4. Jesus went to heaven, the apostles went into the world accompanied by the promised signs, Mark 16:19-20.
*INTRODUCTION
How should we regard the last twelve verses of the gospel of Mark?*
By the revisers these verses are set by themselves with the remark, -The two oldest Greek manuscripts, and some other authorities, omit from Mark 16:9 to the end. Some other authorities have a different ending to the Gospel.-’ Doubtless the revisers would not be understood to mean that the -different ending-’ was of any value. They would only cite its existence in some ancient authorities as a sign of uncertainty as to the genuineness of the present ending. The majority of modern authorities regard these verses as the work of some other person than Mark. The most elaborate defense of their genuineness is by the Rev. J. W. Burgon (The Last Twelve Verses of St. Mark’s Gospel Vindicated). The argument in their favor may be found clearly stated in Scrivener’s Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament (second edition, pp. 507-513). Dr. J. A. Broadus has argued on the same side in the Baptist Quarterly, July, 1869. The reasons for regarding the passage as the work of another hand than that of Mark are given by Alford in his Commentary, and by Meyer. The possible conjectures as to the history of the passage are given by Dr. Plumptre in Ellicott’s New Testament Commentary for English Readers, It is to be noticed that the revisers do not enclose the passage in brackets as they do John 7:53 to John 8:11, evidently regarding the argument against it as less conclusive than the one against that passage.
The reasons in favor of the passage are as follows: (1) It is contained in all the ancient manuscripts except two, and in all the versions, (2) The nineteenth verse is quoted by Irenaeus (about A.D. 170) with the introduction, Mark says, at the end of the Gospel. From that time on the passage is freely cited by Christian writers generally, who treat it as they do other Scripture. (3) It has a place in the lectionaries, or selections of Scripture for public reading, which were in use in the Eastern Church certainly in the fourth century, very probably much earlier (Scrivener). It held a place of honor, indeed, in being taken as the Scripture for a special service at matins on Ascension Day. There is no question that the passage came down, to say the least, from very nearly the same date as the Gospel of Mark, or that it was generally, though not universally, accepted in the church as a part of that Gospel. (W. N. Clarke)
ANALYSIS
I.
THE PLACE OF THE GREAT COMMISSION, Mark 16:14.
After several other appearances.
To the eleven as they were eating.
He reproved them sharply for their lack of faith in the report of those who had seen Him after His death.
II.
THE GREAT COMMISSION, Mark 16:15-16.
Go into all the world preaching the good news to the whole creation.
He that believes the good news and is baptized shall be saved.
He who disbelieves will be condemned.
III.
THE PROMISE OF SIGNS TO CONFIRM THE COMMISSION, Mark 16:17-18.
Promised upon the basis of faith.
Accomplished by the authority of Christ.
Cast out demons.
Speak with new languages (i.e., new to the speaker).
Handle serpents without harm.
Suffer no ill effects from poison.
Heal the sick by the laying on of hands.
IV.
JESUS WENT TO HEAVEN, THE APOSTLES WENT INTO ALL THE WORLD ACCOMPANIED BY THE PROMISED SIGNS, Mark 16:19-20.
Jesus taken up into heaven by the power of God.
Sat down at the right hand of God.
The apostles went forth to preach everywhere.
The Lord worked with them confirming the truthfulness of their message by the promised signs.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
I.
THE PLACE OF THE GREAT COMMISSION.
Mark 16:14. *as they sat at meat.*The circumstance that the disciples sat at meat when Jesus appeared to them, as recorded in this verse, seems to identify this appearance with that recorded in Luke 24:36-43, at which he called for food and ate it in order to convince them that he was not a spirit. And as that appearance occurred on the evening of the first day of the week, this identifies it with that recorded in John 20:19-23.
*because they believed not.*Mark has thus far mentioned only such testimony to the resurrection as had been discredited by the disciples, and it is true that to the extent of this testimony they believed not them who had seen him after he was risen. Yet, as we learn from Luke, this discrediting of the testimony was not universal, for they did believe the testimony of Peter (Luke 24:33-34, and comp. note on Mark 16:13).
II.
THE GREAT COMMISSION.
Mark 16:15. *And he said unto them.*Here there is a silent transition from the interview on the evening after the day of the resurrection, which is the subject of Mar 16:14, to one which occurred on the day of the ascension (Mark 16:19), forty days later (Acts 1:3). From Mark’s narrative alone we would not be able to discover this transition, but would suppose that the words of Jesus in Mark 16:15-18 were spoken at the time of the appearance mentioned in Mark 16:14 but this is only one among many instances in which details not essential to an understanding of the chief thought to be conveyed, are omitted from one narrative but found in another.
*Go ye.*Here begins the Apostolic Commission, as given by Jesus on the day of his ascension. It had already been given, as recorded by Matthew, on the mountain in Galilee (Matthew 28:16-20), and now it is repeated in a slightly different form. It is properly called a commission, because it committed to the apostles what they had not before received, the authority to preach the gospel, and to announce the conditions of salvation. Hitherto they had been forbidden even to tell any man that Jesus was the Christ. (See Matthew 16:20; Matthew 17:9). Now their lips are unsealed, with this only limitation, that they are to tarry in Jerusalem until they are endued with power from on high. (Luke 24:47-49; Acts 1:7-8). Then they are to go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mark 16:16. *He that believeth.*That is, he that believeth the gospel (Mark 16:15). It was to be preached in order that it might be believed, and belief, both on this account, and because it is, from the nature of the case, a prerequisite to repentance and obedience, is the first act of compliance with its demands.
*and is baptized.*The collocation of the words, and the fact that baptism is an act of obedience, which could not be without faith, shows that baptism is to be preceded by faith. This commission both authorizes the apostles to baptize believers, and restricts them to believers as the subjects of baptism. No comment can make this clearer than it is made by the words of the commission itself. It is impossible, therefore, that the apostles could have found authority in their commission for baptizing infants, and it is equally impossible for modern Pedobaptists to find it (Comp. Matthew 28:19).
*shall be saved.*To be saved is to be made safe. It implies that the person saved was in danger, or in actual distress, and that the danger or the distress is removed. When the term refers to the eternal state it includes the resurrection from the dead, and perpetual safety from sin and suffering. But death and all suffering are but the consequences of sin, and therefore to be made safe from sin exhausts the idea of the salvation provided in the gospel. When the term saved is used in reference to the state of the Christian in this world, as it frequently is (Acts 2:47; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 15:2; Ephesians 2:5; Titus 3:5), it means that he is made safe from his past sins, which is effected by pardon and can be effected in no other way. If it be said that when a man is once saved he is saved forever, because he can not fall away, still it must be granted that the salvation affirmed of him includes the present forgiveness of his past sins. Consequently, in the statement, He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, the salvation promised must include at least the forgiveness of sins, whatever it may be supposed to include in addition to this. It really includes no more than this, and is equivalent to the promise of pardon to all who believe and are baptized. If any man’s mind revolts at the idea of placing baptism in such a connection with salvation or the forgiveness of sins, let him remember that it is Jesus who has placed it in this connection, and that when our minds revolt at any of his words or collocation of words, it is not his fault but ours. It is always the result of some misconception on our part. If one should be tempted to say. True, he that believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believes and is not baptized shall also be saved, let him ask himself why Jesus in this formal commission, says, He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, if the same is true of him who is not baptized. Men do not, on solemn occasions, trifle with words in this way. If the Executive of a State should say to the convicted thieves in the penitentiary, He that will make a written pledge to be an honest man, and will restore fourfold what he has stolen, shall be pardoned, there is not a man in any penitentiary who would expect pardon without the restitution required; and if it were ascertained that the Executive meant by these words to promise pardon to all who would make the pledge, whether they would, being able, make the restitution or not, he would be justly chargeable with trifling, and also with offering different conditions of pardon to the same class of criminals. So in the present case. If he that is not baptized, being capable of the act, is as certainly saved as he that is baptized, the Saviour spoke idle words in the commission, and he offers two plans of pardon to the same class of sinners, showing partiality by offering to release one on easier terms than another. Such is the absurdity in which we are inevitably involved if we allow not the words in question their proper and natural force. When the apostles went out to preach under this commission, they knew only from its terms to whom they should promise pardon, and consequently they never encouraged any person to hope for it previous to baptism, nor gave any unbaptized person reason to think that his sins had already been forgiven. If any of the unbaptized, therefore, are pardoned, it is because God has granted to them more than he has promised. This he may unquestionably do, if the circumstances of individuals shall make it right in his eyes to do so, but of these circumstances He alone can judge, who knows all things and whose judgments are guided by infinite wisdom.
*he that believeth not shall be damned.*The term damned has no more reference to the eternal state than the term saved in the preceding clause. They both have primary reference to the present state, and the former is the exact counterpart of the latter. The original term means condemned, and this should be its rendering. Condemnation already rests on those who believe not (John 3:19), but the apostles are here told that it shall especially rest on those who hear the gospel and believe it not. It rests on them now, and it must, of course, rest on them forever unless, at some subsequent period of life, they shall become believers. In this way the state of condemnation which now exists will reach forward into eternity, unless its cause be removed, in like manner as the state of salvation enjoyed by the baptized believer will reach into eternity, unless it be forfeited by subsequent apostasy. It has frequently been observed, that though Jesus says, He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, he does not, in stating the ground of condemnation, mention the failure to be baptized as part of it, but simply says, He that believeth not shall be condemned. From this it is again inferred that baptism is not one of the conditions of pardon. But the conclusion does not follow; for the fact that baptism is not mentioned in stating who shall be condemned, can never remove it from the place it occupies in stating who shall be saved. In the supposed case of the convicts above mentioned, if, after saying to all the convicted thieves, He that will make a written pledge to be an honest man, and will restore fourfold what he has stolen, shall be pardoned, the Governor had added, but he that will not make this pledge shall serve out his time in prison, none but a crazy thief could think that because restitution is not mentioned in the latter instance he would be pardoned without making restitution. Equally unreasonable is the conclusion in question. The leading thought in the commission is to state the ground on which men would be saved, and not that on which they would be damned. The apostles were to be concerned with saving men, not with damning them; consequently, Jesus tells them in detail on what ground they are promised salvation; but as damnation is his own work, not theirs, he speaks of that comprehensively by naming the one sin of unbelief which renders all acceptable obedience impossible, and is the chief cause of all condemnation. A man should come to the commission, then, not to learn how he may be damned, but how he may be saved; and this it teaches him right plainly.
The assertion, He that believeth not shall be condemned, implies that all who hear can believethat no innate or acquired incredulity can justify unbelief of the gospel. This is asserting the highest possible claim in behalf of the evidences of Christianity, and he who makes the claim is He who will judge the world at the last day. If, in the face of this declaration, any man will venture to the judgment in unbelief, alleging that the evidence is not sufficient for him, he must settle the issue with Jesus Himself.
III.
THE PROMISE OF SIGNS TO CONFIRM THE COMMISSION.
Mark 16:17-18. *these signs shall follow.*The promise is, not that these signs shall follow for any specified time, nor that they should follow each individual believer; but merely that they shall follow, and follow the believers taken as a body. They did follow the believers during the apostolic agenot every individual believer, but all, or nearly all, the organized bodies of the believers. This was a complete fulfillment of what was promised. He who claims that the promise included more than this, presses the words of the promise beyond what is necessary to a full realization of their meaning; and he who affirms that the signs do yet follow the believers, should present some ocular demonstration of the fact before he asks the people to believe his assertion. Signs were intended to convince the unbelievers, and they were always wrought openly in the presence of the unbelievers: let us see them, and then we will believe. Paul’s expectation was that prophesying, speaking in tongues, and miraculous knowledge, would vanish away (1 Corinthians 15:8); and so they did with the death of the apostles and of those to whom they had imparted miraculous gifts.
IV. JESUS WENT TO HEAVEN, THE APOSTLES WENT INTO ALL THE WORLD ACCOMPANIED BY THE PROMISED SIGNS.
Mark 16:19. *after the Lord had spoken.*The statement that after the Lord had spoken to them he was received up into heaven, and sat on the righthand of God, establishes a close connection in time between the close of the speech and the ascension of Jesus. The same connection is indicated by Luke both in his gospel and in Acts, where, although he quotes none of the words reported by Mark, he reports a conversation quite similar to it which occurred on the same occasion and was immediately followed by the ascension. (See Luke 24:49-51; Acts 1:4-9.)
Mark 16:20. *And they went forth.*In this sentence Mark overleaps the stay of the apostles in Jerusalem, and reaches forward to the period of their greatest activity, when they went forth and preached every-where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Thus he brings to a most appropriate termination his narrative of those events that had gradually prepared the apostles for the mission of mercy on which they were sent forth, and which, when recited in their preaching, led men to believe in Jesus, and to accept the offered salvation. (J. W. McGarvey)
FACT QUESTIONS 16:14-20
Why have authorities referred to the different ending of Mark?
What authority is opposed to the genuineness of the last verses? What authority is in favor of their genuineness?
Please state the three arguments in favor of the passageare these conclusive?
Show how Luke 21:36-38 and John 20:19-23 relate to Mark 16:14.
In what limited sense are we to understand the phrase they believed not?
What is the silent transition of Mar 16:14-15? On what two days do these events occur?
State the two places where the great commission was given.
What one limitation was involved in preparation before giving the great commission?
How does the commission both authorize and restrict?
It is impossible to find authority to baptize some personswho are they?
What is promised in the salvation of Mar 16:16?
The understanding of some persons would involve Jesus in partialityexplain.
Show how the use of the term condemned or damned has reference to the present and not the future.
Indicate how unreasonable it is to conclude that baptism is not necessary for salvation because it is not necessary for condemnation.
What is implied as to the ability to believe?
When and how were the words these signs shall follow fulfilled?
Do signs follow believers today? Discuss.
Show the close connection of Luk 24:49-51, Acts 1:4-9, and Mark 16:19.
Show how Mark 16:20 is an appropriate termination of Mark’s narrative.