Mark · chapter 16 of 16
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Mark 16 tells how three women go to the tomb on the first day of the week and find it open and empty. A young man dressed in white announces that Jesus has risen and is going ahead to Galilee. The women flee in fear. Verses 9-20, the longer ending, summarize appearances of Jesus, the great commission and his ascension.
Mark 16 is the last chapter of the Gospel and the chapter of the resurrection, the confirmation of everything Jesus had announced. It is also known for a textual question: the oldest manuscripts end at verse 8, and verses 9-20 appear in other manuscripts. This study presents both clearly.
When the Sabbath is over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome buy spices to anoint Jesus' body. Very early on the first day of the week, at sunrise, they go to the tomb, wondering who will roll away the stone from the entrance. When they arrive they see that the stone, which was very large, has already been rolled back. They enter the tomb and see a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and are alarmed.
He tells them not to be alarmed: they are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified, but he has risen and is not here; he points to the place where they laid him. He tells them to go and tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of them to Galilee, where they will see him, just as he told them. The women flee from the tomb, trembling and astonished, and say nothing to anyone, for they are afraid. Many important ancient manuscripts end here.
Verses 9-20, which many Bibles include with a note, summarize that Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene, who went and told the others, but they did not believe her; then to two who were walking, and finally to the eleven as they sat at table, whom he rebuked for their unbelief. He commands them to go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to every creature: whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, and whoever does not believe will be condemned. He speaks of signs that will accompany those who believe. The Lord is taken up into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, and the disciples go out and preach with the Lord working with them.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The young man tells the women not to be alarmed: Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified one, has risen and is not here. It is the central message of Christianity, given to women who had come to anoint a dead body.
He tells them to tell the disciples and Peter that Jesus is going ahead of them to Galilee. He names Peter, who had denied Jesus, showing that the Lord still seeks him out and does not cast him off.
The women flee trembling and, out of fear, say nothing. The oldest text ends with that silence, which invites the reader to answer in faith what they did not dare say. We know from other Gospels that they did speak afterward.
In the longer ending, Jesus commands the disciples to go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. It sums up the church's mission, in line with what the other Gospels teach about the great commission.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome, to anoint Jesus' body with spices. — Mark 16:1
Answer: Who would roll away the stone from the entrance. — Mark 16:3
Answer: The stone had already been rolled back, and inside a young man dressed in white sat on the right side. — Mark 16:4-5
Answer: That Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified one, had risen and was not there. — Mark 16:6
Answer: To Galilee, where they would see him. — Mark 16:7
Answer: They fled trembling and astonished, and said nothing to anyone because they were afraid. — Mark 16:8
Mark 16 encourages those who come to the tomb with doubts and fear. The women did not expect the resurrection; they went to carry out a duty of love toward the dead and met news that surpassed their power to understand. In a class or small group you can talk about which fears paralyze us when God acts in unexpected ways.
The message to Peter teaches that failure does not cancel the call: Jesus is still waiting for the one who failed him. And the great commission of the longer ending, which agrees with what the other Gospels say, reminds us that the resurrection is not just news to keep but a message to share.
Mark 16 closes the Gospel with the empty tomb and the promise that Jesus goes ahead of his own. The book, which began by announcing the good news of Jesus Christ, ends by leaving the reader with the question of whether they will believe and follow the risen Lord.
Because some of the oldest Greek manuscripts end at verse 8, and ancient Christian writers noted that the longer ending was missing in many copies. Other manuscripts include it, and it was widely used from the second century. Bibles usually print it with a note so the reader knows the situation.
There are three main explanations. Some think Mark ended deliberately with the women's fear, to invite the reader to respond. Others believe he never finished the work, and still others that the original ending was lost. All agree that the Gospel announces the resurrection in verse 6 and that the appearances are told in the other Gospels.
Those signs belong to the longer ending, whose original authorship is debated. Even those who accept it as Scripture interpret it in different ways; the book of Acts shows some of these signs without presenting them as a proof to be sought. It is wise to read it alongside the rest of the Bible and with humility.