Mark 16:1-8 – Jesus Overcomes the Grave

Reverend Leo H. McCrary II

Mark 16 covers the resurrection of Christ, as Mary Magdalene and others came to an empty tomb. While we know Christ rose from the dead, we must understand why He HAD to.

Introduction

  One of the familiar hymns that is sung every Resurrection Sunday states that we serve a risen Savior–He lives!  How many of us understand why it was so important for Christ to rise from the grave?  That is going to be one of the main questions we will look at answering in our Sunday School lesson this week.  

Yes, we must believe that Jesus was crucified and rose from the grave on the third day, but we must understand why that needed to happen.  More questions will arise as we go over this week’s lesson, so I certainly hope you will take a few moments to read over this commentary.  This week’s Sunday School commentary will cover scripture from Mark 16:1-18.

An Unexpected Surprise

Mark 16:1 opens with Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome (wife of Zebede, mother of James and John) going to Jesus’ tomb to anoint Him.  Mark 16:2 tells us that these women were headed to the tomb on the first day of the week (Sunday) when the sun had risen.

The other synoptic gospels also speak of Mary Magdalene and the women going to the tomb.  In his gospel, John explained that when the women left to go to the tomb, it was still dark (John 20:1).  So, the implication is that the women left while it was still dark, and as they arrived at the tomb, the sun had begun to rise.

Now, these verses actually tell us a few things about these women, while at the same time, reminding us of the rush it was for getting Jesus into the tomb.  

The quick death and burial of Jesus

After Jesus had died on the cross, Matthew, Mark, and John tell us of Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent man of the Sanhedrin, who, secretly, was a follower of Christ (Matt. 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; John 19:38-42).  He went to Pilate so that authority over Jesus’ body would be given to him.  After Pilate had granted him the authority, Joseph took Jesus’ body to his personal tomb, anointed him, alongside Nicodemus, and wrapped His body in linen.

This was a very rushed process because of how the Jewish day worked.  When Jesus died, the gospels tell us it was the ninth hour, which is 3:00 PM.  That would have left only a few hours before the sun would set, beginning a new day for the Jews.  Moreover, since Jesus was crucified on a Friday, they had to move even more quickly to place Him in the tomb before sunset.  You see, the Sabbath would have begun at sunset, and they would have been unable to do any more work in honor of the Sabbath.  

All of this, Jesus’ death and rushed burial, was rather unexpected.  Don’t get me wrong, once Jesus was crucified (nailed to the cross), He was going to die.  However, when Joseph went to Pilate to claim the body, Pilate was shocked that Jesus was already dead (Mark 15:44).  The reason why Pilate was shocked was that it was more common for people to hang on crosses for days, or at the minimum, 24 hours.  Jesus hung on the cross for only six hours, well short of the average time.

Neither the apostles nor the women had even had a chance to make arrangements for what to do with the body.  We have to remember that the disciples had all fled from Christ right after the Feast of Passover when He was arrested.  John and Peter eventually came back and stood in the courtyard, but then Peter fled again after denying Christ three times (Matt. 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; Luke 22:54-62; John 18:15-18; 25-27).

The apostles knew that after He was arrested, Jesus was going to die.  Keep in mind that when Jesus told them He would be going to Jerusalem that last time, they tried to stop Him because of the hateful desire the religious leaders had towards Him (John 11:8; also ref. John 8:59; 10:31).  What they didn’t expect was that Jesus would stand trial throughout the night and be hanging on the cross by 9:00 AM.

So, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had to move rather quickly for this unexpected situation!  Honestly, those two men did amicably in getting Jesus’ body, anointing as was custom, and placing it in Joseph’s tomb, all before sunset.

The women’s devotion to Jesus

When we see the women going to the tomb of Jesus so early in the morning, we also see just how great a devotion these women had to Jesus.

I often chuckle at this scripture and get very witty when I talk about the women’s motivation.  Some of you may wonder, how did they know where to go?  Well, in the gospel references above, you will see that when Joseph and Nicodemus moved Jesus’ body to the tomb, Mary Magdalene was present.  So, Mary Magdalene knew where the body was, and you can imagine that she spent her Sabbath planning on going to the tomb to properly anoint and bury Jesus’ body.

Do I believe the women believed they could do a better job at preparing Jesus’ body?  Of course I do!  What women wouldn’t think they could have done a better job than those two men, right?  However, their desire was purely sincere and genuinely out of love for their teacher, rabbi, and friend.

The “kind of” empty tomb

Something I’ve never really touched on in my past teachings on this scripture is my belief that I don’t think the women truly thought their plan through.  They knew they wanted to anoint Jesus’ body, but as they drew closer to the tomb, Mark 16:3 shows us that the women wondered how they were going to move the stone covering the entrance to the tomb. 

Ancient tombs were essentially caves where bodies were laid.  A big stone would be placed over the entrance so that nobody could disturb the dead.  As shown in John 11:38-39, when Jesus went to the tomb of Lazarus, scripture tells us it was a cave that Jesus had to have the stone removed from so that He could enter.  John 11:41 tells us that ‘they’ took away the stone, which implies it took the strength of multiple people to move the stone.

However, in this instance, it wouldn’t have mattered if they had brought someone with them or not to roll the stone away.  Mark 16:4 tells us that when the women had reached the tomb, the stone had already been rolled away to their shock.  Then, when they entered the tomb, Mark 16:5 tells us that they saw a ‘young man’ clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side, which further alarmed them.

The ‘young man’ tells the women not to be alarmed because Christ was risen, and told them to tell his disciples, and Peter, that they could see Him in Galilee (Mark 16:6-7).  This was all unexpected for the women – the tomb being empty and then ‘a young man’ dressed in white saying that Jesus wasn’t there.  

Suspicion over Jesus’ body

Now, what Mark does not cover in his gospel is the suspicion the women had about the empty tomb.  In John 20:1-10, John explained that Mary Magdalene did come to the disciples, but when she arrived, she said, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”  Her statement led to both Peter and John running to the tomb to verify what she had told them.

Now, why did Mary Magdalene suspect that someone had taken the body of Jesus?  Who were the “they” that Mary Magdalene thought had taken Jesus’ body?

Mary Magdalene likely believed the religious leaders had taken the body of Jesus, as the Romans couldn’t have cared less about Jesus’ body, considering Pilate had turned the body over to them.  Ironically, the religious leaders thought that the disciples were going to do something with Jesus’ body, and desired to keep that from happening.  

In Matthew 27:62-66, we can see that the religious leaders went to Pilate to have a guard placed at Jesus’ tomb.  Not only was a guard placed at Jesus’ tomb, securing it, but they also had the stone sealed so that it could not be easily removed.  So, the stone being rolled away from Jesus’ tomb would have taken a great deal of work for anyone to do.  

The ‘young man’ who sat in the tomb wasn’t simply a young man, but was an angel.  In Matthew 28:2, we’re told that before the women went to the tomb, there was a great earthquake which was caused by the angel descending from heaven and moving the stone.  

Unexpected resurrection

Now, the question that must be asked in all of this is, why were all of them so surprised that Jesus wasn’t in the tomb?

The answer to this question is obvious – they weren’t expecting Him to rise from the grave.  The women going to the grave to anoint Jesus’ body, while honorable, shows that they weren’t expecting His resurrection.  Even the disciples, who were moping about in grief, were so sorrowful that they weren’t expecting His resurrection.

So, why weren’t they expecting Jesus’ resurrection?  Why did they expect that He would still be in the grave?  Jesus had told them on multiple occasions, as shown throughout the synoptic gospels, that He would rise on the third day.  Jesus had said this so often that even the scribes and Pharisees knew it, which was why they went to Pilate about putting a guard at the tomb.

Can we chalk up their surprise at Jesus being resurrected to a lack of belief?  Did they not believe He would rise on the third day after He repeatedly said it over and over again?  

I do believe that their lack of belief played a role in their not expecting His resurrection.  However, I will also not hold this against them after the whirlwind of events that had taken place in such a short time.  I imagine that many of you have dealt with grief over losing a loved one, whether it happens expectedly or unexpectedly, and grief is incredibly rough.

In grief, some of us can simply lose track.  We can lose track of self, of emotion, of belief, and even of time.  So, how does one come out of such a place?  Well, at some point, one must turn to the Lord.

Peter and John ran to the tomb to verify, and upon what he saw, John remembered and believed.  Mary Magdalene eventually went back to the tomb and ran into the resurrected Jesus, and then went again to tell the disciples of His resurrection (John 20:11-18).  Peter spoke privately with the resurrected Christ, before He appeared to all of the apostles, including Timothy, who had doubted Jesus’ resurrection.

Christ Needed to Rise

Whether or not they believed Jesus would rise on the third day, Jesus needed to rise.  Why did Jesus need to rise?  Well, the answer, once again, points back to the will of the Father, but it also points to the promise made through Christ.  

To Nicodemus, Christ promised that whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have everlasting life.  Christ repeatedly proclaimed that all who follow Him will live on forever, and will never hunger or thirst again (John 6:34).  To Martha, Jesus said that He was the resurrection and life, and whoever believed in Him would not die but live (John 11:25).

In Deuteronomy 18:15-22, Moses spoke to the children of Israel about ‘the Prophet’ whom the Lord would send to them.  Moses told the people, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear…”

Moses then said to the people, “If you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’——when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.”

Christ was the final prophet of the Lord.  He predicted His death and resurrection multiple times.  However, Christ didn’t stop at just His death and resurrection.  Christ also prophesied of the resurrection of those who follow Him, His second coming, and dwelling eternally in the Father’s house (John 14:1-6).

So, according to what Moses said to the children of Israel, without the resurrection, Christ would have been a false prophet.  Without His resurrection, all of which He spoke of would have been nothing but lies.  Therefore, there would be no salvation, no deliverance from the world for the believer, because there would be no mercy and forgiveness.  Without mercy and forgiveness, one would have no victory over sin.  

Had Christ not risen from the grave, the only thing that would await one after physical life is death – the eternal condemnation of sinful living.  So, just as Christ needed to die, He had to rise, and He had to do so on the third day to be faithful to prophecy.  Again, had Christ not risen on the third day, all would have been lost, and God would have been made out to be an unfaithful liar.  

So, because Christ rose on the third day, He is the firstborn from the dead, as Paul said (Col. 1:18).  Christ is proof of the Lord, and what has been promised to mankind should one believe in the resurrection.  Christ’s resurrection shows us that God truly is all-powerful, having authority over the grave.

Therefore, if you have believed in Him, you will overcome the grave as well one day.  This means that you will overcome sin, the sinner, and Satan.  This means that you will have overcome the flesh, which is weak and grows tired day by day.  This means that you will overcome all of life’s afflictions.  

Moreover, Christ’s resurrection truly does show us all that God does love us.  Always remember that God gave the world His only begotten Son because He loved the world.  In all of our sins, God gave us His only begotten Son so that we may dwell with Him for everlasting life.