Mark 16:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.

NIV: "Don’t be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.

NASB: But he *said to them, 'Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; see, here is the place where they laid Him.

CSB: "Don’t be alarmed," he told them. "You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they put him.

NLT: but the angel said, 'Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body.

KJV: And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

NKJV: But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.

"Alarmed" is from the Greek root word ekthambeō. It can mean "to be amazed, to be terrified." Mark also uses the word when he describes Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane as "greatly distressed" (Mark 14:33). It's typical for angels to tell people to not be afraid of them (Daniel 10:12, 19; Luke 2:10). Here in addition, this seems to be reassurance about the fact that Jesus' body is gone, and they have, in fact, come to the correct tomb.

The place where Jesus had laid was a bench cut out of the stone. His burial shroud stretched out where His body had been, and the cloth that covered His head was folded and sat a bit apart (John 20:6–7). Much has been made about this "folded handkerchief." Some claim this was a Jewish mealtime tradition implying that someone was planning to return to the table. Not all scholars accept that this was a custom in that era, however. It may be that as Jesus' body left, the cloth that was wrapped around His head and face simply collapsed in place.

Christians may be quick to criticize the women for not believing the angel, but we ought to be sympathetic. It's easy to walk into a situation so expecting heartbreak that we fail to see the victory around us. God doesn't do what we think He will, and we faithfully resolve to make the best of it. But our view is so myopic we don't realize what He has done is so much greater. When faced with defeat and failure, sometimes we need to look up, realize there is more to life than the path we had planned, and have quiet faith that God will work all things together for good (Romans 8:28).

We tend to speak of "blind faith," but that is not how God really works. He invites us to see. Jesus showed the disciples His hands and side (John 20:20, 24–29; Luke 24:39) and ate (Luke 24:41–43). Witnesses are invited to see the bare bench, but misinterpret what it means (John 20:13). God proves Himself to us every day. Our responsibility is to get to know Him well enough that we can recognize when He is acting in our lives. We do this by listening to His Word—the Scriptures—and believing them. That's something the disciples had a hard time with throughout Jesus' entire ministry.

Mark 16:1–8 proclaims that Jesus is alive! After telling the disciples, several times over three years,that He will die and rise again, Jesus' work is finally done. But the disciples are in hiding. Only the women come to the tomb, carrying burial spices instead of hope. Among them are Mary Magdalene, the ''other'' Mary, and Salome, along with Joanna and some of the other women who have supported Jesus' ministry (Luke 8:3; 24:10). They have come to care for Him one last time, but He is not there. He is risen! This account is also found in Matthew 28:1–8, Luke 24:1–8, and John 20:1.

After the mandatory time of rest, several of Jesus' female followers approach His tomb intending to anoint the body. Their primary concern is who will open the tomb for them so they can honor Jesus' remains. They arrive to find the tomb open, empty, and watched over by angels. After hearing from these beings (Luke 24:4–7), the women leave in fear, speaking only to the disciples. This ends the original, God-inspired text of the Gospel of Mark. Verses 9–20 are mostly corroborated by other Scripture, but were not part of the initial writing.

Leading up to chapter 16, Jesus has been unfairly tried and executed by crucifixion. Starting in this passage, Jesus' women followers find an empty tomb, but don't know what it means. Jesus' work for our salvation is done, but explaining that to His disciples will take another forty days (Acts 1:3). And telling the world is a work that will continue until His return. The resurrection and events after are also covered in Matthew 28, Luke 24, John 20—21, and Acts 1:1–11. The most reliable copies of the Gospel of Mark leave the disciples where they have spent much of the story: confused and afraid. Jesus is risen, but they haven't yet accepted that. Everything after verse 9 is most likely a later scribal addition.

The Gospel of Mark emphasizes both Jesus' servanthood and His role as the promised Messiah: the Son of God. This is done through a concise, action-packed style. Mark provides relatively few details, instead focusing on actions and simple statements. This relates to the Gospel's authorship, which is believed to be based on the memories of the apostle Peter. These include many of Jesus' miracles, in contrast to other Gospels which include many more of Jesus' teachings and parables. Mark also makes frequent mention of Jesus' ministry being misunderstood by others.