Mark 16:1-8
The picture before us is that of three women seeking to embalm the body of Jesus who was crucified. This is a task which would normally be carried out immediately upon death. The hour of His death, just before the coming of the sabbath, required His embalming to be postponed until the sabbath day had passed. The sabbath day began at sunset on Friday and ended at sunset on Saturday, twelve hours of darkness followed by twelve hours of daylight.
The three were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. These same three women were present at the cross when Jesus cried out in the ninth hour, the time at which the veil in the temple was ripped from top to bottom (Mk. 15:37-40). Scholars have determined that all three became followers of Jesus at the beginning of His ministry. Salome and Mary the mother of James were mothers of disciples. Mary Magdalene began following Jesus early because He expelled seven devils from her early in His Galilean ministry (Lk. 8:2).
They arrived at the sepulchre at sunrise. In terms of time, this would have been very close to 39 hours after the moment of Jesus’ death. When they arrived, Jesus was not there. He had risen. The time at which Jesus arose is not stated. His time in the grave was less than 39 hours. Some Bible-believers are confused by this number of hours because Jesus informed the scribes and Pharisees that the Son of man would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matt. 12:40). The three days and three nights to which Jesus referred is not a literal 72 hours. It is not three 12-hour periods of day plus three 12-hour periods of night. Three days and three nights is an expression which means parts of three consecutive days. Jesus was in the grave for three hours on Friday (the day before the sabbath), 24 hours on the sabbath (sunset Friday to sunset Saturday), and an unknown number of hours between sunset Saturday and sunrise Sunday. Again, the Jewish day begins with twelve hours of darkness and ends after twelve hours of daylight. A literal one day and one night period would extend over two days, the second part of one Jewish day followed by the first part of a second Jewish day.
Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome would have begun their journey to the tomb shortly before or at the beginning of dawn on Sunday. As they approached the tomb, they wondered aloud how that they might gain access to His body as the tomb was sealed by a rock much too large for them to roll aside. They knew the size of the stone which sealed the sepulchre because they witnessed the sealing of the tomb (see Mk. 15:47).
When they beheld the tomb, they realized their concern was for naught — the stone had already been rolled aside. Upon entering the sepulchre, they saw a “young man” sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment. They were afraid. The presence of the young man was cause for uncertainty and fear. The open sepulchre could be explained — the tomb had been sealed by men and it could be opened by men. The presence of the young man clothed in a long white garment was without explanation.
The “young man” immediately addressed their fears and uncertainty. His message identified him as a messenger. He told them not to be afraid and said: “Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.” Comparing Matthew’s account of this happening to the text before us, we find small differences. Matthew does not document the presence of Salome, nor the women’s concern that the tomb would be sealed. Matthew describes the messenger as an angel rather than as a young man. Mark’s account, the account before us, reads as if it were seen through the eyes of three women who, initially, did not realize that the messenger was an angel sent from God.
The focus of picture before us shifts from three women seeking to embalm the body of Jesus to consideration of the empty tomb. After informing the women that Jesus had risen, the angel instructed the women in the manner in which they were to respond to the empty tomb. The women were directed to go their way and to tell the disciples that Jesus “goeth before thee into Galilee” (v. 7).
God could have sent the angel directly to the disciples but He did not. God sent His angel to an empty tomb. The tomb was empty because God the Father prolonged the days of His Son, the righteous servant, whose soul was made an offering for sin (Isa. 53:10). The empty tomb declares His resurrection. It shouts out: “He is risen! He is alive!”
Jesus destroyed the power of death and the grave when He arose. Because He arose, we celebrate His resurrection every Easter. We celebrate the meaning of the empty tomb. We celebrate because we are confident that we are in Christ and have overcome death (see I Cor. 15:20-23).
On the first Easter, however, there was no celebration or call to celebrate. The angel instructed the women to fear not, and to go, and to tell the disciples. They were to tell Peter and the others to do that which Jesus had instructed them to do. He had told the disciples to meet Him in Galilee (Mk. 14:28). The instruction to the women at the tomb mirrors the instruction which Jesus would give His disciples in Galilee. Jesus commanded them to go and to teach and to baptize. The disciples were to teach others that which Jesus commanded them (Matt. 28:19-20).
God sent an angel to deliver His first Easter message to believers. Jesus delivered God’s last Easter messages to the church in Revelation 3. To the church at Philadelphia (the evangelistic church), He said: “I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast” (Rev. 3:11). To the church at Laodicea (the self-satisfied church), He said: “I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:16).
Again, on the first Easter, the call was to go and to tell. On this Easter let us celebrate by going and telling as we have been instructed.
