Mark 16:1-11

1 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.

² Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.

³ And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?”

⁴ But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large.

⁵ And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.

⁶ 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.

⁷ But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.”

⁸ So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

⁹ Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.

¹⁰ She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.

¹¹ And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

Also found in Matthew 28:1-8, Luke 24:1-8, and John 20:1, 11-18.

Most of my commentaries, rather than look into the details of this passage, spend their time attempting to explain away the seeming discrepancies between the Gospel accounts. I’m not going to get into that except to say that none of the accounts were intended to be a detailed, step-by-step record of what all the participants — the Lord, the angels, the women, the disciples — did that morning. If I say “I’ve been to San Diego,” it’s no contradiction of my coworker’s statement that several of us went to that city. If I say “I went before sunrise,” it’s no contradiction of my coworker’s statement that we arrived just after first light.”

Sabbath (v.1) — the regular weekly Sabbath (Saturday).

Most commentaries state that Christ was crucified on Friday because the Bible states (John 19:31) that His body had to be removed for the Sabbath. But this was the time of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the first day of that feast was considered a holy day (Sabbath), no matter what day of the week it fell on (Leviticus 23:7). So, since Jesus Himself said that He would be in the grave for three days and three nights (Matthew 12:39-40), He must have been crucified earlier than Friday and the feast must have begun that  year on a day other than Saturday. It is likely, however, that the Sabbath referred to in Mark 16:1 was the regular Saturday Sabbath.

When the Sabbath was over, that is, after sunset [on Saturday], the women purchased the aromatics for the anointing of the body of our Lord. They probably knew of the [hasty] embalming of the body by Joseph and Nicodemus. But they desired to make an external application of fragrant oils. … They purchased the anointing oil after sunset that closed the Sabbath. Very early in the morning of our Sunday, perhaps while it was still dark, they left Bethany, which is about two miles from Jerusalem, and arrived at the tomb just after sunrise. — Wuest, page 289.

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They said among themselves (v.3). The verb is imperfect. “They kept on saying among themselves.” It was the chief topic of conversation. They had no anticipation of a resurrection. The word “roll” used by the women is slightly different from the one used by Mark in describing that event. The former word means “to roll away.” The idea is one of separation. The spoke of the stone being rolled clear of the door, so as to leave the doorway entirely open. The latter word refers to the act of rolling back the stone so as to leave the opening free of access. …

They had approached the tomb with downcast eyes and bowed heads. The words, “for it (the stone) was very great,” either explain their being able to see that the stone had been moved, or what it was that arrested their attention. The word “from” [means] “out of,” not “from the edge of,” and indicates that the stone was set into the entrance, not merely placed up against its edge. — Wuest, pages 289-290.

What Wuest is saying, I think, is that the stone wasn’t just rolled in front of the tomb to cover the hole, but was actually cut to fit into the opening, which would require lifting it out of the recess to remove it, not just rolling it off to the side.

long white robe (v.5) — a long stately robe, reaching to the feet, or trainlike, sweeping the ground. The word was used of any garment of special solemnity, richness, or beauty. … The implication is that the individual described was not a human being but an angel. — Wuest, page 290.

He is going before you into Galilee (v.7) — Matthew 26:32; Mark 14:28.

trembled and were amazed (v.8) — not fear so much as wonder and complete amazement.

Verses 9 through the end of the chapter don’t appear in some early manuscripts, leading some to suspect later authorship or some corruption in the original text that happened early on during the process of copying. But they do appear in other solid manuscripts.