35 

Amazement at the Empty Tomb
(Mark 16:1–8) 

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. And 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; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’” They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. (16:1–8)

The resurrection is not simply a component of the gospel, it is the main event. It is the glorious centerpiece of divine redemption, the cornerstone of gospel promise, and the guarantee of eternal life for those who believe. The resurrection is not the epilogue or postscript to the life of Christ, it is the culminating climax of His atoning work.

The death of the Lord Jesus at Calvary is absolutely central to the gospel (cf. 1 Cor. 15:3). Yet without the resurrection, the cross would be meaningless and there would be no hope of salvation from sin. As Paul told the Corinthians, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain … and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins” (vv. 14, 17). But because He has risen (v. 20), believers have hope both for this life and the life to come (cf. v. 19). The church meets on Sunday, not Friday, because Easter stands as the validation of Good Friday. By the resurrection, God vindicated the work of His Son on the cross (Acts 17:31), affirming for all time that divine justice had been fully satisfied and God propitiated through Jesus’ sacrificial death (cf. Rom. 4:25; 1 Peter 2:24).

The gospel does not merely promise believers that their sins have been forgiven, it also confirms that having been made right with God, they will one day receive a glorified resurrection body in which they will dwell forever in His presence (cf. 1 Cor. 15:35–58; 1 Thess. 4:13–18; 1 John 3:2). That promise is founded on the historic reality of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus (1 Cor. 15:20–23), which demonstrates His power over death (cf. John 11:25–26; Heb. 2:14–15). Accordingly, the “resurrection of life” (John 5:29) made possible by Christ (John 14:19; Rom. 4:25; 1 Peter 1:3; 3:21) has been the hope of God’s people in every age (Job 14:14; 19:25–26; Dan. 12:2; Acts 24:15) and the hallmark of New Testament preaching (cf. Acts 2:24; 4:2; 10:38–40; 13:27–30; 17:31; Rom. 6:4; 2 Cor. 4:14; Eph. 1:20; 1 Peter 1:3)

All four gospel writers combine to report on the features surrounding Jesus’ resurrection. Though each author reveals unique elements that bear upon the narrative (a fact that contradicts the modern critical notion that the gospel writers copied from a common source), they harmonize perfectly because they share a common divine Author (cf. John 14:26; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21). Each of the Fospels explains that Jesus died on the cross on Friday afternoon and was buried that evening (Matt. 27:47–61; Mark 15:33–47; Luke 23:44–56; John 19:28–42). He remained in the tomb all day Saturday. But early Sunday morning, when the women arrived to anoint the body with burial spices, the tomb was empty. Their confusion turned to wonder when an angel appeared and explained to them that Jesus was alive. After that, the Lord Himself began to appear to His followers. (For a harmony of the gospel accounts of Jesus’ postresurrection appearances, see John MacArthur, One Perfect Life [Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2012].)

One feature is conspicuously absent from all four accounts: a description of the resurrection itself. The biblical authors give no details of what happened in that critical moment when Jesus’ dead body again surged with life. Instead, they focus on the aftermath of the resurrection, using understated language to describe the remarkable scene. As one commentator explains:

Of the four gospels, Mark’s account is the most succinct, in keeping with the fast-paced style of his history. Though brief, its demonstration of the reality of Jesus’ resurrection is more than sufficient. Mark’s account yields three points of evidence to make his case: the testimony of the empty tomb, the testimony of the angels, and the testimony of the eyewitnesses.

THE TESTIMONY OF THE EMPTY TOMB

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. Entering the tomb (16:1–5a)

The Jews marked their days at sundown rather than midnight, so the Sabbath ended on Saturday evening around 6:00 P.M. But Mark’s statement, that it was over, does much more than simply convey the timing of Jesus’ resurrection (cf. Mark 16:2). It also stands as a theological marker indicating that the Sabbath itself was now obsolete because a new era of redemptive history had begun. No Sabbath observance has been divinely authorized or mandated since the resurrection (cf. Col. 2:16–17). Like the Passover, which ended when Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper as the new memorial feast commemorating His death (Mark 14:22–25), the Sabbath was replaced by the Lord’s Day to commemorate His resurrection every first day of the week (cf. Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2; Rev. 1:10).

Once that final Sabbath passed, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome went into action to complete what they prepared on Friday evening (Luke 23:56; John 19:39–40). They bought additional spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. The other gospel writers explain that Joanna and other women were also there (Luke 24:10; cf. 15:41), including Mary the mother of Jesus (John 19:26). These women had followed Jesus in Galilee and were present at the cross (cf. Mark 15:40–41). At least two of them observed Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus wrapping Jesus’ body with spices for His burial on Friday (John 19:39; cf. Mark 15:46). Yet they wished to prepare their own spices to anoint their Lord. Understandably, they desired one last opportunity to demonstrate their love. Because the Jewish people did not embalm the bodies of their dead, anointing was an act borne of necessity, to mitigate the powerful odors of a decomposing body.

The Israelites did not name the days of the week but simply numbered them, culminating in the seventh day, the Sabbath. On the first day of the week, which was Sunday, the women came very early in the morning, arriving at the tomb when the sun had risen. Matthew explains that they came “as it began to dawn” (Matt. 28:1); and Luke, “at early dawn” (24:1). The various descriptions reflect the different ways in which the gospel writers depicted the same time of day: the transition between night and day just as the sun began to dawn. According to John’s account, Mary Magdelene came to the tomb first, evidently walking ahead of her companions and arriving “while it was still dark” (John 20:1). The other women followed, arriving at the tomb a short time later as the sun began to crest the horizon.

When Mary arrived and saw the stone rolled away, she was struck with grief and immediately assumed someone had stolen Jesus’ body. In her panic, she fled to tell Peter and John. The possibility that Jesus had risen never crossed her mind, as evidenced by her words to the two apostles: “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him” (John 20:2).

Trailing behind Mary, the other women were saying to one another as they approached the garden, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” They knew Joseph had secured the gravesite with a large, heavy stone (Mark 15:46) and wondered how they would be able to remove it. Because Friday was the last time any of them had seen the tomb, they were unaware that the religious leaders had sealed it on Saturday and set a detachment of Roman soldiers to guard it (cf. Matt. 27:62–66). They were also unaware of the localized earthquake that occurred earlier that morning, and the arrival of the angel who rolled the stone away and incapacitated the soldiers (Matt. 28:2–4), ultimately causing them to flee (v. 11). By the time the women arrived at the tomb, the soldiers had disappeared and the tomb’s entrance was wide-open.

To the women’s surprise, as they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. It is important to note that the reason the angel removed the stone was not to let Jesus out. In His resurrection body, the Lord could pass through walls without needing a door (cf. Luke 24:31; John 20:19). Rather, it was to let the women inside, since they would have been unable to remove the heavy stone themselves. Entering the tomb and seeing it was unoccupied (Luke 24:3), their initial thought, like Mary Magdalene, was surely that someone had stolen Jesus’ body. That they were not expecting a resurrection is indicated by the fact that they had come to the tomb with burial spices—an unnecessary act if they thought Jesus was alive. Soon they would learn the glorious truth.

Evidence for the resurrection begins with the simple yet conclusive fact that Jesus’ tomb was empty. The Roman soldiers knew it was empty (Matt. 28:11), as did the Jewish religious leaders (v. 13), the women (Luke 24:3; John 20:2), Peter and John (John 20:6–7), and others like Joseph of Arimathea. Significantly, Jesus’ enemies never disputed the empty tomb. Instead, they tried to explain it away by bribing the soldiers to lie and say His disciples had stolen the body (Matt. 28:12–15). In reality, the tomb being empty had nothing to do with the disorganized and cowardly disciples (cf. Mark 14:50; John 20:19), and everything to do with Jesus rising triumphantly from the dead, just as He promised He would do (cf. Matt. 12:40; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33–34; Luke 13:32; 18:33; John 2:19).

THE TESTIMONY OF THE ANGELS

they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. And 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; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. (16:5b–6)

In an instant, the women went from being perplexed to being terrified, when the morning gloom was abruptly dispelled by the dazzling brilliance of a young man (an angel appearing in human form, Matt. 28:5; John 20:12; cf. Gen. 18:2; 19:1–5; Dan. 10:16). Sitting at the right, wearing a white robe, the angel’s dazzling appearance (Matt. 28:3; Luke 24:4; cf. Matt. 17:2; Acts 1:10; Rev. 19:14) unmistakably identified him as a messenger from heaven. Luke (24:4) and John (20:12) indicate that there were actually two angels (perhaps to fulfill the biblical requirement of multiple witnesses, cf. Deut. 19:15). Because only one of the angels spoke, Mark and Matthew mention only him. (The gospel writers similarly handle the accounts of two demon-possessed men at Gerasa, where only one spoke [cf. Matt. 8:28–29; Mark 5:2, 7; Luke 8:27–28], and of two blind men near Jericho, where only Bartimaeus spoke [Matt. 20:30; Mark 10:46; Luke 18:38].)

Not surprisingly, when the women saw the angels, they were amazed. The Greek verb ekthambeō (were amazed) indicates that the women were terrified and bewildered, falling with their faces toward the ground (Luke 24:5; cf. Dan. 8:15–18; 10:9; Luke 1:12; 2:9; Acts 10:3–4; Rev. 22:8). However, unlike the Roman soldiers who collapsed like dead men (Matt. 28:2–4), the women received hope and comfort from the heavenly messengers. It was angels who brought tidings of great joy at the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:10–15); and angels who announced the wondrous reality of His resurrection.

Aware of their terror, the angel said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified.” The angel’s identification of Jesus left no doubt that the women had come to the correct tomb. As the heavenly messenger went on to explain, He has risen; He is not here. The aorist passive form of the Greek verb egeirō (has risen) is more accurately rendered, “has been raised” (cf. Acts 2:24, 32; 3:15, 26; 4:10; 5:30; 10:40; 13:30, 33, 34, 37; Rom. 4:24–25; 6:9; 7:4; 8:34; 10:9; 1 Cor. 6:14; 15:4, 12–20; 2 Cor. 4:14; Eph. 1:20; Col. 2:12; 1 Thess. 1:10; 1 Peter 1:21). Though Jesus Himself possessed the authority to lay down His life and to take it up again (John 10:18), the New Testament also teaches that He was raised by the power of both the Father (Rom. 6:4; Gal. 1:1; 1 Peter 1:3) and the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:11). That reality is not contradictory but rather affirms the unity of God within the Trinity, since each member of the Godhead participated in the resurrection (as they did in creation, cf. Gen. 1:1–3; John 1:1–3).

According to Luke 24:5, the angel also asked the women, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?” That mild rebuke, in the form of a question, reminded the women that they should have anticipated Jesus’ resurrection, since He had promised it throughout His ministry (Luke 24:6; cf. Matt. 16:21; 17:22–23; 20:17–19; 26:2; 27:63). However, it was not until after the angel explained what had happened that they “remembered His words” (Luke 24:8).

As they recovered from their initial shock, the women were directed by the angel to examine the place where they laid Him. When Peter and John came to the tomb later that morning, they “saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself” (John 20:6–7). The women would have seen the same burial cloths lying undisturbed, except for the facecloth, which had been neatly set to one side. As Jesus did not need the stone removed to exit the tomb, so He had no need to be unwrapped. His glorified resurrection body left the grave clothes behind unchanged.

As an emissary of God (cf. Luke 1:19, 38; Heb. 1:14; 2:2), the angel’s announcement represented the testimony of the Father Himself. This was heaven’s authoritative explanation of the reason the tomb was empty. It was also the first postresurrection declaration of the gospel. As one author observes:

THE TESTIMONY OF THE EYEWITNESSES

But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’” They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. (16:7–8)

A third line of evidence for the resurrection comes from the testimony of the eyewitnesses to whom the risen Christ appeared. It is this line of evidence to which the New Testament primarily appeals (cf. Acts 1:3; 2:32; 3:15; 5:32; 10:39; 13:31; 1 Cor. 15:3–8). Because the apostles (along with many others) had seen the risen Lord, they willingly suffered for the sake of His name (cf. Acts 5:30–32, 41; Phil. 3:10). Had the resurrection been a counterfeit, they would have never given their lives as martyrs for what they knew was a lie.

Speaking on God’s behalf, the angel instructed the women to go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’” Peter was singled out in this instance not only because he was the leader of the disciples but to reassure him in light of his recent denials (Mark 14:66–72). With these words from the angel, the women’s perplexity and panic was transformed into proclamation. The truth had been revealed to them, now they were to declare it to the disciples.

In response, they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them. The term tromos (trembling) speaks of physical shaking caused by great fear, and ekstasis (astonishment) is the Greek word from which the English word “ecstasy” is derived. Awestruck by the news they had just received, they immediately went to find the disciples, saying nothing to anyone else along the way. That they were afraid (a form of the Greek verb phobeō, from which the English word “phobia” is derived) stemmed not from the threat of being harmed but from a sense of bewilderment and wonder. Matthew explains that their fear was mingled with exceeding joy at the realization that Jesus was alive (cf. Matt. 28:8).

After the women had left, Peter and John arrived at the empty tomb (John 20:3–9; cf. Luke 24:12). Mary Magdalene also returned to the tomb, after Peter and John were gone (John 20:10). This time, she too saw the angels (v. 12) and encountered the risen Lord Himself, initially thinking He was merely the gardener (vv. 14–18). Jesus appeared to the rest of the women also, as they were walking on the road to meet the disciples. Matthew records that joyous reunion:

When the women, including Mary Magdalene (cf. John 20:18), found the disciples and reported what had happened, the eleven initially refused to believe their news (Luke 24:10–11). Their lack of faith made them slow to respond to Jesus’ command to go to Galilee. It was not until after the risen Christ repeatedly appeared to them in Jerusalem (cf. Luke 24:13–32; John 20:19–31) that they finally were willing to head for Galilee (Matt. 28:7, 16).

When Jesus promised to meet His disciples in Galilee (Matt. 28:10), He was not saying that His first postresurrection appearance would be there but that His supreme appearance (to hundreds of His followers at one time) would take place in Galilee. In Judea, He appeared to Mary Magdalene (John 20:11–18), the other women (Matt. 28:8–10). Peter (Luke 24:34), the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:15), ten of the apostles in the upper room (John 20:19), and all eleven including Thomas eight days later (John 20:26). When the apostles arrived in Galilee, Jesus appeared to seven of them on the shore of the lake (John 21:1–25). He later appeared to more than five hundred disciples (1 Cor. 15:6) on a mountain, where He commissioned the apostles to take the gospel to the ends of the earth (cf. Matt. 28:16–17). At some point, Jesus also appeared to His half brother James (1 Cor. 15:7) and then a final time to the eleven apostles on the Mount of Olives, just before His ascension to heaven (Acts 1:4–11). Additional appearances seem indicated in Acts 1:2–3, where Luke says of the apostles, “To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.” The Old Testament required the testimony of two or three witnesses to substantiate an event (Deut. 19:15). But God ensured that the resurrection would be verified by hundreds of eyewitnesses on many occasions who had personally seen the risen Christ. The reality of the resurrection—affirmed by collective testimony of the empty tomb, the angels, and the eyewitnesses—proves Jesus is who He claimed to be.

Mark began his historical record by declaring Jesus to be the “Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). Everything throughout his gospel confirms that fact, but the resurrection proves it beyond any doubt. Jesus is the divine Messiah, the Savior of sinners, the Son of God, and the Lord over all (cf. Phil. 2:10–11).

Intellectual acknowledgment of the historical fact of Jesus’ resurrection is necessary to be saved, but in itself not sufficient to save. Romans 10:9 requires: “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Saving faith goes beyond mental affirmation of the facts; it grips the heart with love for Christ and submits the will in obedience to Him as sovereign Lord.

For believers, the fear of death is removed and the hope of glory is assured by Jesus’ resurrection. He has conquered the grave and promised the same victory to all who embrace Him in saving faith (cf. 1 Cor. 15:54–57). As D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explained to his congregation one Easter Sunday: