Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen Mk. 16:1. When the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Him. The women think nothing great or worthy of the divinity of Jesus, as they sit at the tomb and buy myrrh in order to anoint the body according to the Jewish custom, so that it would be fragrant and not give off an unpleasant smell from decay, and so that the body would be preserved unharmed by the power of the myrrh, which dries and absorbs the moisture of the body. This is what the women were thinking. Mk. 16:2. And very early, on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb, at the rising of the sun, Mk. 16:3. and they said among themselves: who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? Mk. 16:4. And looking up, they see that the stone has been rolled away; for it was very great. Mk. 16:5. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe; and they were amazed. Mk. 16:6. And he says to them: do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus the Nazarene, the crucified one; He is risen, He is not here. Behold the place where He was laid. "And very early, on the first day of the week," having risen, they go to the tomb and wonder: "who will roll away the stone?" But while they were pondering this, the Angel rolled away the stone, though the women did not perceive it. So too Matthew says that the Angel rolled away the stone after the women had arrived. But Mark was silent about this, because Matthew had already said by whom the stone was rolled away. If Matthew says that the Angel was sitting on the stone, while Mark says that the women, having entered the tomb, saw him sitting inside, one should not be troubled by this. For they could have seen the Angel sitting outside on the stone, as stated in Matthew, and could have seen him again inside the tomb, as having preceded them and gone in. However, some say that the women mentioned in Matthew were different from those in Mark, and that the Magdalene was the companion of all, as the most zealous and fervent. The Angel who appeared said to the women: "Do not be alarmed." First he frees them from fear, and then proclaims the good news of the Resurrection. He calls Jesus Christ "the Crucified," for he is not ashamed of the Cross, which is the salvation of mankind and the foundation of all blessings. "He is risen"; from what is this evident? From the fact that "He is not here." And do you wish to be convinced? "Behold the place where He was laid." For this reason he rolled away the stone, in order to show this place. Mk. 16:7. But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He goes before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He told you. Mk. 16:8. And going out, they fled from the tomb; trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. "But go, tell His disciples and Peter." He separates Peter from the disciples either as the chief one, naming him specially apart from the others by preeminence, or for this reason: since Peter had denied, if the women had said they were commanded to announce only to the disciples, he would have said: I denied Him, therefore I am no longer His disciple, and so the Lord has rejected me and been disgusted with me. Therefore the Angel also added "and Peter," so that Peter would not be troubled by the thought that he was not deemed worthy even of a word, as one who had denied and was therefore no longer worthy to be numbered among the disciples. He sends them "to Galilee," drawing them away from the turmoil and great fear of the Jews. Then "trembling and astonishment" seized the women, that is, they were struck both by the vision of the Angel and by the awe of the Resurrection, and therefore "they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid." Either they were afraid of the Jews, or they were so gripped by fear from the vision that they had, as it were, lost their senses. And so they said nothing to anyone, having forgotten everything they had heard. Mk. 16:9. Rising early on the first day of the week, Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene, "Having risen" – pause here, then read: "early on the first day of the week, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene." For He did not rise early (who saw when He rose?), but He appeared early, on the day of the resurrection (since this day is the first day of the sabbath, that is, of the week). Mk. 16:9. "from whom He had cast out seven demons." that is, many (for Sacred Scripture sometimes takes the number "seven" in the sense of a multitude), or seven demons opposed to the seven spirits of virtue, such as: the spirit of fearlessness (lack of fear of God), the spirit of folly, the spirit of ignorance, the spirit of falsehood, and others opposed to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Mk. 16:12. After this He appeared in another form to two of them on the road, as they were walking into the country. Mk. 16:13. And they, having returned, reported to the rest; but neither did they believe them. Mk. 16:14. Finally, He appeared to the eleven themselves as they reclined at supper, and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him risen. "After this He appeared in another form to two of them on the road, as they were going into the village." About these two, Luke also speaks (Luke 24:13–35). "And they went and told it unto the residue; neither believed they them." How then does Luke say that they "returned and found the eleven Apostles gathered together, and those who were with them, who said that the Lord is risen indeed" (Luke 24:33–34), whereas according to Mark's testimony they did not believe even those who came from the village? We answer: when the Evangelist says that "they told the residue," he does not mean the eleven apostles, but certain others. These he called "the residue," since the eleven had seen Him (Christ) on that same day on which those who returned from the village found them saying "that the Lord is risen indeed." Mk. 16:15. And He said to them: Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. Mk. 16:16. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. Note the Lord's commandment: "preach to every creature." He did not say: preach only to the obedient, but to every creature, whether they will listen or not. "Whoever believes," and this alone is not enough, but also "is baptized," for whoever has believed but has not been baptized and still remains a catechumen, that one is not yet saved. Mk. 16:17. And these signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; Mk. 16:18. they will pick up serpents; Believers, he says, will be accompanied by signs — the casting out of demons, speaking in new tongues, the taking up of serpents, that is, the destruction of serpents, both sensible and intelligible, as it is said in another place: "I give you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions," evidently, intelligible ones (Luke 10:19). However, the expression "they will take up serpents" can also be understood literally, since, for example, Paul took a serpent in his hand without any harm to himself (Acts 28:5). Mk. 16:18. "And if they drink anything deadly, it will not harm them..." This happened many times, as we find in the narratives. For many, drinking poison, were preserved unharmed by the power of the sign of the cross. Mk. 16:19. And so the Lord, after speaking with them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. Mk. 16:20. They went out and preached everywhere, with the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the signs that followed. Amen. Do you see? Everywhere our action comes first, and then God's cooperation follows. For God cooperates with us when we act and make a beginning, but when we do not act, He does not cooperate. Notice also that deeds follow words and the word is confirmed by deeds, just as with the apostles the word was confirmed by the deeds and signs that followed. Would that, O Christ the Word, our words too, which we speak concerning virtue, were confirmed by deeds and actions, so that we might stand before You perfect, You who cooperate with us in all deeds and words! For to You belongs the glory both in our words and in our deeds. Amen.