The Resurrection of Jesus
Mark 16
Early Sunday Morning, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome went to the garden tomb of Joseph of Arimathea to put spices on Jesus’ body. Anointing the body was a customary way to pay respects to the deceased.
On their way, the women wondered how they would access the tomb, since it was sealed with a very large stone. Arriving, however, they were surprised to find the stone rolled away. The tomb was open. Now, think about the powerful statement the Holy Spirit makes here with all of the signs and symbols of Mark 15 and 16:
Even as the Temple’s torn curtain symbolized access for God’s people into the Most Holy Place, the way was open for these disciples to enter the tomb. Equally, the same way God’s glorious Presence was no longer confined to the Most Holy Place, Jesus’ body was not in the tomb. ALL boundaries separating God from His people were gone. Talk about Good News!
An angel greeted the women and told them Jesus had risen from the dead. They fled from the tomb, trembling and overwhelmed with “astonishment.” (v. 8) The Greek word Mark uses to describe the women’s response to the angel and his news, rendered as “astonishment,” is where our English word ecstatic originates. The women were ecstatic!
The angel told them to go tell the disciples and Peter what they had seen. But why would the angel specifically mention Peter? After his experiences, accusations, and denials, Peter was filled with shame. The angel’s specific instruction to tell Peter would, no doubt, be very encouraging to Peter and play a part in his restoration as a disciple.
Application
Jesus’ friends went to the garden tomb expecting one thing, but experienced something completely different!
Have you ever opened your Bible, expecting to see one thing and found yourself confronted by something completely different? Have you ever entered a worship service with other believers expecting one experience, only to encounter something different altogether?
Jesus is alive, and He is still working! He wasn’t just alive when the disciples arrived at the tomb. He lives today and continues to meet with His disciples the world over—to encounter us, confront us, and astonish, just as He did that fateful Sunday Morning.
Don’t allow Jesus to become a figure of history for you—in world history or your own. Encounter the risen Jesus today!
This is somewhat unrelated, but it needs to be addressed. Moreover, it will build your confidence and trust in the biblical text.
Your Bible may have a note about the final verses of Mark’s Gospel. Godly New Testament scholars differ on whether Mark ends with verse eight or continues to verse twenty. The primary reason behind the debate is that our earliest Greek manuscripts end with verse eight. But, more recent (and more numerous) manuscripts continue to verse twenty.
The first thing we need to understand is that none of the original Greek manuscripts (“autographs”) survive to this day. We do, however, have parts, pieces, scrolls, and codices (books) of the writings. Some are large; some are as small as a postage stamp. So, oftentimes scholars must look at what they have, and try to put the pieces together, much like a jigsaw puzzle.
Manuscripts were not bound in book form, as Bibles are today. Textual critics pore over manuscripts, attempting to determine as much as possible which words were most likely original to the New Testament writers.
This is not to say that we don’t have reliable manuscripts and copies by any stretch of the imagination. We do! And, the manuscripts, copies, parts, and pieces we have are from dates closer to the original historical events than any other ancient works, such as Homer’s Iliad. (Over 500 years to be precise!) New Testament manuscripts were deeply treasured, guarded, and used by believers for many years. Because of this, some of the surviving Greek manuscripts we have today may actually be copies of copies of the autographs!
Contrary to skeptics’ claims, by looking at the many existing manuscripts, we can definitively prove that not a single significant change “crept into the Bible” through the centuries of being copied and passed on. We have that many manuscripts (more than 24,000), and they are that well preserved. (By comparison, Homer’s Iliad, which is the closest competitor in antiquity, only has 643 copies.)
It’s also important to note that not one contradiction within the manuscripts has ever been found; however, there may be occasional changes in word order, spelling, or other practically insignificant issues from one manuscript to another. Further still, every new archaeological discovery has only confirmed the veracity of what we already knew and possessed. Not one archeological discovery has ever contradicted a biblical claim!
Some Bibles (ESV, CSB, NASB, NIV, etc.) may have verses that appear to be missing (or added, depending on your perspective) when compared with the KJV/NKJV). The classic examples are Mark 16:9–20 and John 7:53–8:11 because of the different manuscript “family” they were based on. But again, there is not a single contradiction within or between the manuscript families.
Rather than promoting division between brothers and sisters in Christ, let’s celebrate the miraculous preservation of the manuscripts God has providentially preserved for His people throughout the generations!
With today’s Bible reading, we complete the book of Mark. We’re one-fourth of the way through reading the New Testament this year. Congratulations! We hope you’re not just checking boxes of days you’ve completed the Bible readings and devotionals. Our prayer throughout this project is that you are not just reading the Word of God daily, but encountering the God of the Word every day!
© Copyright 2026 Craig Beaman