Do I Get It? / Mark 16:1-8 (9-20)
Well, as you’re sitting down, I want you to go ahead and pick up your Bibles and turn to Mark chapter 16. Mark chapter 16. That means tonight we’re wrapping up this series on the Gospel of Mark, what we’ve called Follow the Servant.
Remember, we gave it that title because sometimes we don’t naturally think of Jesus as someone who came to serve. But that really is Mark’s central theme. That’s the truth Jesus gives to his disciples and to us: that he came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Mark 10:45 (NASB)
‘For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.’
That verse in chapter 10 is what many consider the theme verse of the entire book. When I think of a king, when I think of God in the flesh, I don’t naturally think of someone coming in order to serve—I think of someone coming to be served. And that’s exactly what the original Roman readers would have thought. Remember, Mark was written to a Roman audience. The idea of a servant king would have blown them away. It would have turned their entire paradigm upside down. It would take a while as they read through this account to really grasp what it means to follow the Servant.
A History of Not Getting It
It wasn’t just the Romans who struggled. As you read through the Gospel of Mark, Jesus’ own disciples had a terribly hard time grasping it. They had their own preconceived ideas of what the Messiah and the coming King would look like, and Jesus was nothing like what they expected. So they had a hard time getting it.
Think back to chapter 1. As Jesus is introduced, Mark starts with John the Baptist, the prophet prophesied in Isaiah who would prepare the way for the Messiah. Prophecy is being fulfilled right in front of them, but they still don’t quite get it. John preaches repentance and shows that we can’t do anything to fix our own sin. Then Jesus steps into the waters of baptism to identify with our problem, showing that while he carries no sin of his own, he is the one who came to solve it. And they still don’t get it.
Then Jesus begins his ministry. He walks along the Sea of Galilee, gathers these fishermen, and says, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” He tells them, “Follow me, and I will change your life in a way you could never do on your own, making you agents of change in other people’s lives.” Even with that clear calling, they don’t quite get it.
They follow him and watch him teach with an authority nobody else has. They watch him do things nobody else can do: healing the sick, casting out demons, and proclaiming the good news of salvation. In chapter 2, Jesus heals the paralyzed man lowered through the roof, demonstrating not just healing power, but his authority to forgive sins. And they still don’t get it.
At the end of chapter 2, Jesus tells them that their old religious paradigm won’t work anymore. You can’t just squeeze him into the old wineskins of your expectations; you have to come fresh because he is an entirely new way of thinking. They still don’t get it.
In chapter 3, he officially appoints the twelve disciples. In chapter 4, he teaches parables about faith and the kingdom of God. He pulls the disciples aside in private to explain everything so they can understand deeply. Yet even after private instruction, they still don’t get it. At the end of that chapter, he calms a violent storm with a word, and they are left terrified, wondering who he is.
In chapter 5, Jesus encounters an outcast possessed by a legion of demons, a woman with a chronic issue of blood, and a grieving father named Jairus whose daughter has died. Those three individuals ended up understanding who Jesus was. They experienced his transforming power personally. But the disciples still struggled.
So in chapter 6, Jesus engages the disciples directly. He gives them power and authority to go out, cast out demons, heal the sick, and preach the gospel. Can you believe that? Even after participating in that ministry, they still don’t fully understand. He feeds 5,000 people with a few loaves and fish right before their eyes, and they don’t get it. He walks on water, and they don’t get it.
In chapter 7, Jesus teaches that true defilement isn’t about external rituals; it’s a matter of the heart. He shows them that he is a heart-changer, but they still don’t get it.
In chapter 8, he takes them on a hike up north to Caesarea Philippi and asks, “Who do people say that I am? Who do you say that I am?” Peter speaks up and says, “You are the Christ.” It looks like they finally get it! But moments later, when Jesus explains that he must suffer, die, and rise again, Peter rebukes him. Peter understood the title in his head, but he didn’t grasp the reality in his heart. Jesus reminds them that following him means denying yourself, taking up your cross, and placing your total faith in him.
In chapter 9, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up on a high mountain and is transfigured before them, giving them a glimpse of his divine glory. And they are baffled.
In chapter 10, James and John ask for the top seats of honor in his kingdom. Jesus has to remind them all over again that greatness in the kingdom doesn’t come from having people serve you; greatness comes from serving others. He repeats that the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. And they still don’t get it.
In chapter 11, Jesus rides into Jerusalem as the prophet Zechariah foretold, cleanses the temple to make way for all people to access and worship God, and they still don’t truly understand. In chapter 12, his opponents try to trap him with difficult questions, and Jesus turns the tables on them with divine wisdom. In chapter 13, he tells them about the future, warning them to stay alert and ready for his return.
In chapter 14, a woman comes and anoints Jesus with extremely costly perfume. She recognizes his infinite value and prepares him for burial—she gets it! But the disciples criticize her. Then Jesus shares the Last Passover meal with them, instituting communion and showing that his body will be broken and his blood shed for the forgiveness of sins. He goes to Gethsemane and surrenders his will to the Father: “Not what I will, but what you will.” He serves his Father and serves us all. And the disciples scatter.
In chapter 15, Jesus stands before Pilate. He takes the place of Barabbas, a guilty criminal, serving as a living picture of substitutionary atonement. He hangs on the cross, bearing our sin so that we might receive the righteousness of God. When he breathes his last, he willingly gives up his spirit. A Roman centurion standing there confesses, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” A Gentile soldier gets it. But the disciples are nowhere to be found. Jesus is laid in a sealed tomb.
The Missing Piece of the Puzzle
At the end of chapter 15, when Jesus is placed in the tomb, I can honestly understand why the disciples were completely lost. They were living in that raw, crushing moment. Their leader was dead. Their hopes seemed shattered. I can understand their grief and confusion.
Then we arrive at chapter 16. We know how the story goes: the resurrection. The resurrection is the central piece of the entire puzzle. You can read chapters 1 through 15 and see all the incredible pieces of who Jesus is, what he taught, and what he did. But the resurrection is the cornerstone that locks every single piece into place. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, our faith is completely empty. His resurrection proved who he claimed to be, validated everything he taught, and proved that his sacrifice on the cross was accepted by God.
So as we come to chapter 16, we naturally think, Finally, this is the moment where everything is going to click! Now they are finally going to get it!
Let’s see what happens.
Mark 16:1-3 (NASB)
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?’
Mark doesn’t begin the resurrection account with the twelve disciples; he begins with these faithful women. When I was a kid, I used to wonder why the disciples seemed to be a guys-only group. But Mark makes it clear that these women had been following Jesus all along, supporting his ministry and watching faithfully from a distance at the cross.
Here we see three women: Mary Magdalene, out of whom Jesus had cast seven demons; Mary the mother of James; and Salome, the mother of James and John and likely the sister of Jesus’ mother, Mary. These women had walked with Jesus for years. They loved him deeply.
Because the Sabbath had begun right after Jesus died on Friday, they had to bury him quickly. Now, early Sunday morning, they are bringing spices to provide a proper, loving, honorable burial. On their way, they suddenly realize a major practical problem: Who is going to roll away the massive stone in front of the tomb?
Mark 16:4-7 (NASB)
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.’’
When they look up, they see that the stone has already been rolled away, even though it was extremely heavy. They step inside the tomb, and instead of finding the body of Jesus, they see an angel—a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The text says they were utterly amazed and alarmed.
The angel tells them, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here! See the place where they laid him.”
Then the angel gives them a specific instruction: “Go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”
I love that phrase: “tell his disciples and Peter.” Why single out Peter? Remember, the Gospel of Mark is widely understood to be Peter’s eyewitness testimony recorded by Mark. Peter had just denied Jesus three times with curses. He was crushed with guilt, wondering if he had disqualified himself forever. And the angel specifically says, Make sure Peter knows. Peter isn’t cast out. None of us can blow it so badly that God’s grace cannot redeem and use us.
So the angel tells the women, He is risen! Go tell the disciples!
At this point, we expect the women to run out of the tomb bursting with joy, unable to contain their excitement, shouting the good news to the whole world. But look at what verse 8 actually says.
Mark 16:8 (NASB)
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.
They went out and fled from the tomb because trembling and astonishment had gripped them. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
Jesus has risen from the dead, and they still don’t get it. They run away terrified, and they don’t say a word to anyone.
And that is where the Gospel of Mark ends.
The Abrupt Ending
Now, I know what you might be thinking: PJ, keep reading! My Bible doesn’t stop at verse 8; there are verses 9 through 20.
Mark 16:9-20 (NASB)
[Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping. When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it. After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country. They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either. Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining [at the table]; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen. And He said to them, ’Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ’He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. ‘These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly [poison], it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.’ So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed]. [[And they promptly reported all these instructions to Peter and his companions. And after that, Jesus Himself sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation].]
If you look closely at your Bible, you will almost certainly find a footnote next to verses 9 through 20. It usually says something like: The earliest and most reliable manuscripts do not contain verses 9 through 20.
Why don’t the earliest manuscripts contain those verses? Because they weren’t part of Mark’s original ending. Over the centuries, early scribes and church readers looked at verse 8 and thought, What a terrible, abrupt ending! How can you end the Gospel on a note of fear and silence? That’s such a downer. We need to fix this.
So later endings were added to wrap things up neatly. Look at the difference in tone in verse 20.
Mark 16:20 (NASB)
And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed]. [[And they promptly reported all these instructions to Peter and his companions. And after that, Jesus Himself sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation].]
Verse 8 says, “They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” Verse 20 says, “And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.” That sounds like a much better, more inspiring ending, doesn’t it?
Some manuscripts even inserted a short ending right after verse 8 that said: And they promptly reported all these instructions to Peter and his companions. And after that, Jesus himself sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.
That sounds great! But smoothing over the ending completely misses what Mark was doing. Mark intentionally ends at verse 8 because he wants you to feel the tension. Throughout the entire Gospel, Mark places you in the story so you can watch how different people respond to Jesus. Some respond in faith, while the disciples repeatedly fail to understand.
When you reach verse 8 and read that these women who witnessed his miracles, heard his teaching, and saw the empty tomb ran away in fear and said nothing, your natural reaction is: Are you kidding me? How could they do that?
And that is precisely the reaction Mark wants you to have.
When the Text Studies Us
Whenever I spend time studying God’s Word with an open heart, I find that the Bible begins studying me.
The reason verse 8 makes us so uncomfortable isn’t just because we can’t believe the women reacted that way. It makes us uncomfortable because, if we are honest, we see ourselves in them.
Think about it. We come to church week after week. We open our Bibles and hear the teachings of Jesus. We have seen him work in our lives, answer prayers, and deliver us from our own struggles. We know the truth of the resurrection in our heads, just like Peter knew Jesus was the Christ.
Yet how often do we leave a church service and walk right back into our Monday through Saturday lives without being changed at all? We write our check, sing our songs, listen to a sermon, and then leave exactly the same as when we walked in.
On Sunday morning, Jesus walked out of the grave, alive and victorious. Yet so many of us live as if we are attending his funeral—honoring his memory, appreciating what he did in the past, but completely missing his living, active resurrection power in us right now. We go to work, collect our paychecks, manage our routines, and blend in with the rest of the world. We stay silent about our faith because we’re afraid of being criticized, afraid of looking foolish, or afraid of what people might think.
We act just like the women in verse 8: timid, afraid, and saying nothing to anyone.
How Will Your Story End?
Every single one of us is writing a story with our lives. Right now, you are on the current page of your story. You have a relationship with Jesus. You know what he has done for you. But you also know if that resurrection power is truly gripping your heart or if it’s just staying in your head.
If a verse were written today to describe your life and how you are responding to the resurrected Christ, what would it say?
Would it say: And they went back to their normal lives, fearful, timid, and saying nothing to anyone?
Or would it say: And Jesus sent them out into their homes, their workplaces, and their communities to proclaim the sacred and imperishable message of eternal salvation?
That is the ending we want. That is the life God has called us to live.
We serve a living Lord. His Spirit lives inside of us. He has called us to run out into the world—not in fear, but with overwhelming joy—sharing this good news with people who desperately need to hear it.
Let’s pray together.
Lord, thank you for the power of your Word. As we read it, we ask that you would allow it to examine our hearts. Forgive us for the times we have lived timidly, keeping silent and living as though you never rose from the dead. Awaken us to the reality of your resurrection power. Move our faith from our heads down into the depth of our hearts. Use our lives to proclaim your imperishable message of salvation to everyone around us. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.