Mark 16:1-8, the First Easter Story

Posted on Sunday, April 24, 2011 in Bible Commentary | 0 comments

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Salome brought spices so they could embalm him. Very early on Sunday morning, as the sun rose, they went to the tomb. They worried out loud to each other, “Who will roll back the stone from the tomb for us?”

Then they looked up, saw that it had been rolled back—it was a huge stone—and walked right in. They saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed all in white. They were completely taken aback, astonished.

He said, “Don’t be afraid. I know you’re looking for Jesus the Nazarene, the One they nailed on the cross. He’s been raised up; he’s here no longer. You can see for yourselves that the place is empty. Now—on your way. Tell his disciples and Peter that he is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You’ll see him there, exactly as he said.”

They got out as fast as they could, beside themselves, their heads swimming. Stunned, they said nothing to anyone.

–The Message Bible

(So ends the first written resurrection story, as recorded in the book of Mark. The remainder of Mark’s Gospel was added to the scripture at a later date.)