As we have seen throughout his Gospel account, Mark doesn’t always provide many details and that is certainly true regarding the resurrection. The first thing to understand is that 1Corinthians 15 was written before Mark. As a result, he is writing against the backdrop of a church that already has an understanding of the resurrection from what Paul has written. The early church is already worshiping on Sundays – even those from Jewish backgrounds who were insistent on Sabbath worship have now changed to Sunday. What could convince them to make this shift other than the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday?
Mark 16:1 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3 They were saying among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” 4 for it was very big. Looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back. 5 Entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were amazed. 6 He said to them, “Do not be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen. He is not here. Look, the place where they put him. 7 But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He goes before you into Galilee. There you will see Him, as He said to you.'” 8They went out, and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had come on them. They said nothing to anyone; for they were afraid. NHEB
The three days from Good Friday to Easter morning are based upon the Jewish reckoning of days rather than an exact 72 hour time period as we might think of today. After claiming Jesus’ body, Joseph of Arimathaea hurriedly wrapped it in a linen cloth and placed it in the tomb. The women want to come back and do a better job but couldn’t do so until Sunday morning. They are concerned about the stone because it is too much for them to move by themselves.
The word translated as “astonished” and “terrified” in verses 5 and 6 is an unusual word in Greek (see Strong’s 1568) and is only used in Mark. Many translations use “amazed” which doesn’t quite capture the full meaning of this word. This is a shocking turn of events as these women have entered the tomb only to discover that Jesus’ body is gone and there is a young man in white robe speaking to them. The man is an angel who tells them that Jesus has risen and is no longer there. (Some Gospel accounts list two angels). There are people bothered by the fact that the angel is described as a young man because our understanding is that angels are neither boys nor girls (although the two angels we know by name are Michael and Gabriel). Most commentators will say they show up as men because that is the cultural expectation of the time. Later church art will depict angels as women.
The reference to Jesus of Nazareth (or the Nazarene) is a little odd because that is the guy who was there before – the historical Jesus. Resurrection implies a transformation and we see that from the people who know Jesus but don’t recognize Him now. Contrast this with Lazarus who was still there in the tomb when Jesus resuscitates him and is the same person as he was before. On the one hand, Jesus is still the same with the wounds in His hands and sides, yet He is also different. Perhaps the reason Peter is singled out here is to reconcile him back to Christ as he last time we saw Peter, he was cowering in shame after denying Jesus three times.
The earliest manuscripts we have end at verse 8 and most scholars are in agreement about this being the end of Mark. The problem this presents is that if it ends at verse 8, we see the women running away and not telling anyone. We know from the other Gospels that they do tell the disciples but at this particular moment, it isn’t hard to picture them as being awe-struck and filled with fear after their experience in the tomb.
Various theories have been put forth as to why the abrupt ending. One is that the scroll Mark was written on was damaged. The ending to Mark would be written at the end of the scroll so this would be the easiest part to get damaged and lost. Others say this is intentional on Mark’s part as he wants us to be shocked just like the women are. There is also the possibility that someone didn’t like what he wrote and deleted it. Finally, some suggest that Mark (or Peter) may have died before it was completed. Depending upon the translation, there can be an added short ending or an added long ending. The longer ending adds 12 verses:
Mark 16: 9 Now when He had risen early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. 11 When they heard that He was alive, and had been seen by her, they disbelieved. 12And after these things He appeared in another form to two of them, as they walked on their way into the country. 13 And they went away and told it to the rest. They did not believe them, either. 14 Afterward He was revealed to the eleven themselves as they were reclining, and He rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world, and proclaim the Good News to the whole creation. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them; they will place their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.” 19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the message by the signs that followed. NHEB
It is odd that Mary Magdalene is being introduced here by describing the seven demons since she has already been mentioned in the immediately preceding verses. Verse 16 points toward baptismal regeneration which is the idea that you cannot be saved unless you have been baptized with water. There are some Christians, who hold to his belief, that view salvation as a series of steps with baptism as the last step in the process. Others will point to other verses of Scripture to argue that we are saved by faith. See: https://www.gotquestions.org/baptismal-regeneration.html for more.
Next up are five signs of which three show up in other parts of Scripture – omitted are snake handling and poison drinking. These 12 verses are a little clumsy and it appears that whoever added them had a copy of Matthew, Luke and John in front of them and decided to fix the ending of Mark by weaving in things from the other Gospel accounts. See: https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/41-85/The-Fitting-End-to-Marks-Gospel for a more in-depth discussion of the ending of Mark. There are also any number of people who will make arguments in favor of these verses as being part of Mark. Regardless of which side you take in this particular debate, don’t lose sight of the fact that Mark makes it clear in the first eight verses that Jesus has risen and is no longer in the tomb!