Mark 16:1-7 – The Resurrection
16 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
Very early in the morning when Mary and other women arrived in Jesus’ tomb, the heavy stone that sealed it was rolled away. Seeing the tomb empty, they were frightened.
The stone in Jesus’ tomb was rolled away not so Jesus could come out, but for His people to be able to come in and see the empty tomb. It’s for our sake that the heavy stone was rolled away. It is for our sake that the Saviour was risen. Open and empty tomb means HOPE and ASSURANCE! Hope of a living Savior and the assurance of our faith. 1 Corinthians 15:14, 17 says,
14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very heart of Christianity. God rolled away the stone so that we could see that are faith is not in vain, that there is hope amidst a seemingly hopeless situation.
7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.
The angels whom Mary was talking to in Jesus’ tomb, instructed her to tell Jesus’ disciples and Peter what she had found. Peter has a bitter experience of denying Jesus, not just once but thrice. The mention of Peter’s name assures him of forgiveness.
To Peter, empty tomb means forgiveness and hope.
To Mary, it means a living Savior, a living hope.
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