‘The resurrection is not the epilogue to the Gospels, it is the climax of the life of Christ.’ John Macarthur
16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”
8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.[a]
Horsham: 26th January 2026
In my last post, I commented that in these last verses of his Gospel, Mark brings the women to centre stage. This is unusual in an account of events of this period, and it’s a great moment to remind ourselves that as far as we can tell, the source for Mark’s Gospel is the Apostle Peter. In these closing verses of Mark’s gospel, continue to be absolutely critical to the story.
Matthew tells us that many women who had been following Jesus were there at his death. Mark tells us that Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph were there as Joseph of Arimathea and his servants laid Jesus to rest in the tomb, sealing it with a large rock. The interesting thing is that this account seems to rely on the testimony of the women, who later told their story to Peter. This is important because first century Palestine was a fiercely patriarchal society in which Jews rarely gave credence to women as witnesses. Yet it was the women who stood close to the dying Jesus, when Peter and the other disciples are either in hiding or keeping their distance, and it is the women who are recorded as the witnesses to the placing of Christ in the tomb.
So here we are on the third day. The first people to visit the tomb are not the men who had sworn to stand with Christ even when he is faced with death. The first visitors are the women. With the men in hiding, we sense that the women are taking an extraordinary risk by approaching the grave. If we reflect on the account in all four Gospels, we might reasonably think that they have arranged to meet at the tomb in the early morning of Sunday, the third day. They come with expensive ointments and spices to adorn the body, not as a preservative, but as an entirely human act of love for Jesus. As they approach the tomb they are anxious, not as you might think about arrest, but about how they will move the rock which has sealed the tomb.
John tells us that it is Mary Magdalene who arrives first, possibly alone. To her horror, she finds the tomb open. Someone, or something, has rolled the stone away. Grave robbers were common, raiding tombs in search of valuables which might be left with the dead. Mary’s reaction is entirely reasonable – that the body of Jesus has been stolen. She rushes away to tell the disciples. Next to arrive are another group of women who are the first to venture inside the tomb and find it empty. By Mark’s account, which again can only originate from one of the women, there was a moment of confusion. They were perplexed, as well they might be. In that moment, like Mary before them, they can surely have but one thought, that someone has stolen the body.
Then, something extraordinary happens. Stepping inside the tomb they are confronted by a young man sitting to one side where they would have expected to see the body of Jesus. ‘You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth. He has been raised; he is not here. Look – here is the place where they laid him. Go and tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see Him, just as he told you.’ (vv 6-7 NRSV).
He has been raised. Resurrection.
End Piece
Mark’s Gospel ends at verse 8. Because we know more about his resurrection from the other Gospels, it seems a rather abrupt end. You will see in your Bible that there are 12 more verses, but you will almost certainly see a footnote which says that these verses do not appear in the oldest and most reliable manuscripts.
I will look at these extra verses in my next post, but for the moment, let’s regard verse 8 as the final verse of the Gospel. In that verse we see the women running from the tomb. In my English bible it says that they were running in fear and amazement. If we were watching a film, this ending would make us think that there is going to be a sequel. There is more to come.
The resurrection is indeed the climax of the life of Christ on earth. it is also the start point for the 40 days of resurrection during which Christ was seen by his disciples, and by many other followers of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).
The fact that Peter is the principal source for Mark makes this ending even ore special. The final action of Mark’s Gospel focuses not on the disciples, but on the women and their reaction to the missing body. The first people with the courage to visit the tomb, the first witnesses of his resurrection. The first people, in fear and amazement to bring the news of the resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. to the disciples, and to the world, were the women.
For myself, I think that is a wonderful way for Mark to end his incredible story.