Angel Says Jesus is Risen

Mark 16:1–8
» View this passage in NIV (Bible Gateway)

At sunrise the next morning, which was Sunday, they were at the tomb (vv. 1-2). As they approached the tomb they were concerned how they might get the stone rolled away from the door (v. 3). However, as they reached the tomb they discovered the stone was already rolled away (v. 4). Inside was an angel who gave them unbelievable news, that Jesus had risen from the dead (vv. 5-6). He told them to go and tell Jesus’ disciples (v. 7) that Jesus was risen and that He would meet them in Galilee as He had promised (Mark 14:28). 

The women left the tomb, but at first they didn’t tell anyone about what they had seen or heard because they were so completely amazed (v. 8). When they came to the tomb they had come to pay last tribute to a dead body. The disciples were in mourning because they thought everything had ended in tragedy. Nothing else but the resurrection could have changed these despairing men and women into people with joy and unbelievable courage. This was proof that Jesus was the true Messiah and the Savior of the world.

A dead Saviour cannot save anybody. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is as much a part of the Gospel message as His sacrificial death on the cross (I Cor. 15:1-8). Perhaps the most precious thing in this passage is in two words which are in no other gospel. “Go,” said the messenger. “Tell” his disciples and Peter. How that message must have especially cheered Peter’s heart when he received it! He must have been tortured with the memory of his disloyalty, and suddenly there came a special message for him. It was characteristic of Jesus that he thought, not of the wrong Peter had done to him, but of the remorse he was undergoing.

Application

Would I have had trouble believing the angel’s words if it had been me that went to the tomb? Why or why not? When someone first told me about Jesus’ resurrection did I have trouble believing him? Why was I finally convinced?