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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 And the sabbath having past, Mary the Magdalene, and Mary of James, and Salome, bought spices, that having come, they may anoint him, |
Sabbath was past – Early on Sunday morning. R4212:5*
The wave of sheaf, and its antitype, the resurrection of Christ, were "when the Sabbath was past"--the eighth day, or first day of a new week. (Lev. 23:11) R108:3*
Mary Magdalene – How great was the reward of these devoted women--last at the cross and first at the sepulchre. R1816:6
Salome – Also Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward; according to Luke 24:10. R4176:3
Sweet spices – To show sympathy and love for the deceased. R2317:3
If our Lord had been crucified on Thursday there would have been all day Friday in which they could have completed the work of embalming. R1816:6
His friends believed that he was dead and wrapped him in spices for burial: indeed in their grief they seem to have forgotten his promise of a resurrection--so much so that even after he had risen it was with difficulty that they were convinced. R3903:3
Anoint him – Anxious to bestow the last tokens of their esteem and love. R1816:6
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| 2 and early in the morning of the first of the sabbaths, they come unto the sepulchre, at the rising of the sun, |
And very early – "The Lord shall help her early in the morning." (Psa. 46:5) R3375:3
In the morning – The entire Body of Christ will be raised on the third thousand-year day, early in the morning. R3375:3
The Lord was a part of the three days dead and rose on the third day, early in the morning, and that likewise the first resurrection will be complete--the entire Body of Christ will be raised on the third day, early in the morning. R3375:2
When our Lord spoke, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up"--"he spake of the temple of his body" (John 2:19, 21) which is the Church. R3375:2
First day of the week – The "third day" after his death (Luke 24:21, 46; 1 Cor. 15:4; Lev. 23:11) R3574:5*
The resurrection of Christ, the antitype of the wave of sheaf, was the eighth day, or first day of a new week. (Lev. 23:11) R108:3*
Sunday, 16th Nisan. R4212:5*
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| 3 and they said among themselves, 'Who shall roll away for us the stone out of the door of the sepulchre ' |
Roll us away – In their eagerness they forgot the great obstacle of the stone; but the sweet incense of their devotion arose to heaven, and God sent his angel to remove the obstacle. R1816:6
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| 4 And having looked, they see that the stone hath been rolled away for it was very great, |
Was rolled away – The sweet incense of the women's devotion arose to heaven and God sent his angel to remove the obstacle. R1816:6
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| 5 and having entered into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right hand, arrayed in a long white robe, and they were amazed. |
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| 6 And he saith to them, 'Be not amazed, ye seek Jesus the Nazarene, the crucified: he did rise he is not here; lo, the place where they laid him! |
He is risen – The birth, death and resurrection of our Lord are the three circumstances of his first advent which should be remembered by every child of God. His birth was the dawn of hope for our race; his death was the seal of pardon and peace; and his resurrection was the assurance which God gave of the efficacy of his blood. R1631:3, 5579:3
Jesus, the human soul, died; but he was raised from the dead a soul of a higher order. He that ascended was the same as he that had previously descended from the heavenly to the earthly condition. R5578:6
The resurrection of our Lord is the assurance of the resurrection of mankind. R1816:2, 1631:4
His resurrection was the assurance which God gave to all men of the efficacy of his precious blood. R1631:3, 5579:3
The doctrine of the resurrection is peculiar to the Jewish and Christian religions. R3903:5
To presume that Christ's glorious body is but the reanimated body of his humiliation is to deny the assertion of the Apostle that "it doth not yet appear" what a spiritual body is. (1 John 3:2) R1817:4
He is not here – The removal of the crucified body from the tomb was necessary to establish in the minds of the disciples the fact of his resurrection. If it had remained there it would have been an insurmountable barrier to their faith. R1817:4
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| 7 and go, say to his disciples, and Peter, that he doth go before you to Galilee; there ye shall see him, as he said to you.' |
Go your way – It seems that Mary Magdalene separated from the other women and ran to tell Peter and John. (John 20:1, 2) B112
Tell his disciples – Carefully looking up each one of "the eleven," sending the women who were first to the sepulcher to communicate the fact of his resurrection to each of them. R1522:4
And Peter – Specially mentioned lest he should be overcome with discouragement on account of his previous unfaithfulness. R1522:4, 5053:5, 4714:1
Setting us an example of benevolence and forgiveness without request. R5053:5
Mary hastened to the home of John, where Peter was lodging. R4176:3
He goeth before you – Because in his resurrection Jesus was so different, we are prepared to understand why he conducted himself so differently from that which he had done before. R5578:6
Into Galilee – Their home. B112
Shall ye see him – After his resurrection we find our Lord promptly taking up his work just where it had been broken off by his death--the work of still further preparing the apostles to bear reliable testimony to the whole Church. R1522:4
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| 8 And, having come forth quickly, they fled from the sepulchre, and trembling and amazement had seized them, and to no one said they anything, for they were afraid. |
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| 9 And he, having risen in the morning of the first of the sabbaths, did appear first to Mary the Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven demons; |
Now when Jesus – No part of the 16th chapter of Mark, after the 8th verse, is genuine. R3311:5, 4359:3, 3728:3, 2871:6, 2675:5, 2141:5, 1536:6, 1314:3; F637, F649; HG720:3; Q325:T, 747:4; NS345:1, 859:5, 860:6
Omitted in the Sinaitic and Vatican manuscripts. Evidently Mark's Gospel was originally incomplete and someone undertook to finish it about the fifth century. The fifth century Alexandrian manuscript is the oldest to contain the last 12 verses. R1998:5; HG403:3; SM568:1
These verses are spurious according to the American Standard Version, the Diaglott, and the Revised Version. HG261:4
Some of the items in these verses are found in other Gospels. It would never do to add a lie without a certain amount of covering of truth to sugarcoat it. NS859:5
Every theory which requires bolstering up by spurious passages should be abandoned, and will be abandoned by those who are honest truth-seekers. NS681:2
He appeared first – The first of a maximum of eleven appearances (all enumerated in the article). R3905:2-5
We do not use such terms as "manifesting" ourselves or "appearing" to one another, but they are used respecting Jesus because in his resurrection he was a Spirit being. CR367:3; 467:2
He appeared in various fleshly forms materialized. R266:5; CR467:2
It was necessary the apostles should be a witness to testify Jesus was risen from the dead. CR467:1
To Mary Magdalene – He was still their Lord and Master, the same Jesus, although no longer Jesus in the flesh. R3905:2
Out of whom he had cast seven devils – She from thenceforth became one of the Lord's most earnest followers. R3375:5
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| 10 she having gone, told those who had been with him, mourning and weeping; |
And she went – Verses 10 to 20 are spurious. To sanction them would be to join with those who wrote them in adding to the Word of God. (Rev. 22:18) Q747:4
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| 11 and they, having heard that he is alive, and was seen by her, did not believe. |
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| 12 And after these things, to two of them, as they are going into a field, walking, he was manifested in another form, |
After that – Where was he the remainder of the time? Present, but invisible. R579:2, 18:5
He appeared – Seven times in the flesh, once in glory above the brightness of the sun. He was the same at all times, but the manifestations were different. R5579:4
Sunday afternoon; the fourth of possibly eleven appearances. R3905:3
He is said to appear, or show himself, language never used of him before his change from a natural to a spiritual body; now, as angels had done, he appeared. R579:2, 18:5
In another form – Not only as a different person, but also in different clothing; for his clothing had been parted amongst the soldiers. R5579:1
He created, or materialized, a body and clothing in their presence; and after a few moments he vanished out of their sight, dissolving the body and the clothing, while he, the spirit being, remained invisible. R5579:1
The manner of the testimony of the resurrection proves three things: (1) the fact of the resurrection; (2) the Lord's change of nature, and (3) his personal identity, notwithstanding the change of nature. R1816:5
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| 13 and they having gone, told to the rest; not even them did they believe. |
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| 14 Afterwards, as they are reclining (at meat), he was manifested to the eleven, and did reproach their unbelief and stiffness of heart, because they believed not those having seen him being raised; |
Sat at meat – Since our Lord made himself known several times in connection with their partaking of food, the early Church appears to have gotten into the habit of having a simple meal in common in remembrance of this--a sort of love feast. R1421:2
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| 15 and he said to them, 'Having gone to all the world, proclaim the good news to all the creation;
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Go ye – This verse and all this chapter from verse nine to the close is acknowledged by all scholars to be an interpolation. We should better use the well-authenticated words of Matt. 28:19. R4359:3, 3728:3, 3311:5, 2871:6, 2675:5, 2141:5
It was necessary that the twelve apostles bear witness to the fact that Jesus had risen for there could have been no Gospel message of hope of divine favor through a dead Savior. R5579:2
God gave all his consecrated followers authority to preach the good news of a New Covenant, another chance to all mankind to gain everlasting life. R807:1
Into all the world – Indicating that it was no longer confined to the Jew. R605:1
Flash forth the truth into every nook and corner where dark creeds and black theories have so long lain. R825:6
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| 16 he who hath believed, and hath been baptized, shall be saved; and he who hath not believed, shall be condemned.
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He that believeth – It is consecrated believers only who may be developed and perfected now--he that believeth and is baptized. R605:2
The test or judgment of the Church during the Gospel age is "not works, but faith." R700:3
No man will be saved without faith in Christ as his ransom; some in this age, the vast majority in the coming age. R936:1
Baptized – Immersed in water in the likeness of the real immersion into death. R937:4, 606:3
With the baptism that Christ was baptized with, into death. R605:3, 606:3, 936:4
Shall be saved – During this age; the advantage to this class is the high exaltation to a new nature--the spiritual. R606:3, 700:3
These words are in accord with the teachings of the Gospel. Only those who hear about the Lord Jesus, who believe and make a consecration--are baptized into his death--belong to the class God is now saving. All the remainder are damned, more properly, condemned, in Father Adam because of his disobedience. HG345:1
Shall be damned – Greek, katakrino, rejected. The great mass of mankind will be condemned as unfit for the service of the Master in this "high calling." He that believeth shall be chosen, he that believeth not, shall be rejected. HG17:2
Our word "damned," from misusage and the bad theology of the Dark Ages, has a sulphorous odor, whereas its plain, simple meaning is the same as the word "condemn." NS860:3, 859:5
Or condemned, as entirely unfit to receive the favor during this age; but not irrecoverably damned as unfit for service, for restitution. R606:3, 936:4
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| 17 'And signs shall accompany those believing these things; in my name demons they shall cast out; with new tongues they shall speak;
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These signs shall follow – Verse 17 and 18 are an interpolation, made somewhere about the fifth century. F637
These words are not true of the Lord's followers. R3728:3
Neither observation nor history attests the fulfillment of such a statement. It is evident that these signs do not now accompany belief in Christ. R1998:5
With new tongues – A Satanic counterfeit of the gift of unknown tongues of Pentecost, now deluding honest souls throughout Christendom. R3941:2-5
It is our understanding that the speaking in unknown tongues in religious meetings is a deception being practiced upon earnest children of God. NS861:5
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| 18 serpents they shall take up; and if any deadly thing they may drink, it shall not hurt them; on the ailing they shall lay hands, and they shall be well.'
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Any deadly thing – Spurious. The thought that the Lord's people may be specially favored of him in respect to physical health and other creature comforts is a delusion and a snare. F650
Not hurt them – Our Lord did not use his power, so far as the record shows, upon any of his followers or disciples. R3728:4
While no immunity from poisons, bites and stings is granted to the Gospel Church, we have the Lord's promise that nothing shall by any means hurt us as new creatures. R2675:5
They shall recover – Let us not seek for the loaves and fishes of physical healing, but let us seek spiritual health and vigor, and all these temporal things shall be added unto us according to divine wisdom and love. R3728:6
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| 19 The Lord, then, indeed, after speaking to them, was received up to the heaven, and sat on the right hand of God; |
So then after – The manifestations in the flesh during the forty days corresponded exactly to the manifestations which Jesus had made long previously, one of which was to Abraham. R5579:4
These forty days were necessary, for teaching: (1) that he was no longer dead, but alive; and (2) that he was no longer a man, but a spirit. R5579:1
Into heaven – "Where he was before." (John 6:62) R1059:3, 445:5*
On the right hand – Comparing John 6:62 and Mark 16:19 we conclude that before his advent to earth Jesus occupied the right hand position, but was not so exalted as his present position. (Phil 2:9) R1059:3, 445:5*
Not the Father's position, but the chief position at the Father's right hand--right hand signifying the chief position of favor or power. R445:5*
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| 20 and they, having gone forth, did preach everywhere, the Lord working with [them], and confirming the word, through the signs following. Amen. |
The Lord working – By whatever means the apostles confirmed the word, it was by the power of the Lord Jesus working with them--whether by destruction of life or by healing. R61:6*
With signs following – But Paul shows us (1 Cor. 13:8-10) that when the necessity for such signs is done away they no longer continue. R605:3
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