Mark 16:5 Commentary and Bible Study

‘And entering into the sepulchre,’ – Christ is risen; he isn't there – ‘they saw a young man [an angel, Matthew tells us], sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment’, and they were terrified. ‘And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen.’ They don't see the risen Lord: not yet; they are told he is risen. They see only the angel. ‘Behold the place where they laid him.’ This was said to help them grasp what had happened, because their minds were so shocked by these events. John tells us that they would have seen the linen clothes lying there, and the napkin that had been around his head wrapped together in a place by itself. ‘But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee.’ Peter is mentioned specifically and there is a particular message for him, because he has denied the Lord, and Christ is going to restore him, just as he has told him (Luke 22:32). To shocked minds, information was pouring in at a rate which was hard for them to process. Christ had told the disciple before his death that after he was risen he would go before them into Galilee (Matthew 26:32; Mark 14:28). Now they are told Christ is risen; the disciples are to go to Galilee; the Lord will appear to them there.