When he had risen, early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10 She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.
12 After this he appeared in another form to two of them walking along on their way to the country. 13 They returned and told the others; but they did not believe them either.
14 [But] later, as the eleven were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised. 15 He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. 18 They will pick up serpents [with their hands], and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Mark 16:9-18 gives a concise account of the appearances of the risen Christ and of the mission He gives to His disciples. These verses bring together themes also found in the other Gospels. They show that Jesus truly rose, that His disciples were slow to believe, and that the risen Lord Himself sends them out with a universal mission.
The passage begins with Jesus appearing first to Mary Magdalene (v. 9). Mark reminds the reader that she is the woman from whom Jesus had driven seven demons. That detail recalls the Lord’s power already at work in her life. The one who had been delivered by Jesus now becomes the first person in this passage to report that He is alive. She goes and tells His companions, who are mourning and weeping (v. 10). Their sorrow is real, but their sorrow is joined to unbelief, because when they hear that Jesus is alive and that she has seen Him, they do not believe her (v. 11).
Then Mark reports another appearance. Jesus appears “in another form” to two disciples as they are walking into the country (v. 12). This brief statement corresponds to Luke’s account of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, where Jesus is present but not recognized at first (Lk. 24:13-35). These two also return and tell the others, and again the others do not believe (v. 13). Mark presents this refusal to believe very plainly. The witnesses speak, but the message is not received.
Next Jesus appears to the Eleven while they are at table (v. 14). This appearance is decisive. The risen Christ rebukes them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had been raised. Hardness of heart here means a resistance to what God has made known. The problem is not that the evidence was weak. The problem is that those who heard the testimony did not accept it. The risen Jesus therefore corrects the Eleven before He sends them.
That point matters. The mission of the disciples begins only after the risen Christ has appeared to them and rebuked their unbelief. They do not appoint themselves. They are sent by the risen Christ, who comes to them alive and entrusts them with their mission despite their earlier failure. Their preaching will rest on His word and His authority.
Jesus then says, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” (v. 15). The mission is universal. During His earthly ministry, Jesus had focused His public work within Israel, but now the good news is to be preached to the whole world. In Mark, the gospel is the good news of God’s saving action, the coming of His kingdom, and the salvation brought through Jesus Christ (Mk. 1:1, 14-15). What began in Galilee is now to be announced everywhere.
Jesus adds, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned” (v. 16). Faith and baptism are joined together here. Belief is not treated as a vague religious feeling. It is a real acceptance of the risen Christ and of the gospel proclaimed in His name. Baptism is the way Christ has given for entering into that saving relationship with Him. The verse places the stress on belief refused, because condemnation is linked to unbelief. The passage is not explaining every possible case. It is stating the pattern Christ gives here: the gospel is proclaimed, it is believed, and baptism follows.
Then Jesus speaks of signs that will accompany those who believe (vv. 17-18). In His name they will drive out demons, speak new languages, overcome deadly dangers, and lay hands on the sick. The passage does not say that every believer at all times will show all of these signs in the same way. It shows that the power of the risen Christ will accompany the preaching of the gospel and the life of His followers. These signs are not presented as spectacles to be produced on demand. They confirm that the Lord is at work and that the gospel is true. The book of Acts records several of these realities in the life of the early Church: demons are cast out, new tongues are spoken, the sick are healed, and deadly harm is escaped by God’s protection (Acts 2:4-11; 3:6-8; 16:16-18; 28:1-6, 8)..
This means that the passage moves in a clear order. First there is witness. Then there is unbelief. Then the risen Jesus appears and corrects His disciples. Then He sends them out. Then He promises that His power will accompany their mission. The passage is therefore not only about resurrection appearances. It is also about the Church’s mission flowing from the resurrection of Christ.
There is also a lesson here about the disciples themselves. Mark does not hide their weakness. They did not readily accept the testimony given to them. Even so, Jesus did not abandon His purpose for them. He corrected them and sent them. That is important for the reader. The mission of the Church does not rest on human strength. It rests on the risen Lord who speaks, sends, and works through His disciples, despite their weaknesses.
These verses also show that the resurrection is not an isolated event kept private among a few followers. The risen Christ sends the Eleven to proclaim the gospel to the whole world. The good news is meant to be heard. Faith is meant to arise from that proclamation. Baptism is meant to bring people into the salvation Christ has won. The signs serve that mission, but the center remains Jesus Himself: He is alive, He rebukes unbelief, and He sends His disciples out in His name.
Lord Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, strengthen our faith, correct our unbelief, and teach us to receive Your word with humble hearts. Help us to hold firmly to the gospel and to live as those who belong to You. May Your truth be proclaimed throughout the whole world, and may many come to believe and be saved through Your mercy. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The New American Bible, Revised Edition. Washington, DC: Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2011. Mk. 16:9-18 and note on Mk. 16:9-20.
- Hahn, Scott, and Curtis Mitch, eds. Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010, 97-98.
- Casciaro, José María, gen. ed. The Navarre Bible: New Testament, Expanded Edition. Dublin: Four Courts Press; New York: Scepter Publishers, 2008, 228-229.
- Brown, Raymond E., Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, eds. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990, 629, para. 109.
- Aguilar Chiu, José Enrique, et al., eds. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. New York: Paulist Press, 2018, 1027-1029.
- Collins, John J., Gina Hens-Piazza, Barbara Reid OP, and Donald Senior CP, eds. The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century. 3rd fully rev. ed. New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2022, 1287-1288.
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