Mark 16:9Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Let us take joy and rejoice today: not rushing to the marketplaces, but rather hastening to the sanctuaries of the martyrs; not celebrating excess, but embracing moderation; not following the hurried ways of the Jews, but reveling in the spirit of the apostles; not engaging in frivolity in the streets, but lifting our voices in song at home. This is the day when Adam was liberated, when Eve was freed from her grief; when death's grip was shaken; when the strength of the formidable stones was loosened, and the sealed tombs were opened; when the remains of those who had long departed were restored to life; when the relentless and immutable laws of earthly existence were overcome; when, at the resurrection of our Lord Christ, the heavens were unveiled; when the blossoms and fruits of the resurrection appeared like a garden for humanity; when the lilies of the newly enlightened emerged; when the despair of sinners was alleviated; when the power of the adversary was exhausted; when the armies of demons were scattered.

In specifying this timeframe, the Evangelist does not merely mention 'morning' but rather 'very early'; indicating that while it was not yet daylight, there was a faint glimmer of light before the sun fully rose. John also corroborates this account, stating that Mary Magdalene came while it was still dark and noticed the stone had been rolled away from the tomb (John 20:1). However, according to John, she did not enter the burial site but left without encountering the Lord, running instead to inform Peter and John, announcing not the Lord’s Resurrection, but that He had been taken from the tomb; at that moment, she was unaware of His Resurrection. The Lord chose not to manifest Himself at the very first hour of the day, but rather after that initial hour had passed.

The opening of the tomb was likely lower than a person's height, requiring one to stoop to see inside. The Evangelist John, having bent down without crossing the threshold of the tomb, could see the burial linens within. Likewise, Mary, as she wept, leaned forward to peer into the sepulcher from the entrance and beheld two angels dressed in white, seated where Jesus' body had lain, one at the head and the other at the feet (John 20:12).

When the angel inquired, "Woman, why are you weeping?" she replied, her voice heavy with sorrow, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him" (John 20:13). This expression of her troubled heart deepened her sobs; tears overwhelmed her, and as she turned away from the tomb’s entrance, she glanced back to find Jesus standing there, yet she did not recognize Him (John 20:14).

Jesus asked her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" (John 20:15). Just as the apostles, even those specially chosen, struggled to grasp that Jesus must die and rise again—these truths obscured from them—Mary too struggled to comprehend. She could not conceive of Jesus rising from the dead, and thus could not appreciate the emptiness of the tomb or the presence of the angels; her mind was wholly absorbed with the desire to locate her Lord's body. In her state of distress, she did not recognize Him when He questioned her tears.

Amidst her grief, skeptics assert that Mary Magdalene held such a profound belief in Jesus' resurrection that she imagined seeing and hearing Him as a manifestation of her wishes rather than reality. Mistaking the Lord for a gardener, due to the location of the tomb in a garden, she beseeched him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away” (John 20:15).

“Mary!” Jesus called to her in a familiar voice, at which she recognized Him and exclaimed, “Rabboni!” She rushed to embrace His feet, wishing not only to see but to touch Him, confirming that it was truly her Lord and not merely a spirit. However, Christ restrained her, saying, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. Instead, go to my brethren and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'”

- "From whom he cast out seven demons": This detail from Mark reveals that Magdalene had previously been afflicted by demonic possession, significantly so, as in the numeral seven indicates a large multitude, a usage sometimes found in Scripture (e.g., the barren woman of seven: Theophilus). The Lord's healing of her came with immense gratitude, and she likely became His most devoted follower, accompanying Him everywhere and supporting His ministry with her labors (see also Mk. 15:41).